A Statement on Guatemala, International Mission, and Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church’s Relationship with Porch de Salomon
- June, 2024
In 1996, a 36-year civil war ended with the signing of peace accords in Guatemala. In May of 1997, the CIA declassified 1,400 pages of reports on its participation in the orchestration of the 1954 coup that removed President Jacobo Arbenz from office. The documents show the U.S. participated in distributing guns and money to opposition forces and facilitated training to mercenaries through the almost four decades of the Guatemalan civil war. In 1999, the U.N.-backed Commission for Historical Clarification released a report that said Guatemalan security forces were behind 93 percent of all human rights atrocities committed during the civil war, which claimed 200,000 lives. Of these, 23,671 were victims of arbitrary execution, and 83 percent of fully identified victims were Mayans from the Quiche area. The report also recognized the role of the U.S. and its anti-communism foreign policy in assisting Guatemala’s national intelligence apparatus and the training of a counterinsurgency. These key factors had a "significant bearing on human rights violations during the armed confrontation.”
In March 1999, after more than 40 years since the U.S. first financed the counter-terrorism campaign that led to thousands of civilian deaths in Guatemala's civil war, President Bill Clinton publicly apologized to Guatemalans during a short visit to the country for the United States’ actions that supported atrocities during the war. Although the civil war was officially declared over, human rights and peace activists continued to be threatened and assassinated. Most of these abuses have not been investigated, and the perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice. Guatemalans face high levels of violence and weak and corrupt law enforcement institutions. Sixty percent of the country lives in poverty, and the increasing levels of crime, gang violence, and drug dealing show a society where inequality, racism, and poverty dominate many people's lives.(1)
According to the National Policy for Housing and Human Settlements, the housing deficit in Guatemala exceeds 1.96 million homes (2.2 million according to Habitat for Humanity) if you consider the significant number of families who rent or live in poor conditions, including overcrowding. (2) In addition, rural areas greatly need basic services such as safe drinking water, toilets, electricity, and smokeless stoves.
Following Jesus’ teaching, Maxwell Street understands its mission to be light and salt to the world. Its purpose is to do what Christ commanded and to teach others to do the same. (3) Genuine discipleship, modeled after the life and teachings of Jesus, bears fruits of the Spirit. Throughout his earthly ministry, we can sense the heartbeat of his actions: a compassionate response to human needs. He was predisposed to be interrupted, even from his focal task of preaching, whenever hunger, sickness, demonic oppression, the grip of sin, social ostracism, or death crossed his path. (4) Tears paved the road he traveled to bring good news. We hope that our responses of compassion and service to the needs we encounter in the world, like our actions for peace and justice, are signs that the reign of God is present now in our world and is on the way to its future. (5)
International travel and service, while costly for both the traveler and the health of the planet we share, provides an opportunity to glimpse the many marvelous manifestations of God’s creative diversity. Exposure to such diversity and first-hand encounters with unfamiliar places and people make the Imago Dei real in the minds and understanding of God’s children. Intentionally incorporating service into such travel, especially in areas where people and places are experiencing deep suffering, opens up the opportunity to be more widely interrupted by the world's needs. Maxwell Street believes that those who engage in such travel and service must seek to learn and better understand the sources of adversity experienced in those places and how those who have gone before us, especially “in the name of Christ,” may have contributed to the suffering and injustice experienced by those we seek to serve. They must also actively work to avoid exploiting the vulnerability of the individuals, places, and world that we are called to serve.
Maxwell Street first identified Porch de Salomon as a partner with whom the congregation could thoughtfully engage in International Mission in 2011. Porch de Salomon is a unique and progressive non-profit which, since 2005, has loved, served, and encouraged the community of Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan basin by hosting short-term service teams that construct homes (164 houses built as of June 1, 2024), support community building construction and provide medical/dental/hearing aid/eyeglass clinics. Porch’s mission has been to provide high-impact, year-round humanitarian support to the Indigenous community, including food, clean water systems, environmentally friendly woodstoves, malnourished infant relief, medicine, school scholarships, substance abuse recovery, counseling, sustainable micro-businesses, and more. Their nearly 20-year relationship with the Panajachel community and the groups that participate in the work has been mutually transformative.
As opposed to some International Mission opportunities, the emphasis of our collaboration with Porch de Salomon is not with the intent of bringing God to the unbelieving but on encountering the Love of God in particular communities of Guatemala, including Panajachel, especially among the marginalized, through acts of kindness, generosity, and creativity. While many individual efforts over our 13-year collaboration have been remarkable, no single person’s philanthropy, theology, or vision takes precedence over or is more celebrated than our mutual commitment to follow Christ and his example. Thus, we look forward to seeing where Christ leads this ongoing relationship between Maxwell Street and Porch de Salomon in the future.
- Rev. Matt Falco
(1) Sources: Amnesty International, BBC, Britannica, The Commission for Historical Clarification (“Guatemala Memory of Silence” report), Consortiumnews.com, Global security.com,The National Security Archive, Nations Encyclopedia, The New York Times, PBS.org
(2) http://www.fopavi.gob.gt/Documentos_en_Index/junio2020_Politica_Vivienda_vf.pdf
(3) Matthew 5.13-16
(4) Mark 1.35-38
(5) Guder, Darrell L. “Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America” pg. 105-106
- June, 2024
In 1996, a 36-year civil war ended with the signing of peace accords in Guatemala. In May of 1997, the CIA declassified 1,400 pages of reports on its participation in the orchestration of the 1954 coup that removed President Jacobo Arbenz from office. The documents show the U.S. participated in distributing guns and money to opposition forces and facilitated training to mercenaries through the almost four decades of the Guatemalan civil war. In 1999, the U.N.-backed Commission for Historical Clarification released a report that said Guatemalan security forces were behind 93 percent of all human rights atrocities committed during the civil war, which claimed 200,000 lives. Of these, 23,671 were victims of arbitrary execution, and 83 percent of fully identified victims were Mayans from the Quiche area. The report also recognized the role of the U.S. and its anti-communism foreign policy in assisting Guatemala’s national intelligence apparatus and the training of a counterinsurgency. These key factors had a "significant bearing on human rights violations during the armed confrontation.”
In March 1999, after more than 40 years since the U.S. first financed the counter-terrorism campaign that led to thousands of civilian deaths in Guatemala's civil war, President Bill Clinton publicly apologized to Guatemalans during a short visit to the country for the United States’ actions that supported atrocities during the war. Although the civil war was officially declared over, human rights and peace activists continued to be threatened and assassinated. Most of these abuses have not been investigated, and the perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice. Guatemalans face high levels of violence and weak and corrupt law enforcement institutions. Sixty percent of the country lives in poverty, and the increasing levels of crime, gang violence, and drug dealing show a society where inequality, racism, and poverty dominate many people's lives.(1)
According to the National Policy for Housing and Human Settlements, the housing deficit in Guatemala exceeds 1.96 million homes (2.2 million according to Habitat for Humanity) if you consider the significant number of families who rent or live in poor conditions, including overcrowding. (2) In addition, rural areas greatly need basic services such as safe drinking water, toilets, electricity, and smokeless stoves.
Following Jesus’ teaching, Maxwell Street understands its mission to be light and salt to the world. Its purpose is to do what Christ commanded and to teach others to do the same. (3) Genuine discipleship, modeled after the life and teachings of Jesus, bears fruits of the Spirit. Throughout his earthly ministry, we can sense the heartbeat of his actions: a compassionate response to human needs. He was predisposed to be interrupted, even from his focal task of preaching, whenever hunger, sickness, demonic oppression, the grip of sin, social ostracism, or death crossed his path. (4) Tears paved the road he traveled to bring good news. We hope that our responses of compassion and service to the needs we encounter in the world, like our actions for peace and justice, are signs that the reign of God is present now in our world and is on the way to its future. (5)
International travel and service, while costly for both the traveler and the health of the planet we share, provides an opportunity to glimpse the many marvelous manifestations of God’s creative diversity. Exposure to such diversity and first-hand encounters with unfamiliar places and people make the Imago Dei real in the minds and understanding of God’s children. Intentionally incorporating service into such travel, especially in areas where people and places are experiencing deep suffering, opens up the opportunity to be more widely interrupted by the world's needs. Maxwell Street believes that those who engage in such travel and service must seek to learn and better understand the sources of adversity experienced in those places and how those who have gone before us, especially “in the name of Christ,” may have contributed to the suffering and injustice experienced by those we seek to serve. They must also actively work to avoid exploiting the vulnerability of the individuals, places, and world that we are called to serve.
Maxwell Street first identified Porch de Salomon as a partner with whom the congregation could thoughtfully engage in International Mission in 2011. Porch de Salomon is a unique and progressive non-profit which, since 2005, has loved, served, and encouraged the community of Guatemala’s Lake Atitlan basin by hosting short-term service teams that construct homes (164 houses built as of June 1, 2024), support community building construction and provide medical/dental/hearing aid/eyeglass clinics. Porch’s mission has been to provide high-impact, year-round humanitarian support to the Indigenous community, including food, clean water systems, environmentally friendly woodstoves, malnourished infant relief, medicine, school scholarships, substance abuse recovery, counseling, sustainable micro-businesses, and more. Their nearly 20-year relationship with the Panajachel community and the groups that participate in the work has been mutually transformative.
As opposed to some International Mission opportunities, the emphasis of our collaboration with Porch de Salomon is not with the intent of bringing God to the unbelieving but on encountering the Love of God in particular communities of Guatemala, including Panajachel, especially among the marginalized, through acts of kindness, generosity, and creativity. While many individual efforts over our 13-year collaboration have been remarkable, no single person’s philanthropy, theology, or vision takes precedence over or is more celebrated than our mutual commitment to follow Christ and his example. Thus, we look forward to seeing where Christ leads this ongoing relationship between Maxwell Street and Porch de Salomon in the future.
- Rev. Matt Falco
(1) Sources: Amnesty International, BBC, Britannica, The Commission for Historical Clarification (“Guatemala Memory of Silence” report), Consortiumnews.com, Global security.com,The National Security Archive, Nations Encyclopedia, The New York Times, PBS.org
(2) http://www.fopavi.gob.gt/Documentos_en_Index/junio2020_Politica_Vivienda_vf.pdf
(3) Matthew 5.13-16
(4) Mark 1.35-38
(5) Guder, Darrell L. “Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America” pg. 105-106