Spain
Background
Spain is a bridge country between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East. The Spanish government elected in March 2004 is working to establish a secular state that includes all minority religious groups (Protestants, Jews and Muslims) alongside the dominant Catholic cultural community.
Thirty years ago the Protestant community in Spain was estimated to be 40,000. Today that number is said to be more than 350,000. The PC(USA) works in partnership with the Evangelical Church of Spain (IEE), which is Methodist and Presbyterian in background. The Eastminster and Wabash Valley presbyteries of the PC(USA) have developed partnerships with two IEE presbyteries, sharing visits and programs.
The Evangelical Church of Spain reaches out across faith lines to serve new immigrant communities from Africa, South America and Central Europe. PC(USA) mission worker Osmundo Ponce, who served most recently in Honduras, now teaches at the Untied Evangelical theological seminary in Madrid. The seminary is developing a residence and extension program for students throughout the Iberian Peninsula and the Spanish-speaking world. The Rev. Alfredo Abad, general secretary of the IEE and pastor of a Madrid congregation, participated in the PC(USA) International Peacemaking Program in 2007.
Partner church
Spanish Evangelical Church
Partner organizations
United Evangelical Theological Seminary
The PC(USA) also relates to the Conference of European Churches (CEC), a regional ecumenical organization. The movement that led to the creation of the CEC dates back to the period of the Cold War, when a group of church leaders brought into conversation churches in European countries separated by different political, economic and social systems. CEC has sought to build bridges not only between Eastern and Western Europe but also been between minority and majority churches and between Christians of different confessional traditions.
Resources
Ten Days of Prayer and Thanksgiving for Roma, 2011
Ten Days of Prayer and Thanksgiving for Roma, 2012
Prayer and Thanksgiving for Roma 2013
Learn more about Spain
Visit the BBC country profile.
