September 5, 2017--La Biblia
Rev. Jim and Joanie Calhoun
God keeps working in this world in mysterious ways which we keep discovering throughout our lives. This week has been a "Cram course" in discovery. Monday was no exception. Mario became our teacher and added an interesting new dimension to the instruction begun my Senor Roman. Natividad's comida was muy bien.
Our trip to Caminando Unidos was amazing. Senora Monica kept us spellbound as we heard the
exciting story of not only the educational methods of the escuela but also of the character building procedures that have evolved over the years of the school's existence. Keep your word...do your best...take care of each other...! you are somebody...!
Finally, representatives of CEB showed us how a small group of everyday lay persons can minister to the needs of people around them even as they courageously challenge the inertia of the existing church and the corruption of the government. We'll experience this first hand manana.
We've received grace.
Our puny human vocabulary can't give adequate expression to our gratitude. Muchos gracias, Senor Jesuscristo. Amen.
Rev. Brad Walston
Cuernavaca Thoughts day 7
My thoughts are conflicted today. We visited a school that brought m a great deal of hope for the future of Mexico and her children. The methodology is taken from Carlos Castaneda and another writer named john David Garcia. The latter based his curriculum on quantum physics. I can’t begin to try to explain it here, but as an example, the clay they use in “art class” was found and mixed through trial and error by the children themselves. Then, we saw the kiln, which was also made by the kids out of bricks and other items found in the neighborhoods. I know I can’t do this justice in a short blog!
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| Students creating pinatas |
What an interesting and spiritually moving day. After our class we had a presentation about women in Mexican history. Women supported the men fighting for independence and even fought themselves. Women worked for the right to vote which was only realized in 1954! Women protested, wrote poetry, created art that supported the cause of indigenous peoples. During the revolution women gave food to the men fighting, kept bullets under their skirts and were message runners. (1910-1919). The dictatorship took away all the land from the indigenous people. This continues to be a big issue today. We learned about the woman, Mari Chuy, who hopefully will be a candidate for President in 2018. One of the seven principles she is running on is to rule by serving the people and not herself. Even if she isn't elected, these principles will get into the hearts and minds of the people.
Act- people in the group are starting to compost their waste and growing vegetables and fruits in pots on the patio and roof. They are showing their neighbors how to do this to alleviate some of the trash problems since there is only one company that collects trash once a week.
Celebration- we shared food and drink together just as we shared the Bible.
Evaluation- since our time was up (2 hour meeting). They will evaluate their efforts next week. Issues of importance keep coming up that need to be addressed right away but they will keep working on the ecology and through transforming the soil people will begin to transform themselves. I can see the possibilities of forming these groups in our own communities!
Robin Ridenour
One of the amazing things about this Spanish school is that we have been exposed to many groups that act out liberation theology. One of these groups was a school, Caminando Unidos, that teaches children from, literally, the railroad tracks (the government the gave people land by the railroad tracks if they would protect the tracks from vandalism). They families have a wooden or cardboard shack without water or electricity and the children come from violence.
The school has learned over 25 years how to empower the children. They do not reward the children, their reward is to learn. The only punishment is to not be creative. The children are taught to be impeccable with their words, to say what they think, to make no assumptions, to not take things personally, and to always do their best. They are also taught cooperation, to be grateful and how to be in control of their emotions. The children learn that they are all equal, and they can be anything they want.
The school is a beautiful model of ethical access based on quantum theory . I'm looking forward to reading more about it when I get home!
Bishop Karen Oliveto
It was a powerful day, learning of the powerful women who have made Mexico what it is today, followed by a Bible study with a CEBs group. We went to the home of one of the members, and we sat around an altar they made, as we moved through the CEBs process of see, think, act, evaluate and celebrate. We didn't have time to do the whole cycle, but our new friends made sure we had time to celebrate with them! It was moving to see how they grounded the work they do in their community through scripture, knowing that as Christians they must act in the world. Today's session was on Matthew 13:1-8 (the parable of the sower), and the question they were thinking about was how to make a difference in the environment. We had a lively conversation, with the scripture leading us to some great ideas. And then they told us what they were doing--wow!
I couldn't help remembering what I learned about the early women's mission society's in our denomination's history. Women would gather together in their local churches to study and then act. Their reach was long and their impact deep. Today's United Methodist Women (UMC) carry on this bold tradition (have you ever seen the UMW book list? Or some of their missions work?).
It's time to unleash that power in our churches even more!
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| CEBs Bible Study |
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