Calvin Professor Seeks Prayer for Honduras

Kurt Ver Beek, a sociology professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI., is calling on Christian Reformed Church in North America congregations to join in an international day of prayer and fasting this Sunday to draw attention to the ongoing political turmoil in Honduras.

Ver Beek, who spends much of his time in Honduras and is co-founder of the Association for a More Just Society, says the situation had been tenuous.  But it grew worse this week when Manuel Zelaya, the former president, secretly returned to the country and took refuge in the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa.

"There were thousands of Zelaya's supporters in front of the Brazilian embassy, but the police used tear gas this week to disburse them," said Ver Beek, who was in the U.S. when Zelaya returned. Ver Beek’s wife, Jo Ann, remains in Honduras.

Ver Beek is in West Michigan to spread the word to churches that thousands of Honduran Christians are asking people of faith to participate with them in the international day of prayer. "It would be great if CRC congregations joined in this," he said.

Honduras has been a under a curfew and travel inside and outside the country has been restricted, said Ver Beek.

The CRC has missionary personnel in Honduras and officials are closely monitoring the situation that began in June when Zelaya, the democratically elected president, was removed from office in a military coup and flown out of the country to Costa Rica.

Ver Beek says he meets with CRC missionaries regularly and that they are on the same page when it comes to asking for prayer in seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis.

"Even though the situation is difficult, I don't see where things will escalate to where it will be dangerous for North Americans to be in the country," he said. "There have been protests and a police presence, but in this whole period I don't know of any North Americans who have been targeted."

The coup in June was led by critics who charged that Zelaya wanted to change the Honduran Constitution to allow him to stay in office longer. Roberto Micheletti, a Honduran politician, was named to serve as president until elections are held in November.

Besides speaking about the tensions in Honduras, Ver Beek came to the U.S. to talk to students about the value – perhaps in less tense times -- of international development work and short-term mission trips in places such as Honduras. He was to speak Wednesday afternoon to a gathering of students at Calvin College.

Ver Beek works regularly with Calvin students who are interested in doing missionary and international development work, especially in Central America.

Ver Beek has already spoken at Mayfair CRC and Church of the Servant CRC in Grand Rapids, explaining to church members about the social justice work of the Association for a More Just Society (AJS), the group he helped to found. He will speak at Bethel CRC in Zeeland, MI., from 6:50 – 8 p.m. on Sunday.

AJS, says Ver Beek, began in 2000 in response to the biblical call for Christians to "do justice" (Micah 6:8, Isaiah 56:1, Proverbs 29:7, Isaiah 10:1-2), with the goal of helping to create a "more just society" in Honduras and around the world.

AJS's specific mission, said Ver Beek, is to encourage Christian communities to engage in acts of justice and mercy close to home and globally.

"As Christians we believe that remaining passive in the face of our neighbor's need is a rejection of our faith. After all, are we not called to love our neighbor as ourselves?" said Ver Beek.

"We believe that Christians must be a voice that cries out in the desert of oppression. The Bible presents a clear message of reproach to the unjust (James 5:1-6) and compassion for the most vulnerable."

AJS is funded mainly by individual donors as well as by several private foundations and faith-based groups.

No one in the current political situation is without blame, said Ver Beek. Although  Zelaya did not do much to address the needs of the poor, he was the democratically elected president. His opponents were in the wrong by removing him by force.

"Both sides are right and both sides are wrong," he said. "The problem right now is that both sides feel justified in what they have done."