Nine indigenous leaders recently graduated from CeFA (Centro de Formación Anglicano, or the Anglican Formation Centre) in Ingeniero Juárez, Argentina.

Over the past year, these nine students have grown in knowledge, ability and confidence.

One student, Jorge, says, “Through this training we realise that we have strong foundations, our faith has a firm base and a structure.”

CeFA was established last year to train indigenous leaders from across the Diocese of Northern Argentina for ministry and mission in their communities.

This first cohort of nine students completed the course without missing any classes all year, despite some having to travel more than seven hours every fortnight to reach the centre.

All the students have studied in their second language, Spanish.

This centre helps to meet the need for training identified through a CMS-facilitated Indigenous Mission Congress, and CMS has funded training places.

The leaders trained here will play a vital role as indigenous people take the lead in mission across northern Argentina.

Vicar General Daniel Lescano commented, “We really feel very blessed by everything that happened this year.”

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Jorge hadn’t studied for 25 years. Luis only completed the first year of secondary school. Both needed training to confidently serve as deacons of indigenous congregations in the Diocese of Northern Argentina.

Thanks to your support, a new centre in Ingeniero Juárez is equipping them. The diocese is vast, containing 187 churches among five people groups. Since missionaries first shared the gospel with the Wichí people in 1911, many people have become Christians.

But in the last four years, 80 older pastors have died, so training younger, indigenous leaders has been identified as a priority by a CMSsupported Indigenous Mission Congress that brought people groups together to plan a way forward. Vicar General Daniel Lescano says: “Training is needed for good biblical teaching… biblical knowledge and understanding is necessary. Furthermore, widespread drug use and alcoholism are demanding relevant pastoral responses.”

The new Centro de Formación Anglicano (CEFA) offers training designed for students like Jorge and Luis. Trainers like CMS local partner Marcos Humacata understand the leaders have limited formal education, are studying in their second language, Spanish, and come from oral storytelling cultures.

The leaders in training travel great distances to study at the centre (co-ordinated by CMS local partner Mirna Paulo), staying for two weeks, followed by a week at home – so families needn’t be uprooted.

The 10 students at the centre focus on cultivating character and growing in knowledge and abilities. Coming from different cultures means students learn to resolve conflicts and collaborate.

Confidence is building among the newly trained leaders – Luis comments: “When I first got here, I was fearful… now I trust the other students and I enjoy all that we are learning.”

Jorge adds, “Through this training we realise that we have strong foundations, our faith has a firm base and a structure….”

Pray together

Please pray for students to be strengthened and equipped as they take learnings back to their communities.

Pray for safe travels for students between home and the training centre, and pray for their families while the students are away.

Pray for good relationships between students, and that this will help them to build bridges in their ministry.

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The post New centre for new indigenous leaders appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

If I have any “known knowns” it is the reality of Jesus, who walks before, beside and behind me, who encompasses me and who is good news to the depths of my soul.

by Richard Passmore, director of the Northern Mission Centre, a partnership between God for All and CMS.

2 February 2022

It is a soul knowledge where definition of who, and how, of why and what fade into insignificance.

It is soul experience of love and care, of positive regard and compassion beyond feelings or formulas.

It is a soul space where deep meets deep with an acceptance that is unconditional and independent of schemas and systems and a call that is too easily reduced to a method and corrupted into a mechanism.

Yet we in our human frailty rely on these methods, definitions, systems and schemas to try to communicate something of that reality that we experience.

We hold stardust in our souls but our words are grains of sand slipping through our fingers.

We feel such welcome in our being but offer a coir mat stamped with a word that cannot possibly convey the depth of acceptance we know.

Our minds are expanded and neurons fizz with an energy that is beyond logic but we offer a recipe that can only be a bland version of the delights we know.

So how do we share this good news, how might we convey that deeply held known?

What can do justice to the story that jumped off the page, out of pulpit, beyond the building and calls all walls to dust?

Might we simply live and try to tell the tale more honestly, more openly bearing witness to the questions we still have and in doing so communicate the deeper truth beyond. Can we seek out the deep soul sparks in others to listen and learn?

Might we let go of our formulas, systems, equations, to be still and still moving as we journey with others and the Other within the lifeline etched like a valley in the palm of Christ’s hand.

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