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 Saturday, November 4, 2000 meetings.
Saturday, November 4, 2000
Present: The Delegates(Rosa, Mario, Efrain, Aura, Miriam, Addy, Tobias, Marlen), plus "unidentified SJAers"
Candle and card sales was the first topic for discussion. It was decided that some of the cards would be sent back to Guatemala with delegates to sell, give as gifts, or use. The remainder of the candles would be sold on Sunday, 11-5, or recycled.
The SJA committee encouraged suggestions from our sister parish in Guatemala about what political efforts we might focus on. In the past we have made these efforts mostly from our own choices. If they happen to have a particular concern, we would appreciate hearing from them.
The Website question for the online homily discussion is, "How can we reach out to our sisters and brothers in Tierra Nueva Dos?" Committee members are encouraged to respond and be part of this discussion.
The delegation schedule was discussed. We confirmed that all of the delegates had adequate time to do their shopping, and that they all had rides to the airport. It was also suggested that people come for the potluck on Sunday at 5:30 to get ready, so that dinner could happen at 6:00.
We decided that there needed to be criteria for evaluating projects. The criteria are as follows:
Project proposals were discussed. Mindy's proposal involves expanding and enhancing the hermamiento. She is interested in expanding from a relationship between two committees to a relationship between two communities. Following are several suggestions:
It was agreed that Efrain's scholarship project will continue to be supported. The amount approved is $2,500.
Miriam told us about the women's project. It involves teaching women to make things that they can sell and also providing education on subjects like health, nutrition and self-esteem. This project is already in full swing and will continue regardless of support. Financial support will enable more women to participate. We approved $1000 for this year and agreed that we will share another $1,000 next year.
Mario was interested in purchasing a vehicle. He said that it would be used for emergency situations, and could be used to raise funds in a way similar to a taxi service. There were questions about who the owner would be, what the cost would be, and who would be responsible for vehicle maintenance, etc. This will be discussed further when we have more specifics.
The youth project is about making improvements to the school. We agreed to appropriate $625 so that they can start by building a fence that will separate the area where the pre-schoolers play from the area where older students play. We are committed to continue funding school projects in the future. We also approved $375 for a kid's Christmas party.
To save time, we agreed that the SJA committee would discuss the budget at another meeting.
Sister Parish, Inc. is looking for other parishes in this vicinity for matches. They are looking for a parish to match with TNI.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, Nov 8 7 pm. Site to be
announced(stay tuned on email)
Katie