TPPC has had a "sister parish" relationship with a congregation in Jiñocuao, Nicaragua through the Kairos Association (for more information on Kairos, visit their website at http://www.kairosassociation.org/). Our relationship with this rural community began in 1992. This page contains links to letters and news of that community.
There is an archive of articles that have appeared on the TPPC website since 1999; they chronicle the history of our involvement with the Jiñocuao community.
Letters from the Jiñocuao community to TPPC are available on this website.
For more information on our relationship with Jiñocuao, contact the committee through swac@takomaparkpc.org.
You may remember that there was a rooster statue and a bowl of shelled corn in one of our windows during Advent. Since the chicken arrived the day after our first big snow, and there weren't a lot of folks in church, here's the story.
The Jiñocuao committee has been working with our counterparts in Nicaragua to find ways for our two communities to be united in spirit by sharing worship ideas and activities.
When the committee sent the community an email asking him about how the people there were celebrating Christmas, and also looking for ideas about what we could put in an Advent window, we got the following reply:
Dec 9, 2009
Dear brothers and sisters in Takoma Park,
We hope that with this letter you received the spirit of our community and the countless greetings, kisses and hugs from each of your fellow Christians. We say that our Christmas celebrations start with the celebration of "la Purisima." (La Purisima - the purest one - refers to the Virgin Mary.) We started on 29 November and continued until the evening of December 7, when we had a service at the church.
We celebrate on December 24 with a vigil at night until 1:00 in the morning, expecting the birth of the Christ Child. For that evening we've prepared several girls who will go out dressed as shepherdesses, singing to the newborn child and the Magi and Joseph and Mary, who will be with the baby. On this night the community decided to read and reflect on one of the readings that you will be using in Takoma Park.
Moreover, in each sector we have organized mini retreats in the community. Each group will be sharing about their lives and reading biblical texts. For the 26, 27 and 28 December we will have a follow-up retreat in the church.
As for the window you are going to prepare for us (on the fourth Sunday of Advent), we say that we are very happy and excited. The elements that we would like to be included are:
A corn plant, which symbolizes our most basic food. Our survival depends on this.
A hen, which is the typical dish. THAT IS THE CHRISTMAS DINNER. You could also have sorghum, wheat, beans, and sesame, with a Bible in the center.
We are doing the Posadas from December 16 to 24. It is taking place in the plaza area, one night in each house. People from the sectors of the community come down, and we go around from 5 pm until 7 pm. We chose a girl who goes as Mary and a young man like Joseph. We sing and then when we get to the house, Joseph knocks on the door and asks if they have any room to stay (posada). We sing a special song and then go in, still singing. Then we celebrate God's word.
The letter ended with warm wishes to everyone at TPPC from each of the sectors of the community there.
And that's the story of the chicken on the window.
Webmaster : Brian
C. Monsell