Christians for Peace in El Salvador moves U.S. headquarters to Cincinnati

CT/E.L. HUBBARD

Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Barb Ficker, second from left, and Angela Casanova, center foreground, check on items being brought into the new CRISPAZ office while volunteers assemble shelving and desks.

CATHEDRAL DEANERY — Christians for Peace in El Salvador, the international, faith-based nongovernmental agency that for nearly a quarter-century has facilitated Christian accompaniment in that Central American nation, moved its United States headquarters from Boston to Cincinnati Jan. 11. The decision to move was made last October, when CRISPAZ board members, meeting in San Salvador, determined that the NGO’s ties to the Queen City warranted the strategic shift. The new CRISPAZ office is in the Peaslee Neighborhood Center in Over-the-Rhine.

Deacon Don Meyer of St. John Parish in Harrison, who is board chairperson for the organization, noted that the Cincinnati area has had a long history of relationships with CRISPAZ, including a tradition of being fertile ground for developing board members. Past board members from the region include Sister of Charity Kateri Koverman; Sister of Divine Providence Alice Gerdeman; Ren Austing, a parishioner at St. James of the Valley Church; Paul Knitter, a former Xavier University professor; and Irene Hodgson, a Xavier University professor. Current local board members include Deacon Meyer, Angela Casanova, Karen Hurley, Sam Weller and Don Barker.

CRISPAZ was founded in 1984 by Rev. Dan Long, Father Peter Hinde and Patty Lane near the onset of the 12-year Salvadoran civil war that claimed the lives of more than 75,000 people. Information about the NGO can be found by logging on to www.crispaz.org.