Category Archives: Uncategorized
International Day of Women
Marisela Silva translates for Kate at Central Christian back in October
We had never really celebrated the March 8 International Day of Women before. But last Friday, the Iglesia Cenral in San Luis Potosi of the Discipulos de Christo in San Luis Potosi had planned a worship service and dinner afterword (a potluck) to commemorate this UN sponsored event. Kate was invited to talk about women in the USA and Mexico. In particular, the similarities and differences, opportunities and challenges of women in the two countries.
The worship service was amazing! All of the speakers (a poetess read her poem written for the occasion, a magnificent sermon drawing on the witness of women in the Bible, and the testimony by Kate) were thoughtful, meaningful and dynamic. The music was beautiful and the prayers were moving. A Power Point presentation titled “Mujeres en Mexico” prepared by one of the women in the church featured women of the congregation; it was incredible! After the service, the potluck dinner fed so many and it all tasted so very good!
The tacos are delicious and the service delightful at this stand on the plaza in our town of Soledad de Graciano Sancez
Below is the text of the “Testimony” by Kate in both English and Spanish. Kate wrote the piece and then her good friend Marisela Sierra Silva helped her translate it into Spanish. Kate practiced and practiced reading the speech in Espanol, and she did a pretty good job! Here it is:
“Women are the backbone of the church. That appears to be true no matter where the church is located-city, state or country! In the town of my birth, Atchison, Kansas, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was built before 1920 and the women of the church sold baked goods (bake sales) to provide funds for the new church. Pastor Domingo Guerrero, the Superintendent of the Congregation Churches of Mexico tells how the church at Los Mochis was built thanks to tamales-made by the women of course.
Women in all of North America support the projects of the church through sales of food, crafts, blessing boxes. It is the work of the women in the church that helps to keep the church active and solvent. (Not that the men don’t help in this, but today is Women’s Day, the day that we celebrate the women!) In this way, the women are very much the same in Canada, USA and Mexico. Loving God, family and church are great strengths of women in the world.
One of the differences I see between women in North America is that education is stressed more heavily in the USA and Canada. This does not mean that the women there are smarter, because they are not. It means that the expectation is that women will finish high school before marriage. In Mexico, this is the hope, that women will be educated through preparatory school, but this is not what always happens. When I was growing up in Kansas, I was led to believe that I could become anyone I wanted to be. If I wanted to be a doctor, a teacher, a minister, then all I had to do was to work hard to make it happen. I was recently quite pleased to hear that a little girl in San Luis Potosi who had just turned 10 wants to be a veterinarian! I hope that wish comes true for her and I hope that many more children will dream big and see their dreams come true as well!
Women in Mexico are among the hardest working people in the world! No matter the education level of the woman, she is very likely to own her own business! I walk down the street in Soledad de Graciano Sanchez and see store after store and restaurant after restaurant being run by women. Not only do they help support their families in this manner, but they work at home as well.
I love how so many women are entering seminary in order to become ministers in Mexico. When I attended seminary in the US in
Pastor Karen with husband Moises of historic Disciples Church in Los Nogales
the 1990s, women were beginning to outnumber the men there. Unfortunately, even though women were being ordained and licensed by the church, there were barriers when it came to a woman actually working as the pastor in a church. But those barriers are being overcome daily. I see the same difficulties here for women in ministry. Some churches simply do not want a female pastor. This is very sad, because I believe that women make wonderful pastors. I am encouraged by the number of women pastors in the Disciples of Christ churches in Mexico. Women have so much to bring to ministry! Look at the women participating in this service today! They organize the services in their churches and preach the word of God with meaning and gusto!
I am thankful to be a woman who is serving the Church in Mexico. I will support the ministry of women in the church and beyond. Glory be to God!
LAS MUJERES SON LA COLUMNA DE LA IGLESIA. ESA ES UNA VERDAD, NO IMPORTA EN DONDE ESTÉ LA IGLESIA, EN QUÉ CIUDAD, ESTADO O PAIS. EN EL PUEBLO DONDE YO NACÍ, ATCHISON, KANSAS, LA IGLESIA DISCÍPULOS DE CRISTO SE FUNDÓ ANTES DE MIL NOVECIENTOS VEINTE . Y LAS MUJERES DE LA IGLESIA VENDÍAN PASTELES Y GALLETAS PARA PROVEER FONDOS PARA LA NUEVA IGLESIA. EL PASTOR DOMINGO GUERRERO, SUPERITENDENTE DE LAS IGLESIAS CONGREGACIONALES DE MEXICO, ME CUENTA QUE, COMO LA IGLESIA DE LOS MOCHIS FUÉ CONSTRUIDA VENDIENDO TAMALES HECHOS POR LAS MUJERES DE ESA IGLESIA.
LAS MUJERES DE TODA AMÉRICA DEL NORTE PROVEEN PARA LOS PROYECTOS DE LA IGLESIA A TRAVÉS DE LA VENTA DE COMIDA, ARTESANÍAS Y ALCANCÍAS DE BENDICIONES. ES EL TRABAJO DE LAS MUJERES EN LA IGLESIA QUE AYUDA A LA IGLESIA A CONTINUAR ACTIVA Y SOLVENTE. (NO QUE LOS HOMBRES NO AYUDEN EN ESTO, PERO HOY ESTAMOS CELEBRANDO EL DIA DE LA MUJER.) DE ESTA MANERA, LAS MUJERES SON MUY SIMILARES EN CANADÁ, LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS Y MÉXICO. UN DIOS AMOROSO, LA FAMILIA Y LA IGLESIA SON LA MAYOR FUERZA DE LAS MUJERES EN EL MUNDO.
UNA DE LAS DIFERENCIAS QUE YO VEO, ENTRE LAS MUJERES DE NORTE AMERICA ES QUE LA EDUCACIÓN SE ACENTÚA CON MAS FUERZA EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS Y CANADÁ. ESTO NO SIGNIFICA QUE LAS MUJERES AHÍ SEAN MAS INTELIGENTES, PORQUE NO LO SON. SIGNIFICA QUE LAS EXPECTATIVAS SON, QUE LAS MUJERES DEBEN DE TERMINAR LA PREPARATORIA ANTES DE CASARSE. EN MÉXICO, ESTO ES SOLO UNA ESPERANZA QUE LAS MUJERES TERMINEN SU PREPARATORIA, AUNQUE ESTO NO ES SIEMPRE LO QUE PASA..
CUANDO ESTABA CRECIENDO EN KANSAS, ME HICIERON CREER QUE PODÍA LLEGAR A SER CUALQUIER COSA QUE YO QUISIERA. SI YO QUERÍA SER UNA DOCTORA, UNA MAESTRA O UNA PASTORA, SOLO TENÍA QUE TRABAJAR MUY DURO PARA LLEGAR A SERLO. RECIENTEMENTE SUPE CON MUCHA ALEGRIA QUE UNA NIÑA EN SAN LUIS QUE ACABA DE CUMPLIR 10 AÑOS, QUIERE SER VETERINARIA. OJALÁ ESE DESEO SE LE CUMPLA. Y ESPERO QUE MUCHAS OTRAS NIÑAS SUEÑEN EN COSAS GRANDES Y VEAN QUE SE HAGAN REALIDAD SUS SUEÑOS.
LAS MUJERES EN MEXICO ESTAN ENTRE LAS MUJERES MAS TRABAJADORAS DEL MUNDO. SIN IMPORTAR EL NIVEL DE EDUCACION DE LA MUJER, ES MUY PROBABLE QUE SEA DUEÑA DE SU PROPIO NEGOCIO. YOCAMINO POR LAS CALLES DE SOLEDAD DE GRACIANO SANCHEZ, Y VEO TIENDA TRAS TIENDA Y RESTAURANTE TRAS RESTAURANTE QUE SON REGENTEADOS POR MUJERES. NO SOLAMENTE AYUDAN A MANTENER A SUS FAMILIAS DE ESTE MODO SINO QUE TAMBIEN TRABAJAN EN SUS CASAS.
ME ENCANTA VER QUE MUCHAS MUJERES ESTAN ENTRANDO A ESTUDIAR EN LOS SEMINARIOS AQUÍ EN MEXICO. CUANDO FUÍ AL SEMINARIO EN LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS EN LOS 90 S, LAS MUJERES YA ERAN MAYORÍA SOBRE LOS HOMBRES. DESAFORTUNADAMENTE AUNQUE LAS MUJERES ESTABAN SIENDO ORDENADAS EN LOS SEMINARIOS, HABIAN BARRERAS CUANDO HABÍA PUESTOS DISPONIBLES EN LAS IGLESIAS. AUNQUE ESAS BARRERAS ESTAN SIENDO DESTRUIDAS
Lisania Sustaida (with friend Alicia on right) will complete seminary studies in Puerto Rico in June
ACTUALMENTE. YO VEO LAS MISMAS DIFICULTADES AQUÍ EN MEXICO PARA AQUELLAS MUJERES QUE QUIEREN SER PASTORAS. ALGUNAS IGLESIAS REALMENTE NO QUIEREN TENER MUJERES PASTORAS. ESTO ES MUY TRISTE PORQUE CREO QUE LAS MUJERES PUEDEN LLEGAR A SER UNAS MAGNÍFICAS PASTORAS. ME ALIENTA VER EL NÚMERO DE MUJERES PASTORAS EN LA IGLESIA DISCIPULOS DE CRISTO EN MEXICO. LAS MUJERES TIENEN TANTO QUE DAR AL MINISTERIO DE LA IGLESIA. NADA MAS MIREN A LAS MUJERES PARTICIPANDO EN EL SERVICIO DE ESTA NOCHE. ELLAS ORGANIZARON EL SERVICIO EN SUS IGLESIAS Y PREDICARON LA PALABRA DE DIOS CON SIGNIFICADO Y ENTUSIASMO.
ESTOY AGRADECIDA DE SER UNA MUJER QUE ESTA SIRVIENDO A LA IGLESIA DE DIOS EN MEXICO Y YO APOYO EL MINISTERIO DE LAS MUJERES EN LA IGLESIA . GLORIA SEA DADA A NUESTRO DIOS.
What Does the Lord Require?
San Juan de los Lagos Basilica was visited by Pope John Paul in 1990
So what does the Lord require of us? Looking back on the ten day trip visiting Congregational Churches in the State of Jalisco this question seems to be a primary theme of what we experienced. First there was the brief stop over for lunch in San Juan de los Lagos.
We had no idea what we were headed for when we pulled off the four lane highway from Aguascalientes to Guadalajara in search of a restaurant. All the places on the way into town had no cars out front so we went farther. It soon felt like we were driving through the middle of the town market. Sunday afternoon strollers jammed the narrow streets lined with stalls.
At an intersection, men in official looking orange vests offered help in finding parking. One of the men grabbed his bicycle and led us to a parking garage where we paid sixty pesos flat rate, twice what we had ever paid in San Luis Potosi. A cheerful attendant in the parking garage advised that we put our wallets in a front pocket. Especially in the church he said.
In a search for a good place to eat we slowly made our way through the throng. Doug left Kate with the friend visiting us from the U.S. and squeezed his way within two blocks of the central plaza and cathedral. A policeman informed him that yes it was this crowded every Saturday and that on February 2 there had been twice as many people. We were glad we were two Sundays late.
We managed to find a restaurant where we didn’t have to wait in line, had a hurried but satisfying meal and soon were relieved to be
The 15″ image of the Virgin Mary occupies the central space in the cathedral’s nave
making our way out of San Juan de los Lagos and back to the highway. Our friend consulted his down loaded guide book as we drove to Guadalajara and read that we had just visited the second most visited Catholic shrine in Mexico. The image of the Virgin Mary in the town’s cathedral is visited by 7 to 9 million people yearly; that means over five per cent of the country’s population make the pilgrimage, most on a week end during the year.
That explained the half dozen signs on the highway to San Juan de los Lagos warning drivers to take caution for the “pilgrims” along the roadway. Friends later told us that pedestrian fatalities occur often on that stretch of highway. The Virgin image housed in the San Juan cathedral is credited with saving or protecting the faithful from mortal danger. In a country now gripped by concerns over insecurity and violence, the renown of the Virgin’s image may well have grown.
Two days later we heard about a very different experience of the Holy Spirit. The young pastor of the Ahualulco Congregational Church was giving his testimony about leaving a life of drinking and debauchery for one of service. He was living in California at the time, picking crops throughout the State, and on a drinking spree one night in San Jose. Walking through a city park, he suddenly felt a knife pointed at his neck while the friend next to him had a gun barrel at his head. Instantly the pleas of his sister to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior came to his mind. He handed over the forty dollars in his pocket and although the friend had no money, their attackers let them go unharmed.
Pastor Octavio Reyes Moya occupies an apartment in the Ahualulco Church
Young Octavio Reyes Moya felt he had been given a second chance to make something better out of his life and he began going to church before returning to Mexico a changed man. A church in a small village near his hometown needed a pastor and five years later he began to pastor the Congregational Church in the larger town of Ahualulco as well.
Compensating for his lack of seminary training with a sweet spirit and firm dedication to pastoring the two congregations, Octavio kept highlighting the “sacrifice” Kate and I were making in leaving our country and our language to serve alongside him and other pastors in Mexico. In his eyes, his service in our country as an undocumented farmworker had been more than compensated for by finding his true vocation in “el norte”.
A chapel and plaque in Octavio’s church honors the memory of the young Congregational church missionary from the States who was killed in Ahualulco in the 1870’s. John Stephens died alongside his friend and Ahualulco neighbor Jesus Islas while serving what is now perhaps the oldest Protestant church in Mexico. Funds for the chapel and plaque were donated by the Pacific School of Religion in the Bay area to commemorate the sacrifice of a PSR alum’s life to propagation of an evangelical faith in Mexico.
Our preaching on the trip soon gravitated to the theme of “entrega” or sacrifice as a hallmark of the Christian faith. Mexican
John L. Stephens portrait hangs in Ahualulco Church chapel
evangelicals have an advantage over Protestants in the U.S. in embracing this aspect of our “call” as Christians. As a minority in a heavily Catholic country, many have had to take a risk in embracing the minority faith journey. They have learned that faith is not about making life easier. It is rather about making life richer and more meaningful and, yes, taking risks from time to time. We are grateful to have been reminded in a new and different way of “what the Lord requires”.
“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” MI 6:8
See our gallery below of selected photos from our visits of Congregational churches in Jalisco, the longest trip we have taken here.
-
- Some of the Ahualulco congregation
-
- Plaque outside chapel of Ahualulco Congregational Church honoring John L. Stephens
-
- An authentic “vaquero” – Mexican cowboy – on the way to Guachimontones
-
- The ball field at Guachimontones, a city near Ahualulco built on a hill with a magnificent lake view before the birth of Christ
-
- Stone balls, all of this size, are on display in Ahualulco. Are they volcanic or man made?
-
- Pastor Domingo Guerrero, leader of the Mexican Congregational Churches speaks with Endendenia and one of her 4 children. Six months ago Endie was deported from Phoenix with her husband and the children who were all born in the U.S.
-
- Benito and Socorro Contreras of Tjajamulco Congregational Church with their daughters. Two years ago, Benito became the first member of his parents’ family to adopt the evangelical Protestant faith.
-
- Irma Torres Gutierrez of the Tlajomulco Congregational Church was the second woman to be ordained by the denomination some 25 years ago.
-
- Youth in the Tlajomulco Church made dinner for us after we preached
-
- Mesa Conjunta – “Roundtable” – meeting of the Congregational and Disciples leaders, body which guides our work here.
-
- Mesa Conjunta member Ana Yolanda Gutierrez (r.) hosted us in Guadalajara. Her niece Laura (l.) served with Disciples in Paraguay for 8 years.
-
- The magnificent Hospicio Cabanas in Guadalajara and Plaza Tapatia leading to it
New Wonders in Maravillas
Pastor Josue Martinez, in white shirt, with wife Ruth and daughter Sarid visit with Pastor Rosendo Arvizu and wife Olivia in the Maravillas sanctuary. Mural was painted by Caleb, Rosendo and Olivia’s son.
Is there another place in the world where one can worship in El Porvenir – “the future” – one Sunday and the next Sunday praise God in Maravillas – “the wonders”? Doug began his sermon with that question a week ago in the Maravillas Disciples Chuch, the congregation closest to the seminary grounds where we live. It was, he noted, a challenge to preach in a community that called itself “the wonders”.
The church in Maravillas is justifiably proud of the social hall, education wing and sanctuary buildings they have built in the last 25 years. Pastor Rosendo Arvizu and his spouse Olivia lead a congregation whose schedule every Sunday begins with Sunday school and morning worship followed by a meal before concluding with another worship service. Kate and Doug brought an appetite along with our admiration for such a congregation.
And the admiration was increased by the spirited worship we experienced. In spite of the disheartening setback in their latest building project the congregation was full of life and energy. Their beautiful sanctuary had needed a new roof. The congregation worked hard to raise the funds and finally they were in the last phases of the building! Eight men were on the roof when it collapsed. Pastor Rosendo, on the ground, held his breath as the dust settled and they began to hear the voices of all of the men calling out to one another. No one was hurt! It took a little while to free all of the men from
Maravillas sanctuary after collapse of the new cement roof
the wreckage, but each had been protected in one way or another. A member of the congregation provided the funds to help clear the rubble and demolish what remained of three of the walls. In spite of the realization that all of the money raised for the project had been spent, there was confidence they would rebuild an even lovelier, larger sanctuary.
The congregation’s fast recovery from the shocking loss was due in part to the assurances of forthcoming aid from the CICE group of Disciples congregations led by Pastor Josue Martinez. An offering for the rebuilding of the sanctuary is being collected among the CICE churches. On the day we preached in the two services, representatives of another CICE church were present in the afternoon service to pledge their support and prayers.
Rev. Felix Ortiz, Disciples/UCC Executive for Latin America also has responded quickly to the Maravillas congregation’s loss. In his response message to Josue, Felix thanked God that none of the 8 workers on the roof was injured. He then shared the information that a specialist in construction projects in the U.S. was ready to assist in the design and planning of the new sanctuary building.
In the sermon Kate preached following lunch, she reminded everyone of the promise found in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good for those who trust in the Lord. Even in the worst circumstances, God can help us to find growth and become stronger. God is with us always, accompanying us in the hard times and the good. Alvaro, Kate’s interpreter and youngest son of Pastor Rosendo and Olivia, commented after worship that the congregation felt God was providing an opportunity for them to become a more spiritual and inspired church.
Maravillas Church grounds where picnics now take place
We expect to follow the progress of the Maravillas project and will keep you informed of new “wonders” in that community. In the meantime we know the congregation continues to raise the roof of their social hall and kitchen by their praise singing in worship. And we know they will continue to enjoy their Sunday meal shared “picnic style” outdoors on the church grounds. And that construction volunteer, “Santiago” Jim Piper, who arrives tonight from Caldwell, Idaho, will enjoy sharing the meal with them.
Three Month Report
Pastors Manuel Tovar Ruiz on left and Josue Martinez Cisneros lead the prayer and laying on of hands at our Commissioning Service Saturday after Thanksgiving
Just in case you were wondering, we have been doing something other than enjoying new varieties of Mexican food and ogling historic and interesting sights. Having made a count for you, we’re pleased to report that we have:
- Preached 20 sermons
- Spoken at churches on 11 occasions
- Visited 6 other churches where the gathering has been more “informal”
- Visited a total of 26 churches in the states of San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, and Zacatecas.
- Participated in a Men’s Conference and a Youth Conference
- Attended one meeting of the “Mesa Conjunta” Roundtable and served Thanksgiving dinner to the attendees
In two weeks we begin visits of the Congregational Churches in the States of Jalisco, Nayarit and Sinaloa. We will begin those visits by driving to
President of the ICDC Disciples Pastor Manuel Tovar preaches at a “house church” in Aguascalientes
Guadalajara in a 2003 Nissan X Trail purchased by Global Ministries for the work of the Mesa Conjunta.
The Disciples of Christ and Congregational Churches of Mexico formed the Roundtable about 7 years ago to work together on education and mission programs. Our assignment here is to support the aims of the Roundtable under the title of “Consultants in Mission Development”.
So naturally our first task is to get to know the churches and leadership of the participating denominations. We now consider the Presidents of the two Disciple denominations and their families as friends. The President of the Congregational Churches, Pastor Domingo Guerrero, will accompany us on the visits with his churches this month.
Disciples of Christ churches here are on the move and growing in number. The Disciples Yearbook of 1991 reported a figure of 29 churches affiliated with the Disciples in Mexico. The two Disciples denominations participating in the Roundtable now count 55 churches. Among the new churches are several begun in the homes of members of established churches. Two churches in both Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosi can claim more than one church plant and churches with members currently serving as pastors.
Pastor Josue Martinez Cisneros, President of CICE Disciples, with family at breakfast in a church member’s home in the Huasteca Region
Leadership development and pastoral education have been the priorities of the Roundtable to date. Their “Summer Session” last year provided a week of classes in areas such as “The Family in Crisis” and “Post Modern Developments in Theology”. At the next Roundtable meeting this month in Guadalajara the top agenda item will be planning this year’s Session.
We feel very fortunate to be serving with the Mexican partner churches of our Division of Overseas Ministries (now referred to as Global Ministries) as “long term volunteers”. New friendships, new growth in ourselves and much new learning are cause for thanksgiving as we look back on the last three months. And we both have made progress in our Spanish. Gloria a Dios! Que Dios los bendiga a todos ustedes!
FOR A GALLERY OF SELECT PHOTOS FROM THE PAST THREE MONTHS SEE BELOW
-
- A new sanctuary is built in Los Pozitos, Zacatecas State
-
- Debbie on left and Nadia in middle are daughters of Pastor Rogelio Lopez of Julien Carrillo Disciples Church in SLP. Photo taken by wife Heidi.
-
- Lunch is served at the Campo Huehuentepec Youth Camp 12/26-12/30
-
- The dream of Lacho and Karla in Disciples Church in Jerez, Zacatecas is to serve overseas with the Disciples
-
- Children prepare to perform in worship at Central Christian SLP
-
- Host church volunteers and staff for Youth Camp
“The Hilly Place of Frogs”
Former State Prison Now a Center for the Arts in San Luis Potosi. Franciso Madero, once a prisoner here, stands in front of the Arts Center
A nearly week long visit of older brother Fred and wife Mary enabled Doug to visit some of San Luis Potosi’s many museums while Kate continued her Spanish classes. One of the museums fascinated Mary in particular. Having spent a year researching life in a prison in their home state of Minnesota, Mary was moved and quite impressed by the State of San Luis Potosi turning their largest prison into a museum and center for the arts. But let them speak for themselves. Here’s Fred’s description of the highlights of our San Luis Potosi touring:
Inside the Art Center/Former Prison Walls the Grounds Now Feature Sculpture and Landscaping
“The colonial part of San Luis is wonderfully preserved with large cobblestoned but narrow streets, many of which are reserved for pedestrians. One particularly impressive and moving visit was to a nineteenth century prison built around a central courtyard like the spokes of a wheel. The government has recently turned the prison into a community center for the arts with different areas devoted to painting, sculpture, dance, music…. In the center was a huge American flag with dollar signs and death heads instead of stars.”
Following their too brief visit with us in San Luis, we traveled together to Guanajuato. Kate and I had heard rave reviews of this city’s attractions so we were delighted to discover “the hilly place of frogs” with Fred and Mary. On the way, we admired the central plaza and ate in Dolores Hidalgo, where Mexico’s struggle for independence from Spain began on September 16, 1810. On that date Father Miguel Hidalgo issued the cry (“grito) for freedom to residents of Dolores before marching on Guanajuato.
Why they marched on Guanajuato is suggested by Fred’s notes on our visit there. He wrote the following to friends and family: ”According to our guide book, for 250 years from 1558 on, one mine on the outskirts of the present Guanajuato produced 20 percent of the world’s silver. One of the old haciendas, with eighteen formal gardens (Roman, Japanese, Mexican, etc.), we saw Sunday, put even the grand, agriculturally-based haciendas of the Yucatan to shame. We didn’t get to see Guanajuato’s “museum of the sacred inquisition” nor its museum of the mummies (the latter possible because the water is so minerally ladened that cadavers of life-long inhabitants of the area are naturally preserved). Those who have led most interesting lives evidently end up as displays in the mummy museum. After having visited on our way to Guanajuato an artisania (in Dolores Hidalgo, notes Doug) that made 5 feet high ceramic statues of female skeletons in all kinds of garb and dramatic poses, all with identically compelling grins, it was hard to pass up the mummy museum but we did and visited the Diego Rivera house and museum instead. Amazing.”
After centuries of mining and building of flood control tunnels in Guanajuato’s canyon, few traces of its pre- Hispanic past remain. Frogs are now scarce. But the city’s name, “the hilly place of frogs”, which comes from the “P’urhepecha” Amerindian language, is preserved.
Looking up the derivation of Guanajuato’s name led to some other discoveries. According to Wikipedia, “The government of Mexico recognizes 68 distinct indigenous Amerindian languages as national languages in addition to Spanish.” Furthermore, while Spanish is the language spoken by the vast majority of Mexicans, it is not recognized as the “official” language of the country. The 1917 Constitution commits the nation to preserving the status of the country’s “indigenous” languages. While fewer than ten per cent of the Mexican population now speak an “indigenous” language, the Constitution advocates support of “bilingual” and “bicultural” education.
For photos of Dolores Hidalgo and Guanajuato, go to the album at:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/105354530047201453343/albums/5836354290753690385
Click on the Slide Show tab on the right above the photos to enlarge the photos and see accompanying comments.
.
We Are Connected
The following poem speaks beautifully to the vision which this blog and our work in Mexico hopes to serve. It’s from Sister Joan Chittister’s weekly postings on her visionviewpoint@benetvision.org web site and we print her introduction to the poem and the picture accompanying as well.
Sister Joan’s site is one of several which we regularly visit thanks to the excellent internet service we now enjoy. No interruptions in service at a cost less than half of what we paid in the U.S. has squelched the fear that good reliable internet connection would be sacrificed in our move here. On the contrary. We’re now used to reading magazines and the daily Los Angeles Times in electronic format. Now if we could just find a good chili cheese dog there wouldn’t be anything missing from our life here.
from Sister Joan Chittister’s Vision and Viewpoint, a weekly “e-newsletter for spiritual seekers and kindred spirits”, dated January 14, 2012
POEM OF THE WEEK: Over the holidays I read Mary Oliver’s latest book of poems, A Thousand Mornings. Here’s a gem:
Poem of One World
This morning
the beautiful white heron
was floating along above the water
and then into the sky of this
the one world
we all belong to
where everything
sooner or later
is a part of everything else
which thought made me feel
for a little while
quite beautiful myself.
– Mary Oliver White Heron
The First Missionaries
The Rosca bread eaten on the morning of January 6 in some Mexican households
We’ve just learned about the Mexican “rosca” bread tradition for celebrating the Day of the Three Kings January 6. Inside the loaf of “rosca” there is hidden a little plastic monkey, a baby Jesus, or a coin, depending on the household. In some homes, whoever gets the prize has to make tamales for the family. The Day commemorates of course the Kings’ visit to the manger and “the adoration of the magi” of the baby Jesus.
So the story of the three kings captured our attention this year. I preached twice on the story from Mt 2:1-12 and described the magi as the first missionaries. They leave their homeland and journey a good distance in response to what they interpret as a call from God. But there is a twist revealed in the story of the magi. Unlike the customary view of the missionary as taking the word of the Lord to a foreign land, it is far from home that the magi find Jesus.
And in our two months in Mexico, our experience is closer to that of the three kings than it is to the traditional view of the missionary. Sharing in the life of the Disciples churches here (we have yet to visit the Congregational churches in western Mexico) has confirmed that Jesus is revealed in this setting in what are new and different ways for us.
Let me note a feature of worship here that points to an important difference in the way Christian faith is lived out. In all Disciples churches where we have worshipped, “testimonies of gratitude and petition” are made by those attending. It seems there are always four, five or more members of the congregation who are moved to come forward or stand in their pew and give “testimony”. What is typically a brief mention of a concern or a cause for celebration in the States is here an occasion for describing how God has enabled a safe move from the countryside, restored a child to health, relieved a friend from the ravages of addiction. While it is appropriate to ask for prayers of petition also, much of the sharing testifies to the renewal or reconciliation that has already been enabled by the action of God’s grace in someone’s life.
But the practice of “testimony” in Mexico also involves evangelical (non Catholic) Christians in recounting how God’s grace revealed Jesus’ love and power in one’s life in the first place. Testifying about how one came to “know the Lord” takes on a different depth and heft where Protestants remain a minority and were in the past persecuted. In Mexico Disciples and other evangelical Protestants pay a price in living their faith. An example came from a Disciples pastor in his fifties who shared with us the childhood memory of seeing a woman bloodied by the attack of an anti-Protestant mob gathered next to a Disciples church.
Especially in multi-generational gatherings, like the Men’s Convention a month or so ago, some of the personal testimonies aim to lead younger members present to know and claim Jesus Christ as their personal savior. The Men’s gathering featured a Saturday night campfire where a 78 year old man, “Don Angel”, began the series of personal testimonials by recounting his faith journey. Converted to the evangelical Christian faith by a Disciples minister in the 1950’s, Don Angel continues to be the only non-Catholic member of his birth family. While his wife remains Catholic, Don Angel’s son and daughter in law are Disciples pastors, and his grand daughter is in seminary in Puerto Rico, with the help of a Global Ministries scholarship.
The “fogata” blazed on the seminary grounds not far from where we live
Five or six testimonials followed that of Don Angel, the oldest man present at the “fogata” (campfire). They may have been encouraged by the shaping of the high blazing embers in the form of a heart, another campfire tradition here. A couple of the ministers present began by noting that a similar camp fire years ago in the same setting had yielded a softened heart open to confessing the work of the Lord in their lives.
So what gifts do we two missionary “magi” have to bring? Well, one of the gifts WE have already RECEIVED is to be challenged by the question. And right now, our gift to the churches here seems to be found in being honest in sharing our own stories of coming to know Jesus and trying to be faithful.
Zacatecas Hasn’t Forgotten Kentucky
Pastor Victor Rodriguez on right with his mother and brother, 3 founders of the Church
Soon after the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 1520, extraction of gold and silver from the State of Zacatecas began. The mine at Fresnillo, Zacatecas remains one of the world’s richest producers of silver. Our city of San Luis Potosi was founded as a way station for Spanish missionaries, merchants and fortune seekers on their way to the mines in the neighboring State.
Prior to coming to Mexico, I had pictured Zacatecas as a rural backwater whose poverty drove many of their young men to the United States. When I worked in the Eastmont community of East Los Angeles in the early 1990’s, many residents cited Zacatecas as their original homeland. A strong East LA neighborhood association raised funds to purchase an ambulance for one of the State’s towns.
Our preconception of Zacatecas as a poor, rural, agricultural area had been reinforced by our recent visits of Disciples of Christ churches over a period of two week ends. Disciples evangelism in the State has in fact historically been centered on smaller towns like San Antonio de Cipres, Los Nogales and the enchanting “pueblo magico” (magical town) of Jerez. So the Casa de Oracion (House of Prayer) in Guadalupe, a suburb of the capital, represents an exception to the pattern of Disciples church planting in the State.
Zacatecas city and its suburbs count a quarter of a million people. The heavy traffic, mega shopping centers and giant stores (yes, Wal Mart included) is far from the Zacatecas I had imagined. And the story of Casa de Oracion is one I had trouble imagining prior to worshipping there.
Kate and I met the pastor’s wife Lula Rodriguez and son Israel at the Disciples’ Summer Workshops last July. She is a warm, compelling personality in her early 40’s and Israel could, in Kate’s words, “be better looking than Brad Pitt”. They had enjoyed telling us about their move to a new church building after worshipping in their home for 18 years. We also met a young woman at the Workshops who as an architecture student was helping with the design of the new church building. The three from Zacatecas were all highly committed people and we looked forward to visiting the church and learning more about its history.
Pastor Victor Rodriguez had started the church with family meetings in his living room at the encouragement of his uncle, Disciples evangelist Eufrasio Perez Lopez. Three years later, he married Lula who served as pastor of a rural church at age 19, and their numbers grew. Years of savings from Victor’s auto repair business on the ground floor of his home, supplemented by the new church members’ offerings, enabled the purchase of a lot for a church building. With wife Lula serving as co pastor, the building project of this wonderful urban church in Zacatecas began.
Our first surprise in meeting Lula and Isaiah again was the urban setting but there were more surprises to come. The high level of craftsmanship and quality of the materials seen in the new church building were additional testimony to a great love for the church’s mission. No expense has been spared and the church leaders’ faith is apparent: there will be time for the work to be completed. There is no rush to finish the second floor classrooms or the kitchen adjoining the sanctuary on the ground floor.
Several years ago, dedicated Disciples in Kentucky came to help with the initial stages of the building and Pastor Victor was delighted to think they would see these photos of the progress made. While the distance between them had prevented continued contact over the years, the relationships forged and the bond of solidarity have remained an inspiration to the Church and Pastor Victor in particular. “Please thank them for us” he urged me.
Another Disciples Church in Zacatecas, in the small town of Palmillas, also remembers their friends in Kentucky. “Do you know Rev. Chester Zimmer in Princeton?” the Palmillas Pastor Victor Ramos asked us. We don’t but we assured Pastor Victor we would let his friend know his help and that of his Church was still appreciated. And that the visit and tour Mexican Disciples were able to make in Kentucky and Tennessee several years ago brought back fond memories to the Palmillas Pastor.
Kate with Pastor Lulu’s older sister who helped raise hear. “Please thank them again for their help” he urged us.
Where the Church started above Victor’s garage on ground floor
Glass etched at new Church entry
alcove
Israel Rodriguez plays the drums during the worship’s Praise section
Casa de Oracion new sanctuary during the Praise section
Sunday School teacher corps led by Pastora Lula Rodriguez, mother and daughter on right and Lula’s prospective daughter in law on left
Front of Casa de Oracion with Pastor’s family, older son Isaiah and “novia” on right
12 / 12/ 12
A neighborhood shrine depicts Juan Diego presenting roses to the Virgin
The fireworks continued, a constant barrage, for three nights this week. Ozzie, our Australian Shepherd, calmed down thanks to a low dose aspirin after which we ourselves had little trouble sleeping. The explosions continued though throughout the night, culminating in the celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe’s (“La Guadalupana”) feast day yesterday.
The fireworks were yet another reminder that Mexico remains predominantly Roman Catholic: over 80 per cent of the one hundred twelve million Mexican citizens. It is a source of pride for many Mexicans that the Virgin Mary chose a Mexican peasant, Juan Diego, to be blessed by her appearance before him in 1531. In 1999, Pope John Paul II declared the Guadalupana manifestation of the Virgin to be “Patroness of the Americas, Empress of Latin America and Protectress of Unborn Children”.
A record 6.3 million persons from all over Mexico made the pilgrimage this week to the Virgin of Guadalupe’s shrine on Tepeyac Hill outside Mexico City. An estimated 20 million people each year visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, making it a more popular Marian shrine than that of Lourdes or Fatima.
Aside from the fireworks, Kate and I were impressed by the people’s devotion shown in honoring “the mother of the Americas”. On our way back to San Luis Potosi from Aguascalientes Monday the 10th, throngs of people walked along the roadside to their diocesan capital’s Cathedral. In our town of Soledad de Graciano Sanchez, on SLP’s outskirts, hand made
Pilgrims on the way to their Diocese’s Cathedral in Villa de Arriaga, San Luis Potosi
signs urged neighbors to attend a mass, a dance, a prayer vigil on the occasion of the Feast Day. In many Mexican neighborhoods, these events represented the culmination of weekly neighborhood gatherings during a forty day period leading up to December 12. Kate’s Spanish class at the University in downtown San Luis Potosi was not held on the Feast Day. In their conversation the day before, her “maestra” Karla told Kate that thousands of pilgrims walk on their knees many kilometers on their way to cathedrals dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe across Mexico. A real “Via Dolorosa”.
But there was a difference in this week’s religious celebrations in some Latin American cities. Near us, in Aguascalientes, Disciples pastor Manuel Tovar helped an interdenominational group organize a worship service in the city center on 12/12. Pastor Manuel expected over 1000 people to join evangelical Christians from Canada to Patagonia in “a historical event that will change the spiritual atmosphere of the continent”. The “Adora America” event was the vision of
Flyer for the Aguascalients event downloaded from the “Adora America” web site
some New York City pastors led by Dominican pastor Rev. Carlos Jimenez and wife Lissette Acosta. Worship in Aguascalientes and other sites culminated with continent wide viewing, via satellite or webcast, of the “Adora America” service in the Meadowlands, New Jersey.
The “Adora America” counter event on the Guadalupana’s Feast day is one more sign of the rise of evangelical Protestant Christianity throughout Latin America. An article in The Economist magazine this year (http://www.economist.com/node/21551091) noted that even in Mexico there are areas where evangelicals now nearly equal the number of Catholic faithful. The evangelical surge is most evident in areas of Mexico where the Catholic Church and Mexican Government have less of a presence, Chiapas in particular.
The States of Aguascalientes and Zacatecas, historic centers of Disciples mission outreach, remain over 90 per cent Catholic. But the “Adora America” organizing in Aguascalientes signals a new evangelical boldness in the Catholic heartland. New evangelical Protestant churches in the remote Huasteca region of the State of San Luis Potosi include two Disciples mission churches. As in Chiapas, the relative lack of Catholic and government activity in the Huasteca and subsequent growth of the Protestant presence there account for a smaller Catholic majority in the State of San Luis Potosi.
Pastor Manuel Tovar with daughter-in-law Luz, wife Lupita with Kate behind in Aguascalientes, the geographic center of Mexico
He Had a Vision
Jesus Robledo Alvarado
1976-2012
Jesus Robledo Alvarado dug alone with his pick and shovel through the rock hard (“caliche”) ground and hit water 9 meters down. He then dug four more meters to water the fields of beans and corn he would plant. While others in La Reforma continued to depend on spring and fall rains, which had become more scarce in recent years, Jesus watered and harvested a bean crop that helped feed the family for a year.
After a second harvest of both beans and corn, he decided to plant a field of alfalfa for the sheep and goats. His village of La Reforma had just seen power lines reach the village but only one family could afford to connect to the grid. The gasoline-fired pump would have to be worked on before irrigating the more distant, new field.
So he set out early on the morning of Monday, November 19 with screws for the pump and went down three times that day into the well. Wife Marie Cruz and their youngest children, boys four and nine, brought lunch at noon. Perhaps while eating the young couple recalled celebrating their marriage two years before in the grand setting of Central Christian Church San Luis Potosi, with his friend Pastor Josue Martinez Cisneros presiding.
The decision to marry Marie Cruz was the result of other big changes in Jesus’ life. While working as a mason for eight years in several states of the U.S., the vision of living a life of faith and service of others had transformed Jesus. On returning to La Reforma, his first Sunday he gave thanks and
The Disciples Church at La Reforma is over 50 years old
worshipped at La Reforma Disciples of Christ Church. Francisco Azuara met him that Sunday and immediately recognized this was a young man who could help him in serving the congregation.
A layperson at Central Christian in the state capital, 76 year old Francisco had for six months been leading in worship at the Church but in speaking with his Pastor Josue Martinez they agreed they had found a pastor for La Reforma in Jesus Robledo Alvarado. Jesus had scant formal education in theology or the Bible but his story was compelling and he told it well.
Alcohol and drugs had controlled him but before leaving home for the States Jesus began attending AA meetings. Invited by an AA friend in the U.S. he became involved in a church, made the confession of faith and was baptized. On his return to Mexico, with the encouragement and help of Josue and Francisco, he served as Pastor of La Reforma for two and a half years.
Eager to develop his skills and leadership as a pastor he attended all the trainings and conferences
The hard land of the semi-arid “Altiplano” near La Reforma
he was invited to attend. I met and talked with him for the second time last month when he shared again his desire to return to the States. Life in La Reforma was hard: he had had to sell his cattle and horses as he couldn’t afford to feed them and his family and pay the children’s school fees too. The savings from his prior U.S. stay were running out. I thought I knew him when Pastor Josue told me last week of his death.
But I had known nothing of his dreams for his family and his community. He had hoped there was time at age 36 to work again in the U.S. and return with the funds that could transform lives in La Reforma. For Marie Cruz there would be enough capital for her to start a store in the village. And the connection to the power grid could be made for automatic, timed irrigation of the fields. No more tinkering with the faulty pump in a hole in the ground nine meters down.
Marie Cruz heard his cries for help but there was no way she and the boys could haul her beloved up to the surface. She went for help from the neighbors. While she was gone, the older boy Gerardo could hear his father praying before he lost consciousness, hit his head and fell into the water.
Four hundred plus people attended the funeral last Wednesday. Pastor Josue Martinez, who
Pastor Josue Martinez Cisneros preached at the cemetery
presided, said he had never seen such a turn out for a burial. Most of La Reforma attended along with many from the larger town of Salinas nearby. In his homily, Josue referred again and again to the impact on the church and fellow AA group members of the deceased’s having turned his life around. Whether his example of irrigating fields in La Reforma will also have an impact remains to be seen.
What is certain is that Jesus Robledo Alvarado will be remembered by many people in La Reforma, in Salinas and in the churches of the Disciples in Mexico. The transformation and redemption of his life will be remembered. As I listened to the cries of his daughter, his oldest child, during the homily and throughout the funeral, “Por que, por que??”, I couldn’t avoid thinking that for some people in the U. S. for whom Jesus the stonemason had built walls, patios, and homes, he would be remembered as an “undocumented illegal alien”.
I want to close with acknowledgment and thanks to Francisco Azuara for his time and sharing about his relationship with Jesus. It was through our conversation that Jesus’ dreams for his family and community came to life. Here are some of the words the Francisco spoke to the La Reforma
Francisco Azuara with Doug Smith at July Summer Training Session
congregation the Sunday after the death of their pastor:
“To relieve some of our sadness for the loss of our brother “Chuy” we are going to honor him with a posthumous hommage in gratitude for what he has done for this church in La Reforma in the littletime he served here.
I will begin by asking ‘what did our brother “Chuy” mean to me in the two and a half years I knew him as a coworker in this Church?’ What did he mean to you?
For me he was a young man who loved and was driven by the word of God. He worked for this church with dedication and enthusiasm; he sealed his marriage to Marie Cruz with a church wedding; he shared the word of God with you and with persons outside the Church; he prayed for divine healing of the ill. I saw him as a good father, a good spouse and a good son. Possibly he had his faults, but we as humans all have our faults and none of us are perfect.
I observed his hard work on this land and his caring for his animals. He was devoted to you of this congregation but he also had to care for and defend his parents’ legacy and that of his family. He had great hopes to overcome the hardships of his life and to know more about the word of God and to share it. As for me personally he was very respectful and helpful, honoring my age and elder status. So as for me, I will miss him and remember him for as long as I live.”
Bodies are buried above ground in the Salinas cemetery 18 kms. from La Reforma
Crowd walking to the burial site
Casket is in the white pickup on the way to cemetery
Erasing Borders 