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Here are the facts:

1. All Birthday Offering grants are reviewed and selected by the “Creative Ministries Offering Committee composed of nine members – six from the Churchwide Coordinating Team of Presbyterian Women, including the financial secretary, and three from the General Assembly Council.  Grant recipients must meet the criteria established by PW and must be accompanied by a written endorsement of a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) synod or presbytery” (Horizons Magazine, January/February 2004 edition, page 30). 

2. The same edition of Horizons (page 31) has this to say about The Institute for Theological Education of Bahia (ITEBA): 

 “Since 1986, The Institute for Theological Education of Bahia has worked ecumenically to develop leaders for churches, schools and social service agencies in Salvador, Brazil.  Accreditation as a university-level theological seminary by the Brazilian Ministry of Education is critical to this institution’s future, enabling students – many of whom are poor, young women – to receive federally funded scholarships.  Another benefit of accreditation would be an increase in enrollment, allowing the seminary to become financially independent.

To meet accreditation requirements, ITEBA, must own the physical facilities for their offices, library, and classrooms.  Funds received from the Birthday Offering will allow ITEBA to purchase, remodel and equip a building, in their effort to meet these and other accreditation requirements.”

“Great News:  Grant Approved!  One of the biggest challenges facing ITEBA has been to become an accredited university by the Brazilian government.  Such accreditation will bring many benefits, among those being (1) official recognition of the diploma granted by ITEBA, which mean, for example, that graduates will be allowed to teach; (2) the ability of students to apply for scholarships to attend ITEBA; and (3) the ability of students to have their daily transportation to ITEBA paid for by the Federal government.  However, accreditation requires, among other things, that ITEBA must own a physical facility for offices, a library, and classrooms.  The cost of such facilities is estimated to be $175,000.  A small group of Network personnel worked closely with ITEBA staff in June to craft a grant application to the Birthday Offering of the Presbyterian Women (PCUSA) for $150,000 to purchase, remodel, and equip a building for ITEBA to use in order to satisfy that part of the requirement for application for university status.  In late December ITEBA was notified that the grant had been approved, dependent on funding!  Special thanks for writing the grant application goes to Jim Yackel of Westminster Presbyterian in Munster, IN.  Great job, Jim!

The January/February issue of HORIZONS, the magazine of the Presbyterian Women, formally announced the grant.  The essential text from the grant proposal as well as the article from HORIZONS are both available on the ITEBA page of the website. The funds will be distributed beginning in late 2004, but whether or not the full $150,000 approved will be available will depend upon the money raised by the Presbyterian Women 2004 Birthday Fund drive.  Thus, it is very important for each of us to work in our local churches to publicize the Birthday Offering drive to help be sure that sufficient funds are raised nation wide to fully fund the grant.”

“There are a number of churches and individuals who have joined the Network in order to further the mission and programs of ITEBA. Association with the Network can either be of an informal nature or a more formal one in which a church signs a covenant with the Network, pledging participation in the Network's activities and programs as well as spiritual and financial assistance. Any person or church interested in finding out more about the Network and the possibility of formal affiliation may contact David Leslie. It is possible that the Network may be able to send a person to present a program explaining ITEBA's mission and the Network's activities.”

First Presbyterian Church of Washington, PA
First Presbyterian Church of St. Cloud, MN
First Presbyterian Church of Youngstown, NY
Hanover Presbyterian Church of Hanover, IN
Heritage Presbyterian Church of Phoenix, AZ
Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church of Cincinnati, OH
Trinity Presbyterian Church of Topeka, KS
Unitarian Fellowship of Santa Cruz, CA
Westminister (sic) Presbyterian Church of Minneapolis, MN
Westminister (sic) Presbyterian Church of Munster, IN

“I have received other inquiries concerning the ITEBA, therefore I have copied my reply to their questions for you.

The Institute for Theological Education of Bahia (ITEBA) prepares individuals to be future Christian leaders as pastors, teachers, chaplains in hospitals, and to work in social service agencies in Brazil.  Financial support for the ITEBA is primary (sic) received from the World Council of churches and the ITEBA Network (a group of mostly Presbyterian Churches in the US).

In 1978 the members of the United Presbyterian Church of Brazil organized a Presbyterian school in Salvador, Bahia.  In 1986, the Presbyterian School became ITEBA, an ecumenical institute, as a result of several ecumenical meeting (sic) held by Presbyterian, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Baptists and Pentecostal leaders (sic). 

Currently, students from the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil, United Presbyterian Church of Brazil, Methodist, Baptist, Assembly of God, Pentecostal, Congregational and Adventist denomination (sic) are enrolled in pursue (sic) of theological education.  The Birthday Offering grant will enable the school to fulfill the requirements outlined by the Brazilian Ministry of Education to become a university level theological seminary.

The proposal was endorsed by the Presbyterian (sic) of Salvador, First Presbyterian Church of Washington, Pennsylvania and Maria Arroyo de Kemmerle, coordinator of Latin American and Caribbean (sic) of the Worldwide Ministries Division of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Below I have listed some websites if you want more information on the Institute for Theological Education of Bahia:  Home page of ITEBA with links to US churches. 

Other sites that highlights (sic) ITBA (sic).

The mission statement of ITEBA was included as part of the proposal.  I will include for you a statement related to the grant.

‘Funding of this proposal will ensure that ITEBA has the resources to achieve accreditation. Accreditation will allow ITEBA to continue meeting the demands for Leadership Development for churches, schools, and social services agencies which ‘Plant the Reign of God and God’s justice’ (Matt. 6:33) in the favelas of Salvador.’”

“The guidelines of the Creative Ministries Committee gives (sic) the writer the choice of including their (sic) mission statement or a focus statement specifically related to the proposed project.  ITEBA choose (sic) to include a focus statement, which I included in my previous e-mail.

‘Funding of this proposal will ensure that IEBA (sic) has the resources to achieve accreditation. Accreditation will allow ITEBA to continue meeting the demands for Leadership Development for churches, schools, and social services agencies which ‘Plant the Reign of God and God’s justice’ (Matt. 6:33) in the favelas of Salvador.’”

7. The very same day (April 6), I also contacted a member of the VOW Network – Lottie Haswell.  Along with her husband, Lottie is a Presbyterian Mission Worker in Brazil.  I asked her if she knew anything about ITEBA.  She responded that she knew only a little, but that she would contact the school directly to request a mission statement. 

8. On May 12, Lottie sent me her translation (from Portuguese) of the opening paragraph of the school’s Bulletin.  Her translation reads:

“In January of 1993, a group of women met around the dream of constructing a theology that grew out of their own universe of life experiences; (a theology) that would confront archaic religious structures and would re-imagine God as pluralistic, creative, universal and evolving” (emphasis mine).”

“The article goes on to give a history of this group which has met annually during these 10 years, and has ... “graduated over 350 women from the state of Bahia and also indigenous women who have become firm leaders in their own tribe." 

The course, which goes by the name YAMI (Theological, Ecumenical  Center for Feminist Study of ITEBA) has as its coordinator, Marlene Moreira da Silva who is the "diretora geral" or director (president/dean) of the ITEBA and the coordinator of the YAMI course.  The Bulletin states with pride that the course has been taught by famous feminist theologians such as Aline Steuer, June Rogers, Maria Luiza Ruckert, Ivone Gebara, Dr. Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza (Harvard/USA) and Lieve Troch (Methodist University of of São Paulo). 

Maria de Lourdes Siqueira also has taught at ITEBA.  She is a member of the Candomblé religion" - a form of pagan spiritism introduced in Brasil by African slaves. So does a spiritual leader from the Pataxó tribe who is not a professing Christian.  These two women are listed as assessors or resource persons for the YAMI course.

The director, Marlene, describes the course saying that  "northeast women need, just as they seek water to survive the droughts in the northeast, they need  to find their own spring or source for theology (emphasis mine)."  Of course this contrasts with our orthodox view that the Scripture is the only rule of faith and practice. 

Nowhere in the document that describes the ITEBA theology course is there any mention of the Bible as even one of the sources for theology.  Only the titles of a few courses indicate that there is any Biblical content at all. In the four pages of the Journal the ONLY mention of GOD is the one I translated. 

In four pages I could find no mention of the Bible, God's word, etc.  Though there  is a one page "study"of Genesis 38:1-26.  The author, Dr. Marli Wandermurem, says, "So we ask ourselves this question: how does this part of the ‘word’ shed light on our life as women? What does it teach about our rights, as women, to a dignified life?  How does it force us to conclude that we should seek our rights, even if we must subvert what is socially and theologically acceptable, or considered to be correct and normal."    But, nowhere is the name of Jesus Christ mentioned. And the one reference to the scripture (palavra [i.e. word] ) is written in quotes with a small p - not customery for Brazilian believers.  We write: a Palavra ou a Palavra de Deus. 

After reading all their material, I feel sure there are some Presbyterian women and men who would want to support this institution and that is their right.  But among the members of VOW, I believe there would be no support.  I am, once again, disturbed that our PW staff seems to gravitate toward groups that do not uphold orthodox doctrines or practices.”

So there you have it.  The PW Birthday Offering is once again being used to underwrite a progam to which I must assume many of its members would object – a syncristic incarnation of the re-imagining God movement that plays down the authority of scripture in favor of the authority of human experience, and that generally understands the focus of theology to be economic and political rather than spiritual (at least in any historic understanding of the word). 

Does Presbyterian Women have the right to support this project?  Without question! 

But, PW also has an affirmative obligation fully to inform its own supporters as to how it intends to use their money.  This PW has not done. 

But, the ultimate responsibility is ours – mine and yours, not PW’s. 

So long as we continue blindly to contribute to anyone or anything without requiring explicit and detailed information beforehand, and so long as we continue to make no demands for financial accountability as to how our gifts have been used, PW, et. al., will be able to continue to underwrite whatever they see fit to support – even if it undermines the very faith they purport to confess. 

Before you give another dollar, please satisfy yourself that your money will be used for what you want to support. That is as much a stewardship responsibility as is the giving of the gift in the first place.