Election Update and Independence

The presidential elections were held last Sunday, - and all went reasonably peacefully.
But that´s not the end of it. Nobody won more than 50% of the vote (not surprising given that there were 11 candidates!) which means that the 2 most popular candidates go through to a second round vote in November. From where I´m sitting there´s not much to choose from the 2. Otto Perez is an ex-army general with several human rights abuse accusations following him regarding his role in the 36 year civil war. He promises a hard line against crime. On the other hand, Manuel Baldizon, is a businessman and new to politics, but he also promises action against organised crime and the gangs, including introducing the death penalty. Both are now busy making alliances with the other candidates and parties in order to increase their support. But according to the popular wisdom, that won´t make any difference. In the last 20 years or so, every elected President in Guatemala, came second in the previous election. So this time, apparently it will go to Otto Perez, because 'it´s his turn' after coming second 4 years ago. We´ll wait and see.
This week, we´ve also had independence celebrations but compared to previous years, they´ve been fairly subdued. Many local authorities cancelled the usual marching band competitions and parades because they feared complications or increased violence because of the elections. On the other hand, there´s been plenty of 'antorchas' - groups of people running through the streets with an olympic style torch - which has worsened the usual traffic chaos!!! Exactly what independence is all about!

Tearfund Conference in Honduras

Last week, I attended a Tearfund conference in Honduras on behalf of the Ezra Centre. It was all about Climate Change and Environmental Degradation, and with other Tearfun partners from acorss Central America.
It was a great week, with a fantastic group of people. We talked alot about the science of climate change and how that is affecting many of the communities here in Central America. The next steps, as we all went back to our organisations, is to work out what we should do differently in order to provent some of the worst effects. Of course Climate Change isn´t going away, and it´s the developed nations that need to make big changes in order to drastically change our prospects - but we can do stuff to lessen the effects of climate change in communities who are most at risk.
We were staying in a beautiful Nature reserve.

My impression of a whale. (It´s a long story!)


With some of the other participants.

More books

I've been reading again. This time 'Hannah's Child: A Theologian's memoir' by Stanley Hauerwas. He has had a very 'prophetic' voice calling to the western church as well as to the wider society, but he writes with real humility and authenticity about his life and what has made him and influenced him. It's interesting how he talks about his journey to faith; he describes how he became a Christian gradually and several years into studying and even teaching theology. And also I love his discussion about the tendency of the church to attempt to give all the answers in life....

"Following Jesus means you cannot anticipate or ensure results. Learning to live out of control, learning to live without trying to force contingency into conformity because of our desperate need for security, I take to be a resource for discovering alternatives that would otherwise not be present."

"When Christianity is assumed to be an 'answer' that makes the world intelligible, it reflects an accommodated church committed to assuring Christians that the way things are is the way things have to be. Such 'answers' cannot help but turn Christianity into an explanation. For me, learning to be a Christian has meant learning to live without answers. Indeed, to learn to live in this way is what makes being a Christian so wonderful. Faith is but a name for learning how to go on without knowing the answers."

I guess this is where I've got to with God too. So much of life - even with faith - just doesn't have answers. But I like learning to live with God - but out of control!

Then last week, I read ' A Just Church; 21st century Liberation Theology in Action' by Chris Howson. It's a good expression of how Christians can put faith into action in issues of social justice and building real community in order to advance the reign of God. Inspiring and challenging.