St. Mary's parish was established 5 years ago and now and serves approximately 3,500 parishioners at 10 station Churches.
Stations can be as many as 23 kilometers apart.

The parish has 6 primary schools and 1 secondary school. These schools face many challenges: poorly built buildings not designed as school buildings, insufficient teacher housing, inadequate school supplies, and the list goes on.

Despite the many challenges the people are full of hope and joy. The people of Malawi are known throughout Africa for their peace and happiness. Malawi is recognized as "the warm heart of Africa."

SISTER PARISH COVENANT
BETWEEN HOLY ROSARY PARISH EDMONDS, WA, USA AND ST. MARY’S, NTAJA, MALAWI

The above-mentioned parishes intend by this document to enter a relationship for mutual support and growth as members of the same body of Christ. The covenant is intended for the next five years (renewable indefinitely). Either parish may at any time end the relationship by written notification to the other parish.

Each Parish shall:

1. Pray for the other parish on a regular basis (specifically in the prayers of the faithful on the Second Sunday of each month)
2. Commemorate and pray for each other on significant feasts
   1. St. Mary’s Feast Days to be commemorated at Holy Rosary: Mary Mother of God (January 1), Our Lady’s Birthday – feast of the Women’s Group (Sept 8), St. Cecilia for the dancing girls (Nov 22), St. Stephen for the altar boys (Dec 26), Holy Ghost Church -- oldest Church in the parish 1922 (Pentecost)
   2. Holy Rosary Feast Days to be commemorated by St. Mary’s: Our Lady of the Rosary (Oct 7), The Immaculate Conception – patroness of the U.S. (Dec 8)
3. Establish a place to remind parishioners to pray for the parishioners of the other parish (e.g. Holy Rosary will have prayer cards by the statue of Mary in the adoration chapel that have a prayer for our sister parish).
4. Build programs to foster relationship between the youths of our parishes (pen pals, visits)

1. Hold an annual fundraiser for the material needs of St. Mary’s and to help our sister parish grow in self-sufficiency (funds to be transferred through the Diocese of Mangochi to St. Mary’s)
2. Send a delegation at least once every five years to build personal relationships between our two parishes, participants will cover their own expenses

1. Share how they reflect on the Word of God in their community and especially how they foster lived faith among their parishioners – through small Christian communities, youth groups, and Bible verse recitals, retreats Christian family movements how marriages are living word of God
2. Welcome Holy Rosary Parishioners when they come to visit and to help enlarge their perspective of the Church
3. Provide an annual report about the use of the resources donated by Holy Rosary

Want to visit our Sister parish?

We hope to send a team of 11 parishioners and Fr. Dominic to visit our Sister parish this summer 2022!

It will be a time for sharing faith and culture and for sharing the blessings that we have with our brothers and sisters.

Along with time to form relationships and to learn about life in Ntaja; we will be participating in service projects at the parish and visiting the sick and elderly.

If you are interested in joining our team or have questions, please contact Hannah Graves. 

Since the beginning of our Sister Parish relationship with St. Mary's we have:

• brough school and medical supplies to St. Mary's and local health centers
• funded and taken part in the construction of a Marian grotto
• given the needed funds to complete a new roof on St. Pius station church
• donated the funds for digging a well at Sacred Heart Parish -- a community with no clean water source
• Our Serra Club funded two seminarians for a year 

• bringing water to St. John and Mary Mother of God station churches
• rebuilding the rectory which is in a severe state of disrepair -- it was built as a temporary structure 5 years ago
• Bringing a delegation from St. Mary's to visit Holy Rosary

Above video: The blessing of the well at Sacred Heart Church, a station Church of St. Mary's Ntaja.

As a parish, we have made St. Mary’s Ntaja the recipient of our Lenten almsgiving project. In Malawi, homes do not have running water. The women carry five-gallon buckets to a community pump and carry it home. There are two outlying communities of the parish that do not have wells and access to clean water. To dig a well in Malawi costs approximately $5,000. 

We are selling Nalgene water bottles with a special design for the sister parish relationship between St. Mary's and Holy Rosary. These bottles will be available for purchase to help fund drilling two wells (each cost about $5000) at outlying communities of our Sister Parish. Bottles are $15, cash or check.

Want to make this a Lenten challenge? Use your bottle to collect spare change or money saved from your lenten fasting and abstinence and bring in the funds on Palm Sunday! 

UPDATE 2/28: In one weekend, we raised enough money to have two wells dug in rural communities surrounding our Sister Parish!

If you weren't able to get a Malawi water bottle this past weekend, they will be available this weekend. All the money raised will go to support projects identified by the St. Mary's community: a new rectory, repairs to old churches, scholarships, etc. Or consider designating your donation towards a scholarship for youth from Holy Rosary participating in the Malawi trip this year and years to come.

The image below is of the bore hole that was dug for the well at Sacred Heart Station Church. Soon the communities at Mary Mother of God and St. John the Baptist stations churches will get to experience the blessing of clean water!