Dear Readers,
My name is Amy Robinson, and I am your guest writer for today and tomorrow. I’ve just finished my first year at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Like you all, I’m excited about the joys that summer holds. There will definitely be a good bit of traveling involved, and that’s the way I like it.
When I was a bit younger than you all, around 18, I remember my imagination being captured by the magical world of the novels of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. With the citizens of his fictional town of Macondo, I felt the disillusionment that came from a city wide plague of insomnia; the grief over a massacre expressed by the very heavens in a five-year-long deluge, and the longing and confusion that came from a civil war always on the outskirts of the village but always capturing those they loved. Through his writing, I felt as if I had come to experience the Colombia he loved, the Colombia of his creation. Since that time, it has always piqued my interest.
As you may, or may not, have read, Colombia is still racked by a war that had left its citizens displaced and in fear for their lives. In the weeks before their presidential election yesterday, certainly para-military forces threatened to kill all those who voted against their candidate if the elections did not turn out in their favor. Homes are devastated by the affects of forced fumigation that too often misses its target in the fight against cocaine. Colombia is still in mourning each day, as it suffers through a war that has taken them captive for more than 40 years.
In the midst of this conflict, the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC) has spoken out in favor of reconciliation, rejecting the use of armed forces by all actors. They have made a commitment to speaking with and ministering to those who have been forced from their homes, looking after them and living into Christ’s calling. They have been vocal proponents in the quest for awareness of human rights throughout this ravaged land. Because of their efforts, the leaders of the IPC have received mounting threats against the lives of these leaders and those they love. They are, as stated in the Beatitudes, "persecuted for the sake of righteousness." "And yet, courageously, the IPC has refused to fall silent.
Close to two years ago, the IPC requested assistance from our own denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), in their struggle to speak truth in love. In January 2005, the PC (USA) began, in partnership with Presbyterian Peace Fellowship (a separate organization that advocates to the PC (USA)) to send pairs of accompaniers to Barranquilla for a month at a time, in order to work alongside leaders in the national offices of the IPC. There, they make visible the international partnership in peacemaking, boost confidence, and serve in a way as nonviolent bodyguards to those who have been threatened for their work. At this moment, as the pivotal repercussion of the election play out, Paige Stephan and Sarah Henken are working to resolve this war and support our brothers and sisters who have acknowledged the call to make peace. Paige and Sarah are also seminarians, not much older than yourselves. They are living into a greater vision for God’s creation.
I, too, intend to participate in this inspiring program of accompaniment, this new vision of mission. My dates are pending, but hopefully this summer, I will be able to number myself among those who have seen the violence firsthand and worked for its cessation. Someday, possibly, I will be able to return to Colombia to celebrate rather than to grieve, in a time when peace is re-established. I hope to seek out that mythical Macondo that so entranced me. I hope to see a healed countryside. But there is a long and arduous work ahead before that time can come.
You can join in this effort. For more information, you can look to the website for Presbyterian Peace Fellowship at www.presbypeacefellowship.org, look through the news bites on the PC (USA)’s website, and even apply through One Door. Feel free to write me, as well, at a robinson at lpts dot edu if you have any more questions. Blessings to you all, and thank you for reading!
Amy
"Thus He will judge among the nations
And arbitrate for many peoples,
And they shall beat t heir swords into plowshares
And their spears in to pruning hooks:
Nation shall not take up
Sword against nation;
They shall never again know war."
Isaiah 2:4 (TNK)