The Journal of the Baptist Peacemaker October-December 2016 - 3

From The Board & sTaFF

BPFNA Hires Ximena Ulloa Montemayor
as Program Manager for First Summer
Conference in Mexico
T

he BPFNA staff announced in June that the organization
had hired Ximena (Mena) Ulloa Montemayor as Program
Manager for the 2017 Summer Conference in Toluca, Mexico.
This will be the first conference BPFNA has held in Mexico.
Mena is a current BPFNA board member, and she and her
family have long-standing ties to BPFNA and the Baptist faith.
Her parents, Javier and Rebeca, are the pastors of Shalom
Baptist Church in Mexico City.
Her mother was the first Baptist woman to be ordained
in Mexico. Her father is a former BPFNA board member and
helped to host a board meeting in Mexico City in 1996.
Born in Monterrey, Mena has lived in Mexico City since she
was 6 years old. She recently completed her university studies
in archaeology with her final research focused on the early
occupations of Mexico.
Mena loves to work
with children and youth (she
worked with the children and
youth at this year's Summer
Conference) and she is also a
talented musician. Mena has
attended several Summer
Conferences, beginning at
a very young age. In 2015,
she led music one evening
while her father served as
the worship leader.
"I'm very happy to be
part of BPFNA ~ Bautistas
por la paz," said Mena. "I
could not have imagined
that, years after I was first
introduced to BPFNA, I
would be a member of the
board and part of the staff
for Peace Camp 2017. I'm

very excited about being part of this great work and very
honored to be asked. I'll put in my best. I'm convinced that
Another World is possible if we work together to seek justice,
peace and making god's Kingdom a reality here and now."
The 2017 Summer Conference will be July 17-22 at Misión
Mazahua, a hacienda converted in 1978 by Norberto and Lisa
Cortés to serve as a hub to provide services and support to the
local indigenous Mazahua people.
"We are extremely fortunate to have Mena as our Summer
Conference Program Manager for 2017," said BPFNA
Executive Director LeDayne McLeese Polaski.
"This conference will be monumental in forming new
relationships and expanding the BPFNA~ Bautistas por la Paz
community to include more people, particularly native Spanish
speakers, from across Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada and the
United States.
"As a result, we want to
do this well and we want
our efforts to be intentional.
Through Mena's talents,
networks and outreach,
we a re c o n f i d e n t t h at
the programming will be
outstanding and that the
week will empower many
voices that are often left
unheard or marginalized.
Our overall hope is that more
people will find a welcoming
home in BPFNA and that
together we can build the
beloved community."
-Staff	note:	Keep	checking	for	more	
information	and	new	developments	
in	 Summer	 Conference	 2017	
planning	 at	 www.bpfna.org/
gather/summer-conference.	

Baptist Peacemaker

OCT-DEC 2016

3
http://www.bpfna.org/gather/summer-conference http://www.bpfna.org/gather/summer-conference
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peacemaker October-December 2016
