Urabá Presbytery has its offices in Apartadó. He is part of the larger Colombian church and has long worked as a community leader.Ī street scene in Apartadó, Colombia. Higuita has been part of the Presbytery of Urabá since it was created in 1991. Clean water sources are desperately needed, and planting new trees helps create a better environment in the area. This area suffers from extensive environmental pollution, mostly due to chemicals and pesticides used on export plantations, especially bananas and palm oil. “VPC members Joan and Dave Gifford were invited by the Presbytery of Urabá to accompany them on a vision trip in 2010, and they returned convicted to establish a relationship between the people of Colombia and VPC,” says Sue Hamblen, mission director of VPC. Vienna Presbyterian Church in Vienna, Va., has sent four teams to Apartadó in partnership with the Urabá Presbytery. Urabá also has a missional relationship with First Presbyterian Church in Stockton, Calif., which has helped to provide clean water sources to the area. This includes a covenant relationship with Winnebago Presbytery. to assist with its peace-building mission. Urabá Presbytery counts on its partners in the U.S. Both Smith and Maribel Pérez, his wife, are PC(USA) mission co-workers based in Argentina. César Carhuachín, who teaches at the Reformed University.ĭennis Smith, World Mission’s regional liaison for South America, traveled with the group and served as an interpreter throughout the trip, bringing both language clarity and Colombian context to our visits. Sarah Henken, who is engaged in peace and reconciliation work with the IPC, and Rev. Presbyterian World Mission has two mission co-workers serving in Colombia, both living in Barranquilla: Rev. Presbyterian Foundation leaders recently visited Colombia to better understand the country, its history of conflict, and what support is needed today as the IPC continues to minister in partnership with the PC(USA). “But we are not at peace.” Indeed, under the current administration hundreds of peasant leaders and human rights activists have been assassinated, most of them in remote rural areas. Diego Higuita, Executive Secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (known by its Spanish name, IPC). Since the Peace Accords were signed in 2017, the region is calmer.
To serve as a community leader in this region is to risk one’s life, and the life of one’s family. This presbytery is one of three in Colombia, and its offices are located in Apartadó on the campus of the Colegio Americano school. The presbytery includes the region around Apartadó and encompasses 10 churches and another 14 congregations (Colombian church leaders use the term congregations for new church developments that are not yet chartered.). Nearly 80 percent of the members of Urabá Presbytery are displaced people, which means they’ve been forced off their land. It is also a place that has been deeply affected by violence attributed to drug traffickers, paramilitary and guerilla groups, and the Colombian armed forces. ĪPARTADÓ, Colombia - Apartadó is known for abundant banana and palm oil crops as plantations line the roadways. To read the second story in the series, click here.
To read the first story in the series, click here. This story concentrates on Urabá Presbytery, which is headquartered in Apartadó.
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(Photo by Robyn Davis Sekula)Įditor’s note: This is the third in a series of three stories about the work of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia (IPC) and the ways in which the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) supports that work. Singing and a time of prayer preceded a meeting with members of Urabá Presbytery.
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