Honduras Ministry
Dulce Nombre de María, in Dulce Nombre, Copan, Honduras
Purpose
The Honduras Ministry Committee was created as the body responsible for facilitating the building of a partner parish relationship between the people of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, Ames, Iowa, USA, and the people of Dulce Nombre de María Parish in the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán, Copán, Honduras.
Mission Statement
God calls us to walk with the people of Santa Rosa de Copán, to build relationships with them. We are present with them, will help as we can, but primarily we seek to learn about life from their experience and perspective. We will listen and be supportive.
We seek educate the people of St. Thomas Aquinas parish about the people of Honduras, and especially the Catholics of Santa Rosa De Copán.
We will support our representative John Donaghy in prayer, and in presence as he walks in their midst.
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Who is our sister parish? Dulce Nombre de María is a parish in the diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras. The parish is made up of approximately fifty villages. The main parish church is located in Dulce Nombre de Copán. The pastor, Padre German Navarro, visits each of the villages at least once every two months. Most Sundays, masses are celebrated in at least five different locations. Most villages have “Delegates of the Word” who lead Sunday Celebrations of the Word in their communities. The parish also recently added 15 new extraordinary ministers of Communion. They come from twelve different places in the parish, and bring the number up to 29 ministers for the parish. A main part of this ministry is to visit the sick and the aged. Deacon John Donaghy also leads Celebrations with Communion several Sundays each month, in different communities. Similar to small groups at STA, base communities within the villages meet regularly to pray and reflect. They use material based on the Sunday readings, developed by two priests and a deacon in the diocese. Faith Formation is also one of the priorities of the parish leaders so that they can continue to help form the people in the widely scattered parish. Many of the formation sessions are held in the meeting room at the church in Dulce Nombre de Copán. Many must travel to get to these training sessions. Donations from STA help subsidize the cost of these trainings. |
Committee Meetings
Regular committee meetings are on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7pm at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. Meeting Room locations are posted on the STA Calendar. Check the parish calendar for any changes to this schedule. Guests and new members welcome at any time!
Honduras Ministry Committee Meeting Notes
Minutes from July 2021 to Septermber 2022
Earlier Minutes can be accessed from the Links to the right.
For more information on the current coffee collective support with our Sister Parish see the Cafe El Zapote Video link to the right.
Core Committee Members
- Diane Lyon, resident chair
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Carl Bern
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Daniel Attinger
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Jean-Pierre Toute
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lJohn Kazwell
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Monica Reinken
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Sheryl Montabon
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Brandon Wells
- New members and guests welcome to meetings at any time.
Links
- About Honduras
- Meeting Minutes - 2011 and earlier
- John Donaghy's Blog
- John Donaghy's Photos
- Cafe El Zapote Video
