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, Nov. 3, 1999 meeting.
Wednesday, Nov. 3, 1999
Present: Louise, Joel, Jeff, Carol, Susan, Mark, Jim M., Mary Beth(con Sienna), Bob, and Denis Mudderman(new Executive Director of SP Inc.), also cameo appearances by Mindy and Walter, returning from Scotland via Twin Cities International
Dennis Mudderman, executive director of SP Inc., attended tonites meeting to explain changes in the organization under his leadership. Dennis has been involved in Sister Parish for 6 years and is a member of a hermanamiento in Bloomington, Indiana. He has spent much time in Central America. He presented his Year 2000 Action Plan. It encompasses 5 goals: Vision, Communication, Unity, Team, and Professionalism. They all appear to attempt to put more organization into SP Inc. and move away from individual linkages feeling isolated from the larger body.
Joel brought the finished cards we will be selling on the 21st with candles. He has two beautiful designs. He printed 7000 and we will package them in groups of 5 for $5.
Mindy has volunteered us to fold and stuff the SP Inc. newsletter. That will be done at her house(5564 Snelling Ave. N in Shoreview) on Wed., Nov 10th at 6:30. Mindy is providing soup. We will also package the cards that will be sold at the Nov. 21 mass. Directions to Mindy's are 35W north to Cty. Rd I. Cty Rd I east to Snelling. Snelling north ½ block. Her phone number is 651.783.9609 and email is mindylu@bistream.net .
Fr. George asked Louise if our committee would be willing to donate to the Solidarity Fund for defense of the immigrants detained by the Holiday Inn Express. We voted $250 be sent to the fund. Bob encouraged us all to get behind Fr. Leahy and his efforts in this area.
Jeff reported that his/Alex's Small Christian Community is applying for a St. Joan Justice Fund grant to aid the Officina Legal. Officina Legal provides aid to immigrants in the Twin Cities area. Jeff/Alex's group is working with a lawyer for the Officina to volunteer their help in this cause. Jeff asked that our committee be listed as a co-sponsor in the effort. Approval was granted. He also asked permission to advertise for help from our mailing list. Help needed could range from volunteering time at the Officina, contacting immigrants, or participating in rallies, etc. Especially needed are bilingual help with Spanish/English and Somali/English. Jeff will provide more specifics in the near future. If anyone is interested, contact him at rhollj@bitstream.net or 651.484.6631.
Raul Molina, peace activist and candidate for Mayor of Guatemala City, is speaking several places next week. We are co-sponsoring his visit. You may see him:
An abridged version of Nunca Mas has been released in English. It may be purchased for $30 at Orbis Books, www.orbisbooks.com . Louise will buy one for the committee library.
Our bulletin board has been disheveled by ???. Alex and Jeff will work to try to resurrect it. They are looking for pictures of TNII that anyone would be willing to loan. Call them 651.484.6631 or rhollj@bitstream.net .
Mary Beth reported on an email from Miriam(Bernardo's wife). Miriam says that it is starting to cool off in Guatemala and they are enjoying it. Something about being able to be close to others again. Perhaps we should appreciate our cold winters. She also reports election fever and advertising is high. Many groups are working to educate the voters including some in TNII.
Mary Beth presented
her usual well organized, detailed plan for candle sales on
Nov. 21. She reports we have 2270 candles and enough
adornments to package them. She is printing tags. We have about
equal numbers of red, white, and green. She thinks we should
package them in twos of like colors. We will be doing the
assembly at our next meeting on Nov. 17th. Please come. Mary
Beth also passed around the sign up sheet for working the
tables. If you are interested in helping, contact her at
651.696.0009 or leone-getten@wavefront.com
.
Jeff reported that the address for the webpage will change to www.stjoan.com as of Sunday. Then click on the Sister Parish link.
Carol agreed to translate tonite's minutes and send to TNII.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, November 17 @7 pm School
Classroom