Covenant Relationship with Bluefields, Nicaragua

www.cepad.org.ni

The Council of Protestants of Nicaragua (CEPAD) is a Christian organization answering God's call to stand with and serve poor communities by means of development programs, emergency relief and by promoting just relationships between men and women.  It was created as a response ministry following the devastating 1972 earthquake in Managua and has a formal partnership with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).   The Bluefields Pastoral Committee is one of twenty pastoral committees in Nicaragua within the CEPAD organization.

Former BPC members David and Wendy Gist served as Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-workers with CEPAD for 6 ½ years and three delegations from BPC visited Nicaragua during their time there.  Through CEPAD, BPC initiated a relationship with the Bluefields Pastoral Committee, an ecumenical board representing 20-25 churches, in response to the ongoing disasters in that country. Since 2000, two teams of several Bluefields pastors and laity have visited BPC; additionally, two representatives from BPC have attended each biannual partnership conference in Managua along with Bluefields delegates, including visits to Bluefields. Juliana Omeir from Bluefields served ten months as a Missionary in Residence at BPC beginning in 2001. A team of Bluefields youth and pastors shared the annual rafting trip with BPC high schoolers in 2007 and a team of BPC youth and young adults will join Bluefields youth in Managua and Bluefields in July 2009.  The goal of the BPC relationship is to discover ways of doing respectful ministry together built on the leadership  and wisdom of each partner.

A covenant relationship is mission ministry that focuses on building personal connections by sharing faith, dreams and struggles, and by being a presence in each other's lives. To participate in this international commitment is to transcend relationships based on economic disparities and to struggle together with ways to honor Christ and each other through walking into tough issues.

There are many ways to be involved with our Nicaraguan partners. When a delegation visits BPC, you can host a guest in your home, share a meal with the group, assist with interpretation as needed, and accompany guests to places of interest in the community. Or you can be part of a BPC delegation to Bluefields.