– of Christians in the Middle East, in the birthplace of Christianity, who now feel persecuted and under siege; of Latin American farmers faced with the up-close-and-personal impact of globalization; of the struggles of the spurned Roma minority in Europe, and more. The idea was to give small, on-the-ground glimpses of how God is working in parts of the world where Presbyterians or their global partners are involved with mission.
And part of the back-story for that is: Presbyterians are busy in so many places. Often they have pockets of knowledge, meaning they know what they have seen firsthand or what their congregation is doing, but may not be aware of what’s happening in other places or with other people.
That is changing, to some extent. Increasingly, Presbyterians are working together through mission networks, which help to connect grassroots Presbyterians involved in mission in specific places, for example, in South Africa or Madagascar or Brazil. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has just unveiled a new online social networking resource called Mission Crossroads, that is designed to offer a place for conversation and the sharing of ideas and best practices.
Questions also have been asked in recent years about funding for world mission and about what role the PC(USA)’s national staff should play in coordinating those grassroots efforts – about what kind of guidance is helpful and what feels too controlling.
“There clearly is a new direction for world mission,” said Don Dawson, who is director of the World Mission Initiative at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and who chaired the planning team for World Mission Celebration ’09, a gathering of about 700 people held Oct. 22-24 to showcase world mission, the second such gathering of its kind in recent years.
Dawson said he’d been praying “that our denomination might be more responsive,” and that funding would be found for more mission co-workers. Now, for the first time in more than 50 years, the PC(USA) is increasing the number of mission co-workers it supports overseas. “That’s clearly a God thing,” Dawson told the Mission Celebration on Oct. 23.
Each of the main plenary sessions during the celebration featured stories of work in a region: Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. At the end of each session, the participants spent time in prayer for those regions. Here are a few of those stories.
Guatemala. Dennis Smith, a mission co-worker in Guatemala, talked of historical separations and divisions that are built into the fabric of Latin American society – sometimes based on centuries of injustice. And he told of the dynamics of life there today, of farmers whose livelihoods depend on the seasons and the cycles of planting and harvest; and of giant agricultural interests planting fields of wheat and soybeans “larger than some small countries,” and whose involvement undercuts the prices the local farmers can get for their crops at market.
Unable to make a living in the rural areas, people move to the cities or cross borders, looking for some way to support their families. Despite these hardships, Smith said, many wake up each day and say, “thank you, God, for this day. Thank you for life.”
Middle East. In the Middle East, Christians face challenges “that sometimes seem insurmountable,” said Victor Makari, the PC(USA)’s regional liaison for that area. Those include religious discrimination, restrictions on worship and witness, political repression, military occupation, the movement of refugees fleeing conflict.
“Yes, it is the land that has produced three monotheistic religions,” said Mary Mikhael, president of the Near East School of Theology. “That did not produce much harmony.” It is called the Holy Land, but “that did not give it rest and political stability.”
The region’s history is full of contradictory experiences, she said – peace and conflict, trust and disagreement.
“What do we do?” Mikhael asked. “Keep silent? Emigrate? Sit at home and close our doors,” ignoring what’s happening outside? “We are called to work for peace and reconciliation,” through the hard work of building trust. “If we do not build the bridges, we are cut off from each other. If we do not build the trust, we live in fear.”
Working as the PC(USA)’s regional liaison for Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and the Gulf region, Nuhad Tomeh has seen the impact of refugees fleeing from the war in Iraq after the American invasion and the persecution and killing of Iraqi Christians.
“Many people in the Middle East are wondering if God is still there or he left for another planet,” Tomeh said. “Or maybe he looks at us and says, `These people are hopeless.’ ”
But “God never left us. We left him,” Tomeh said. “People in the Middle East have lost hope and are fearful and worried about the future. … The people who carried the word of the resurrection to the world now need to be reassured of hope.”
Europe. Migration “remains a hot political, social and economic issue all across Europe,” said Julia Thorne, https://www.pcusa.org/immigration/whoweare.htm a lawyer who is manager of immigration issues for the PC(USA). And the reasons for this vast global migration are numerous: the economic meltdown; a relatively low birthrate in Europe, producing a need for labor; famine and war in many places.
“Some people are not safe in their home countries,” Thorne said. And the growing gap between rich and poor nations produces movement of people trying to move “from abject poverty to a sustainable existence,” she said.
But that migration also produces tensions. As she spoke, screens around the meeting room showed images of protests, arrests and demonstrations. People fear the immigrants will take jobs away from native-born residents and stress the social service networks, Thorne said.
And, in the midst of this turmoil, churches often are called to do what they long have done: feed the hungry and clothe the naked.
Colombia. Volunteers with the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship go to Colombia to serve as accompaniers – to stand with – Colombian Christians who whose outspokenness or work on behalf of the poor and dispossessed puts them at risk of retaliation.
Diego Higuita, of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, told of one man, who had been forced to leave the land he had farmed, to give up his cows and his home, and who came to the city and now each day searches for fruit to sell to feed his family.
One Sunday, the man asked to speak in church. What he said, according to Higuita – who spoke through a translator – was that “I want to give thanks to God. Because, even though they have taken everything away from me, they haven’t been able to pull Christ out of my heart.”
