The 5th Mark of Mission
Did you know these are the five marks of Mission?
· To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
· To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
· To respond to human need by loving service
· To seek to transform unjust structures of society
and…
· To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
What does this 5th mark mean to Christians and churches that exist in contexts of poverty and where human needs means conservation concerns are not perceived as immediately important? The following images illustrate the almost total destruction of forests east of Tartagal in a period of less than 30 years. This is a region with high levels of poverty, political corruption and one badly affected by erosion and flooding. It is also a region with dozens of churches of different denominations. What can and should they be saying and doing in order to safeguard the integrity of creation and renew the life in this now devastated area? That, we believe, is perhaps one of the key questions we need to include as we continue to define the aims and actions we can undertake through Land for Life.
Meetings with Bishop and ASOCIANA team
Andrew traveled to Tartagal on the 7th April, and met with ASOCIANA’s field based team, Bishop Nick Drayson and his wife Catherine. The meeting was very helpful; both in terms of enabling the team to better understand the ideas behind the Land for Life initiative, and to discuss with them the strengths and weaknesses of the project, as perceived by those working in the field. It was felt best that for political reasons the Land for Life initiative should be developed quite independently of ASOCIANA, while maintaining an ongoing dialogue between the two.
Bishop Drayson has since summarized the main points of the meeting and is sharing these with Bishop Greg Venables in Buenos Aires.
Responsabilidad Social Empresarial (Corporate Social Responsibility)
We have been encouraged to find that the concept and practice of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is beginning to take root in Argentina. Andrew recently met with a local lawyer who is drafting legislation for the introduction of the International Standards Organization (ISO) Environmental Management Systems (EMS) standard 14000. The intention of ISO 14000 is to provide a framework for a holistic, strategic approach to the environmental policy, plans and actions of a given company or corporation. We will therefore be looking into what opportunities this might have for some of the work we would like to do through Land for Life.
Registration of PITES postponed
The registration of PITES as a formally recognized charity with the local authorities has been postponed as a result of one of our trustees having to pull out of the organization. We are looking for a suitable replacement, preferably a mature Christian with a keen interest in conservation (but there aren’t many of them around here!)
Preliminary studies
Having now drafted the terms of reference for the work we need to carry out prior to developing a formal proposal for the Land for Life program, we have begun to identify people and organizations that we will now need to work with to complete these studies. Our main priority at this stage is to construct a geographic database of the region we intend to work in. This will require some detailed mapping work.
Linking into conservation initiatives
Another part of our studies are focused on identifying what other organizations are doing in terms of conservation in the Gran Chaco. Important findings in this regard are proposals that are being made by private and government agencies calling for the establishment of protected corridors. The following map outlines areas for proposed corridor projects in the provinces of Formosa, Chaco and Santiago del Estero. The idea behind them is to encourage landowner to protect some forests within these areas so as to ensure some connectivity of forest cover. It would, therefore, make sense for the Land for Life initiative to focus its efforts either within or close to these corridors.
Items for prayer
· Pray that we will find a good person to complete our board of trustees.
· Pray for ongoing discussions with ASOCIANA and the Bishops as we define the organizational structure for the implementation of the Land for Life initiative.
· Pray that we will find the right people to help us complete the various studies we need to undertake in preparation for writing the formal proposal for the Land for Life initiative.
· Pray for our ongoing thinking about the project, especially on how we can best contribute to churches taking on their God given responsibilities vis à vis caring for creation.
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