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Our Work
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.
Tag Archives: 25th anniversary delegation
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