Proyecto Amistad and Laredos Unidos To Become One

PBM announces merger

After operating within the bounds of Mission (PCUSA) and Noreste (INPM) Presbyteries for the past 18 and 21 years respectively, Laredos Unidos (Laredo/Nuevo Laredo) and Proyecto Amistad (Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras), two of seven sites of Presbyterian Border Ministry (PBM), have announced that they will merge into a single border ministry effective January 1, 2007.

The purpose of the merger is to more effectively facilitate the relationships and joint ministries of Noreste Presbytery of Mexico and its partners in the United States. Until now, both ministries have worked almost exclusively within the bounds of Noreste Presbytery so this merger is seen primarily a unification of those efforts.

Few details about the merger have been determined to date; however, each ministry will be informing its constituency and Mission Presbytery's MOSD of those details as their boards and a jointly-appointed transition committee release this information.

In the meanwhile, Presbyterian Border Ministry wishes to thank Mission Presbytery and its member churches for their faithful prayers, participation, and financial commitment to the three ministries (Laredos Unidos, Proyecto Amistad, and Puentes de Cristo (Hidalgo/Reynosa) operating within the bounds of the presbytery.

Read Proyecto Amistad's merger announcement.

For more information about Presbyterian Border Ministry and the Laredo and Amistad ministries, visit PBM's web site.

Tuesdays with Ed

A great idea for a mission trip for your church!

"The…trip to Reynosa with Pastor Ed was eye-opening to say the least. First of all Pastor Ed’s enthusiasm and gentle manner is infectious," writes a recent visitor from Northminster Church in San Antonio. She and two others in her congregation had been with the Rev. Ed Krueger across the border to see the maquiladoras in Reynosa. To the huge industrial park, workers come from the villages of Veracruz State, hoping to make a better life for themselves. They live in shantytowns called colonias, in houses often constructed out of packing materials with dirt floors.

Not being aware of the labor laws of Mexico, many workers endure unjust and illegal conditions. The factories frequently fire their workers who reach the age of 35. Sexual harassment is far too common. Pastor Ed teaches the workers the national labor law and conducts role-play sessions to give them the courage to demand their rights. He teaches them polite firmness, not querulous hostility that would get them fired. He visits them in their homes and is well known in the colonias. The organization he heads is called Comite' de Apoyo - Committee of Support. He has also trained others to carry on the work he is doing. The women from Northminster met Paulina Hernandez, who, with Ed’s training and additional education, has already helped many workers, especially women, facing unfair work conditions.

Pastor Ed is prepared to meet members of your congregation in McAllen on a Tuesday and take you across to see the industrial park and to meet workers in the colonias. This will give you an understanding of what the Mexican poor are facing and why some feel forced to emigrate to the United States to provide for their families. Beginning workers at the maquiladoras are paid less than $1 an hour.

The Mission, Outreach and Service Division took a tour of Reynosa with Pastor Ed in September of 2005. The people we met were friendly, open and hospitable to us, the true salt of the earth who deserve our Christian love and understanding and our passion for justice.

To arrange a "Tuesday with Ed," please write him at

Reverend Ed Krueger
P.O. Box 1206
Edinburg, Texas 78540-1206