Global Ministries

I have been getting recently different messages directly from Venezuela.  Some of them expressed concerns and uncertainties about the future. Most of these messages stressed and showed the tension between resistance and hope.  My understanding is that there is a deep conviction, primarily among pastors and lay leaders, that affirms a faith that provides a horizon of hope for the future.

More than 40 churches and ecumenical organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean signed a letter regarding the actual situation in Venezuela.  They based their message on recent events regarding the deployment of military presence on the Venezuelan coast and the imposition of economic measures against that country. This declaration followed and supported the one made by the National Council of Churches in the U.S. on similar issues, and made a call to churches around the world, as well as all people of goodwill, to increase prayers and acts of peace, justice, and reconciliation for the people of Venezuela.  The Global Ministries' Latin America and Caribbean Office accompanied the process as Partners and other fellow organizations in the continent submitted signatures into the said letter.

In the early hours of May 3, 2020, the Venezuelan Armed Force and the National Bolivarian Police repelled the incursion of a group of armed mercenaries into the coastal state of La Guaira.  The mercenaries, travelled from Colombia in speedboats and were planning, together with local accomplices, to initiate military operations aimed at government institutions and State officials, according to testimony given by those captured. 

Read the PDF of this document in English and in Spanish.

April 7, 2020

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

Dear President Trump:

Global Ministries highly values the words and perspectives of partners. When partners tell us that they are concerned with something, it becomes the concern of Global Ministries, too. This profound act of listening and solidarity helps us all to walk together in mutuality and hope.

Recently, much has been happening in Venezuela. Global Ministries turned to our partner there, the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela (UEPV) to learn more about the situation from their perspective. These pieces are developed to help you better connect to the UEPV and the situation in Venezuela. These resources may be used in worship, Sunday school, or for individual understanding and reflection.

To the members of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ:

Thus says the Lord: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more. Jeremiah 31:15 (NRSV)

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.