COLOMBIACOLOMBIAI come that ye may have life,

and that more abundantly.— John 10:10

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Dear Friends in Christ:

The church of Jesus Christ is alive and well in Colombia — alive in the midst of violence and poverty, death and despair. Despite the daily experiences of crucifixion, our resurrected Lord is living and moving in the witness, courage, and joy of the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia.

It was my privilege to travel to Colombia in January 2004. Many of my experiences as Moderator have been life changing and uplifting, but nothing has transformed my faith as much as my travels through northern and western Colombia. We heard stories of terror at gunpoint, villages and churches being burned, lives threatened because simple human rights were honored. We saw the utter poverty and hopelessness of Kilometer 7 where some three hundred displaced families live without water or schools or employment or hope. And we heard the testimony of church leaders who live with death threats because they dare to proclaim the justice of Jesus.

My sojourn with the disciples and the victims in Colombia renewed my conviction that the evangelical joy of the Christian faith cannot be separated from our call to be passionate advocates for social justice and abundant life. We have no choice, as disciples of the Lord of Life, but to speak truth to power — to our own government and to the government of Colombia. To speak Good News to the poor and proclaim liberty to the captives, we must protest the excessive amount of military aid the United States is giving to the Colombia government and we must advocate for more humanitarian aid and support international human rights efforts in this fragile part of God’s world.

One day in Colombia we heard terrifying stories of pastors threatened at gunpoint by the paramilitaries. We saw the devastation faced by those displaced by violence, as hungry, hopeless children wandered around amidst the dust and despair of nowhere. But then we gathered for worship with five hundred Presbyterians who sang and prayed and preached with joy. And we partied — with dancing and much laughter. I was amazed that such joy could co-exist with so much pain. But the Christians of Colombia assured me: “In a culture of death, we want to make sure that life has the final word. We are a people of Resurrection!” Thanks be to God!

I urge all Presbyterians to read this spiritual portrait of Colombia. Try to imagine the hearts and lives of the Colombian people. And then engage in prayerful and hopeful solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia, as together we live into the shalom promised by our Sovereign God.

Blessings to you all in the name of Jesus Christ,

Susan Andrews Moderator of the 215th General Assembly (2003)

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) declares that wherever one part is engaged in God’s mission, all are engaged.1 Whenever and wherever one engages in that mission, one bears witness to the saving love of God in Jesus Christ.

Presbyterians Do Mission in Partnership 215th General Assembly (2003)

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

1Book of Order, (6-90103)

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StatisticsArea: 439,405 square miles (4 times the size of Arizona)

Population: 41,662,073

Life Expectancy: 67.3 men; 75.1 women

Infant Mortality: 22.47 deaths per 1000 births

Internally Displaced People: over 3 million*

Unemployment: 17.4%

Major Exports: petroleum, coffee, coal, apparel, bananas, cut flowers, cocaine (unofficially)

Population below the Poverty Line: 65%**

COLOMBIACOLOMBIA

SourcesCIA World Fact Book, www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/co.html

* The Global IDP Project of the Norwegian Refugee Council, www.idpproject.org

** The World Bank, www.usaid.gov/policy/budget/cbj2005/lac/co.html

Bogotá

Medellín

Barranquilla

Cartagena

Apartadó Saiza

Ecuador

Peru

Brazil

Venezuela

Panama

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Timeline of Colombia History and Violence

y 1964 The FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) is created following an attack on a peasant cooperative in the southern part of Tolima, a department in central, western Colombia. Students who were trained in Cuba found the ELN (National Liberation Army).

y 1970s and 1980s The drug cartels gain power and the production of cocaine increases. Influential cartels develop private armies for protection and power. Some armies later become paramilitary forces combating the leftist guerrillas. The AUC (United Self-Defense of Colombia) is the largest paramilitary force.

y 1984-1987 Attempts to negotiate peace bring a cease-fire. The FARC creates a political party, the Patriotic Union, which the group hoped to use as a vehicle for non-violent political participation. Between the founding of the Patriotic Union in 1985 and the early 1990s, paramilitaries, security forces, and drug cartels killed at least two thousand party leaders, resulting in an end to the cease-fire and leaving FARC with its military structure intact, but with few articulate political spokespeople.

y 1990s Conflict continues as government, guerrilla, and paramilitary forces battle for control. Profits from the drug trade, kidnapping, and extortion help fund the violence that impacts all the people. Peace talks take place periodically with limited success.

y 2000 The United States and Colombia enter into an agreement called Plan Colombia that provides Colombia $1.3 billion, primarily in military aid to fight the “war on drugs.”

y 2003 President Bush alters the purpose of United States aid to include counter-insurgency and anti-terrorism efforts.

y 9475 BC to 1525 AD The Chibcha, Caribe, Arawak, Tairona, and Musicar people inhabit the area now known as Colombia.

y 1525 The Spanish settle on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

y 1538 Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, is founded.

y 1819 Simón Bolivar leads the South American revolt for independence against Spain. Colombia becomes the first democratic country in Latin America. Two parties form, the Conservative and Liberal.

y 1899-1902 A civil war claims the lives of 100,000 people.

y 1948-1962 Over 200,000 people are killed during “La Violencia,” a period of unrest and political violence.

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History of the ChurchColombia is acknowledged as the most devoutly Roman Catholic country in Latin America. Over ninety percent of Colombians consider themselves Catholic. Spanish missionaries brought the Christian faith to Colombia. After independence, the Catholic Church gained significant power in the government. The Catholic Church is usually associated with the Conservative party.

The Presbyterian Church of the United States established a mission in Bogotá, Colombia in 1856, its first permanent mission in Latin America. The first Protestant schools in Colombia were founded by Presbyterians, one for girls in 1869 and a school for boys the following year. In 1888 a second Presbyterian station was opened in Barranquilla, with a third at Medellin in 1889. The Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia (IPC) is a result of these efforts. The oldest Reformed denomination in the country, the IPC currently has two synods, each with three presbyteries.

The IPC is committed to working with the oppressed and dispossessed, providing strong leadership in defense of human rights and in the struggle to make peace. The church has been a pioneer in the ecumenical movement and was one of the first denominations in Colombia to encourage women’s leadership and ordain female clergy.

The IPC places a high value on quality education. The older Presbyterian schools rank among the best in the country. The church has started several schools and childcare facilities in impoverished neighborhoods and resettlement camps for displaced persons. These schools reflect the church’s belief that they are called to help build compassionate, open-minded and intelligent leadership for their country’s future.

The Reformed University of Colombia (CUR) in Barranquilla plays a key role in the life and educational mission of the IPC. The former Presbyterian Theological Seminary of the Gran Colombia is now the School of Theology of the CUR. The CUR received formal recognition from the Colombian government in May 2002. The university provides degree programs for Reformed theological education for Protestants throughout the region. The CUR and its programs are among the major peace projects of the IPC.

Colombia NowColombia remains caught in a civil war waged between guerrillas, the Colombian military, and paramilitary forces (often comprised of former military personnel). The war has raged for more than forty years; its roots lie in political exclusion and economic injustice. Colombia is a wealthy country, but the distribution of wealth is extremely skewed. Just over one percent of the landowners own fifty-five percent of the land (www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk). The top ten percent of the population receives forty-four percent of the income (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/co.html. Fifty-five percent of the population lives below the poverty line; the unemployment rate stands at seventeen percent (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/co.html ).

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Although the two parties (the Liberal and the Conservatives) that have historically dominated Colombian politics differ little in program, they have spent decades struggling for power. There has been little room for other opinions or opposition parties to develop.

The current guerrillas began their struggle in the mid-1960s as groups seeking land and economic and social equity. Paramilitaries, who oppose the guerrillas and anyone suspected of sympathizing with them, have been active since the 1980s. Both guerrillas and paramilitaries profit from the drug trade as they levy “taxes” on growers working the land where coca cultivation takes place. Paramilitary groups are responsible for most human rights violations according to Human Rights Watch.

Colombia has become a target of the United States’ “war on drugs.” The U.S. Congress passed legislation in 2000 known as Plan Colombia, a massive aid package intended to help Colombia reduce drug production and violence and to curb the flow of drugs to the United States. Over $2.5 billion has been sent since 2000 with an additional $700 million projected for 2004. In 2002, the U.S. State Department identified guerrilla and paramilitary factions as terrorists and the administration altered the use of the money sent to Colombia to include fighting the “War on Terrorism.”

Various economic factors, revolving around ownership of land and natural resources, further contribute to the instability and conflict in Colombia. The rural poor (campesinos) are often displaced by large landowners and corporations seeking the land itself, the resources on the land, or both. In some instances, people lose their land because they failed to register the land when they settled on it. In other situations, people are forced to sell their land at imposed prices. Threats, disappearances, and violence are among the tactics that are sometimes used.

Thousands of poor people in the southern part of the department of Bolivar have been displaced from land that has rich soil and is believed to have minerals and other natural resources that could be mined and extracted. Many rural poor and people of African descent have had their land taken from them in the department of Choco (which borders the Pacific Ocean and Panama) possibly because of plans of large landholders and large companies to build a canal linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Communities of indigenous people and rural poor in southern Colombia are being displaced as large companies seek access to the resources of the Amazon rainforest.

Such displacement takes many tolls. Those who are displaced make their way to urban areas where they face

unemployment and hunger. They often

end up living in slums, facing overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.

Some three million

Colombians are internally displaced

or have become refugees outside of the country.

Thousands have been killed. Gangs

are becoming more and more a problem as families are disrupted and uprooted. Families often fear their children will join one of the fighting forces to find a source of stability and income.

Human rights workers, labor leaders, and people of faith who become involved in the struggle for justice and peace are also targets of threats, violence, arbitrary detention, torture, and disappearances. In 2002, 187 union leaders were murdered, more than in any other country. This danger was heightened by a speech given by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at the inauguration of the new commander of the Colombian air forces in September 2003. Speaking of human rights organizations and other non-governmental organizations, Uribe stated, “They are

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politicians in the service of terrorism, cowards who wave the banner of human rights in order to hand back to terrorism in Colombia the space our public forces and our citizens have taken from it.”

Christians in Colombia have called on the ecumenical and international community for support. In July 2000, an urgent call from the churches in Colombia asked churches in the Northern Hemisphere “to unite your voices with ours to denounce the perverse nature of this kind of [military] ‘aid.’ We plead with you, just as Esther did, to call together all believers and to fast and pray for the Holy Spirit to change the minds of your governors, and to give strength and wisdom to the members of Colombian churches so that we might console, offer hope and continue to take a message of life and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ to this people and this suffering church.” (An Urgent Call from Colombia to the Churches in the North, Bogotá, Colombia - July 1, 2000; www.mcc.org/us/washington/seedsofpeace/call.html)

Responding to President Uribe’s denunciation of human rights workers, the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia sent a letter to churches, ecumenical organizations, and concerned friends (www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/ep/country/col-friends.htm). The letter stated that the IPC “considers that the promotion and defense of human rights is an international judicial and ethical tool which belongs to humanity and permits us to work to fulfill the words of Jesus in John 10:10, ‘I have come that ye might have life, and that more abundantly.’” The letter concludes, “we request your prayers for those who defend human rights in Colombia, and we ask you to send messages to Colombia’s President Alvaro Uribe urging him to:

y Support and seek protection for NGOs and other organizations active in human rights so that they may do their work with full guarantees as they seek to promote a peace that includes the full participation of all Colombian men and women,

y Guarantee and protect the lives and the work of those who defend human rights in Colombia,

y Take all steps necessary to guarantee the lives, physical safety and liberty of the members of the Commission of Justice and Peace and the communities, which they are accompanying.”

Plan Colombia Revisited Over eighty percent of the money provided through Plan Colombia has gone to the Colombian military, a military cited for having human rights abuses and ties to the paramilitary. This money buys military equipment such as planes and helicopters made in the United States and trains Colombian soldiers in Colombia and the United States.

Part of Plan Colombia calls for fumigation to kill the coca

crop used to produce cocaine. The chemical

sprayed in this process has affected legitimate crops, water supplies, schools, and homes. After fumigation, people have reported respiratory

problems, rashes, and burning in the eyes. Plan Colombia states there will

be compensation and crop substitution for farmers who

stop growing coca. Of the thousands who have agreed to switch, very few have received the aid needed to make the

transition.

Fumigation has killed some drug crops. Coca cultivation in

Colombia has decreased somewhat, however much of the decrease has been

offset by increases in coca production in Bolivia and Peru. Military aid to Colombia has failed to curb drug abuse

in the United States, one of its main goals. According to the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy, drugs are just as available on streets in the United States now as they were three years ago. The price of cocaine in the United States remains the same as before Plan Colombia. A study by the Rand Corporation suggests that treatment programs would prove more effective than interdiction and military action in addressing drug abuse. Yet the United States continues to pursue a military response.

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Faces of ColombiaThe Story of Saiza

The Presbyterian church in Saiza was a thriving and growing congregation. In the summer of 1999, their ministry came to an end following a paramilitary attack on the village.

Two years earlier, an elder in the congregation had been shot by the paramilitaries, apparently because he sold medicine from his drug store to a guerrilla

fighter who had wandered into town. In Colombia, suspected sympathy with any of the armed groups in the nation’s internal conflict can be an invitation to death, so the village had become very careful. But by the summer of 1999 they had begun to relax.

One afternoon, the sun-soaked laborers returned from the fields. Families were preparing for supper. With no warning, a company of paramilitary soldiers swarmed into town and at gunpoint ordered all the men to gather in the plaza. No reason. No exception. The soldiers ordered the men to lie face down on the ground in front of the church. The women watched helplessly while the children were led off to a place where they would not see the massacre.

Jesús Góez, the pastor of the Presbyterian church, lay with the other men, frozen with fear. One of the soldiers, who knew Jesús and respected his work in the area, leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Pastor! Don’t just let them kill you. Make a run for it!” Jesús says it was like coming out of a trance. He began to run, and when he did others, including the children, also began to run. As gunshots sprayed indiscriminately over the crowd, Jesús heard the Commander say, “Be careful not to kill the children.” Two children reached for his hands and ran with him into the woods. It was the children that saved him, he says, the children and God. “I believe in the mercy of God. God saved me for something. I believe God has a purpose for me.” Fourteen were killed that day,

instead of the sixty or seventy that the soldiers had intended to kill.

Hidden in the surrounding forest, the people of Saiza watched as their town was burned by the paramilitaries. They remained in hiding for three days, not knowing if their families were dead or alive. Then they returned to the village and helped bury the dead. After that, they left the mountain village, taking with them only what they could carry. Jesús’ only possession that was not destroyed was a motorcycle, which he used to flee to a nearby city, where he hid for another eight days. Eventually, he was reunited with his family. They have relocated to Cartagena, one of Colombia’s larger cities, where he pastors a church. Jesús and his family, like so many other Christians in Colombia, have refused to give in to the temptation of despair. In the shadow of the crosses of death, they live in the hope and the promise of resurrection.

The Rev. Alice Winters

Alice Winters teaches Bible and biblical languages on the Faculty of Theology of the Reformed University of Colombia. The university provides theological education to candidates for the ministry. In addition, many students are laypersons, active church leaders seeking theological training to relate their faith to every area of life. Alice serves on the editorial council of the Journal of Latin American Biblical Interpretation and participates

in ecumenical lay training institutes for the Latin American Network of Biblical Scholars. She first went to Colombia in 1977 to direct a program of leadership training among the rural pastors in the Urabá region of northwest Colombia, incorporating health, agriculture, and community development into theological education.

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Kilometer 7

Outside the city of Barranquilla is a displaced community known as Kilometer 7. There nearly three hundred families, displaced by the ongoing violence, try to survive under desperate conditions. Each family has a small, one-room shelter about ten feet by fourteen feet, with a concrete floor, a corrugated tin roof, and wood or plastic walls. That one room serves as bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. Water is rationed from a fire truck that comes from the city. Food is scarce. Many children are underweight with streaks of orange or red in their hair, a sign of malnutrition. There is little to no work available.

has lost over eighty members to violence carried out either by the paramilitary or the guerrillas

and constantly endures harassment from both sides. Despite the threats, these communities have persevered for over thirty years and stand as beacons of hope.

Magalis Maria Licona de la Hoz

Magalis Maria Licona de la Hoz and her husband own a three-room home in the barrio of Apartadó. Most people living there work on the banana plantations.

Their five children attend school; the oldest is a member of the first graduating class from the Presbyterian High School, Colegio Americano.

Magalis was the fifth of twelve children. Her parents were campesinos. They were not evangelicals, but Magalis liked the gospel since she was seven years old and heard the good news from an itinerant preacher.

At age fifteen, remembering the

preacher’s message, she knelt and gave her life to the Lord. She tried to live the Christian life but there were no other Christians around. Even her husband, Rafael, was not an evangelical until he came to the Lord following the death of one of his friends.

Later Magalis became ill. Two doctors in Medellín said there was no cure for the disease. The people of her church prayed and fasted for three days and she was healed.

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The mayor of Barranquilla promised the families of Kilometer 7 that more aid would be forthcoming, but they have not received it. After months of waiting for the promised assistance, a delegation of four leaders from the displaced community went to the mayor's office to demand the promised aid. Those four community leaders ended up dead — assassinated. Those who demand their rights are considered subversive.

Peace Communities

Communities in Colombia have made an effort to establish a lifestyle of nonviolence in the violent situation by forming Peace Communities. Peace Communities pledge not to participate in the war and to avoid alliances with any of the armed groups. These communities work together collectively, farming or producing craft goods. Members participate directly in the governing of their communities. Over fifty Peace Communities exist in Colombia.

Declaring one’s community a peace community does not mean the community will not suffer. San José de Apartadó, the oldest peace community in Colombia,

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Rafael and Magalis moved to Apartadó. When the pastor of the church was threatened and left, Magalis and Rafael became worship leaders for two years.

Magalis studies theology at the Reformed University of Colombia. She is active in her congregation and presbytery. Through the church she has learned to be a leader and to seek justice. When the new Presbytery Council of Urabá was elected, Magalis raised her voice to say there were only men on the Council. The others realized it is important for all to have a voice, and now she serves as the only woman member of the council. Someday Magalis would like to be the pastor in Apartadó.

The Rev. Milton Mejia

Milton Mejia graduated from the Presbyterian Seminary of Colombia. He is married to the Rev. Adelaida Jimenez. They are the parents of two small boys. Milton serves as the executive secretary of the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia and the moderator of Fourth Presbyterian Church of Barranquilla.

Milton tries to model God’s vision to the world and the churches he serves. His duties deal with the needs of the church as well as those of the displaced people of Colombia. He seeks to promote civil rights, work against social injustice, and search for justice. He also relates to non-governmental organizations dealing with human

rights. In the midst of all of this, Milton makes the time to support pastors in their ministries.

Milton and his family have received death threats because of his work with union leaders and Colombians who are poor and displaced. In spite of the danger, Milton’s faith in Christ inspires and sustains him in his ministry.

The Rev. Diego Higuita

Diego Higuita worked on a tomato farm during high school. Friends invited him to the youth group at the Presbyterian Church. There he met Neisa and fell in love. He received a scholarship from the deacons to attend school in Barranquilla. During a break, he and Neisa were secretly married by a judge.

Diego had a job driving an ambulance for a hospital at a time of increased violence. Dead bodies lay on the roadside. Diego was so afraid to drive through towns that he developed health problems. When he drove the ambulance, people would say, “Please take me with you or they will kill me,” referring to the guerrillas’ practice of telling towns to evacuate or die. Diego would often respond that the people should leave town and go up the road where he would pick them up so he could not be seen.

Neisa was pregnant and very frightened for Diego while he drove the ambulance. She said her fears must have soaked into her pregnancy because of problems their child has developed.

When he finished school, the church asked him to serve as a deacon. Diego continues to provide leadership for his congregation, the presbytery, and serves as moderator of the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia. His witness has led his parents and brothers to Christ.

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Presbyterian Projects

The Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia (IPC) and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have partnered in several projects addressing needs in Colombia. In response to the massive internal displacement a farming project was started to alleviate the problem of hunger. The Bible Institute of the Urabá Presbytery offers leadership training and development for lay pastors in rural communities. The Central and Urabá Presbyteries host a home that provides a place for people who are poor to receive health care and short-term housing. College students, victims of violence, and people attending meetings are also able to stay at this home for a low cost. The Reformed University of Colombia teaches the church leaders of today and tomorrow.

Many members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have visited Presbyterians in Colombia to witness the struggle they face and the work they do for peace. For five years, Miami Presbytery in Ohio and North Coast Presbytery of Colombia have established and nurtured a partnership. Urabá Presbytery of Colombia and Winnebago Presbytery in Wisconsin entered into a partnership in 2002. Such relationships allow Presbyterians of both countries to meet, worship together, learn from one another, and work together for social justice.

PC(USA) Policy on Colombia

The 210th General Assembly (1998) approved Overture 98-20 supporting ecumenical efforts to promote peace and justice in Colombia. Those efforts played a role in the creation of An Urgent Call from Colombia to the Churches in the North, Bogotá, Colombia - July 1, 2000.

The 213th General Assembly (2001) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.):

y Offered its prayers for the realization of peace and justice in Colombia;

y Called for the demilitarization of U.S. anti-drug policies in foreign countries, in particular Colombia;

y Urged that money spent on anti-drug efforts in Colombia should be part of a long-term effort to eliminate the reasons why Colombians turn to the cultivation of illegal crops in the first place;

y Deplored the rapid growth of armed paramilitary and guerrilla groups in Colombia who support themselves through complicity in the drug trade and exercise domination of the people through terror;

y Decried the record of widespread abuse of human rights by the Colombian military and their documented ties with violent paramilitary groups; and declared it morally repugnant for the U.S. and its allies to grant large amounts of aid to a military with Colombia’s grievous human rights record; and

y Called on the U.S. and other nations to shift future aid grants from Colombia’s military to debt relief for impoverished nations, humanitarian, and self-development aid for the people of Colombia, and drug prevention treatment programs in the United States.

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What Can I Do1. Pray for the people of Colombia. Start a prayer

group that meets regularly to pray for peace in Colombia and other war torn regions of God’s world. Invite participants to find and share news articles about Colombia. Name what needs to be prayed for in each situation. Close with silent or shared spoken prayer.

2. Convene a study group. Read the appeals from the churches of Colombia: A Letter to Churches, Ecumenical Organizations and Concerned Friends from the Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia Synod Council - September 19, 2003: www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/ep/country/col-friends.htm; and An Urgent Call from Colombia to the Churches in the North, Bogotá, Colombia - July 1, 2000: www.mcc.org/us/washington/seedsofpeace/call.html. Discuss ways to respond.

3. Write to President Bush or your legislators about the United States involvement in Colombia and the monetary aid being given to the Colombian military. The Presbyterian Washington Office (www.pcusa.org/washington) helps Presbyterians and congregations advocate the policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly and includes a network on Latin America.

4. Financially support ministry in Colombia through the following Extra Commitment Opportunities:

y Colombia Reformed University Leadership Training in Urabá #047861

y Colombia Reformed University Library #862507

y Colombia Reformed University School of Music #862557

y Colombia Reformed University School of Theology #862521

y Colombia Reformed University School of Theology – Regional Centers #862528

y Colombia Reformed University School of Theology – Scholarships #862554

y Displaced Communities/Agricultural/Pig Farm #047871

y Presbyterian Home, Central and Urabá Presbyteries #047870

y Reformed University of Colombia #051801

5. Raise questions about United States policies in Colombia during this year’s election campaign. Prepare questions for town meetings, write to candidates, write letters to the editor, or gather a group to hold posters at public events. Ask candidates why we spend so much money on a military policy in Colombia while basic services at home are cut and basic needs in Colombia go unmet. Encourage them to support alternative policies that would better support human rights and peace in Colombia and work to end drug abuse and related violence at home.

6. Join the PC(USA) Colombia Network to:

y accompany the Presbyterian Church of Colombia as they witness for human rights and care for the thousands of displaced persons;

y pray for Colombia’s peace and human rights advocates;

y educate the church regarding the crisis in Colombia;

y advocate with Congress and the administration for peace, justice, and an end to the militarization of the conflict in Colombia;

y work for peaceful resolution of the conflict in Colombia by standing with church leaders doing human rights and relief work in Colombia.

Contact the Rev. Jo Ella Holman at jholman@ctr.pcusa.org or (888) 728-7228 x5259 for more information.

7. Use Equal Exchange coffee from Colombia at church and at home. Equal Exchange is fair trade coffee that increases the income of coffee farmers, encouraging them to continue growing coffee rather than other crops. Learn about fair trade coffee at www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/hunger/coffee where an order form is available. Colombian coffee is found in Colombian CO2 Decaf and Fellowship Blend Decaf.

8. Use the prayers in this resource in a worship service with your congregation.

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For Further StudyBackground Papers from Church World Service

y U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Colombia: Background, Impact, and Alternatives

www.churchworldservice.org/pdf_files/E&A/ColombiaResource1.pdf

y Colombian Churches: Targeted for Promoting and Defending Human Rights

www.churchworldservice.org/pdf_files/E&A/ColombiaResource2.pdf

y Afro-Colombians: Promoting Alternatives to Violence, Displacement, and Impoverishment

www.churchworldservice.org/pdf_files/E&A/ColombiaResource3.pdf

Videos

y Colombians Speak out about Violence and U.S. Policy. Tom Driver and Anne Barstow. (VHS/DVD)

This video was filmed during a March 2003 visit to Colombia sponsored by the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and Witness for Peace. Inquiries: tfd3@columbia.edu

y Plan Colombia: Cashing in on the Drug War Failure. Gerard Ungerman and Audrey Brohy. (VHS)

Colombia Support Network P.O. Box 1505 Madison, WI 53703 csn@igc.org (618) 857-5713

Internet Sites

y Colombia Solidarity Campaign

This group works to educate about Colombia and to promote peace and justice.

www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk

y Colombia Support Network

This network promotes the development of sister communities in Colombia and the United States/

www.colombiasupport.net

y Center for International Policy

This research institute tracks legislation in regions of conflict.

www.ciponline.org

y Latin American Working Group

This group provides tools for advocates and background material on United States policy toward Colombia.

www.lawg.org

y Noche Y Niebla (In Spanish)

This group provides a database of human rights violations in Colombia.

www.nocheyniebla.org

y Washington Office on Latin America

This office educates about countries in Latin America, calls for legislative action, and provides a report card evaluating Plan Colombia.

www.wola.org

y Witness for Peace

This group takes delegations to countries in conflict to educate and raise awareness.

www.witnessforpeace.org

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Books

y Colombia: Fragmented Land, Divided Society. Frank Safford & Marco Palacios. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

y Driven by Drugs: U.S. Policy Towards Colombia. Russell Crandall. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002.

y Killing Peace: Colombia’s Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention. Garry M. Leech. New York: Information Network of the Americas, 2003.

y More Terrible Than Death. Robin Kirk. New York: Public Affairs, 2004

y Out of War: True Stories from the Front Lines of the Children’s Peace Movement in Colombia. Sara Cameron. New York: United Nations Publications, 2001.

y Toward Greater Peace and Security in Colombia: Forging a Constructive U.S. Policy. Bob Graham. New York: Council on Foreign Relations Press, 2000.

y Violence in Colombia 1990-2000: Waging War and Negotiating Peace. Charles Bergquist ed. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources, 2001.

y Walking Ghosts: Murder and Guerrilla Politics in Colombia. Steven Dudley. New York: Routledge, 2004.

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Offices Addressing Colombia

y Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (888) 728-7228 x5315 or x5341

y Colombia web page pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/ep/country/colhome.htm

y Office of Corporate Witness (888) 728-7228 x5812

y Presbyterian Peacemaking Program pcusa.org/peacemaking/actnow/actnow.htm#colombia (888) 728-7228 x5788

y Presbyterian Washington Office www.pcusa.org/washington (202) 543-1126

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Global Partners in Colombia

y Sínodo de la Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia • The Rev. Diego Higuita, Moderator • The Rev. Milton Mejia, Executive Secretary

y Universidad Reformada de Colombia • The Rev. Gonzalo Derney Ramos, Director

y Sínodo Presbiteriano Reformado de la Iglesia de Colombia • The Rev. Hernán Mendoza, Moderator • Marta Niño, Executive Secretary

Prayers for the People of Colombia

God of the past, God of the future, God who today hears the cry of people who are poor and oppressed, we pray for our sisters and brothers in Colombia. Stand with them in their daily struggle with the consequences of war and economic injustice. Guide them in paths of nonviolence, justice, and peace. Show us concrete ways to express our compassion and love. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.

Gracious God, remind us that Jesus knew life as a refugee. His parents fled to Egypt for safety. We pray for the millions of people displaced in Colombia by war and economic exploitation. We pray for those whose homes and villages have been destroyed by guerrilla forces, by paramilitaries or by military forces. We pray for those driven from their land by fumigation efforts. We pray for those whose homes have been seized for gain by the powerful. We pray for those who have journeyed to the cities, adding to the growing number of people who are unemployed or underemployed. May each one know your loving care. Bless the efforts of all who work for the day when all the people of Colombia will have safe, secure places to call home. We pray in the name of the one who had no place to lay his head, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

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God whose will is peace,

We pray for the visionaries of Colombia

who dream dreams and see new possibilities.

We pray for the hope sharers of Colombia

who do not give in to despair,

who seek to bring healing to

broken hearts, broken communities, and broken institutions.

We pray for the peacemakers of Colombia

who practice nonviolence,

who seek justice.

We pray for the risk takers of Colombia,

who know that the costs of resisting are great

but who recognize that the risks of going along with evil are even greater.

By your Holy Spirit, nurture and guide them.

By your Holy Spirit, inspire others to join them.

By your Holy Spirit, move us to support them.

Bless the efforts to bring peace and justice to Colombia.

We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Prayer from the Popular Women’s Organization of Barrancabermeja

God of life, give us the strength to hold high the

living Word.

May trust in you fill my daily endeavors.

Forgive me and help me to forgive the bringers of

pain and violence.

Lord of Life, protect our sons, daughters, and our

homes.

Lord of Life, protect us from so much hate and

perverted minds.

Lord of Life, permit us to enjoy the strength that is

felt in being together.

For civility, for life, for the Word. Guide us in every

moment. Amen.

A Brief Group Study Process Using This Resource

y Encourage participants to read the resource in advance.

y Open with prayer.

y Read John 10:1-10 three times. Consider having three different people read.

y Allow a moment of silence after each reading.

y Discuss some of the following questions:

• How does John 10:1-10 speak to the situation of Christians in Colombia?

• How does John 10:1-10 speak to Christians in the United States seeking to respond to the situation in Colombia?

• What did you learn about Colombia that you did not know before?

• What would it be like to live in a country with such a violent history?

• How would you respond to President Uribe’s claim that “human rights workers are in the service of terrorism?”

• What might Presbyterians in the United States learn from our sisters and brothers in Colombia?

• What new questions do you have about the situation in Colombia?

• In what ways do you feel called to work for justice in Colombia?

• In what ways might we, as a congregation or group, work for justice in Colombia?

y Discuss next steps that the group might take together.

y Close using a hymn or a prayer from this resource.

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Contributors: Susan Andrews, María Arroyo, Vernon Broyles, Ervin Bullock, Catherine Gordon, Jo Ella Holman, Milton Mejia, Roger Powers, Alice Winters, Germán Zárate and Megan Zimmerman

Editor: Mark Koenig

Photographs: Vernon Broyles, Iglesia Presbiteriana de Colombia, and Alexa Smith

Graphic Design: Rob Gorstein

Copyediting: Lorene Johnson

Additional copies of this resource are available for $1.00 plus s/h (10 or more copies – $.75) from Presbyterian Distribution Services, (800) 524-2612: PDS #70-270-04-015. Reproduction of this resource is permitted.

Published by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, in cooperation with the Office for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Office of Corporate Witness.

Ministries of the General Assembly Council, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

This resource is made possible by your generous gifts to the Peacemaking Offering.

C Printed on recycled paper.

PDS # 70-270-04-015