Today we are celebrating an agreement for a partnership relationship with Presbyterians in another part of the world -- Getting to this place has been a long and thoughtful and prayerful journey. It began years and years ago with many of us who have had connections of one sort or another in Latin America. It came very much into our awareness three years ago when I went to Guatemala during my sabbatical – and Carlos and his family came from Guatemala to minister among us. It took a real turn when 19 of us went to Guatemala together two years ago – and came home with a keen sense that we couldn’t just let go of this budding relationship. So, that led to congregational conversations about mission in general – and mission as partnership in particular. And all the while we were paying attention to the opportunity in front of us. Several of us gathered last summer with other N.A. Presbyterians who are working among the Kek’chi in Guatemala and learned a lot from them. Then last fall Stephanie Gregory and Ellen Dozier went to Guatemala for a Partnership meeting and met up with Pastor Gerardo and Pastor Pablo there.
After all that, it was decided by our session to indeed pursue a formal partnership agreement with the churches that make up Estoreno Presbytery. And so we dispatched a team of 6 folks to go there this spring for that purpose. We didn’t go to pour cement or even to lead workshops. We went to deepen relationships.
The scripture that became a guide for us as we prepared for this trip was from the introduction of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome.
Listen – for God’s word to us all – here and around Lake Izabal in Guatemala:
Read Romans 1:8-12
This is the text that I read the night I preached at the Arce de Noe church in El Estor. My sermon, like this scripture, was in the form of a letter to the Presbyterians in Estoreno Presbytery – a letter from our Church to them. So, since it was ostensibly from you, I thought I’d let yo know what “you” said! -- (remarkably, Perry was able to decipher my scribbles and has the whole thing on the Blog. But, I wanted to simply share part of it with you today – because it gets at this the heart of why we are where we are today:
Dear Sisters and Brothers of Estoreno Presbytery:
We thank God for all of you. We have heard of your faith from those who visited here before. Ever since that first trip we have been praying for you—and asking God how we can remain in relationship with you. We have been hoping that some people from our church could come to you again. We have worked hard to make it possible . . .We have also talked – a lot because we do that! – about what this means and why we want to develop a partnership relationship with you.
Some of it is that we realize there probably are gifts we have that we can share with you. We have a few skills that may be helpful and we are a congregation who knows a lot about being Presbyterian and maybe we can be helpful in that way. We also can offer moral, spiritual and emotional support as we offer our prayers and encouragement.
But, the more we have talked about this as a congregation and listened to the group who came here before, we realize how much this relationship will be mutually encouraging. You already have helped strengthen our faith. And simply by your prayers for us we are encouraged. But you have so much to teach us – new insights on the Bible; evangelism and church growth, hospitality, helping us see our place in the bigger world and become more aware of the Lake Izabal area as more than just a spot on a map. Learn from your way of life what is important. Give us new eyes for seeing our faith and life – and for looking at our own neighborhood in Louisville.
Mostly though we want to be in partnership with you because it is together that we can best understand what Christ is all about. From one another we learn abut compassion and how to care – which is what Jesus was about. In Christ our lives ARE entertwined – and the more we experience that the better chance we have of understanding what life in Christ means.
Two years ago, after our group left here, one woman shared with us how important the time with you had been. She said: “I’ve never known so much what it is to be a Christian.”
That is our deepest hope for this partnership – that we will all learn more about what it is to be Christians.
-- Jane
After all that, it was decided by our session to indeed pursue a formal partnership agreement with the churches that make up Estoreno Presbytery. And so we dispatched a team of 6 folks to go there this spring for that purpose. We didn’t go to pour cement or even to lead workshops. We went to deepen relationships.
The scripture that became a guide for us as we prepared for this trip was from the introduction of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome.
Listen – for God’s word to us all – here and around Lake Izabal in Guatemala:
Read Romans 1:8-12
This is the text that I read the night I preached at the Arce de Noe church in El Estor. My sermon, like this scripture, was in the form of a letter to the Presbyterians in Estoreno Presbytery – a letter from our Church to them. So, since it was ostensibly from you, I thought I’d let yo know what “you” said! -- (remarkably, Perry was able to decipher my scribbles and has the whole thing on the Blog. But, I wanted to simply share part of it with you today – because it gets at this the heart of why we are where we are today:
Dear Sisters and Brothers of Estoreno Presbytery:
We thank God for all of you. We have heard of your faith from those who visited here before. Ever since that first trip we have been praying for you—and asking God how we can remain in relationship with you. We have been hoping that some people from our church could come to you again. We have worked hard to make it possible . . .We have also talked – a lot because we do that! – about what this means and why we want to develop a partnership relationship with you.
Some of it is that we realize there probably are gifts we have that we can share with you. We have a few skills that may be helpful and we are a congregation who knows a lot about being Presbyterian and maybe we can be helpful in that way. We also can offer moral, spiritual and emotional support as we offer our prayers and encouragement.
But, the more we have talked about this as a congregation and listened to the group who came here before, we realize how much this relationship will be mutually encouraging. You already have helped strengthen our faith. And simply by your prayers for us we are encouraged. But you have so much to teach us – new insights on the Bible; evangelism and church growth, hospitality, helping us see our place in the bigger world and become more aware of the Lake Izabal area as more than just a spot on a map. Learn from your way of life what is important. Give us new eyes for seeing our faith and life – and for looking at our own neighborhood in Louisville.
Mostly though we want to be in partnership with you because it is together that we can best understand what Christ is all about. From one another we learn abut compassion and how to care – which is what Jesus was about. In Christ our lives ARE entertwined – and the more we experience that the better chance we have of understanding what life in Christ means.
Two years ago, after our group left here, one woman shared with us how important the time with you had been. She said: “I’ve never known so much what it is to be a Christian.”
That is our deepest hope for this partnership – that we will all learn more about what it is to be Christians.
-- Jane
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