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| Our Sister Parish Mission San Agustin |
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Our Mission:
In winter 2003, the cluster parishes of St. Helen's in Niskayuna, NY and Our Lady of Fatima in Schenectady, NY
and Mision of San Agustin in Mexico agreed to share in a sister parish partnership. Mision San Agustin includes
the three villages of Cuanacaxtitlan, (more easily referred to as Cuana), Yoloxochitl (Yolo) and Arroyo Cumiapa.
The mission is in the Archdiocese of Acapulco in the state of Guerro, Mexico. The mission is entrusted to the care
of the PIME missionaries. Many of the parishioners are Mixteco Indians, and Mixteco is the native Indian language.
The goal of the sister parish relationship is to link our faith communities together in a mutual partnership so
as to share each others faith, culture, and community life. The journey will hopefully lead to a greater sense
of world community and greater global understanding. |
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Our delegation to
Mission San Agustin.
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Our delegation treated
to entertainment.
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A deligate meets
the people.
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Men of the village.
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Bringing it Together:
In spring 2003, Fr. Massimo Segui visited the parishes of Our Lady of Fatima and St. Helen's. He introduced interested
parishioners to Mision San Agustin. The two communities sent him back to Mexico laden with greetings from parishioners
and letters from school children, as well as school supplies for the children. The three communities began to recognize
each other in their weekly prayer intentions. In the summer of 2003, the NY parishes saw pictures of the newly
completed church in Mexico, the church of San Juan Diego, and learned of Fr. Massimo's study of linguistics in
ND, and his intentions to tranlate the Bible into Mixteco.
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Trials and Tribulations
At the time the parishes established their sister parish relationshhip, a major water project was underway at the
mission. In one of his earliest emails, Fr. Massimo wrote, "In our area live about 5000 people who do not
have running water in their homes for 9 out of the 12 months of the year. It is the 3 months that it rains. The
rest of the year is a long, dry period during which people have to carry water daily from surface wells to home.
2 years ago we built a purification plant to potabilize water which is sold at 10 cents a gallon so everyone can
afford it. Now we are facing the problem of supplying this plant throughout the year." The parishioners of
Our Lady of Fatima and St. Helen's shared in a small way in some of the trials and tribulations of building 2 wells
and constructing a water distribution system in Cuana. Hearing of the efforts to dig 2 wells and bring a water
distribution system to Cuana, the sister parishes in NY decided to help through monthly sales of bottled water
("Aqua por Aqua"). |
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Our group shares in song.
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Our group shares in song.
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The delegation witnesses
a wedding.
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The children celebrate Three Kings
Day.
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Building Ties
Efforts continue to further develop this sense of community with our brothers and sisters in Mexico. In November,
some Mexican customs including the abundant use of flowers are included in the celebration of All Souls' Day. On-going
e-mail communication with news shared in the weekly bulletin has allowed the parishes in Niskayuna-Schenectady
to stay in touch. When Our Lady of Fatima parishioner Mary Moon visited the mission in January 2004, returning
to visit after having spent a year ther as a physician assistant, the children of St. Helen's and Our Lady of Fatima
had the opportunity to share friendship bracelets with the children in Mexico. |
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The Visit
In January 2005, a delegation from Our Lady of Fatima and St. Helen's visited the mission. The delegation included
Fr. James Kane from St. Helen's , Fr. Dan Dwyer from Siena College (a frequent celebrant of masses at Our Lady
of Fatima), as well as, parishioners from both churches and Mary Moon (returning once again to visit the villages).
The slide show above is from their trip. |
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Our delegation meets the children of the village.
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Our hosts share their bread with us.
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A fish farm raises food for the village.
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Church of Juan Diego in Arroyo, Cumiapa.
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Donations for Mision San Agustin may be sent to
either:
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St. Helen's Church
1803 Union Street
Schenectady, NY 12309 |
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Our Lady of Fatima
2216 Rosa Road
Schenectady, NY 12309 |
Please make checks payable to the appropriate church, earmarked for the Sister Parish and they will be forwarded
to Mision San Agustin.
Learn about Juan Diego |
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