The Church of the Redeemer's hall was filled with spirituality, passion and good will, as Twinning Committee pilgrims from across Virginia assembled last Saturday. It was a day of sharing, learning and manje! Solidarity begins at home.
The annual state Haiti Gathering, which was first held in 1997 in Charlottesville, continued this tradition featuring three excellent key note speakers, as well as eleven informative, interactive and pragmatic workshops. Intertwined throughout the day the Haitian Choir lead the group singing various hymns.
The three key note speakers were Father Joe Nangle who spent
fifteen years as a missioner in Bolivia and Peru and is currently engaged in
ministry to the Hispanic community of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in
Arlington, Virginia.
Fr. Jacques Volcius who was ordained in 2002 and is the Pastor and Founder of Our Lady of the
Miraculous Parish, twinned with St. Gregory the Great in Virginia Beach. Fr. Jacques is the director
of Caritas Hinche.
Dr. Maguire who has
worked for years on issues of ‘bottom-up’ development in post-plantation
societies in the Americas,
including Louisiana
but especially Haiti
and the English-speaking Caribbean. He is
recognized as a leading US
expert on Haiti,
having been engaged with Haiti
since 1974. His current involvement focuses on issues of US-Haiti policy,
politics, post-disaster development, and effective poverty alleviation.
Thank you to everyone who attended the 2014 Haiti Gathering! Virginia's peer to peer interactions are an important piece of the process leading to the success of helping Haiti become an independent nation.
What's next?
Attend your Haiti Regional Gathering which will be held this coming Fall!
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