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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: Guatemala
Guatemala Representatives Meeting: September 21-22, 2013
On September 21st, participants from all nine Guatemalan communities gathered to celebrate Sister Parish’s 25 years of operation in the U.S. and Latin America. The 25th Anniversary Guatemala Solidarity Walk was blessed with cool breezes and smiles from all walks … Continue reading
Guatemala Solidarity Walk: A message of peace for future generations
“We are looking for direct communication with God. Each one of us has feelings and the desire to express ourselves. The Walk makes us feel free. We all live with different problems but we ask God to guide us, to … Continue reading
Center for Mission delegation experiences Sister Parish
[This summer, Sister Parish hosted a delegation from the Center for Mission, which coordinates the global mission work of the Catholic Archdiocese of St Paul and Minneapolis. Michael Haasl, the Global Solidarity Coordinator for the Center for Mission wrote this reflection … Continue reading
Twenty-Five Years of Memories: Working for Justice by Standing in Solidarity
[By Bob Heberle and Nancy Wiens of St Joan of Arc, Minneapolis, MN] When I toured Central America in 1983 and visited the civil and human rights groups working there, all seemed to have the same message. The message was, “Come down here to see what’s going on, and go back to your country, the U.S., and tell them what’s going on and get them to do something. You are after all a citizen of the U.S. and therefore have some input.” Continue reading
Posted in 25th Anniversary, General, Guatemala
Tagged 25th anniversary, board member reflections, st joan of arc
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Veinticinco años de Memorias: creciendo juntas-os en la fe
In English [A lo largo del año, estaremos publicando reflexiones de las y los miembros de las comunidades de Iglesias Hermanas, en honor a los 25 años de existencia de la organización. Hoy la reflexión es de Jose Choc, un líder y … Continue reading
Posted in 25 aniversario, Español, Guatemala
Tagged las margaritas ii, st francis of assisi
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[By Jose Choc of Las Margaritas II, Guatemala] In 1993, the relationship with [St Francis of Assisi] and Las Margaritas began. They came to search for and to get to know another church and the life here in the community, to share experiences and exchange experiences. It was also during the times of war and the people suffered a lot in Ixcan. Continue reading
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
Watching the fields we tend to grow fruit
[By Walter Arreaza, former SP Staff] I have been away from Sister Parish for a number of years (most of which I have spent living in Scotland) and so to come back and re-enter the experience has made a big impact on me again… 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
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
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