Sister Parish Committee meetings are held the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 7 pm. in the school. Newcomers are always welcome. If you have questions, please contact any of the members of the committee.
What follows are the minutes of the Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999 meeting.
Wednesday, Oct. 6, 1999
Present: Louise, Joel, Sarah, Rick, Mindy, Jeff, Walter and Jackie, Chris, Vickie, Susan, Jim M., Carol
Of course, the highlight
of the evening was the presence of Walter and Jackie and
their two daughters, Sara and Jessica. They had been in the
Midwest for a few days and were on their way to Scotland for
vacation. They have stayed with Marge and also Louise as well
as visited Decorah, Iowa.
We agreed to sponsor the speech of Raul Melina, currently a candidate for mayor of Guatemala City, who will be in the Twin Cities Nov. 11-12. We will have him at SJA if we can't find another location for him.
Candle sales will be on the 21st and 28th of November. The meeting to get the candles and cards organized will be on Nov. 17th. Joel showed us templates of the prints and photos that will be on the cards. Jeff will send Joel our new web address when he picks an ISP.
Walter and Jackie brought Sister Parish T-shirts that they are selling and feature a design by Christ Episcopal in Virginia(another Sister Parish). They were white with colorful lettering and design. Our committee purchased 18 and will give away 4 each nite at Cabaret as door prizes. There are 10 others available to anyone who wants one for $10 apiece. Contact Mindy.
Mindy returned from 3 weeks in Guatemala feeling that extended stays like hers allow for greater understanding. Walter and Jackie agreed. It is still a goal of the committee to investigate sending individuals/couples for even longer stays. Of course, it is hard to find someone who has the time and can afford it. Mindy suggested that all further communications to TNII should be sent in Spanish. We have better resources here to translate. Mark, Tim and Mary Beth, Miguel, Carol, and Sarah all have agreed to help with this. It was suggested that we include a newsy item or prayer reflection to close our minutes and have one of the translators be in charge of that while others would be in charge of other translations. Mindy also brought back pictures and a bag of beads for anyone who would like to make a ring or a bracelet while sitting through a committee meeting. The rings are a continuation of an idea we started when the delegation was here from TNII. We started making rings for everyone to wear as a symbol of our hermanamiento. Mindy took the materials to TNII with her and many made rings while she was there. She left the materials so that anyone else that would like one can make one as well. Mindy then bought more materials for those of us at SJA who would like to have a ring. The idea is that the materials are inexpensive so that anyone who would like to have one is welcome to make one and be a part of the hermanamiento.
Mindy reported briefly on the SP Inc. board meeting. A new executive director, Dennis Mudderman of Indiana, has been hired. He seems to have some good ideas and experience. Mindy also requested that our committee assemble the SP Inc. newsletter for November since Vickie Schmidt is on leave of absence. The committee agreed and Mindy will inform us of the date.
Carol reports no calls yet on the Bible Study which is scheduled to start this week. Jackie was able to suggest a book that contains the exact scripture readings that TNII will be using.
We discussed future delegations. TNII seems very interested in sending 4 adults and 4 youth up here next year. Holy Week is filled on Walter and Jackie's schedule. We settled on proposing a time of around Nov. 16th-27th. Guatemalan kids are out of school and Thanksgiving weekend might be a good time to visit here.
Social events for our committee include a party at Vickie's on Dec. 4th and a July event at Susan's. More details on these later.
Next Meeting: Wednesday!!, October 20th 7 pm Parish Center