A letter from Katie Griffin in Argentina
September 16, 2013
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:11-12
Dear Friends,
It is inevitable, due to the limited nature of the human being, to see the world through one’s own individual lenses, and to think of oneself as the icon of “normal.” I recently had a conversation with my 9-year-old daughter about what “normal” means. She insisted to me fretfully, in Spanish, “Mom, why can’t you be like the other moms at school? I wish I were more normal!”
I asked her what it meant to be normal. She tried to explain it to me. I asked her if what she understood as normal in her new, private school is the same as what was normal last year in her old, public school. She had to stop and think. Then I asked her if what was normal in her private school here in a suburb of Buenos Aires would be normal in a village in Africa. Oh, how frustrating to be the daughter of a theologian in Presbyterian World Mission!!
How does a society define normal? Can those who are not normal according to these definitions find ways to re-accommodate themselves? Or are they better off simply deciding that the socio-cultural norm is wrong?
These are questions that we are asking at the Instituto Superior Evangélico de Estudios Teológicos (ISEDET), where I am teaching. ISEDET represents a trajectory of more than 125 years of Protestant theological education in the River Plate region of South America (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay). ISEDET has produced world-renowned theologians. Nevertheless, ISEDET operates in a social and cultural context where Roman Catholicism is the religious “norm” and where most Protestant churches represent a very small portion of a very small middle class. The economic “normal” is a small and powerful wealthy class, a small and not so powerful middle class, and a very large population of people who live on or below the poverty line.
As ISEDET has begun a serious and critical reflection on its institutional identity, we ponder ... How de we accommodate ourselves into the norms of Argentine society without denying our unique contributions? Do we not want to play the same game? Would we rather be a totally different kind of institution, free of the colonialism that the “norm” imposes?
These are very difficult questions to answer, and the consequences of decisions that could be made are hard to determine. ISEDET is on a roller-coaster ride, which for some is exhilarating, and for others is nauseating.
In the midst of these explorations on institutional identity about which faculty and board members are conversing, the students try to study, discern God’s calling in their lives, and hope that the classes they still need to take in order to finish their degree programs will be offered.
As a Presbyterian mission co-worker I can listen in on the debates, ask questions, and pray. I am not a part of the decision-making bodies. I have found that my pastoral calling—above and beyond my academic calling—has been sorely needed. I have found that simply replying to my colleagues with a word of encouragement, commitment to prayer, and a listening ear has also helped to soften bitter resentments that sometimes obstruct committee deliberations.
In faculty meetings we are considering a variety of new curriculum designs, depending on whether the board of directors decides to seek official accreditation of our degree programs or not. We need to decide what we will teach in 2014, even if the board does not come to a clear decision. Many professors feel like we are working in the dark. The current Academic Dean and acting Rector, Elsa Agüero, has had to make some tough decisions that have been received with controversy. While some professors support her decisions, others protest.
In one class at the end of last semester my students came in only partially prepared. They were completely stressed out because of confusion about the requirements in another class. The professor had come late, because he was in a board meeting, and had to leave early because his wife had to work extra hours and he had to take care of their children that evening. The class was rushed and there was not enough time to ask questions. The professor in question is one of the key negotiators between the faculty and the board of trustees. Needless to say, he has been under tremendous stress and viciously overworked and underpaid in the last two years.
I could not condemn my colleague, but I could make the decision to stop my own class 20 minutes early and take time to pray with the students. They left my class with their faces transformed and with renewed energy to continue their struggles.
Can you participate in our struggles? Would you pray for me as I exercise a pastoral ministry in an academic setting? Would you pray for my children as they learn to embrace the abnormal? And, especially, would you pray for ISEDET and its institutional authorities? To those of you who are financially supporting my ministry, thank you so much! This helps reduce the economic aspect of the crisis that ISEDET is facing and also helps Presbyterian World Mission pay for my children’s schooling. If you have not yet committed to prayer, correspondence or giving, would you consider doing so in order to accompany the students, professors and authorities at ISEDET as we try to discern God’s calling for our ministry in theological education in the southern cone of South America?
Pray also for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in general, as so many of us are trying to figure out if our understanding of “normal” is God’s truth, or something that we only “see in a mirror, dimly.” I think Paul’s closing line in 1 Corinthians 13:13 is key: “And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”
Your sister pilgrim,
Katie
The 2013 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 36
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