GUATEMALA - Father Stone's View
The following is Father H. Reynold Stone's report to Archbishop Falk upon his return from Guatemala late last year. The IAF wishes to thank Father Stone for donating his time and talent in going to Guatemala to assist Bishop Rodriguez in his tireless work.
5 December 2000
Most Reverend Sir,
Let me begin this report with one general observation: the work achieved by Bishop Rodriguez Molina is truly a Herculean task which he, two priests, and two deacons have accomplished under anything but ideal circumstances. This native population of hundreds of people are literally starved for significant religious nurture in the search for which they willingly travel ten to 15 kilometers on foot even at night to satisfy this longing. At St. Augustine of Canterbury Mission there were over two hundred present; at Cadge there were nearly 200; at Chumanzana there were some eighty people present in a mid-week service.
On Sunday 5 November, we visited both the Parish of Holy Cross and that of St. Joseph in the capital. At the former there were two first communions. The latter parish in the suburbs of the capital came to the Diocese complete with building and congregation; there were some seventy communicants at the services. We left Guatemala City with two Quiche-speaking missionaries, one of whom was Dcn. Pedro Morales, and traveled to Boqueron for my first encounter with this mission, that of St. Augustine of Canterbury. For two years they had been without any spiritual leadership, and their elder had come to the capital seeking the services of the Anglican bishop of whom they had heard. The experience was so overwhelming that it set a tone for the rest of the trip. One Confirmation and First Communion preceded the Eucharist; some twenty-four or so marriages were blessed following the Mass. As occurred in all the missions, we met with the vestrymen of the mission either before or after the services to hear of their needs and aspirations.
At Pacaja we talked to the vestry of Whitsunday Mission at length and were splendidly fed at a luncheon held in a private home near the mission building. We again talked with the vestry about their perceived and anticipated needs.
From there we proceeded to St. James the Apostle Mission, where we spent two nights, sleeping on long-needle pine pilings on cement floors with blankets to cover ourselves. These parishioners were ambitious enough to have already purchased land for the construction of a church building, as they already have one building suitable for meetings and Sunday School, but it is insufficient to house the two hundred or so members of the mission for regular services. There needs are set out in the accompanying Diocesan Report. They truly have worked most diligently to achieve their goals. This location is also the center for missionary endeavors for the surrounding areas by the several seminarians who study each month in the capital under the tutelage of the Bishop and his clerics.
From here we returned to the only mission I had previously visited five years ago, the Transfiguration at Chumanzana. They, too, are bulging at the seams, and need to purchase land to build a meeting hall / Sunday School building as well as a kitchen apart from the existing building for fear of fire. This parish is stable and progressing nicely in this rural setting. There was a Baptism celebrated; the mother is the daughter of the local Episcopal Mission priest.
After an overnight stay in Chumanzana, we climbed the mountain to meet Father Santos Garcia and Dcn. Salvador Velasquez and headed for the western coast to visit the mission of the Sacred Name of Jesus Mission in Pasin, Suchitepequez. The twenty or so members of this mission who worshiped with us on Wednesday afternoon were native speakers of Quiche from the mountains we had just left, so my brief remarks were translated for them.
This in brief is the story of my travels in Guatemala for the International Anglican Fellowship. The missionary work accomplished by these few clerics in Guatemala, and their several seminarian missioners from the hill country is impressive and amazing in its breadth. Even more impressive is their desire for knowledge of the true Christian faith which their actions and questions demonstrated when we had the opportunity to talk to them at greater length after services. Whatever our monetary missionary efforts can underwrite among these spiritually hungry folk would only be commensurate with their fervent desire to serve the Lord and their fellow men in true Christian charity.
/s/ The Rev. H. Reynolds Stone, Ph.D.