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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.
Category Archives: General
It’s a Grandma Thing.
[By Sister Parish founder Vicki Schmidt] There’s no end to possibilities for how I live out my life, but right now what I want to do most is to be a grandma to my four beautiful grandchildren. So when I was challenged during my recent visit to El Salvador and Guatemala to find the best way to work for a justice-filled world, I wrestled within myself how to balance social justice work with being a grandma. Hearing once again the heart-twisting stories about systemic abuse and inept and oppressive governments, and about the long term effects of past civil wars and current gang violence on the daily lives of people, the nagging considerations kept surfacing: “What do I do with all this? I just want to be a grandma.” Continue reading
Visions from Guarjila
[By Greg Huang-Dale, Sister Parish President] As Vicki Schmidt described, Sister Parish is a space where God intervenes in our lives creating kairos moments of revelation. This delegation had kairos moments galore. God intervened so frequently that we began to expect the unexpected. And my revelation was that kairos moments happen whenever we allow God to lead. But these moments are not only connections to God, they are also the core of solidarity, allowing ourselves to be led by each other in the Spirit of God. 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
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