Twinning

As you may see in the news, the conditions in Haiti continue to deteriorate.  Our brothers and sisters at Saints Simon and Jude Parish in Mon Opital, Haiti, tell us that gangs have taken over in many areas and there are many challenges to managing daily life.  Our Gesu Twinning Committee is working with other U.S. parishes to contact legislators and church officials to ask them to work internationally for outside resources to assist local officials in Haiti. 

We have developed a sample letter for individuals to copy or modify to send to our Wisconsin representatives in Congress.  If you would like to advocate for our friends in Haiti, please take a moment to download the letter, print it, sign it, and sent it to Congress.  Here is the link:  Haiti Advocacy Letter

If you live outside northern or central Milwaukee county, or are unsure who your U.S. Representative is, enter your ZIP code here:  https://www.house.gov/representatives to find your representative's contact information.  You may edit the advocacy letter to change the name and address to your representative.

Prayer to Our Mother of Perpetual Help Patroness of Haiti 

Mother of Perpetual Help, today we face so many difficulties. Your picture tells us so much about you. It reminds us to reach out and help those in need. Help us understand that our lives belong to others as much as they belong to us.

Mary, Model of Christian love, we know we cannot heal every ill or solve every problem. But with God’s grace, we intend to do what we can. May we be true witnesses to the world that love for one another really matters. May our daily actions proclaim how fully our lives are modeled after yours, Mother of Perpetual Help.

We come to you today as your loving children. Watch over the people of Haiti and in a special way place your mantle over the Little Sisters and Brothers of the Incarnation. As you held the child Jesus in your loving arms, so take them in your arms. Be a mother ready at every moment to help them. For God who is mighty has done great things for you. Intercede for them, dear Mother. We ask you for aid, protection and restoration of human dignity in Haiti.  We pray for relief from the suffering that continues to plague this country dedicated to your patronage.  Amen.  

Twinning is an active, mutual, on-going, spiritual, cultural and economic relationship between two faith communities.

In the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, the Office of World Mission serves as a clearinghouse and support for parishes interested in forming relationships with other parishes.

The Office for World Mission is rooted in a missiology that arises from our baptismal commitment to embrace God's universal family as sister and brother - promotes Global justice and solidarity by facilitating partnerships between people and institutions of Southeastern Wisconsin with our counterparts in countries throughout the world.

The Twinning relationship between Gesu Parish and Sts. Simon and Jude Parish is a key mechanism for Gesu to offer opportunities for parishioners to exercise global solidarity with people in Haiti. In selecting Haiti as the country with which Gesu should twin, members of the Gesu Twinning Committee were influenced by the overwhelming poverty of the country (it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere). Additional factors included the relative ease of travel (it is only five hours by plane) and the presence of Norwich Mission House as a coordinating body.

The twinning relationship between Sts. Simon and Jude Parish and Gesu Parish formally began in 2002. Please visit the links at left to learn more about this ministry.