Guatemalan Village and Needham congregation share stories and faith;
Congregational Church of Needham celebrates 20 years of partnership
 Submitted by Clark Taylor, Co-chair, with his wife, Kay, of the Guatemala Partnership Project
The Spirit was a lively presence and God was speaking in many ways during the commemoration of 20 years of partnership between the Congregational Church of Needham, United Church of Christ and the Guatemalan village of Santa María Tzejá (SMT).
Members of the congregation, activists, former participants, and SMT delegates celebrated together during a weekend-long event.
Twenty years ago, at the 1987 annual meeting of the Congregational Church of Needham, the congregation voted unanimously to extend an invitation to the village of SMT to form a partnership with the church. The vote was in response to the national movement urging churches to take in Central American refugees seeking political asylum based on persecution they had received in their own countries. The government made it illegal to "harbor an illegal alien," but the Needham congregation asked, "isn't there something legal we could do"? The Sanctuary Committee suggested a partnership with a Guatemalan village.
The village of Santa María Tzejá is a Mayan indigenous community, carved out of the northern Guatemalan jungle in the early 1970's by young families. In 1982, however, the Guatemalan army destroyed their community in a sweep of small villages designed to rid the area of opposition forces. After 12 years of forced exile, the village was re-united but faced limited services and infrastructure, and lived in constant fear of further violence.
During the past two decades, the congregation has actively supported the village by: witnessing for social justice in the village, Guatemala and around the world, offering financial support for community-wide education and development programs, and encouraging one-on-one relationships between members of the village and members of the Needham and greater Boston communities. As a result, over 135 Needham families are partnered with families in Santa María, and exchange letters, children's drawings, and photographs twice a year.
There are two visits to the village each year where delegates help in the schools or visit people in their homes -- where they help make tortillas or just share stories of daily living. Money given by the Needham church congregation has helped build a new school, pay teachers' salaries and to buy books and supplies.
"The partnership with our church has been one factor making it possible for them to recover their faith in people, to re-establish some of the infrastructure that was destroyed, and to become a center of education and health in that part of Guatemala," wrote Kay Taylor in a previous church newsletter.
This past March the church celebrated the 20-year partnership with a weekend full of events: a Friday session addressing the history of the partnership, Saturday workshops and visits from Guatemalan delegates, and a special Sunday worship service. The workshops featured social justice themes, including immigration issues, the impact of US policy on Central America, and the threats of large corporations in exploiting resources from Guatemala. Each workshop was directed to include focus on what the project and the Church could and should be doing. During the lunch period a man doing medical work in a conflictive area of Colombia spoke of his ministry there. The afternoon featured a story-telling session where people were invited to share their memories of the partnership. That evening 260 people turned out for a celebration party of the partnership.
Three official delegates from the village of SMT were involved in all the weekend's events, describing different time periods of the history of the village, sharing their stories, leading activities at the evening party, and speaking in the Sunday worship service. During their trip, the delegates visited schools in Needham and Boston, a farm in Newton, a Community Development Corporation in Jamaica Plain and the Boston Aquarium.
The delegates were sponsored by the church project, with their expenses paid. They were housed with members of the church for the week they were here. The entire set of activities that involved them was supported by a cast of some forty volunteers, who managed all aspects of the program. The program was open to the community and to all who have ever participated in the partnership. People came from all parts of the US and from as far away as Colombia.
"Our shared faith is a source of strength and growth for them and for us," wrote Kay. "Our church covenant states that 'We seek to be faithful in a world torn by suffering, injustice, oppression and war.' The families of Santa María Tzejá are our friends in faith. We are blessed and amply rewarded by them. They are profoundly grateful to the members of this church."
No one could imagine at the time what such a partnership would be like, let alone imagine it would still be going strong twenty years later.
Clark Taylor is a retired professor of the College of Public and Community Service, UMass Boston. With his wife, Kay Taylor, he co-leads a long-standing partnership between their local United Church of Christ church and the community of Santa María Tzejá. Additional information about the Church-village partnership can be found on the Church's website: www.needhamucc.org
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