IGLESIA CRISTIANA LIGA DE LA MISERCORDIA
literal translation:
Church Christian League of Mercy (our Dominican Republic arm of Mercy League)
During one of our sojourns to the Dominican Republic we were
invited to attend a Haitian Church near the children's home project in Puerto Plata. Our group was introduced to three pastors and one lay minister all of whom worked at the church. I was invited to speak that night. To my surprise, which later turned to dread, I was introduced as the "president of the denomination" for the church. The board members from Mercy League and I exchanged some glances, but nevertheless, we continued.
We noticed many things about this little building which I was apparently responsible for... It was a metal roofed cinder block building (about 600 - 700 square feet.) with holes in the roof. The water leaked through when it rained. The rent was about $60 per month which was paid by the congregational members. Of the three pastors, only one was paid. The other two were sickly thin and penniless. The head pastor worked as a contractor (construction) and also received %100 of the offerings.At the evening service the board offered the congregation a free medical clinic the following day. The pastors were asked to invite the sick in their congregation and neighborhoods.
The following morning, as we called out number 1 on the list, Guess who showed up in the front of the line. The head pastor's wife and child. He was unable to come that day because he was working. Numbers 2-7 we also members of the staff in the church. They put themselves in front of the sick at the end of the line. How do you think that made us feel as apparent sponsors of this church.
Let me return to the beginning of this story for a moment. When we were first informed about a church called after our name... we were confused. We are not a church planting organization. We work with churches that are performing a service to their community, but that is as far as it goes. We wondered why the previous director would offer our name and credentials to a congregation without our consent... or knowledge. The answer from the former director was, "because the people wanted to have a legal church so we simply offered them our name. We don't support them, we just let them use our name."At the end of the day... literally... this didn't sit right with the board. Why would we want to let a congregation that allowed its senior pastor to horde donations, allow associate pastors to starve, and put themselves at the front of the line during medical clinics... to use the name of Mercy League?
We had a talk with two of the pastors and informed them that this would not stand. We will be checking up on this congregation on our next visit to make sure that they are not using the name of Mercy League any longer.What do YOU think about this?
If I may take a moment to wax philosophical... The longer I journey on this path, the more it occurs to me that this work will never be easy.
Thanks for reading!!
Shane Mattenley
p.s. please notice that we now have recurring billing options for those of you who would like to donate monthly! That's for you Judy!!!
