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May 17, 2001
Dear Friends,
From time to time many of you ask me, "What can we do to
help"? Usually I suggest getting involved in one of the extra
commitment projects related to my work. But today I am writing
because there is a very specific way that you can help our work,
and it doesn’t require money. (Well, a postage stamp.)
In my newsletters I have tried to keep you informed of the progress
of our new Reformed University, successor to the Presbyterian
Theological Seminary. Our project has gone very well and has been
received with praise through every part of the process of accreditation.
But we are now entering the final stage—the project is going
before the final commission that will determine whether or not
to approve our status as a university corporation.
But here we need something more than a good project. A good
project may sit on the shelf for years unless persons with influence
on the national—or international—level speak up for
it. The vice-president of Colombia, Gustavo Bell, has taken an
interest in our university, and that is a big plus. Also, a Colombian
senator has gotten behind our project.
But we have been told that, given the current relationship between
Colombia and the U.S., a word from the U.S. ambassador in Colombia
could be definitive. The way to enlist the ambassador’s support
is through the U.S. Senate. Therefore I am asking you to write—and
to get members of your church and hopefully other churches in
your presbytery to write—to your senators and other members
of congress.
Ask them to request that the U.S. ambassador in Colombia speak
to the Colombian Minister of Education in favor of the "Corporación
Universitaria Reformada," or "CUR." That is the
formal name of our university in Spanish. It means Reformed University
Corporation. You might mention in your letter that the CUR is
an institution which provides important educational alternatives
for this war-torn country, emphasizing a culture of peace and
human development.
It would be very significant if the ambassador could say that
a number of U.S. congresspersons have expressed interest in the
accreditation of the CUR and that many U.S. churches are directly
interested in this work. We have reason to believe that once the
ambassador’s interest is expressed, the final papers will
be expedited.
This doesn’t mean we are trying to get U.S. government
approval of our project: it’s the ambassador’s political
influence here that is important. Due to "Plan Colombia"
and other forms of military and financial aid coming to Colombia
from the U.S., interest on the part of the U.S. Congress is likely
to be considered an important factor in favor of the project.
And please pray for the CUR in this critical time. Pray that
our final papers will be processed with a minimum of delay and
pray that we may truly respond to the needs of Colombia. I know
that you hear much about Colombia in your newspapers—the
violence, the poverty, the human rights violations are all real.
But we are making a difference and your contribution right now
is especially important. Please write to your congresspersons
today.
I will let you know the results. However, I’m afraid you
won’t be hearing from me for some time. On May 25 I leave
for Managua, Nicaragua, for the annual meeting of RIBLA, the organization
of Latin American Bible Scholars, which publishes the Journal
of Latin American Biblical Interpretation. We will be planning
future issues of the journal. (Before I leave I must finish an
article for the next issue on the problem of refugees and desplazados,
displaced persons who flee violence. Did you know King David was
a desplazado?
Read II Samuel 14-17.)
From Managua I go on to Geneva, Switzerland, for an ecumenical
meeting on women in theological education, sponsored by the World
Council of Churches. I return to Colombia June 12 for the last
week of classes in the first semester of the 2001 school year.
Then on June 19 I leave with Derney Ramos, president of the CUR
(and a former student of mine), for Edinburgh, Scotland, to participate
in a meeting of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities.
I’ll be back home on June 25, but from June 27 to July
2 I have a seminar on reading the Bible from a woman’s perspective
in Bucaramanga, a city across the country from Barranquilla, where
I live. After that I will have two weeks in the office in July,
time which I hope to use to prepare my classes (Greek, Old and
New Testament, and exegetical methods) for the second semester.
But during the latter half of July I will take my vacation in
Williamsburg, Virginia, to see my mother, who has had a rough
time recently. From there I go to Ghost Ranch, the Presbyterian
retreat center in New Mexico, to participate in a seminar on globalization.
The new semester is supposed to start the last week of July, but
my classes will be delayed till my return in mid-August.
September, October and November are pretty much booked up as
well, but I don’t even want to think about that for now.
I’ll write you again at the end of August after I get my
classes going. By then we should have our accreditation—don’t
forget to write your congresspersons and accompany the letter
with prayer.
And I thank you for all your letters and e-mails to me. It is
such an encouragement to know that folks like you back home are
standing behind our work here with your prayers and your generous
financial support. May God honor you for these tangible expressions
of love and concern.
Blessings on you . . .
Alice Winters
The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 261
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