November 1, 2006

Tending the flame

Once in a while, someone from the United States will ask me, “Do you meet any resistance to your work with the women in Guatemala?” The asker of such a question knows that I encourage Guatemalan women to assume their rightful role as daughters of God; to use their God-given gifts in ministry, whether that be in their home, church or community; to strive for partnership with men in their ministry.

In the first years of my ministry I could easily say “no,” except for the resistance from women themselves—it is never easy to grow and change. And at first I don’t think many men in the church paid a lot of attention to what the women were doing. But that has changed! Now I sense more resistance from some men (not all: some men are very supportive of women participating in all areas of the life of the church, but that is for another newsletter).

Some men feel threatened by developments such as:

• more women are being ordained as ruling elders.
• there are two indigenous women ordained as “pastoras” and a good possibility that a ladino presbytery will soon ordain a woman pastor.
• women are attending more workshops and learn of women in the Bible who engaged in a great variety of ministries.
• women are learning to read the Bible through their own eyes and are open to new interpretations of Scripture passages that had been used to silence women.

What should our response be to this resistance? The theme of the gathering to celebrate the ordination of women in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that I was privileged to attend in Atlanta in March of this year was “Tending the Flame.” In her sermon, Lisa Larges described the dilemma of a woman pastor who had to decide how to deal with a crisis in her congregation. Should she simply leave and let the members of the congregation fight it out? Should she herself “fight back” to prove that she was right? In the end, she chose a third way, to “tend the flame,” to stay and work with and through the crisis at hand, ministering to people on both sides of the issue.

Guatemalan women know a lot about the process of “tending the flame,” since many of them still prepare meals for their families over wood fires. They know that you must first search for firewood, a daily task. Then you must carefully build your fire and check on it periodically, feeding more firewood as needed. Too much firewood will cause a mighty blaze, not good for cooking frijoles! Too little firewood, and the flames will die out, leaving smoldering embers.

Tending the flame of women’s ministry in Guatemala may mean making a six-hour bus trip to visit the governing body of a Presbyterial high in the Cuchumatanes mountains; or working with committee members as they prepare workshops on the ministry of women in the Bible and our ministry today; or listening to more than the words of a woman struggling to express how she feels being relegated to serve only in the kitchen; or encouraging a woman to hold on to her dream of one day becoming a pastor; or sleeping on a church floor to lead a Bible study at a women’s convention. For many women, tending the flame means getting up before dawn, preparing breakfast and lunch for their families, then making a two-hour bus trip to be a part of a health workshop where they study the development and care of their bodies and learn that their bodies truly are “temples of the living God.”

None of this is very glamorous work, but neither is cooking a pot of frijoles over a wood fire! However, that bowl of frijoles, accompanied by the tortillas, and the contented smiles of the family, make the effort worthwhile. When you see a woman begin to truly believe that she is a daughter of God, and live out of that belief, or when you hear a woman declare, “we are created in the image of God,” or when you see women take their rightful place beside men in a committee meeting, or when a woman tells you she is no longer afraid to leave her community and participate in a retreat, then all the hours of tending the flame are worth it.

Through all the workshops, bus trips, retreats, and meetings, women continue to grow in their understanding of Scripture and to value themselves as unique individuals created by a loving God who equips them for ministry in a variety of ways.

I want to thank everyone who contributes to my financial support and makes it possible for me to have a part in “tending the flame” in Guatemala. If you are a part of a PC(USA) congregation, please encourage the mission committee or session to keep sending support to D506243, my Directed Mission Support account.

It’s also possible to support me through an Extra Commitment Opportunity account. Contributions from individuals may be sent to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Individual Remittance Processing, PO Box 643700, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3700. Contributions from churches should be sent to normal receiving sites or: Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Church Remittance Processing, PO Box 643678, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678. Write my name and the ECO number (E132192) on the subject line of the check. Or click the "give" button below.

Thanks also for your support for the ECO “With the Women of Guatemala,” EO51618, which makes it possible for the women of the Unión Sinódica (Presbyterian Women in Guatemala) to provide materials, facilitators, meals, and bus fare so that women can participate in opportunities for growth and change. Or click the "give" button below.

May we all continue “tending the flame,” wherever we may be.

Ellen Dozier
Mission Co-Worker, Guatemala

The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 64