St Joan of Arc Catholic Community hosts a number of events each year between delegations to involve more people in the Sister Parish relationship.  The focus is on reflection, fun and family-friendly activities.

Tamalada – October 5
A tamalada is a traditional communal event where people gather to share the work of making lots of tamales. Our intrepid team assembled over 100 tamales in preparation for the Sister Parish-sponsored Guatemalan dinner and movie night. Everyone had a task, from washing banana leaves and cooking masa to assembly-line preparation and wrapping of the tamales. Who knew that making tamales is almost as fun as eating them?

Guatemalan Dinner & Movie Night – October 12
But eat them we did! Over 60 people gathered at SJA the following week to dine on delicious Guatemalan tamales and watch the animated film Coco. Adults shared fellowship and kids brought their pillows and stuffed animals for movie-watching. One attendee, Katharine Malaga, shared her perspective of the event.

Preparing tamales for the dinner and movie night at St Joan of Arc.

Making corn dough for tamales with Maseca.

Solidarity Walk – October 21
On a recent sunny Sunday morning, parishioners gathered for a high-energy Solidarity Walk in the St. Joan of Arc neighborhood with several stops for reflection and prayer. We lifted up our almost-25-year relationship with our Sister Parish in Tierra Nueva Dos (TNII), Guatemala, and we carried a banner covered with parishioners’ signatures and well-wishes collected after both masses. Our time together was filled with remembrances of our TNII family, mindful discussions about “who is our family,” and joyful songs with beautiful trumpet and guitar accompaniment.

Music brings people together – Solidarity Walk 2018.

Stations for reflection along the Solidarity Walk route.

St Joan of Arc Solidarity Walk crew – 2018.

Annual Sister Parish Retreat – September 29
Members of the Sister Parish committee gather annually to reflect on the meaning of their long-term relationship with Tierra Nueva II in Guatemala.  This year the half-day retreat included guest speaker is Dr. Bernie Evans, an esteemed educator and author who spoke of “Christian Hope in Challenging Times”.

Retreat attendees with guest speaker.