Global Ministries

Leaders from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada and the United Church of Christ in the U.S. engaged in a Pilgrimage in solidarity with the people of Venezuela from September 23^rd- 27^th, 2019.  John Dorhauer and Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens, General Ministers and Presidents of both churches, teamed up with Julia Brown Karimu and Karen Georgia Thompson, the two Global Ministries Co-Executives, to affirm their desire to accompany our partner church in Venezuela on their pastoral and prophetic work for peace and justice in the country.  In their travel, they met key actors in the present situation on the Venezuelan society and had the opportunity to listen to the contextual analysis and challenges faced in the country as well as mechanisms for our work of solidarity.  In addition to that, they all traveled to strengthen our commitment to establish a framework of solidarity and accompaniment to the people of Venezuela. 

Leaders from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the U.S. and Canada and the United Church of Christ in the U.S. engaged in a Pilgrimage of Solidarity with the People of Venezuela from September 23- 27, 2019.  John Dorhauer and Teresa “Terri” Hord Owens, General Ministers and Presidents of both denominations, teamed up with Julia Brown Karimu and Karen Georgia Thompson, the two Global Ministries Co-Executives, to affirm their desire to accompany our partner church in Venezuela on their pastoral and prophetic work for peace and justice in the country.  In their travel, they met key actors in the present situation on the Venezuelan society and had the opportunity to listen to the contextual analysis and challenges faced in the country as well as mechanisms for our work of solidarity.  In addition to that, they all traveled to strengthen our commitment to establish a framework of solidarity and accompaniment to the people of Venezuela. The leaders committed themselves to enable congregations from both churches to interpret the religious, political, and social realities of the partner church and the people of Venezuela to congregations.

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

Prayers for Venezuela:  

Holy One,

We give you thanks for our sisters and brothers in Venezuela and have heard their cries for justice and peace in the midst of a difficult time. Cover them with your peace. Make a way for reconciliation and fresh hope.

Help us to be better neighbors to our siblings in Venezuela. We commit to you our solidarity with them. We will continue to listen to and walk with them in the midst of this crisis and in the days beyond.

We celebrate, God, that you can make a way where there is no way. We are grateful that your love knows no limits.

In Christ’s name, we pray,

Amen.

A delegation of three church leaders from Cuba, Canada, and the United States visited Venezuela as part of an international, ecumenical campaign in solidarity with the Venezuelan people and churches. Joel Ortega Dopico, Executive Secretary of the Cuban Council of Churches and ACT Alliance Board Member; Jim Hodgson, Program Coordinator for Latin America and the Caribbean of the United Church of Canada, and Angel Luis Rivera-Agosto, Area Executive for Latin America and the Caribbean of Global Ministries were welcomed by Gamaliel Lugo and Eseario Sosa, General Bishop and Deputy General Bishop, respectively, of the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela. In their visit, the church leaders had the opportunity to engage in dialogue regarding human rights, economic sanctions, constitutional and legal matters with government officials and non-governmental organization leaders. They also had the opportunity to meet a vast number of church leaders from both traditional denominations and grass-roots congregations in Caracas.

Venezuela: Intervention and the Politicization of International Aid  

International focus has turned to Venezuela in recent months as the U.S. has very publicly backed self-proclaimed president Jean Guaidó in challenging Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and much-needed humanitarian aid has been leveraged as a political tool in support of regime change.

Two nongovernmental organizations (Demand Progress and Just Foreign Policy) are seeking organizational co-signers on a letter to leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives to urge support of Rep. Cicilline's HR1004, the Prohibiting Unauthorized Military action in Venezuela Act. The letter addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed their request of support for the bipartisan measure, H.R.1004 - Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act, introduced by Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island. They asked that any floor consideration of legislation addressing the crisis in Venezuela include H.R. 1004, a critical safeguard against unconstitutional U.S. military action. They expressed the need to make it explicit in the first step of developing and adopting legislation on Venezuela that Congress will serve as an effective counterweight to the militaristic and anti-refugee policies of the Trump Administration.

This webinar occurred on Thursday, March 14, 2019 at 11:00 AM 

Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ has been engaged in a relationship of solidarity and accompaniment with the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela for more than 60 years. Now we watch with deep concern the recent talk of United States military intervention in that country.

February 6, 2019

Donald J. Trump, President
United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. (John 14:27, NRSV).

Rev. Traci Blackmon, Associate General Minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ, shared a recent reflection titled “Follow me” where she invited the people to be “allies” on their own effort to follow Jesus. She said that “the organizing skills of Jesus remind us that true movements of liberation are best led by those who are being oppressed.” And the invitation Reverend Blackmon made on her reflection, regarding the role of those “allies” is “to follow the leadership of those who are at the center of the pain,” to support the narrative of the ones who own the story, avoiding the temptation “to lead or to fix.” She said that “the ally holds the story and amplifies the voice of the storyteller.”