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Building bridges in San Jacinto

It may not be surprising that one of the classrooms of a San Jacinto school was full on a Friday morning in August.  But this day was different - the classroom was not full of students but rather of members of the four different church congregations from this rural community. 

Since 2006, Nuevas Esperanzas has been working with the leaders and congregations of these four churches, helping to build bridges between the Catholic and Baptist churches, the Assemblies of God and the Church of God of Prophecy.   Differences of tradition and doctrine had grown into seemingly insurmountable barriers to working with one another to tackle the many challenges faced by this poor rural community.  This forum not only served as evidence of the positive transformation that has already taken place within this community, but it also proved to be another important step towards building unity and understanding amongst the congregations. 

The focus of the forum was to promote an ‘ecumenical’ approach and to understand better each congregation’s ideas, beliefs and perspectives on what it means to be ecumenical.  A variety of fruitful discussions and presentations took place during the event which attracted about 30 members of the community.  Small groups with representatives from each congregation discussed what they believed to be the similarities and differences between each congregation and how the churches could work together to tackle the problems faced by their community.

Representatives from the UK and the US who also attended shared their experiences of ecumenism and explained that similar challenges exist between different denominations in their own countries.  Members of each of the four congregations shared their testimonies of how Nuevas Esperanzas’ 2006 rainwater harvesting project with the churches has not only helped the community with a physical need, but has also helped remove what proved to be a harsh and yet misunderstood divide between neighbours.  The forum closed with lunch, a time which was full of laughter and joyful discussions, showing that a much-needed transformation is gradually taking place within this community.

In response to some of the discussions regarding additional challenges facing the community, Nuevas Esperanzas plans to organise follow-up meetings which will help facilitate further discussion between the different congregations as they try to determine what steps they may be able to take to help improve their community together.

22/08/08