Santa Lucia, Honduras, 26 May 2003 Dear friends in our supporting churches: I spend a lot of my time as a voyeur of sorts, observing what’s happening around me and then describing that to people in the north who want to understand what’s happening in the global south. That’s why in the past year I’ve traveled to places like Indonesia, the Philippines, Angola, Guatemala, and, yes, even parts of Honduras, in order to write about what the church is doing in the midst of injustice and violence. In a lot of ways, my work as a journalist isn’t all that different from preaching; I believe there’s a lot of Good News to be heard if we can open ourselves up to our sisters and brothers struggling for life and justice in so many places. I have the wonderful job of listening and then proclaiming. Yet there are several other things I do as part of my “multi-tasking” vocation, and I want to tell you about one of them. On behalf of the Honduran Theological Community, I’m coordinating a team that’s planning a major regional conference on “Migration: Human Rights and Pastoral Challenges,” scheduled for October here in Honduras. The planning team is composed of representatives from the Catholic Church’s varied ministries with migrants, as well as people from several nongovernmental organizations. We’re going to gather together at least 150 pastoral agents–both evangelicals and Catholics–from throughout Honduras, along with a mix of folks from elsewhere in the region, to spend three days looking at the issue of migration. As you may know, the massive emigration of poor Central Americans north to the U.S. and Canada has reshaped this region’s social life and economy. Honduras, for example, earns far more from family remittances sent home by migrants than it does from bananas, coffee, and pineapples. The flow of migrants from rural villages and urban neighborhoods has turned into a torrent since Hurricane Mitch ravaged the region in 1998. For many, it’s a choice of staying here to slowly die or risking their lives to undertake the perilous journey north. The conference will equip pastoral workers with the theological and practical skills to respond to the growing personal and family crises caused by this massive emigration. We’ll talk about the roots of urban and international migration, we’ll share the experiences of migrants on their way north, we’ll examine the theme biblically and theologically, we’ll look at domestic political issues surrounding the theme, we’ll celebrate the music and art produced by migrants, and we’ll talk about ways that remittances can be used to power economic development in poor villages and neighborhoods. To help us do this, we’re bringing in experts on the themes from throughout the region, and we’ve invited representatives of several U.S. church agencies that work with migrants in order to help them understand that the roots of the phenomenon go far beyond the Mexican-U.S. border. When participants emerge from the conference, they’ll be informed and empowered to act in their own parishes, as well as form some new networks of church people committed to continuing to organize in response to the dramatic pastoral needs of migrants and their families. We are neither in favor of nor opposed to migration. Simply put, it exists, and the church needs to know how better to respond. The conference is a good example of how the Theological Community, where Lyda and I both work, is committed to empowering the church in Honduras and the region. As missionaries of the United Methodist Church, we haven’t come here to do the work of the church, but rather to equip the church here to do its job better. Lyda’s classes in the Theological Community, some of which take place in remote corners of the country, are part of that work. Yet there are also many events like the October conference when I step out of my observer’s role and help build up the body of Christ here in Honduras. The conference isn’t cheap, and we’re pleased that the United Methodist Committee of Relief (UMCOR) has agreed to underwrite $5,000 of the conference’s total cost. So your local congregation is involved in two ways. By supporting UMCOR, you’re helping to improve the church’s response to the needs of refugees and migrants. And by supporting me and/or Lyda (who will give a lecture during the conference on the biblical understanding of immigration), you’re providing the bodies on the ground to make that empowerment happen. In a word, thanks. As I write this, Lyda is in the States. She participated in a pastoral conference in Virginia and then flew to California, where last Saturday she received her doctorate during graduation ceremonies at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Lyda’s D.Min. project and thesis focused on helping peasant women “recover their theological voice,” and completing it became an almost never-ending ordeal when Hurricane Mitch interrupted and transformed her project. The kids and I, along with her colleagues and students here, are very proud of her. When she arrives back home on Wednesday, a whole crowd of them will be at the airport to welcome her. An update on the marathon: We’re still waiting for some contributions to make their way through the church bureaucracy before announcing the final amount raised during the run. But it’s going to end up very close to $1,000 per mile. Not bad. In another word, gracias. Paul