On the Eve of Another Stampede...

Tomorrow (Sept 17) St. Bridget will hold its 10th Annual Elephant Stampede, a rolicking picnic and walk/run fundraiser for our sister parish of Namitembo, in Malawi, Southeast Central Africa. We've had a great friendship for nearly ten years now, and raised over a half million dollars. (The link to our web page leads to several different articles describing our history together.) It's been a wonderful relationship, and it's made a huge difference (we both believe) in the future of the people of Namitembo. I know that it's made a difference in the lives of our own parishioners as well, opening our hearts and minds to the lives of a people far away in distance and culture.

But on the eve of the event... I'm not thinking about how much we might raise, or the weather forecast (cloudy, possible showers). I'm thinking about my own personal future. This relationship with Namitembo has changed me as well. Personally, I've visited our friends there three times: four years ago, two years ago, and this summer. So, what am I thinking?

Maybe it's natural, but I wondering about using more of my own time and energy to try to create this kind of relationship between other parishes and missions.

"Sister parish" relationships can be really wonderful (and I'd love to hear from more parishes about their experience with this) -- but I've noticed that they often seem to be the inital byproduct of the energy of a person or small group, who have a vision of making a difference. But that vision often doesn't quite grow and blossom the way the original founders had in mind, and seems to die out after the original people move on to other things. Or, as sometimes happens, perhaps the funds that are raised do not go far enough, or do not get spent wisely, or are spent for things that really were not the priorities of the people, or that really did not address the root causes of the poverty they live with.

I'm a part of a Seattle group called Friends of CRS [Catholic Relief Services]. Our mission statement is to "Inspire our communities to action for Global Solidarity through the work of CRS throughout the world" (more on this group another time). Global Solidarity -- what a wonderful thing for U.S. Catholics to aspire to! And sister parish relationships can be such valuable connections -- really fostering that sense of solidarity. That's why I was interested in the Friends to begin with.

Solidarity -- what a GREAT value for U.S. Catholics to live out. As a people we're such a force in the world, but individual citizens are generally unaware of what life is like beyond our boarders.

This brings me back to my thoughts, about my own future. What if I were to spend three months of the year in places like Malawi, and the rest of the time in Seattle or other places in the Pacific Northwest, trying to create viable, lasting partnerships? What could happen?

I'd be interested in hearing from the experience that others have had with sister parish types of relationships. I'd also be interested in hearing what my own parishioners think about their Deacon "going off on some idealistic quest."