It began with a familiar sign in unfamiliar territory: the cross and flame, the foundational symbol of The United Methodist Church. Rev. Dr. Joey Shelton, just a block and a half from Casa Millsaps—Millsaps’ “home base” for operations and partnerships in Merida, Yucatán—spotted the cross and flame on a church sign. This church was Rose of Sharon Evangelical Methodist Church, and here Shelton found new opportunities for Millsaps’ global partnerships.
“In my previous visits to Yucatán with the college, I saw that most every department at Millsaps had some work there, whether teaching classes in the heart of Merida or at the biocultural reserve at Kaxil Kiuic. But we hadn’t yet engaged with the region on the basis of faith,” said Shelton, former dean of the chapel and director of church relations.
“From a faith outreach perspective, we didn’t want to do anything internationally where we didn’t have local partnerships. Finding Rose of Sharon was an organic place for faith-based partnerships to grow.”
For the past three years, Shelton, accompanied by Millsaps students and staff from the Chaplain’s Office, has traveled to Yucatan for worship and community service with Rose of Sharon. The McNair Endowment for Christian Missions supports this important partnership.
In May of 2023, Millsaps staff and students along with Rose of Sharon congregants traveled to the town of Oxkutzcab to meet with the town’s high school faculty and learn about their partnership needs. On the way to Millsaps’ Kaxil Kiuic Biocultural Reserve, the team spent a day with a small primary school in Xobenhaltun, where many of the reserve workers live with their families. Millsaps team members assisted teachers in the school’s classrooms, played and worshipped with the students, and held an after-school community meal with families.
With a generous gift from Joey and Becky Wesley (Kingwood, TX), Millsaps and workers from Xobenhaltum are rebuilding a chapel at Kiuic, where a colonial-era Catholic chapel once stood. Made almost entirely out of natural materials from the reserve itself, the chapel will serve as a place for worship and celebration for the people of Xobenhaltun, as well as a faith center for Millsaps faculty, students, and visitors. The Millsaps team visited the site and held a ceremony of blessing with the workers and their families to consecrate their work and the generations of different faiths represented in their village.
As joint outreach to local villages continues to bloom, the chaplain’s office plans to offer more support to the Xobenhaltun community through fundraising events for the school building’s roof, educational material for students, and a sponsored field day of outdoor activity for students. Additionally, the chaplain’s office plans to join Rose of Sharon’s outreach efforts in Merida for congregational growth and community prosperity.
“Our goal is to do what we are invited to do and help where we are invited to help,” says the Rev. Sally Bevill, associate chaplain and director of campus religious life. “That’s why extended visits and shared time with congregations and communities are so important. We get to learn where their needs and hungers are, and share our resources where the community feels they’re most needed.” For the team’s next journey to the Yucatán, Bevill will be joined by students Hannah Meyer, Katie Norris, and Trevor Helper, all of whom are on the planning team for the Office of the Chaplain’s outreach and service efforts.