Download Twinning Presentation - Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Parish Twinning: It’s about relationships,
accompaniment & solidarity for God’s reign
From the Mission Office of the
Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Ohio
“The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he
has anointed me to bring the good news
to the afflicted. He has sent me to
proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the
blind, to let the oppressed go free and to
proclaim a year of favor a jubilee year
from the Lord.”
Luke 4, Jesus’ mission statement & ours?
There are various kinds
of mission ministries:
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Mission ad gentes, the typical definition, where Christians
take the very first steps in evangelization – that is –
crossing geographical boarders to bring the Gospel to those
who have not yet heard of Jesus’ teaching and life.
A second type is crossing social & class boarders within
nations where the church is already established and offer
God’s love to those who are marginalized in our society.
A third form of mission is when established Christian
communities further evangelize each other and build up
each others’ faith by sharing their lives and love for Jesus
while building God’s reign of justice, peace and global
solidarity. …known as parish partnering, twinning, sister
relationships, etc.
Roots of Twinning?
Pope John XXIII personally
witnessed the horrors of both World
Wars.
With his 1963 Pacem in Terris and
his call for Vatican II, he sought to:
• Eliminate the causes of war,
•
•
•
Stop the hatred of Jews,
Build respect toward other religions,
cultures, laity, women, the poor
Move the church’s mission from a
“heroic” to a “humble” model.
Before Vatican II, the church had a….
Heroic model of mission where priests and religious
“brought” God to “them” and the laity paid for it.
But thanks to the Spirit working at the Vatican Council (1962-65)
we now operate with a…
Humble model of mission where we recognize that God is
already at work in other cultures and religions. Diversity is
respected. Lay people also have a key role and full
participation.
Parish twinning is a example
of this humble model at work.
From Heroic to Humble models of
mission that direct twinning today:
Three shifts in our thinking…
1st Shift: Moving away from understanding that
missionary endeavors are for a chosen few to… that of
the whole church. We are the body of Christ!
Catholics from
the Navajo Nation
with twinning
partners at St.
Joseph Parish,
North Bend, Ohio
2nd Shift: Moving away from believing that the
missionary “has God and takes God to the pagans”
…..to recognizing that Christ is already present in the
mission church.
Ghana, West Africa
& Cincinnati
twinning partners
3rd Shift: Moving from a charity model of support
for mission work…. to awareness of global
economics and actions of solidarity so to address
economic imbalance and injustice.
Two Noble Peace Prize winners: Pope
John Paul II with Lech Wałęsa, a Polish
electrician, trade-union organizer, and
human-rights activist. He co-founded
the first independent labor union in the
Soviet Union, called “Solidarity.”
7 Principles of Catholic Social
Teaching to guide twinning
partnerships:
1. Life and Dignity of the Human
Person
2. Call to Family, Community, and
Participation
3. Rights and Responsibilities
4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable
5. The Dignity of Work and the Rights
of Workers
6. Solidarity
7. Care for God's Creation
http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholicsocial-teaching/seven-themes-of-catholic-social-teaching.cfm
Of these 7 principals, the main focus for
twinning needs to be on Solidarity:
U.S. Catholic bishops state:
“Solidarity calls us to help overcome the divisions of our
world. Solidarity binds the rich to the poor. It makes the free
zealous for the cause of the oppressed. It drives the
comfortable and secure to take risks for the victims of tyranny
and war.”
Hurricane
Katrina
survivors
“Solidarity also includes a kind of
mutuality, that goes both ways in
respect and accountability when the
relationship grows.
Solidarity becomes a two-way
relationship with both sides giving
and receiving.
Those who reach out quickly realize
that their own humanity and
spirituality is being fostered in new
ways.
Those who are receiving assistance
discover they bring gifts to the
relationship which the others would
otherwise be lacking.”
New partnerships &
friendships in
Honduras
Principles of Solidarity
From the U.S. Bishops’ “Called To Global
Solidarity: Challenge to U.S. Parishes”
I.
Anchoring Solidarity through Prayer, Worship, and
Preaching
II. Teaching Solidarity though Education and Formation
III. Living Solidarity through Work, Family, Citizenship
IV. Investing in Solidarity through Stewardship
V. Practicing Solidarity through Outreach and Charity
VI. Promoting Solidarity through Advocacy and Political
Responsibility
So, What is a Twinning
Relationship?
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It is an experiential learning process for the
entire community to develop a Christ centered
mission oriented parish. It is a coming together
of a parish in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati with
people in a home or foreign mission area of the
world, in an active, mutual and on-going faith
commitment of solidarity.
What does such a relationship accomplish
for a parish? It binds people together spiritually,
culturally, and in a mutual sharing of resources.
What does such a relationship involve for a
parish? It involves crossing over into other
cultural, economic, political, linguistic, and
religious environments.
Twinning IS About….
- building a mutual relationship of solidarity
- promoting social justice and peace
- sharing faith journeys in Our Lord
- learning various worship styles
- developing joyful friendships in another culture
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Twinning is NOT About….
changing others’ views
imposing our way of life
building infrastructure
only fund raising
Twinning partners in
Oaxaca, Mexico
Twinning is a lot like a marriage
relationship, a friendship
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What do you need for
a good marriage or
friendship??
Left, youth twining
partners from the
Archdioceses of
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
and Cincinnati.
SO WHY TWIN? Because:
1. It is a response to Jesus’
call to social justice,
reconciliation and unity of all
peoples.
2. It promotes both local and
global solidarity with our
brothers and sisters in Christ
as well as an appreciation for
the universality of the
Catholic Church, a church
with no borders. It’s an
invitation to go beyond
models of charity and
compassion.
3. It encourages the Second
Vatican Council’s call for the
empowerment of the laity in
our church and mission.
Tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero
with twinning partners from El
Salvador and Archdiocese of
Cincinnati,
4. Just as healthy friendships or marriages can bring out the
best of both partners, twinning enriches our personal and
parish faith journeys through engagement with Catholics in
other cultures. It encourages us to appreciate and share all
talents, gifts and resources within the Body of Christ.
5. It can help eliminate the grave sins of Racism, Sexism,
Classism, Paternalism, Materialism, Militarism, and
Xenophobia; hopefully, these “isms” can be replaced with the
fruits of the Holy Spirit such as increased justice,
understanding, peace, reconciliation and joy!
6. It can be a joy filled experience! A taste of the
heavenly banquet when all are gathered in perfect love
with the Trinity.
Archbishop Schnurr with the
local Filipino choir at a World
Mission Sunday Mass.
So what’s needed for a good
Twinning Relationship?
1. Prayer
2. Communication
3. Cultural Sensitivity
4. Involvement for Justice
5. Broad based involvement
Ongoing mutual visits to each others
6. Goal Formation
7. Assumption and Responsibility of Roles
8. Parish Celebrations of the twinning relationship
Visiting potential twinning
partners in Vietnam
Now, please take a quiet moment to
write down:
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“What are some of my key
motivations for becoming involved in
twinning relationship?”
“Why do or did I or my parish want
to begin such a relationship?”
“Why do we want to continue this
relationship?”
To sum this up….
One of the Honduran twinning partners, Lourdes Chavarria,
(Lulu) put it this way when asked about the benefits of parish
twinning. She said:
“By having a twinning partners in Cincinnati, we realized we are not
crazy or alone in living according to our faith in Christ. For the parish
community in general, it is a good experience to see beyond our
needs and pray for one other, no matter if they are in another
country. They are our brothers and sisters.”
So why should other churches, dioceses or seminaries consider
these relationships?
Lulu added, “I think it is simple math, 1+1=2. If we add the
faith of one parish with another, it simply grows! It’s like
having relatives or friends. It’s always nice to know that we
have people we can count on who are always aware of our
needs and who want to share our joys... and that goes both
ways.”
And when asked what was a key moment of your visit,
she continued:
“When we shared Sunday Mass, we found that their experience of
faith was amazing and it made me feel very proud of my big
Catholic family. We really are the Body of Christ with many, many
members!”
Resources:
Mission Office Website: www.catholiccincinnati.org/mission
to find guides for parish twinning and some of the items in this
PowerPoint.
U.S. Bishops on:
“Catholic Social Teaching”
http://old.usccb.org/sdwp/catholicteachingprinciples.shtml
“Called To Global Solidarity: Challenge to U.S. Parishes”
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-anddignity/global-issues/called-to-global-solidarity-internationalchallenges-for-u-s-parishes.cfm
Catholic Up-date: “What Catholics should know about Global
Solidarity”
http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac0607.asp.