Peacemakers: The Role of Anabaptist Churches in Guatemala and Honduras

This post is also available in: Spanish

Prayer Gathering in the Plaza in Guatemala City.

Anna Vogt is the LACA Advocacy and Policy Analyst.

“In light of the present situation, we call on: All of the members of the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Honduras; all Mennonite brothers and sisters worldwide; and all of the brother and sister churches with whom we share honour, support and obedience to the name of Jesus Christ, to declare a day of fasting and prayer for our nation, asking that the Lord will guide us toward a true social transformation, liberating our nation of social injustice, corruption and impunity.”

-Evangelical Mennonite Church of Honduras

“We express with humility our call, based in the radical demands that the Kingdom of God advocates, especially in this country that is considered to be Christian. Love that allows us to see each other as neighbours; justice that calls us to be builders of well being; and peace that urges us to live a life of service (not of selfish taking advantage, an assault on the heritage of all, or cynicism that seeks self-justification.)” – Casa Horeb, Anabaptist Mennonite Church of Guatemala, September 2015

There is a church on almost every street corner throughout Central America. From providing community within a neighbourhood or safe spaces for young people trying to leave gang violence behind, churches play an important role wherever they are found. Although made up of ordinary citizens, churches also have a unique position within their society because of the respect given to their collective moral voice.

As we saw with the Pope´s visit to the United States in September, religious voice holds an incredible amount of moral power to influence society and politics. Churches have the possibility to put forward a call that is not based on partisan politics, but rather out of a faith position, formulated as an interpretation of how Biblical doctrines intersect with current realities.

For those living in Honduras and Guatemala, the last few months have been turbulent, to say the least. In Guatemala, thanks to popular uprising over a corruption scandal, Guatemalan citizens forced the president to resign. While Honduras’s president has not yet stepped down, a similar situation is at play, including a corruption scandal and popular protest.

Evangelical Mennonite Church of Honduras

In both Guatemala and Honduras, Mennonite churches play a role in calling for change. In Guatemala, church members participated in marches and in the ecumenical prayer gatherings held each Saturday before protests in the plaza. In Honduras, the church is clear on their commitment to peace and justice, but church members are still searching for how exactly to turn that commitment into direct action. While agreeing on actions for the issues Honduras faces at a national level remains a challenge, churches are very engaged in their communities to practically live out their call to be peacemakers. For example, the Life in Abundance Evangelical Mennonite Church, remains in a neighbourhood ruled by street gangs and divided by violence to provide safe spaces, do community peace campaigns and lead peace workshops in local schools.

Both churches have, however, published declarations announcing, based on their Anabaptist faith, their support for change and commitment to participate in the formation of a different society.

The Honduran church calls: “To the power of the state: fulfill with integrity, courage, honesty, and responsibility our laws designated for the performance of your duties and provide answers to regain credibility, trust and dignity of the people who entrusted their lives to you.”

The statements are powerful, not least of all because the Mennonite churches in both contexts do not often publically express their moral voice. This in itself, illustrates how momentous are the changes taking place in both countries, especially within Guatemala, and the importance of including the church as an actor with much to offer in both contexts, now and in the future.

While churches have not been specifically mentioned in media coverage, who better than communities organized around principles of reconciliation and peace to actively put those faith tenets to work for social justice?

Prayer gathering in Guatemala

As the churches themselves declare:

“As a people, we ask for forgiveness for our apathy and indifference before so many years of plunder and eviction of public funds. As a church we also ask for forgiveness, along with other churches, for the many times we have not raised our prophetic voice to denounce injustices and in proclamation with testimonies of a Kingdom of brotherhood and solidarity. From our identity as disciples of Jesus, with humility we offer our contribution: We are part of those people who want to live in peace and who have risen against corruption to demand a radical change of country. As disciples of Jesus, we are heirs to a legacy of peace and reconciliation. We have received this legacy and for this reason, we can offer it to all peoples.” -Guatemala

“We are a historically pacifist and nonviolent church, founded on the values of the Kingdom of God. These values are love, justice, peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. We believe in conflict transformation through sincere and equal dialogue and we promote respect for human rights, as we also affirm that, in the social-economic-political conflict that continues in our country, those who most suffer are those that are at a social disadvantage, which represents the majority.” -Honduras

To read both statements in their entirety:

Visit the Facebook page: Peace and Justice Project of the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Honduras

Click here for the statement from Guatemala