CEDEPCA, the Evangelical Center
for Pastoral Studies in Central America. The Women’s Synodical
Union and CEDEPCA have an official working relationship through
which CEDEPCA provides both formal and informal theological education.
The final session of the course was a workshop led by Looking
for Lilith, an educational theater company based in Louisville,
Kentucky. The staff of Looking for Lilith includes Jennifer Thalman,
who served as a PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer with the Presbyterial
of Occidente from October of 2003 to July of 2004. Looking for
Lilith’s summer 2006 tour to Guatemala to help the women
of the Synodical share their faith stories was financed by a grant
from Presbyterian Women’s Thank Offering.
With the help of the Looking for Lilith actor/educators, the
course participants created still images of situations they would
like to change. They chose to focus on unequal gender relationships
in their homes, situations of domestic violence, and restrictions
placed on women’s leadership in the churches. As a next
step, the women created scenes that showed their dreams of homes
free from violence and churches open to use the leadership gifts
God has given women. Then came the most important step of imagining
how to move from today’s situation to the ideal. Here the
women demonstrated how they intend to be agents of transformation
in their homes, their neighborhoods and their churches. Yes, their
dreams are bigger now.
How big are your dreams? Do they include being part of transforming
women’s lives here in Guatemala?
The declining number of dollars available for mission coming
through the national channels of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
would seem to indicate that our dreams of participating in God’s
mission around the world have diminished. Can this be true?
Or is it the case that churches are looking to participate together
with Christians around the world in more direct ways and are directing
their mission dollars through other channels? If this is true,
the only way mission co-workers like myself can continue to serve
around the world on your behalf is if individuals and congregations
in the United States take more direct responsibility for providing
our support.
You are receiving this newsletter because at some point our lives
have touched. If you are part of a PC(USA) church that is providing
Directed Mission Support for my salary (D506645), thank you. Please
encourage the mission committee to keep sending support. If your
church is part of a presbytery that has a mission partnership
in Guatemala, please also consider supporting one of the mission
co-workers who serves here long-term. Perhaps you or your church
have supported CEDEPCA’s ministry in different ways. Please
think about also supporting one of the PC(USA) mission co-workers
who work with CEDEPCA.
Contributions from individuals are also welcome and very much
needed. Please write “E132192” followed by my name
on the subject line of the check and send it to the address listed
below for individual remittances. Or you can give online. Please
use the same project number and write my name in the special instructions
box. If you would like more ideas as to how you might become involved
in my work, please write to me.
If you'd like to give on-line to this ECO, please click the "give"
button below my name.
I hope you will dream together with the women of Guatemala of
a better world.
Blessings,
Karla
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
64 |
