January 18, 2007

Epiphany 2007

Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Isaiah 60:4

Dear Partners in Christ’s service,

As we enter a new year and kneel with the Magi before the Christ in a world of conflicts and divisions, I rejoice to see God’s people coming from afar and gathering together.

Theological education consultant

After teaching for 15 years in Presbyterian seminaries, two in Brazil and one in Austin, for the past five years I have only occasionally been in the classroom. Do I miss it? Yes, sometimes, but not the meetings or the grading. But I have been doing what I wanted all of my students to do—learning, growing, and facing new challenges. I came back to Brazil as theological education consultant for Latin America and then also became regional liaison for South America. I work with the area coordinator, Maria Arroyo, in what is now called World Mission, a program unit of the PC(USA)’s General Assembly Council.

One of the projects I have developed is a scholarship program in which funds from PC(USA) properties sold in Brazil are administered by the two ecumenical programs in Brazil that offer doctoral degrees in Bible and theology. Students from partner churches of the PC(USA) in Brazil and throughout Latin America are eligible for these scholarships. I have acted as communicator and facilitator with these two institutions and see people coming from afar to Brazil to study, a new way for me to contribute to theological education.

Cuban couple receives gracious hospitality in São Paulo

Pedro and Kenia Jimenez Celorio have served actively in the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba. Pedro wanted to pursue his doctorate, and through conversations that involved many people, the doors opened for him at the Ecumenical Institute of Post-Graduate studies (IEPG) of the Methodist University in metropolitan São Paulo. The coordinator of the program, Antônio Carlos Magalhães, received them with open arms in the academic year which began in March 2006. Their adaptation to Portuguese and Brazil was so good that Kenia now has entered into the master’s program. Pedro’s dissertation will be on liturgy in the Presbyterian Reformed Church in Cuba, and Kenia’s master’s thesis will focus on Afro-Cuban religious practices. Antônio Carlos invited Kenia and Pedro to join his family in Christmas celebrations. It is a joy to facilitate such relationships and to encourage God’s people as they prepare to serve.

Colombian human rights worker in São Leopoldo

When I visited the Presbyterian Church of Colombia last August, I was distressed to hear of the three million displaced persons in the country and that some Presbyterian church leaders were receiving death threats because of their solidarity. By the end of 2006, the church perceived that Mauricio, a law student who was courageously defending the rights of his compatriots, needed to leave the country for his safety. A friend in Porto Alegre received him, and some PC(USA) mission volunteers in Colombia paid his airfare to Brazil. When no doors seemed to be opening for him to study, I called Lothar Hoch, rector of the Lutheran seminary in São Leopoldo where the Institute of Post-Graduate Studies (IEPG) administers our scholarships. My heart was warmed on the phone by his receptivity, enthusiasm, and willingness to help Mauricio take the entrance exams and solve his visa problems. Brazilian hospitality and solidarity never cease to amaze me. Human beings are precious resources here. Mauricio passed the exams, and the director of the exchange program told me that all is ready for him to begin the 2007 academic year there.

If you would like to read more about these two theological institutions and others, see my article “Ecumenical Theological Education in Latin America, 1916-2005" in the January issue of International Bulletin of Missionary Research.

New roles

As you can see, my role as a theological educator has changed. I maintain connections with ecumenical institutions and national churches throughout Latin America. In the recent restructuring of the PC(USA) denominational offices in Louisville, the roles of our national staff also are changing. The ways Presbyterians engage in God’s mission locally and globally and the patterns of sending and supporting mission workers are also changing. However, some things have not changed (watch for my column which celebrates ten "mission certainties" in the April issue of Presbyterians Today). Presbyterians are committed to world mission, but giving to the support of mission workers has declined. The results? If the trend is not reversed, we will have to bring home some mission workers by the end of 2008. What can you do to enable people like me to continue to represent you around the world?

• Support a PC(USA) mission worker through Directed Mission Support (DMS)
• Make a gift or pledge to DMS account “D505854, George, Rev. Sherron”
• Partner and dialogue with our national offices through the World Mission program unit.

Pray for Pedro, Kenia, and Mauricio as they begin the new school year in March. Pray for the PC(USA), that all of us may join together as partners in God’s mission as we seek and discover new roles and new patterns of mission support.

A new year with renewed mission commitment to you,

Sherron George

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 38