Greetings St. Monica! Many of you may remember a few weeks back when Fr. Miguel, the pastor of our sister parish in Lepaterique, came to visit and preached at all of our Masses. Soon after that experience, one of our college students asked me for some of my thoughts on “sister” parishes and how those relationships work. Below our some of my answers to her questions. Have a blessed Advent!
Peace,
Fr Todd
Q: When you were assigned to St. Monica, did someone talk to you about our sister parish? What did they say?
The previous pastor and associate, Msgr Paul Koetter and Fr Scott Nobbe familiarized me with this relationship in a conversation prior to coming to St. Monica. I also had a meeting with the leaders of the sister parish team within two months of my arrival here. All spoke about how this relationship developed, previous trips to visit the St. James, our support, and the sister parish team’s understanding of relationship being of primary importance.
Q: What do you know about the sister parish now, and how did you learn it?
All of the above. Additionally, I have recently spent some time with the pastor there, Fr Miguel who came for a week long visit. It was very interesting to talk to him and discover that there were quite a few similarities in terms of ministerial duties, joys and struggles. We pray for our sister parish once a month and take up a collection as well. I think there is an annual trip in June, which I may join this year.
Q: How would you describe the sister parish relationship?
The leadership continues to express their desire to emphasize relationship, and from that seems to flow the assistance we offer. This not a bad way to think about it, as long as we are careful that we are seeking to equip them as best we can to be a strong and dynamic Catholic community. Personally, I think this is more the goal of a twinning relationship, helping resource a “sister” parish to be the best it can be. This also is what makes the relationship mutual. While St. James does not offering financial and medical resources, they would if the roles were reversed. As they are, they call us to deeper conversion by making our community focus outward on others. This always makes a community better, since this is what the Gospel calls us to do.
Q: Do you think both parishes give and receive equally, and what do you think they give and receive?
Yes, but in obviously very different ways. Let’s take the example of a mission trip, a popular thing to do is visit your sister parish. When a group goes down and comes back from a mission trip, inevitably, almost without fail, the comments are that the ‘experience was powerful’ and that the ‘roles were reversed for them.’ They may not be able to say why, but in general the mission team will always feel that they received more than they gave. This feeling is consistently heard. I think this is the main reason why the trips are important for us. Frankly, they are right. Generally, sister parishes don’t need you to come down and paint their houses, build them wells, and do their construction work. What they do need is to see that we generally care, that we have an interest in seeing them thrive, in empowering them to do these things themselves, with or without us. This is the manner in which we give and the sister parish receives. In that same situation, we receive, in a powerful and in your face kind of way, the challenges poverty presents. We are pretty spoiled in terms of wealth…clean drinkable running water is generally a given even for our poorest. This is not true in most of the rest of the world. It is good for us to see this. It should call us to something, to live our lives differently. I received this in my first sister parish visit to St. Anne’s in Limonade, Haiti. I have personally struggled with it ever since. This is good for me. It pushes me to see God and the world outside of myself. It challenges my Christian understanding of self and neighbor. We have the option to choose poverty so that others may have basic necessities. Many, who discover this, find it to be challenging but incredibly grace-filled.
Q: Do you think the sister parish relationship works to unite people in different countries in the Americas to bring them together as one America? (If you’re familiar with the apostolic exhortation Ecclesia in America, that’s sort of where I’m getting this question – I’m trying to tie the idea of sister parishes to that document and see if it can function that way, if you have any thoughts on that.)
It is possible I suppose, but my concern is more focused on the relationship amongst Catholics and Christians. If our desire to evangelize and be in relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ brings the Americas closer together, I guess that would be great.
