To the World

Parish Twinning

The mission of this ministry is to answer the Call to Global Solidarity International Challenges for US Parishes a letter from the US Bishops that states:

“A parish reaching beyond national boundaries is a truly “catholic” parish. (They) reach out in a special way thru a process of twinning, i.e. a US parish develops an ongoing relationship with a parish in (a developing) country. We (Bishops) welcome twinning and encourage the development of these relationships in ways that avoid dependency and paternalism. These bridges of faith offer as much to US parishes as their partners. We are evangelized & changed as we help other communities of faith.”

Discussions of the idea of St. Anselm’s developing a twinning relationship began in the spring of 2005. That idea took on substance when the new pastor of a rural parish in rural Jamaica reached out to us in March of 2006. Later that year Ellie and John Cosgrove made an initial exploratory visit to St. Anthony’s, its two mission churches, St. Agnes and St. George and their pastor Fr. Arokiadas  Arumainathan, or Fr. Francis as he is called by his beloved parishioners. The Cosgroves made a detailed written report on what they learned during their stay and in January 2007, the Twinning Subcommittee of the Human Concerns and Social Justice Committee (HC&SJ) was formed with the Cosgroves as Co-Chairs.

In October 2007 Marcia Van Note, HC&SJ Chair, and Michael Bellina, Communications Committee Chair, joined Ellie and John on a follow-up visit to St. Anthony’s. Upon their return, Marcia, Mike and Ellie, all members of the Parish Council (Ellie as a Consultor) received a positive response from the Council to a plan for the development of the twinning relationship with St. Anthony’s along with the enthusiastic support of our pastor, Fr. Gene.

The implementation of that plan began with the showing of a video report at all the masses on January 26, 27, 2008 and the unveiling of a Jamaica Twinning display that same weekend. Fr. Francis visited our parish on February 16, 17, 2008 preached at all the masses that weekend and met with Fr. Gene, parishioners and the Subcommittee to discuss how and in what ways his parish and ours, including their respective ministries, can form mutually enriching collaborations.

If you wish to know more about or to help with this ministry, contact Mike Bellina at communications@stanselm.com.