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WHO IS OUR TWINNING PARTNER?
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After four long years of searching for a Twinning partner, the Twinning team is pleased to announce that our Twinning partner is Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Chinle, AZ.
Our Lady of Fatima is a Catholic parish of 300 parishioners located on a Navajo Reservation in northeast Arizona.
The parish celebrated their Centennial Anniversary in October 2005. Fr Blane Grein was Pastor of Our Lady of Fatima and he also served two missions, St. Mary of the Rosary in Pinon, AZ and St. Anthony in Many Farms, AZ.
Father Blane is a Franciscan priest with ties to this area. He was born and raised in the Carthage area of Cincinnati. Before coming to Our Lady of Fatima he ministered in the Philippines and in the state of Louisiana. He had been Pastor of Our Lady of Fatima since 1978, (now over thirty years), and celebrated his Golden Jubilee on August 15, 2004.
Our Lady of Fatima is very involved in outreach to the surrounding communities. The parish operates a Thrift Shop providing clothes and furniture, and a Food Pantry providing food and other essentials.
Our Lady of Fatima Parish is located on a Navajo Reservation in Southeast AZ. Visits to Our Lady of Fatima parish could be included in family vacations to the southwestern part of the United States.
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distances to other cities and points of interest in the area:
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Gallup, NM 90 mi, 2.0hr
Flagstaff, AZ 210 mi, 3.5 hr
Albuquerque, NM 230 mi, 4.0 hr
Phoenix, AZ 350 mi, 5.5 hr
Salt Lake City, UT 430 mi, 8.0 hr
Las Vegas, NV 460 mi, 7.3 hr
Denver, CO 550 mi, 9.3 hr
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DISTANCES FROM MAJOR POINTS OF INTEREST:
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Canyon de Chelly 3 mi, 0.1 hr
Petrified Forest National Park 100 mi, 2.0 hr
Canyonlands National Park 200 mi, 4.0 hr
Arches National Parks 200 mi, 4.0 hr
Zion National Park 275 mi, 6.5 hr
Grand Canyon South Rim 300 mi, 4.5 hr
Grand Canyon – North Rim 333 mi, 6.4 hr
Bryce Canyon National Park 315 mi, 7.5 hr
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CANYON DE CHELLY – SPIDER ROCK
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2010 Visit with Twinning Partner
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In May 2010, a group from our parish ( Jim & Mary Bell, Judy Walsh, Skip Huhn, and Paul & Dianne Wendel) visited with our Twinning partner, Father Blane, the pastor, gave a talk outlining the history of the parish and how the religious ceremonies and the church are blended in with the Navaho customs.
While there we had a chance to work in the Food Pantry with several of the people from Our Lady of Fatima. In addition to unloading the truck that brings the main food supply to the pantry, we also helped distributing the food to the people from the area. Canyon De Chelly ( de shay), which is near Chinle, provided a great sightseeing experience, especially at sunset.
This was a very enriching experience and we recommend that if anyone is traveling in the southwest that they include Our Lady of Fatima in their agenda. It is our desire that the parishioners of Saint Joseph and Our Lady of Fatima make ongoing visits to each other. One year we could send a group to visit their parish and the next they could send a group to visit us. The details would be worked out by the parishes.
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