The Journal of the Baptist Peacemaker October-December 2016 - 21

sTorIes oF Peacemakers
However, as I was working through the syllabus with Dalia
Juárez Fernández (Academic Coordinator of the SIM) we
realized there was already much Western influence in the way
evangélico leaders in southern Mexico preach. All of a sudden,
the course turned from what should have been a simple course
on homiletics to a conversation on communication, preaching,
decolonizing and self-determination.
I must confess it was a most difficult course program for
me to formulate. I am thankful for the focus on peace and
justice the BPFNA brought and the intercultural commitment
that the SIM has, for together they provided us a helpful
framework from which to develop themes for conversation
around preaching, storytelling and the best indigenous ways
to communicate ideas and truth.
We had intense moments of conversation-from a review
of biblical interpretation to hermeneutics to the challenge
and opportunity to be oneself as one reads scripture and the
times in which we live. These enable us to better question our
understanding of the text and the way the communities in
which we are called to preach would receive them.
This last step-questioning the text and our contexts-
proved to be the most difficult. And it was difficult, not because
I did not expect it to be, but because refusing to question the
Bible is at the core of the way many Western missionaries
have and continue to project their understanding of the holy
scriptures. It was evident that the peace commitment of the
BPFNA and the intercultural commitment of the SIM are and
must continue to be a commitment to decolonization.

To be able to slow down the Western forms of pedagogy,
and prefer some Freireian1 conversation models of learning,
allowed the students the freedom to share what are more
significant and efficient ways to share ideas and truth. The basic
question posited to the students was, "How are these truths that
you are challenged by, in the text and in your context, better
communicated to the communities with whom you feel called
to share this sermon?"
Matthew 5:1-12 was the text we all shared as we came to a
conversation about preaching. I was taken aback by the reports
each of the students made regarding which beatitude they
would take to share with their faith communities. Every single
one of them, Tzeltales,	Tsotsiles and Cachlanes referred to a story-
whether from their own lives or a story from the ancestors-to
explain what they felt the scripture was seeking to teach their
communities, regarding the truth they were to engage together in
discerning. And to see this in the lives and reports of 15 students,
again, changed my life and shifted my vocation.
-Amaury	Tañón-Santos,	who	was	born	in	Puerto	Rico,	is	a	teaching	
elder	member	of 	the	Elizabeth	Presbytery	and	parish	associate	of 	Nuevas	
Fronteras	Presbyterian	Church	in	Plainfield,	NJ.	He	is	the	networker	for	
the	Synod	of 	the	Northeast	of 	the	Presbyterian	Church,	USA.	He	is	a	
BPFNA	board	member	and	has	served	as	board	president.	
Endnote
1.Paulo Freire, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, was
a leading advocate of critical pedagogy, which focuses on
liberation themes.

Conferencia de Verano de BPFNA

BPFNA Summer Conference

ArroPáNDoNoS CoN ESPErANzA

CLotHINg EACH otHEr wItH HoPE

Con el deseo que en esta semana veamos con los ojos
del corazón que contempla que otro mundo es posible,
cuando compartimos desde la desnudez y arropamos
la esperanza en abrazos de amor, justicia y paz.

with eagerness during this week, we will see with the
eyes of our hearts that another world is possible when
we share our nakedness and clothe each other in love,
hope, justice, and peace.

17-22 de julio del 2017
el Campamento Mazahua
Toluca, México

July 17-22, 2017
Misión Mazahua
Toluca, Mexico

Cada año realizamos una conferencia de verano, y esta es para
nosotros una reunión para todas y todos los que anhelan una
espiritualidad, inspiración, habilidades, conocimiento y una
comunidad que apoye una vida de paz enraizada en justicia.
Pacificadores y pacificadoras del continente se reunirán
por una semana en donde compartiremos experiencias,
aprenderemos y, sobre todo, nos animaremos para
continuar con este trabajo por la justicia y la paz. A través
de meditaciones, liturgias, música, talleres, convivencia
intergeneracional, estudios bíblicos, películas, actividades
recreativas, programas para todas las edades, entre otras
cosas más, nos equiparemos para el trabajo de crear Otro
mundo posible.

BPFNA's annual conference is for everyone who longs for the
spirituality, inspiration, skills, knowledge and community
to support a life of peace rooted in justice. Peacemakers
from throughout the continent will be coming together in
for a week of inspiration and training that will empower
our personal and corporate work for justice. Through
meditation, worship, music, workshops, intergenerational
recreation, bible studies, movies, educational programs for
all ages, and more, we'll equip ourselves for the work of
creating a better world.

¿Cuándo Te viMos desnudo? When did We see you naked?

704-521-6051
www.bpfna.org/gather/summer-conference

Baptist Peacemaker

OCT-DEC 2016 21
http://www.bpfna.org/gather/summer-conference
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peacemaker October-December 2016
