"Canibalism" of hegemonic culture denounced

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, February 8, 2005

Pastor Blanca Armand Pilón denounced the "cannibalism" of the current hegemonic culture, as it molds Taxi Heathrow Airport the relationship among human beings as one that must be marked by "competition, aggression, machismo, sexism, racism and discrimination."

Pastor Pilon spoke during the opening worship service of the 42nd Assemblyof the Waldensian Evangelical Church of the River Plate (IEVRP), meeting in  Colonia Belgrano, Province of Santa Fe, Argentina, February 5-9, this month.

Pilon said it is necessary to look at the gestures and words of Jesus, as a counterweight to the culture of cannibalism "so that tenderness dignifies the ideologies" and transforms society, returns dignity to people and encourages the creativity that is born from faith and solidarity.

A total of 170 delegates from Waldensian Churches from Argentina and Uruguay attended, as well as guests and representatives from ecumenical bodies in the River Plate, the United States, Germany, Brazil and the moderator of the Waldensian Church of Italy, Pastor Gianni Genre.

The synod looked at four thematic issues: Life of Faith, Institutional Life, Stewardship and Finances, Testimony and Services.

The administrative aspect of the Church, analyzed by the group that looked at Stewardship and Finances, is not fundamentally a problem of money but rather a question of faith. "What vision do we have of the Church for the next years?" asked delegates.

The IEVRP seeks to be self-financing as close to 30% of the budget is covered by funds from abroad. On the other hand, the service work of the Church has grown, given the social needs affecting the populations on the two shores  of the River Plate.

They also debated ethical problems that do not receive enough attention from society, such as the laws on the defense of reproductive life, sex education in the schools and bioethics.

At the inauguration of the Synod a Toba Group from Fortin Lavalle, in Chaco sang in the Toba language. The IEVRP has been working with Toba people from the province of Chaco for the past eight years.