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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.
Tag Archives: open delegation
Southern Encounter & Open Delegation 2024 / Encuentro del Sur y Delegación Abierta 2024
November was a great month! We had the blessing to participate in the Southern Encounter, where representatives from every community in Guatemala and El Salvador traveled to Chichicastenango (Guatemala) and there, together with the group from the Open Delegation, we … Continue reading
Posted in General
Tagged 2024, Chichicastenango, Delegation, el salvador, guatemala, open delegation, San Antonio Cunen, southern encounter, travel
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Open Delegation: A letter from the SP board // Delegación abierta: una carta de parte de la Junta Directiva
[Español más abajo] There is so much we want to share with you about the Open Delegation in November. So many stories, so many experiences. It had been four years since the last Open Delegation, and Cathy Burrell, current member … Continue reading
Posted in Delegaciones, Delegations, El Salvador, Español, General, Guatemala, norte al sur, North to South, South to North, United States
Tagged Comunidades, Delegación Abierta, Delegación abierta 2023, delegaciones, delegate reflections, delegations, el salvador, Español, featured, guarjila, guatemala, iglesia, los ranchos, north to south, open delegation, Open Delegation 2023, reflexiones, san josé la montaña, SJLM, st joan of arc, tierra nueva i, tierra nueva ii, travel, travel-2, upavim, Visitas
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Open Delegation 2023 / Delegación Abierta 2023
[Español más abajo] It’s well known that due to the global pandemic, our in-person delegations had to be postponed or canceled. After a long wait, we restarted our delegations in 2023 and joyfully returned to one of the best parts … Continue reading
Posted in Delegaciones, Delegations, El Salvador, Español, General, Guatemala
Tagged Ciudad de Guatemala, decorah, Delegación Abierta, delegaciones, delegate reflections, delegations, downers grove, Español, featured, guarjila, guatemala, los ranchos, north to south, open delegation, Open Delegation 2023, potrerillos, san josé la montaña, SJLM, st joan of arc, tierra nueva i, tierra nueva ii, travel, travel-2, upavim, WUMC
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Video from our Open Delegation 2019
Thank you to Memo Lab Productions for this video about our delegation to El Salvador and Guatemala in 2019. Our delegation focused on fellowship with Sister Parish communities in Central America and also learned about the push-pull factors of migration.
Open Delegation Stories 7: Learning more about migration
by Cathy Burrell We began our day visiting Antigua, a beautiful colonial city. There we had free time to explore and walk along the cobblestone streets. Some of us explored museums or art galleries. Others looked at jade stores, walked … Continue reading
Open Delegation Stories 6: Visiting the U.S. Embassy and Tierra Nueva 1,2
by Nancy Wiens This morning we met with Bryce Jordan from the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. His portfolio includes many human rights issues, including migration. He provided an interesting perspective as we learn more about the realities of life here. … Continue reading
Open Delegation Stories 5: Community development and U.S. foreign aid
by Maria Van Der Maaten On Wednesday morning we met with Nicole Kast (head of programming) and Paul Townsend (country director) of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in the Guatemala office. Nicole shared about the structure of CRS and the work … Continue reading
Open Delegation Stories 4: Visiting Guarjila and Los Ranchos, a day of resilience
by Nancy Wiens Today we toured both Guarjila and San Antonio Los Ranchos. We learned about the challenging history of these communities, which were completely destroyed in the 80’s during the armed conflict — and saw the results of their … Continue reading
Open Delegation Stories 3: Visiting San Jose and Potrerillos, a day filled with God’s spirit
by Bob Burrell It was an early wake up for the Sister Parish delegates from the North and South. This morning we traveled through the valleys and hills of northern El Salvador in the Chalatenango region to San Jose la … Continue reading
Open Delegation Stories 2: Connecting with Sister Parish family and honoring heroes and martyrs
The second day of our Open Delegation experience gave us the opportunity to connect with those arriving from Sister Parish communities in Guatemala and other areas of El Salvador. We gathered in the gorgeous Botanical Gardens for a walk, lunch … Continue reading

