Bem-vindo, Bem-vinda! – Welcome to Brazil! June 8 – 17, 2018 Deadline for Sign Ups: February 8, 2018 Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Brazil invites you to visit their ministries that focus on meeting basic needs and working to create a more just world. We are particularly focused on the people who live on the margins of Brazilian society including, but...
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Tag Archives: Brazil
“Faces of Migration” photoblog attracts attention in Brazil
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Greg Fischer serves in mission in Brazil with Missão Paz, a center for migrants and immigrants where he works to ensure basic human rights are respected and protected, while also assisting these migrants with basic services, work placement, housing and other needs. Greg has been working on a special project with Missão Paz, to address the lack of education on migrant...
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Finding Alternatives to Violence: Reaching Youth in Brazil
Written by Flávio José Rocha da Silva, This past January, I was invited by the NGO GAIA to facilitate a short workshop on Theater of the Oppressed for teenagers who have been in prison. The youth were able to leave prison on some conditions, like participating socio-educative activities like my theater workshop at this NGO. Most of them come from...
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Prison Ministry Mission Story
Written by Catherine Heinhold Part of my prison ministry work is making phone calls for the inmates to their loved ones. Most prisons in Brazil do not have payphones, and possessing a cell phone can have serious negative consequences. Some inmates write and receive letters, but many don’t have access to pen, paper, envelopes or stamps – or simply are...
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Finding God in a Concrete Jungle – Marquette Magazine
Returned Maryknoll Lay Missioners Katie Coldwell, who spent three and one-half years serving in mission in Brazil, shares her experience of accompanying imprisoned women through an urban prison garden ministry, in this beautiful article and video developed by Marquette Magazine. In the profile, Katie describes her efforts working with the women prisoners saying, “We go in as a catalyst for change. That’s...
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Women Prison Education Ministry
Written by Kathy Bond I love this image of St. Ann and Mary that powerfully promotes women’s education. I also feel a connection to Saint Ann, as one of the female prisons that I have worked in over the last four years is named after her. In my ministries with women’s health education, I have seen many doors open over...
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Having a Baby in Mission
by Kim Fischer, Maryknoll Lay Missioner serving in Brazil: Raising a family in mission can mean many different things. It means you’ll be far from extended family. It means that your main form of communication with those back home gets relegated to Skype, e-mails, and phone calls. It means that your toddler son learns how to leave a video message...
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São Paulo the Ellis Island of Latin America
Written by Maryknoll Lay Missioner Greg Fischer: Since beginning my ministry work in conjunction with Missão Paz, I have seen thousands of immigrants come in and out of our doors. In essence, São Paulo has become the 21st century version of Ellis Island. While their needs are diverse, these immigrants all come under the same condition – looking to establish...
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O SÃO PAULO interview with Heidi Cerneka
Before departing Brazil to return to the States for law school this past June, returned missioner Heidi Cerneka was profiled by O SÃO PAULO, a Brazilian newspaper. The interview, titled “Fighting without losing hope and tenacity,” is published here both in its original Portuguese and with an English translation. Throughout the Q&A, Heidi recounts her experiences in mission and relates the accomplishments...
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Teaching new Catechists at Santa Terezinha Parish
Catherine Heinhold, Maryknoll lay missioner presently serving in Sao Paulo has these words to share about one of her ministries in Brazil. The training course for new catechists that I give meets in the choir loft of the main church of my parish, Santa Terezinha. Men, women, and teenagers take two hours out of their very busy Saturday for eight...
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