In the midst of a deteriorating social fabric and an ever-worsening polarization due to the conflict in Chiapas, there are those who are working to seek peaceful and lasting alternatives. The ecumenical “Bible School of Holistic Formation” (EBFI), is an important example of such contributions to the creation of a culture of peace and tolerance.

In Chiapas, numerous communities are divided by violence and distrust. Frequently the expression of their ideological differences has a religious dimension. “The Presbyterians are planning a massacre.” “The Catholics want to expel us from our community.” The accusations stick, the people believe them, and the communities live with the intolerance and enmity. Concrete results are expulsions of minority groups from their communities, the forced closing of churches, people arrested on questionable charges, and even killings.

The EBFI offers a space of diversity, coexistence and learning for people of different religious denominations, where the option for a distinct religious expression is not cause of division and violence and where religion is not used as an instrument of confrontation. Sister Lucy Jimenez, the administrative coordinator of the school, responding to the claim that religion is a problem in Chiapas, told SIPAZ: “Our daily practice [in the school] tells us the contrary, that yes, as people from different churches, we can live together.”

The initial proposal for the school arose in April of 1997 when Protestant and Catholic representatives from distinct projects began to conceive the idea of a heterogeneous space that is, explains Sister Lucy, “like a solution, a brotherhood or sisterhood of mutual respect. It is knowing how to coexist, in the midst of Chiapas and in the midst of this conflict.” Within a few months, the group defined the program of studies and made the school a reality, establishing it formally in August 1997.

The goal of the EBFI is the education and integral transformation of the students, so that in their communities, both Catholic and Protestant, they may demonstrate the richness of inter-religious coexistence. In this way, the participants enhance the conditions in their communities for dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect. Guadalupe Bolom Santiz, a Presbyterian pastor and the academic coordinator of the EBFI, says that “The Ecumenical School responds to real life — an integrated life — to the necessities of the body as well as the soul.”

Two types of courses are offered in the EBFI: classes of a theological-pastoral nature and those of practical application. Preferring to not begin with theological formation, the school’s curriculum was initiated with courses which apply to concrete situations and realities in order to “first show the [viability of] coexistence,” says Guadalupe. Starting from mutual understanding and acceptance — which the Baptist assistant of the school Natanael Navarro calls the “point of union” — the students move on to experience and advance in the other areas of the curriculum.

The courses of practical application are inspired by the actual reality of Chiapas today. Emerging from an active teaching method based on transformational, participatory education, the courses utilize discussion, analysis of real and fictitious cases, and games and other group process exercises to deepen the understanding, acceptance and loving of ourselves and others. The topics of the practical courses include: conflict resolution, human rights, community health, human relations, and studies of children, women and the family.

The theological-pastoral courses are based on the “Courses on Pastoral Education” of the Biblical Pastoral Institute of the Latin American Biblical University in Costa Rica, the only ecumenical university in Latin America. Themes such as pastoral administration, education, Bible studies, spirituality, evangelization and specific accompaniment are covered in this long-term program.

When the first cycle of courses, featuring the topic “Conflict Resolution,” started at the end of 1997, SIPAZ began its collaboration with the school, assisting with the facilitation and organization of workshops. At present, there are two simultaneous cycles of courses: “Community Health” (first aid, hygiene, herbal medicine, prevention) and “Human Rights from a Christian Perspective.” Future plans include beginning the theological courses as well as offering a wider variety of courses of short-, medium, and long-term in order to attract more students.

Although the school has been functioning for barely a year, the EBFI consists of members from Presbyterian, Baptist, Catholic, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene and other churches. A majority of the students have leadership roles in their communities– teachers, catechists, pastors, health promoters, and nuns, for example — which are positions of respect and trust. Therefore, they have high potential for multiplying the knowledge and experiences acquired in the EBFI.

Speaking of the school as a “space for reconciliation,” Natanael explains that, “The social reality unites us; we have the same needs.” For her part, Sister Lucy describes the school as a “little grain of sand for peace” — small yet real — and says that, “We are here as brothers and sisters.” In this sense, the EBFI is an important witness to the possibility of creating peaceful alternatives to the Chiapas conflict, alternatives that have a positive impact and that continue to move ahead.