Formal integration in Guatemala
started in 1958 when it was approved by the synod of the Evangelical National
Presbyterian Church of Guatemala (IENPG).
It was culminated in May of 1962 when it was signed by the IENPG and The
United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA). With the integration there were many
difficult decisions to look at such as what should be done with the
institutions that had been formed prior to integration. As a result of the integration IENPG assumed
all responsibilities for the internal life of the church. Economically the UPCUSA continued to
cooperate with the IENPG to help the IENPG reach a goal of being
self-sustaining. Through the integration
both the IENPG and the UPCUSA gained freedom to work together in mission.
Along with the integration in Guatemala there
were a number of changes that took place with the UPCUSA. One of the changes was that two years before
the integration the UPCUSA started to ordain woman as pastors. With this change the participation of women
slowly grew. In 1967 as a result of
social struggles in the United States a Confession was adopted which states
that the church has confessed its faith in a variety of different ways
throughout history. Along with adopting
the Confession of 1967 the UPCUSA adopted the Book of Confessions.
In 1966, the Dominican Republic and the General Assembly of
the UPCUSA decided to examine the relationship between the United States and Latin
America. They found that
there was too much United States influence in Latin America leaving room for a
great deal of social injustice and human development in both countries. It was believed that instead of the United States imposing their religious beliefs
on Latin America they should be learning from
each other.
Throughout
the social struggles in the 1960s the UPCUSA finally recognized that there was
a great deal of oppression of minority communities around the world as well as
in the United States. As a result of this the Self Development of
People program was founded in 1970. This
was created to help the poor and marginalized people to work to change their
lives as well as their communities.
After this program was created in 1975 the Presbyterian Hunger Program
was created, by the Presbyterian Church of the United States (PCUS), to fight
hunger in the United States.
In the
1970s the UPCUSA and the PCUS restructured the idea of mission. Instead of it being organized by the broad organization
missions were given to presbyteries and synods.
In 1983 the PC (USA) was formed by the UPCUSA and the PCUS joining. With this reunion the PC (USA) developed a
new confession. However, there is a
struggle for member retention and in general keeping young people involved in
the church. It is also difficult to
change the way that people donate resources for the church. With the issue of the donation of resources
there are stresses that are put on relationships with mission relationships
like that of the IENPG.
