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Web sites for the Twinning Parishes
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Our Lady of Guadalupe
Haleyville, Alabama
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Letter From: Our Lady of Guadalupe – Haleyville, Alabama
OLG is a small catholic community in Winston County. Haleyville is a town of about 5000 people, 30 miles NE of Winfield. There are 20 Anglo families and about 30 Latino families. We have mass in English at 4:30 p.m. and in Spanish at 6:00 p.m. each Saturday. On feasts and Holy Days, we have a bi-lingual mass. The church itself was built in 1972 through generous grants of local catholic families and the Catholic Extension Society. Two of the original families from the establishment of the mission in 1952 are still represented in our parish.
Haleyville and Winston County are important in and of themselves. Haleyville, in 1968, established the 911 emergency call system. Winston County ceded from the State of Alabama in 1861 in opposition to slavery. There are still pockets of the county that refer to themselves as the “Free State of Winston.” Many of the Latino families moved to the area to work in the logging or mobile home industry. The Anglo community works in the same industry and some other businesses in the area. The economy has hit our area hard. The mobile home industry, the manufacturing mainstay for the past 15 years, is steadily closing its doors. Some of the Latino families are moving to greener pastures. Our Anglo community is getting older and the young people do not remain in the area. It is much like rural America everywhere.
Our outreach remains the same as with the other churches. We continue to serve 4 Christian Centers of Concern, the Marion County Habitat for Humanity, and SafePlace, an agency that serves victims of domestic violence. Since OLG is a small community, we have brought them under the Holy Spirit parish umbrella. They participate in the activities that we do as a parish (Vacation Bible School, youth and religious education activities, etc.). There was no outreach that OLG did on its own so they participate in our activities and have done a wonderful job of joining us in and contributing to our mission which now serves a 4-county area.
We appreciate all that St. Mary’s does for us. It makes a difference in the lives of many un-churched or those misguided about Catholicism when they come to a Center of Concern to receive assistance. The financial assistance and personal care items that you provide are most helpful. Thank you and please keep up the great work!
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