By Joseph Russ, PC(USA) Coordinator for Migration Issues, Advocacy, and Mission in the Northern Triangle of Central America
Last week, I had the joy and privilege of accompanying a visit from New Castle Presbytery to Guatemala with local partners like the Association of Mam Christian Women for Development (Association) and the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America (CEDEPCA). In my work as Coordinator for Migration Issues, Advocacy, and Mission in the Northern Triangle of Central America for PC(USA) World Mission, I support local partners like CEDEPCA that address migration issues and jumped at the chance to get to know the work New Castle Presbytery supports.
On Saturday, we visited AJPU, a non-governmental organization (NGO) that makes stoves to improve efficiency while cooking food. In collaboration with funds donated to the Association and CEDEPCA, they have developed and provided these stoves at reduced costs to participants in the Association’s programs.
Vicente, Alfredo, and Geovany walked us through every detail of the stoves, from how they’re built, how they install them, and showing us the test results demonstrating their quality. Beyond the stoves, they also shared about water filters and environmental conservation, because this is about so much more than just stoves.
The stoves save wood, and the water filters promote health without depending on bottled water, saving plastic. And both help families save money. Also, AJPU administers a private forest as part of its conservation efforts. They aren’t just producers of useful household gadgets, but are committed to environmental justice. The members of AJPU are involved in a variety of initiatives, and Vicente even went to Morocco for a conference on climate change to strengthen his advocacy and environmental justice work in Guatemala.
Several Latin American theologians emphasize the importance of caring for creation as an integral part of the work of justice that God calls us to. One Brazilian theologian in particular, Ivone Guebara, connects this environmental justice to gender justice. As she points out, one key reason people feel so comfortable exploiting the land is because we conceive of the Earth as a woman.
We call her Mother Nature. Pachamama. La tierra.
In patriarchal societies like ours, women are encouraged to give of themselves sacrificially for their children and the men in their lives. It may be an expression of love, but it can easily become exploitative.
By the same token, our Mother Earth is expected to surrender her resources to the human race, especially men. For Gebara, the exploitation of women and the Earth rests on “the dependence of women on men but also the anthropological superiority of human beings.”
Her “ecofeminism” links environmental and gender justice inextricably.
An ecofeminist theology refuses to ignore the feminine form our own God takes. When we turn God into a Father above and the Earth into a woman below, we reinforce an unjust relationship with women and the Earth. As Gebara writes, “In our patriarchal culture … God, considered as a super power, has a masculine face.”
Even the Bible does not present an exclusively masculine face of God. While walking through one of the villages, I stumbled across a chicken gathering eggs under her wings and was reminded of Luke 13:34:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”
If we ignore the feminine face of God that appears in nature, it becomes easy to ignore the prophetic voices calling for both gender justice and environmental justice. If we embrace the feminine face of God, we are more open to these voices.
The Association of Mam Christian Women for Development has been very careful about which men they work with in their efforts, looking for men who are ready to embrace this vision of justice. After our visit with AJPU, and witnessing their commitment to environmental justice and gender justice, it’s clear they are good allies in these struggles. What a privilege it is to walk alongside them!
A wonderfully, reflective report with great photos which showcase some of the many positive things which are happening within these connected ministries and the work which supports it. This also helps us to see and celebrate gender equality and the inherent justice which the “feminine face of God” points us to recognize.
Dear Chapito , what a pleasure it was to have you along “for the ride” as we visited the communities that have become very close to my heart. I love seeing this work thru fresh eyes and you were the absolute perfect person to write about AJPU. Carrie and I deemed them “modern men” when we met them years ago. Your analogies of “Mother Earth” certainly go along with some of the stories Yohana has told us about Mayan legends, the importance of conservation and “Mother Earth”.
Vaya con Dios,
Cathy