Kathy Bond makes new friends in João Pessoa, Brazil. By Kathy Bond After eight years in São Paulo, our family recently returned to João Pessoa, a coastal capital at the most eastern point of the Americas, to reopen the presence of Maryknoll Lay Missioners here. In order to reconnect with partners and explore ministry possibilities, my husband, Flávio, and I are...
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Tag Archives: Brazil
Joanne Blaney on popular education and restorative justice in Brazil
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Joanne Blaney talks about her work in popular education and restorative justice. At the Popular Education and Human Rights Center in São Paulo, Brazil, Joanne works with vulnerable and marginalized populations, including homeless and incarcerated women and men. Joanne and her Brazilian teammates also train educators, community leaders and church groups in restorative justice practices and violence...
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A thank you from a prison in Brazil
Maryknoll lay missioner Marilyn Kott recently shared a beautiful thank-you letter she had received from a man named Kingsley, who is incarcerated in the Itaí prison for foreigners in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. When a priest and a sister from the São Paulo archdiocesan office for prison ministry visited the inmates at Itaí last October, they took a...
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Have yourself a MERRY GLOBAL CHRISTMAS!
Merry Christmas! Feliz Natal, Krismasi Njema, Feliz Navidad, រីករាយបុណ្យណូអែល Watch this fun Christmas mashup video from Maryknoll lay missioners and their communities:...
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São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Immersion
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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“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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