Global Ministries

Lectionary Selection: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 

Prayers for Guadeloupe and Martinique: 

O God who calls us and sends us, 

This morning we give you thanks for our brothers and sisters in Martinique and Guadeloupe. We give you thanks for their witness and service. We give you thanks for the love that they share and for the work they do. We give you thanks that even in the midst of struggle or being “lambs in the midst of wolves,” they trust in you and continue on in faith. God, on this day, we particularly ask that you be with them and guide them as they: 

• Continue a large building project of a parsonage and church building.
• Enter into a time of transition with several folks leaving and a new pastor coming in.
• Work to clarify and strengthen their mission within their contexts.
• Continue work on various projects as they work to serve prisoners, families, and various other struggling populations. 

We hand all of this to you, O God, remembering that sometimes your work is not easy or simple, but worth it. We thank you, God, for the privilege to share your love. Amen.

I met S two weeks after her arrival. She was scared. She was tired. She was frustrated. She was heartbroken.

It was her first time in prison. She was separated from her family (including her four kids) and her imprisonment was sudden and unexpected. Beyond that, she was in Guadeloupe – a place that is not her home and is far from her family and friends. She was entering a time of despair, wondering when light would shine through the darkness.

Lectionary Selection: John 6:35, 41-51

Prayers for Guadeloupe and Martinique:

Bread of Life,

We give you thanks on this day for the work of our sisters and brothers in the Reformed Protestant Church of France in Guadeloupe and Martinique. We give you thanks for their spirit of love and compassion, particularly towards those in prison and those being released from prison. We pray that their work and ministry will continue to be fruitful and guided by your spirit. On this day, we also pray that:

• The church building project will progress so that the Reformed Protestant Church in Guadeloupe will have a safe and welcoming worship space for generations to come.
• The church will continue to expand partnerships within Guadeloupe, Martinique, and beyond in order to strengthen current ministries.
• The church will create new projects and programs to better serve vulnerable populations in Guadeloupe and Martinique.
• Those within prison and those exiting prison would experience God’s love and presence through the work of the Reformed Protestant Church.

We ask for all of these things in your name, knowing that as we put our trust and hope in you we will never thirst or be hungry again.

Amen.

As Christmas approached this year, the women of the Reformed Church of Guadeloupe decided to do something special for the women in prison. A plan was set in place to fundraise and buy toiletry kits for each woman. Within the French prison system, each prisoner must obtain the things that they need for themselves, so gifts like shampoo, deodorant, and toothpaste would be much appreciated. Out of approximately 1000 prisoners on the island, only 18 are women.

Beth Guy is a Global Mission Intern serving with the Protest Reformed Church of Guadeloupe and Martinique.  Her placement is supported by Week of Compassion.

For these newsletters we are asked to reflect on times of growth and transformation.  Since I last wrote, I have certainly gone through my own periods of growth and transformation.  After all, I’ve been spending my time learning a new language (French) and beginning a new role in a new country. However, that’s not the story that I want to share today.  Today I want to talk about the possibility of growth and transformation.

Prayers for Guadeloupe

Loving, creator God,

Today we give thanks for our partner, the Reformed Protestant Church of Guadeloupe, and our neighbors in Guadeloupe.  We give you thanks for their servant hearts as they work with our brothers and sisters in Guadeloupe, particularly those who are in jail or re-entering life outside of jail. God, today we especially pray that:

• The church will continue to serve the prison population with courage, strength, perseverance, and joy.
• The church will find positive, helpful ways to help ex-prisoners reintegrate back into society.
• The church will establish fruitful partnerships with other local organizations who are also serving vulnerable populations.
• The church will reach new people and new populations who might be thirsty for the love and peace of Christ.

We know that all of these things can be done in your name, O God, our great instructor.  Please continue to guide and bless our brothers and sisters in Guadeloupe as they step out in faith and service with humility. 

Amen.

Mission Stewardship Moment from Guadeloupe

Being in prison can be a lonely, difficult thing.

A few weeks ago, I was visiting one of the prisons in Guadeloupe as part of the chaplaincy ministry of the Reformed Protestant Church of Guadeloupe and their missional organization, Men a Lespwa (Hand of Hope).  Their work in the prisons is one of the main pillars of their mission.

During the visit, I had the opportunity to sit and meet with Madame Smith*, a prisoner whom I had met with before. She and I talked about all kinds of things – about her children and how much she missed them, about playing volleyball as a mental escape, about building a friendship with another prisoner who was also a mother, and about reading the Bible for strength and encouragement.  It was a good conversation.  It was an honest conversation.

At the end of our time together, before we prayed together and parted ways, she said, “I just want you to know how much your visits mean to me.  How much the visits of all of you mean to all of us. These visits may not seem like much, but they feed my soul. Thank you for being here.”

Please join me today in echoing Madame Smith’s words of thanks for the work and ministry of the Reformed Protestant Church of Guadeloupe and Men a Lespwa. It is life-giving work, and I give thanks for Global Ministries’ continuing partnership that helps to enable this important ministry.

*Name changed

(Prayer and Mission Moment by Bethany Guy)

Mission Partner in Guadeloupe:
Protestant Reformed Church of Guadeloupe

More information on Guadeloupe:
http://globalministries.org/lac/countries/guadeloupe/

Global Ministries Missionary in Guadeloupe/Martinique:
Beth Guy serves as a Global Mission Intern with the Reformed Protestant Church of Guadeloupe..

The Protestant Reformed Churches of Guadeloupe and Martinique are two, ecumenically minded, parishes serving local Protestants in the French West Indies. They also organize church-related activities (Sunday services, bible studies, Sunday school etc.). Both of the churches are heavily involved in social action and advocacy. In particular, they are engaged in prison ministry work and support local projects in the French West Indies as well as in Haiti. They also work closely with their sister church, the Protestant Church of French Guyana.

Lectionary Selection: Luke 22:14-23:56

Prayer:
Dear Lord, today we celebrate your son’s triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. Unfortunately we know that the joy of the crowd, singing “Hosanna,” will soon be replaced by cries of “crucify him.”  As we read today’s biblical texts, retelling the story of the last supper and betrayal of Jesus, we are called upon to meditate on the mystery of Jesus’ saving sacrifice. Before singing with jubilation the good news of Easter, we must pass through the sadness of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest and eventual crucifixion. Like Simon Peter we are humbled by our lacks of faith but wait expectantly for the good news of the ressurection.

Lord, with this in mind, we pray for the islands of Guadleoupe and Martinique. We pray for those who are in despair but continue to hope for a better future. We pray for those with economic troubles; for those who are excluded from mainstream society; for those on the streets; for those in prison. We ask you to help us comfort them in their pain, provide for their needs and help them rebuild their lives. As Simon Peter went from denying Christ to being charged with leading the church, may you transform the lives of those living on our two sister islands.

Prayers for Martinique and Guadeloupe:
We pray for the life and ministry of the Protestant Reformed Churches of Guadeloupe and Martinique. We also pray for the witness and ministry of the Protestant Prison Chaplaincy and the chaplains that work in the islands’ three prisons. We pray for the non-profit organisations Accolade-Caraibes, Secours Catholique, La CIMADE and the Foyer St. Vincent of Paul as they struggle to help those in dire need.  

May your peace and love blow across all the islands of the Caribbean.

Mission Stewardship Moment from Guadeloupe and Martinique:
In Guadeloupe and Martinique, it is now the season when sugar cane is harvested. Workers and tractors are in the fields, trucks, loaded with tons of cane stalks drive back and forth between the sugar and rum factories and smoke fills the air as the harvested fields are burned off.

A visitor to the islands, while being a bit bothered by the smoke in certain areas, would probably be impressed by all of the activity. Sugar is a commodity and given the activity on the islands it would seem that business is good.

For people of caribbean descent, however, sugar cane is much more than a simple commodity. To fully understand the caribbean, one must understand sugar cane and it’s imapct on caribbean society. As I walk through the streets of Guadleoupe, I understand that sugar cane is the main reason why the majority of faces I see are black. During the colonial era, european powers, brought in millions of african slaves to work in the sugar cane fields. These slaves were forced to break their backs, working in the heat and humidity, so that others, across the sea, could enjoy eating their cakes and bon-bons and sipping their rum. While the slaves worked,suffered and died in the fields, plantation owners built lavish homes on the islands and in european cities such as London, Paris and Amsterdam.

Even today, the riches of sugar cane go to a few. While the majority of the workers in the field are payed minimal wages, the land owners, sugar producers and rum distillers make up a large part of the islands’ wealthy class. It seems as if cakes, bon-bons and rum are just as profitable as always and that the profits are still unevenly distributed.

Many islanders have a little bit of sugar cane growing in their back yards. They press it for juice, or cut it into small sticks to chew on. As you can imagine, most of my guadeloupean friends have fond childhood memories of chewing on cane stalks.

Adapting to local culture, I too planted a small patch of sugar cane. Over the next few months I watched happily as it grew and when some of the stalks were large enough, I cut one down and split it into pieces for my son to chew on. Being a novice, I inevitably cut open my finger on the sharp leaves of the cane stalk. Watching my son happily chewing on the stalks, as I put a band-aid on my finger, I couldn’t help but think back upon the history of sugar cane in the Caribbean.  

(Prayer and Mission Moment by Tim Rose)

Mission Partners in Guadeloupe and Martinique:
Protestant Reformed Church of Guadeloupe
Protestant Reformed Church of Martinique

More information on Guadeloupe and Martinique:
http://globalministries.org/lac/countries/guadeloupe/

Global Ministries Missionary in Guadeloupe/Martinique:
Tim Rose, a member of the United Church of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, serves the Protestant Reformed Church in Guadeloupe and Martinique as the Pastoral Assistant for Diaconal Ministries and as a Prison Chaplain. He is jointly appointed by Global Ministries and the DEFAP (the mission agency of the Reformed and Lutheran Churches in France).