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 Fall - 2010 |
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Fall - 2010 |
 Greetings
from CHM Director David Byrne!
I Thes 5:18 “ .. give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Aren’t politics
frustrating? There are issues that are very important to me and
to the people I work with that never seem to get addressed. Since
this past summer, one of the issues that I’ve felt compelled to speak
out on is immigration reform. You may think that this is an issue
that only affects “illegals’ in the United States. The truth is
that the immigration situation affects the entire Hispanic community
putting pressure on everyone. But politics will be politics.Recently the “Dream Act” was proposed in congress. It is a reasonable first step toward immigration sanity that seeks to provide a way for the children of “undocumented” immigrants who have completed High School to eventually apply for citizenship. Graduates who have been continuously in the country for the five years prior to graduation would be given a temporary visa for six years in order to complete either two years of college or military service and thereby earn an opportunity for citizenship. Many immigrant children, through no fault of their own, have grown up here and only know the United States as their home. Unfortunately, the “Dream Act” was packaged with a defense-funding bill that also included the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal which quickly became the focus of debate and was defeated. So let us “give thanks in all circumstances” and let the light of Christ fill our lives with His grace, but let’s not forget that Christ’s body is greater than our particular group or even than this great nation. May His Kingdom come and His will be done as we consider how to serve Him, how to call others to His salvation, and how to address the social needs of those around us. If you would like to consider the immigration issue further, click here to read CHM's summer report. (--See a previous newsletter--) (For an easier to print & share "Acrobat Reader" Version of this Newsletter click HERE) |
CHM
Board: Thomas Hoke Michal Alexander Rev. Craig Davis Paul Feaster Jacob Estrada Kay Griffin Dora Gutierrez Kerr Dr. Chuck Mylander Dr. Karl Newman Dr. Jack Rea William Roeh |
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 Instituto ALMA News
Dr. Gene Pickard did another excellent job in
October presenting a class on Hermeneutics for Spanish-speaking pastors
and leaders. The class was presented just before our latest
conference so that people traveling to LA could take advantage of both
events.The hermeneutics class is a part of the ongoing strengthening of the Biblical studies track in the Instituto ALMA and is a cooperative effort with the Southern California based IHPLA (Hispanic Institute for Friends Leaders). Our thanks to all those who participated.  |
 Friends Gathered for the North American Hispanic Friends Conference at the Bell Friends Church It is a privilege to see God’s hand at work and to see God’s people working together. The theme of the conference held at the Bell Friends Church in California was: “Unidad—Desafío de los Amigos” (That would be loosely translated, “Unity-The Calling/Challenge for Friends.” I say, ‘loosely translated’ because the one word “desafío” carries both the positive and negative sense of a challenge. It is both what is expected as our calling but it can also be a problem, and isn’t that the way it is with unity?)  But with people like associate pastor Susan Ramos (on right) with her contagious smile and with the rest of the pastoral staff at Bell Friends to receive us, it was not hard to feel unity and to feel welcomed. Each evening of the conference we were encouraged to set aside differences in order to build up the church, and there are real differences between us. The Hispanic church is divided by very diverse cultural, national and historical differences that make for interesting gatherings, but the one who unites us is the living Christ who stands before us and says, “come.”  We'll leave it to our churches in Central America to work out the details. We just praise God for the gift of unity He has given us. |
News & Prayer
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--Pray for two church-planting pastors who
have recently had major health issues. Felipe Vásquez from northern
Mexico was hospitalized in late August with a ruptured intestine (along
with diabetes and leukemia). He remains hospitalized in Houston
and is making slow improvement. Tomás
Martinez from Emporia, Kansas was hospitalized in Wichita for
heart problems. He had a catheterization and returned in early
November for further treatment. |
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--Pray for the students using Instituto ALMA materials and for the hard work Jerry Clarkson is doing to produce new classes. |
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--Pray for our new class on the Old Testament, taught by Dr. Ron Stansell, that we plan to present in January in cooperation with the Northwest Hispanic churches. |
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Thank you for taking the time to read up on some of the Hispanic ministries activities that are part of the Coalition for Hispanic Ministries efforts. We rely on your prayers and appreciate your gifts and offerings that help sustain this effort. |