Valentín de Jesús Ponce Sánchez (1938-2022)

Madline Morsha-Taylor and her grandson Elijah Morsha-Taylor are seen here with Valentín de Jesús Ponce Sánchez and his wife Magdalena Gunera Garcia (middle) during a 2013 TPPC delegation trip  to Jiñocuao.

Our friends at our sister parish San José Church in Jiñocuao, Nicaragua are mourning the loss of Valentín de Jesús Ponce Sánchez, the founder of the Jiñocuao Christian community, who passed away from a heart attack on Thursday, May 19, 2022.

Valentín was born on January 15, 1938. In 1972, Valentín, a member of a prominent farming family in Jiñocuao, had a religious awakening and decided to become a preacher and teacher. He was encouraged by priests in his area of northwest Nicaragua, and attended training in Honduras, in the goal of bringing the word of God to Jiñocuao. With a group of friends, he formed a Catholic base community. Valentín and three others were commissioned as lay “Delegates of the Word of God.” The church was named San José Church (although some also referred to it as “the Church of the Poor”).

In 1979, the Sandinista revolution brought joy to Jiñocuao. The majority of the people there were partisans of the Sandinistas, and some of them had taken up arms against the Somoza regime. Between 1980 and 1984, the Sandinistas fought back against regular incursions by the Somoza forces known as the Contras operating from bases in Honduras and Costa Rica. Jiñocuao, which is located just next to the Honduran border, was very much affected by this violence, with the Contras staging regular incursions into Nicaragua, including raids on Jiñocuao. Valentín lost a brother during one of these raids, and four women organizers of the church were among those shot and killed by the Contras.

The Catholic Church, which was aligned with the Somoza regime, cut ties to Sandinista communities, including Jiñocuao. The archbishop rejected the church in Jiñocuao and cut off all contact with the community. Instead, he tried to set up an official Catholic Church across the river to attract “loyal Catholics” (anti-Sandinista) to it. Valentín worked hard to reunite the two churches but did not initially succeed.

Valentín organized other Christian communities and founded El Bloque Intercommunatrio Pro-Bienestar Cristiano, a confederation of churches in the area.

In 1992, the Rev. Philip Wheaton, a former Episcopalian missionary in the Dominican Republic then serving as a volunteer in Nicaragua with his wife Sue, suggested that Takoma Park Presbyterian Church set up a sister parish relationship with a church in Nicaragua. He contacted the El Bloque and inquired about whether there might be a church interested in having a relationship with a church in the U.S. Valentín, as a leader of El Bloque, was interested in Jiñocuao. Other churches were also interested so they cast lots, and Jiñocuao won. Philip and Sue Wheaton convinced TPPC (where Sue was a member) to give it a try. The Jiñocuao-Takoma Park sister parish relationship was launched in 1992 under the auspices of Sister Parish, an organization promoting these relationships in five Central American countries.

A byproduct of the sister relationship was that the San José Church was obliged to organize itself formally, apparently a requirement of Sister Parish. Previous to this, the church was run informally by Valentín and a few other Delegates of the Word.

In 1996, Valentín was a member of the first delegation from Jiñocuao to travel to Takoma Park. The other members were Julio Antonio Huete Aguilar, the current leader of San José Church, and Esperanza Ponce Arce.

Since 1972 Valentín has worked hard in the community training other Delegates of the Word. These delegates lead Sunday worship, which takes the form of hymns, scripture, and a time of reflection. The church has reconciled with the official Catholic church, and a priest now comes to conduct worship and administer sacraments when he is called by the church.

In the social arena, Valentín organized agricultural cooperatives, natural medicine women's groups, bakery groups, and pig and chicken-raising groups. He deeply supported Alcoholics Anonymous. As a leader of El Bloque, he supported the youth of the nearby towns of Somotillo and Villa Nueva and organized soccer teams. He was living in retirement at the time of his death.

Valentín is survived by his wife Magdalena Gunera Garcia and their children Emperatriz Ponce Gunera, Valentina Ponce Gunera, Josefina Ponce Gunera, Hernaldo Ponce Gunera, Benigno Ponce Gunera, Mario Ponce Gunera, Félix Pedro Ponce Gunera, Evelia Ponce Gunera, Eva Ponce Gunera, Luis Ponce Gunera and Manuela Ponce Gunera. Manuela is one of the children depicted in the painting of Jiñocuao in the TPPC sanctuary.

Here are reactions from some members and friends of TPPC:

Sue Wheaton: “It is with sadness, respect, and affection that we learned of Valentín's transition. Our hearts are full of memories and gratitude for all that he — through his great faith and leadership — brought to our lives and our faith community here in Takoma Park. I remember how Phil returned home in 1991 with a letter signed by Valentín and others inviting Takoma Park Presbyterian Church to join in a sister parish relationship with the Jiñocuao church. Phil was exultant, telling us about the wonderful people in this village in Nicaragua and its gifted leader, Valentín. That began a relationship between our churches of 30 years, during which time so many of us have visited back and forth, forming personal relationships, deepening our faith and learning in profound ways. We are deeply thankful for all that he has given to us.”

Linda Borst Kolko: “Valentín was a great  spiritual leader and quite a presence when he visited TPPC. His sermon was powerful and his commentary about the hard life of Latino immigrants in the U.S. still resonates with me. A true man of God.”

Rebecca Phares: “Valentin was a very kind, humble, and accomplished man.”

NOTE: Much of the information presented here is drawn from “Conversations about Jiñocuao,” based on interviews conducted by Dean Hoge in Jiñocuao in August 2003.

Article developed by David J. Olson

A letter of condolences to the community at Jiñocuao from Rev. Mark Harper, pastor of Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, can be accessed from this website.