Generations in Solidarity

Honoring voices of the past, bringing hope for the future

Please join us on Saturday, April 26 at 7:00 p.m. for a public screening and discussion of Generations in Solidarity – a 45 minute documentary film which explores the governmental and faith-community relationships between North and Central America over the past 25 years.

Filmed on location in Guatemala, El Salvador and North America, Generations in Solidarity tells the story of how Sister Parish, an ecumenical social justice organization, began to link faith-based communities between North and Central America.  Their goals during the darkest days of the civil wars in Central America were to provide hope and stand in solidarity with the people of Central America – who continue to struggle for justice today amid violence, globalization and environmental degradation. The film encourages us to establish long-term relationships and interconnectedness with faith communities in Central America, challenging us to discover how the role of solidarity is as important as charity in providing support. We are asked to reflect on the source and nature of injustice in Central America and the parallels to environmental and social issues being faced in the U.S. today.

The movie will be screened in the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church (map). Refreshments and a dialogue with the filmmaker and members of the North American Board of Sister Parish will follow the movie. All attendees will be offered a free DVD of the film.

Through Sister Parish, DGFUMC holds a long-term relationship with the women and children of UPAVIM, a women’s cooperative in La Esperanza, the poorest area of Guatemala City.  Delegations of DGFUMC members have visited UPAVIM and stayed in the women’s homes; and, women from Guatemala City have visited Downers Grove as guests of DGFUMC members.