A Place at the Table

A Letter from Chenoa Stock, serving in Peru

Summer 2023

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Dear friends,

For everyone born, a place at the table,
for everyone born, clean water and bread,
a shelter, a space, a safe place for growing,
for everyone born, a star overhead, …

When I sang this hymn, “For Everyone Born, a Place at the Table,” at Forest Hill Church, Presbyterian, in Cleveland, Ohio, where our family has been attending, my heart was filled with so many emotions, as it beautifully reflected God’s mission, including our partnership in Peru.

So yes, it is easy to see that Peru and our partners there are facing many challenges and injustices throughout the country. For a partnership that is built on prayer and faithful accompaniment, it is important to know these facts. But where is hope amidst such challenges?

I believe that hope was felt and heard in the voices of our partners during the virtual gathering PERUSA, the ministry program that facilitates partnerships between U.S. churches and Peruvian partners, held in May, when four partners of the Peruvian Joining Hands Network shared about their work and ministries that intentionally give everyone “a place at the table.”

Milushka Rojas, the director of the Peruvian Joining Hands Network, presented a review of Peru’s history from 1980, sharing events that essentially led to the inequality and injustice that today is a cause of the country’s politics, social dynamics, and, most recently, the world’s highest death rate per capita from COVID-19 including the election and subsequent impeachment of José Pedro Castillo Terrones. Since then his indigenous supporters have marched and protested for new elections, a new constitution, and justice for those who have died at the hands of the armed forces.

Milushka, herself, commented that she recognized that what she shared was not always “good news,” but it is the current truth of the country. The other truth she shared, though, was that the partners of the Peruvian Joining Hands Network have supported their partners in these struggles. They advocated for vaccines for Peru in the early times of the pandemic, they supported soup kitchens for those lacking food, and most recently, provided food, hygienic materials, tents, as well as emotional and psychological support for those marching for justice. They have brought those in need to the table and provided them with “clean water and bread.”

Ebed Grijalva Yauri and Lucio Vila Huanca from the Ecumenical Center for Social Action and Promotion (CEDEPAS). Lucio, an agronomist and environmental specialist, shared how climate change and the droughts had affected the crop yield of the Picaflor Cututuni community, the overall crop storage and food insecurity. CEDEPAS worked with 32 families to provide greenhouses. When it was discovered that there was a scarcity of underground water and no access to irrigation for the greenhouses, they worked with the local government to create an irrigation system that operated on solar energy to provide organic crops for the families. This community-led project allowed families to come together to the table to provide a “shelter” and a “space” to contribute to their own food security in a sustainable way that cared for God’s creation and empowered their community.

Sherly Echavarría, project coordinator for Filomenas Tomaira Pacsi, based in the central highlands of La Oroya, then presented on the issues faced by children during the pandemic. As Peru’s schools were virtual for two years, many rural children did not have regular schooling due to no internet access. Filomenas, building from their ongoing work with their rural community’s children and youth, provided school materials, courses, equipment, and in-home tutors for families during the pandemic. They brought those children and families, who otherwise might have been left behind, to the table and provided them with a “safe place for growing” and learning during an unsafe and uncertain time.

Our final presenter was Eduardo Arboccó, president of the Peruvian Joining Hands Network, president of the Brotherhood of the Christian Life (a Joining Hands partner), and an Evangelical Church of Peru (IEP) pastor. Eduardo shared about the role of the church during these current times of political and social crisis. We learned that one of the first people to be killed by the police in the protests was Beckham Romario Quispe Garfias, a 17-year-old member of a rural IEP church in Andahuaylas. As is the case for the many protests during this time, the government took no action to seek justice for the deaths that occurred. Eduardo shared that the church has been complicit in this tragedy, as many turned a blind eye to the atrocities and injustices that were happening in their regions and marched for Peru’s armed forces to “put order” back into the country. However, different denominations came together as an ecumenical voice of solidarity and commitment and marched with the protestors; provided food, water and lodging; and wrote declarations to the government, speaking out against the injustices the protestors and many indigenous populations were facing.

Eduardo takes us to the next verse of the hymn:
For all who share life, a place at the table,
revising the roles, deciding the share,
with wisdom and grace, dividing the power,
for all who share life, a system that’s fair,…

God calls us ALL to share in abundant life. God says that ALL are welcome to the table. Each partner that presented serves and works for “revising the roles” in Peru – of the church, of society, of the government – in order that all can come to the table, as they are, knowing they have an equal voice in “a system that’s fair.”

And as we work toward that in Peru and around the world, let us ALL, loudly and boldly sing and be the chorus together.

… and God will delight when we are creators
of justice and joy, compassion and peace:
yes, God will delight when we are creators
of justice, justice and joy!

God’s Peace,
Chenoa

For Everyone Born, A Place at the Table
Words © 1998 Hope Publishing Company
https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw342.aspx
(There are more verses that are just as powerful and beautiful.)