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Sister Parish, Inc. promotes intercultural and ecumenical understanding by establishing linkages between churches in the United States and faith-based communities in Central America. Our members tell you more in the brief video Introduction to Sister Parish.
Author Archives: sisterparishinc
Building Community… Seed by Seed
[By Nancy Wiens, Sister Parish Board Member] When I first went on a Sister Parish delegation from St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis, I didn’t realize I was starting the long journey to ‘build community’ across borders. My motivations were simple — to see a part of the world unfamiliar to me and to learn about Guatemala’s culture, history and people. Little did I know that, through my experiences and the people I met there, I was planting seeds that would eventually blossom into a much deeper interconnectedness with our community of friends in Guatemala. Continue reading
[By Aldina and Conchita, members of UPAVIM, Guatemala] In 1980, a man named Richard Fenske arrived with his wife to our community, La Esperanza, with intentions of studying Spanish, but after being in the community they realized that there was a great lack in health services. Mr. Fenske at that time was working on bringing groups to Guatemala through Sister Parish, but had not brought one yet. At that time I was attending the health workshops of his wife, Barbara, with other women from the community. The workshops taught us how to properly care for our children and included other health topics. Continue reading
Celebrating Women’s Day
On March 8, thousands of men, women, young people gathered in Guatemala City to honor International Women’s Day in Guatemala. With banners, chants, and music, men and women walked from the Guatemalan Supreme Court to Congress to the Public Prosecutor’s … Continue reading
Posted in General, Guatemala
Tagged Central American news updates, tierra nueva i, tierra nueva ii
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Twenty Five Years of Memories: The beginning
[By Vicki Schmidt, Sister Parish founder] Chronos and kairos are two Greek words that shed light on the way I understand life. Chronos time sets us on linear movement through life, as in chronology, in that events and situations take place in predictable ways and follow in a logical manner. Kairos moments are those which break into our ordered chronological timeline, unsuspecting, disrupting, and shaking us out of ordinary time into new possibilities that forever change us. Sister Parish, Inc. is all about kairos times. Continue reading
Guatemala Representatives Meeting: February 23-24, 2013
Representatives from seven of the nine Sister Parish communities in Guatemala gathered February 23rd and 24th, 2013. Saturday morning began with introductions and an icebreaker to help people become acquainted with each other. This meeting served as a time for communities to give … Continue reading
Posted in General, Guatemala
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Government of El Salvador asked once again to take leadership in banning metallic mining
(This article was originally posted by StopMining.org) San Salvador, February 4th, 2012 The NationalRoundtable Against Metallic Mining in El Salvador(La Mesa) reiterated in a press conference thismorning its petition for the Salvadoran Government to introduce legislation to place a definite ban to … Continue reading
Posted in El Salvador, General
Tagged Central American news updates, human rights, mining
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Former Dictator Faces Trial in Guatemala
Last month, Guatemala made history when it became the first country to decide to try a former leader for genocide on home soil. On January 28, a judge ruled that General Jose Efrain Rios Montt would stand trial for acts of genocide … Continue reading
Walking in Solidarity in Bloomington, Indiana
On November 9-10 Sister Parish board members gathered in Bloomington, IN for the fall board meeting. They were hosted by St. Thomas Lutheran Church, which has a Sister Parish relationship with Santo Domingo de Guzman, Chichipate in Guatemala. In addition to … Continue reading
1976 and Now
Wednesday, November 7, after a 7.2 Richter Scale earthquake, many fears were reawakened in Guatemala. Many people rushed to call loved ones, secure food and water, or save a neighbor buried under the rubble. For many Guatemalans, this was a … Continue reading
Each year, an estimated 20,000 migrants are kidnapped each year in Mexico. These numbers are of course disputed by international human rights organizations, the Mexican government, and families that are the victims of such acts. What is not refutable are the 72 … Continue reading
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