St. David's International Outreach: Central America

Guatemala

Cuba

Haiti

Cuba: Page 3

Text and photos submitted by Lois Redmond

Guatemala: Page 11

Text and photos submitted by Carol Kangas

Haiti: Page 22

Text and photos submitted by Louise Haley

St. David’s Pilgrimage and Mission Trips to Cuba 2018-2019

St. David’s partnership with the Episcopal Church of Cuba began in October 2017 when several parishioners attended a dinner in honor of Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio of Cuba at St. Thomas Whitemarsh. It was followed by a pilgrimage to Cuba in 2018 to learn more about the church in Cuba, and to understand the bishop’s mission and vision for the 46 Episcopal churches spread across Cuba. In 2019, St. David’s traveled to Cuba on two mission trips to help install water purification systems in Episcopal churches and partner with a companion parish. St. David’s works in coordination with the Friends of the Episcopal Church of Cuba (FECC). The FECC coordinates all efforts of U.S. churches with the bishop’s office in Cuba.

February 2018 Pilgrimage to Cuba:

Havana, Matanzas, Varadero, Limonar, Trinidad and Cienfuegos

The day following the October 2017 dinner gathering with Bishop Griselda, our pilgrimage team met with her for breakfast. She shared her vision to have water purification systems installed in every Episcopal church in Cuba so clean water could be provided for the parishioners and their surrounding communities. After a few group meetings learning about Cuban customs and obtaining our religious visas, our group of sixteen headed to Cuba. We spent several days in Havana walking around the old town and learning about the history and culture of the Cuban people, led by a Cuban tour guide. We visited the Cathedral in Havana where we met with Bishop Griselda and a group from the Community of the Cross of Nails (founded in Coventry, England for reconciliation from WWII). We attended a service together in the Cathedral and went out to dinner as a group. During this time, we met The Rev. Mark Pendleton and Rick Miessau who were working to provide and install water systems in Cuba. St. David’s would later work with both men. The Cuba Ministry is about relationships and your will see how they weave throughout our partnerships.

Our travels took us to Matanzas to visit the Theological Seminary and a church in the small

Pilgrims: Members from St. Thomas Whitemarsh led by The Rev. Marek Zabrieskie, with Debbie Heaton and Lois Redmond from St. David’s.

town of Limonar. We visited a community that had worshiped in their worn sacristy for 28 years after a hurricane blew away their church. We saw how faith and hope carried this congregation through the Cuban revolution to today. We spent the night in Varadero and traveled to Trinidad the following day. Next we went on to Cienfuegos where we visited The Rev. Gilberto Junco, the rector of La Inglesia de San Pablo and his family. We worshiped together and his congregation shared a service with lively music. We shared fellowship and The Rev. Junco showed and told us how his water purification system worked in their community. Then it was back to Havana and our flights home.

January 2019 Mission Trip: Ciego de Avila, Moron, Ceballos, Luyano, and Havana

Missioners: Amy Allen, Maryanne Boettjer, Dana Hall, Bailey Kimmel, Lois Redmond, Leslie Roy, Karen Sheep, John Tyson, and Elizabeth Vandiver from St. David’s and four members from the Clean Drinking Water Team (CDWT) lead by Rick Miessau.

Nine parishioners from St. David’s traveled to central Cuba in January 2019 with the CDWT from West Palm Beach, Florida. A St. David’s Cares Outreach Grant for three water purification systems allowed us to work with the local priests and congregations and together the systems were installed in Episcopal churches in Moron, Ciego de Avila, and Jiqui.

The trips started well with no problems getting the parts for three water systems and other

After worship in the Cathedral in Havana. Outside the Sacristy in Limonar. The water system at La Inglesia de San Pablo, Cienfuegos.

Travel map for the pilgrimage in February 2018. Created in Google Maps.

supplies through customs at the airport in Camaguey. Our first stop was in Ciego de Avila to visit and work with The Rev. Yohanes Cobiellas, his wife Mariella, Hilmer Delgado, the resident plumber, and their congregations. We did have a challenge with our bus transportation and a washed-out road making it impossible to travel by bus to the third installation at the church in Jiqui. Using Cuban resourcefulness, Mariella figured out we would install the water system in Moron first, aided by the priest and the plumber from Jiqui who were able to travel by car to Moron to meet us. They could take the third system back to their church and install it themselves. We could install system number two in Ciego de Avila the next day, all the while keeping to our tight travel schedule. With each installation we shared fellowship and meals and celebrated the clean water made available to the parishioners and their communities. While in Cuba, Leslie Roy led the effort to distribute 65 Days for Girls kits and taught the girls

Installing the water systems in Moron.

Installing the water systems in Ciego de Avila.

Celebrating the clean water.

and women in four communities (Moron, Ceballos, Ciego de Avila, and Luyano, Havana) how to use and care for them. These kits provide a safe, washable alternative to keep females in school or at work when menstrual care products are not readily available or too expensive.

Our next stop was Havana where we visited Bishop Griselda and her staff at the Episcopal Cathedral. We discussed our wish to continue to partner to provide additional water systems in Cuba. We explored Havana to learn more about the history and culture of the city. Sunday service was celebrated by the mission team at La Resurreccion Church in Luyano, Havana. While there we saw the water system that a St. David’s grant funded in May 2018 and was installed by the CWDT. We brought replacement filters and UV bulbs and walked through maintaining the system with them.

After service at the church in Luyano.

With Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio at the Cathedral.

Travel map for the mission trip in January 2019. Created in Google Maps.

November 2019 Mission Trip: Havana, Ciego de Avila, Rodas

Missioners: Jim Bennett, Melissa Biondi, Maryanne Boettjer, Bud Billips, The Rev. Maurice A. Dyer II, Dana Hall, Whitney Kellett, Cheri McCaslin, Lois Redmond, Leslie Roy, and John Tyson from St. David’s.

Visiting with Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio.

Gathering with our fellow Episcopalians in front of the church in Rodas.

Raising the water tank.

The water tanks rests on top.

In October 2019 Bishop Griselda and the founders of the FECC came to visit St. David’s to meet our parishioners and share news from Cuba. St. David’s awarded the Cuba Ministry a 2019 St. David’s Cares Outreach Grant for three additional water purification systems. Shortly after her visit, eleven St. David’s parishioners headed to Cuba to start a companion parish relationship at Iglesia Santa Maria in Rodas by working together to install water purification equipment.

Given the political situation between the U.S. and Cuba, this trip was more of a challenge. All flights from the U.S. now needed to fly into Havana and we learned the airport had a new head of customs. We arrived at the airport with eleven suitcases and containers filled with equipment for three water systems. Unfortunately, customs decided to hold all containers with plumbing equipment for the duration of our trip. On the bright side, we arrived on the day Havana was celebrating the 500th anniversary of its founding and we were greeted with fireworks.

Our first days in Havana were spent visiting with Bishop Griselda and her staff at the Cathedral, working with customs and exploring Havana. The priest leading the Cienfuegos and Rodas congregations was The Rev. Gilberto Junco, who we met on the first trip in 2018. While in Havana, we had two busses breakdown on us. Resourceful as ever, we soon had a school bus to take us to Cienfuegos and Rodas. The Rev. Junco rode with us from Havana to Cienfuegos where we settled in and prepared for our work. The bus we used on the second trip arrived with the same bus driver and our plumber Hilmer Delgado was also there from Ciego de Avila to get us on our way and work with us. We headed to Rodas to install the water tank and spackle the walls that would hold it high to provide water pressure. We painted the church, weeded the churchyard, ate our meals alongside our fellow Episcopalians and celebrated our work on the last

Celebrating the installation of the water system at Rodas.

An installed water system.

day with a service led by The Rev. Junco and The Rev. Maurice A. Dyer II.

Despite the circumstances, we used the resources we had, pivoted, and had a very moving and successful trip. Additionally, we brought and distributed 70 Days for Girls kits along with children’s Spanish Bibles, Books of Common Prayer in Spanish, a microphone system for the church, vitamins, baseballs, and gloves.

Most of all, our trips have helped us build our relationships with our fellow Episcopalians in Cuba. We’re thankful for all we learned from them about our faith, hope and resourcefulness which helps us all as we navigate our daily lives in these divisive political times.

2020 – 2022 update

The water systems were released from customs in March 2020, just before COVID-19 hit. The additional two water systems couldn’t be installed due to COVID-19 restrictions, but will be distributed to other Episcopal churches soon.

In early 2020 the St. David’s mission team raised enough money to combine with the Outreach grant to enable the Cathedral to purchase a new bus for travel throughout Cuba. They were incentivized after their experiences with buses in Cuba and the knowledge the Cathedral bus was over forty years old!

Unfortunately, days after Cuba was welcomed back into The Episcopal Church in March 2020 by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry in Havana, COVID-19 shut down the world. Despite significant health, political, economic, and communication challenges, St. David’s has stayed in touch with our partners in Cuba exchanging prayers and sending

Travel map for the mission trip in November 2019. Created in Google Maps.

The Rev. Thomas Szczerba, Jr., Jeremy Cage (co-founder of FECC and translator), Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio, and The Rev. W. Frank Allen hold a discussion at St. David’s in October 2022.

funding for food and medicine during the pandemic. In January 2022, travel slowly returned to Cuba. The St. David’s Cares Outreach Grants funded water system supplies and medicines that were taken to Cuba by The Rev. Mark Pendleton of Christ Church, Exeter, NH along with supplies from his church.

Bishop Griselda and FECC founders returned to St. David’s in October 2022. She provided current news, sharing that the political and economic situation in Cuba remains dire. We hope to travel to Cuba in 2023 to continue our water ministry, share fellowship with our partners and procure a new bus. It will be based at the Cathedral in Havana to dependably help connect the churches as well as the missioners who travel throughout Cuba.

The Rt. Rev. Silvestre Romero, Bishop Coadjutor elect of Guatemala and The Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado del Carpio, Bishop of Cuba at St. David’s in October 2022.

Cuba Ministry members with Bishop Romero and Bishop Griselda at St. David’s in October 2022. L-R: The Rev. Thomas Szczerba, Jr., Associate Rector of St. David’s; Jeremy Cage, co-founder of the Friends of the Episcopal Church of Cuba/FECC; The Rt. Rev. Silvestre Romero, Bishop Coadjutor elect of Guatemala; The Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado del Carpio, Bishop of Cuba; The Rev. Dana Hall; The Rev. W. Frank Allen, Rector of St. David’s; Lois Redmond, St. David’s Cuba Ministry member; and Pat Cage, co-founder of FECC, St. Luke’s Darien, CT.

History of St. David’s Companionships in Guatemala

Starting in 1960, the people of Guatemala suffered through a 36-year civil war during which an estimated 200,000 people, many of whom were members of indigenous groups, were killed or “disappeared.” In 1996, after a peace agreement was signed, Bishops Allen Bartlett of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and Armando Guerra of the Episcopal Diocese of Guatemala agreed to enter into a Companion Diocese relationship which was approved at that year’s conventions of both dioceses.

St. David’s involvement in Guatemala began in 1999 when The Rev. Rudy Moore visited Guatemala along with four parishioners. They met with Bishop Guerra at the offices of the Diocese in Guatemala City and then made exploratory visits to Santiago de Jerusalén (St. James the Less) in Chimaltenango and Santa Cruz del Monte Calvario (Holy Cross of Mount Calvary) in Santa Cruz Balanyá. Both churches were under the leadership of Padre Lucas Choc, a member of the Kakchikel group of Maya.

The following year, The Rev. Carolyn Tuttle and six parishioners visited Padre Lucas and the congregations of both churches to continue learning about each other, listening to our Guatemalan companions tell us of their hopes and needs, and figuring out the parameters of our partnership. Over the years, we have acquired two additional partner churches: San Andrés (St. Andrew’s) in San Andrés Itzapa and San Bartolomé in Chucalibal, but our mission has remained the same:

St. David’s Guatemala Committee Mission Statement

Our mission is to share our lives and learn from our companions in ministry through our visits to our partner congregations and theirs to us. We will strive for true mutuality as we support each other through prayer, material resources, and hands-on assistance, being always mindful of our role as brothers and sisters in Christ.

In 2012, Bishop Guerra honored five members of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania for their contributions to the life of the Diocese of Guatemala through their partnerships with Episcopal churches in Guatemala. Among them were two from St. David’s: The Rev. W. Frank Allen was made an honorary Canon for Mission, and Carol Kangas received the Bishop’s Cross.

Diocesan seal on the Bishop’s chair in the Episcopal Cathedral in Guatemala City.

SAN JERUSALEN

The church building in Chimaltenango was actually a garage. It was constructed of cinderblocks with a concrete floor and a tin roof. Seating during church services was on wooden benches that could be quickly moved against the walls for fellowship afterwards. The vision of the congregation was to add a second story for dedicated space for fellowship and meetings. They drew up plans and a budget, and little by little over a period of about three years, St. David’s raised enough money to fund this construction, which was completed in 2004.

L-R The Rev. Frank Toia, St. Peter’s, Glenside; Martha Thomae, St. Andrew’s, W. Vincent; The Right Reverend Armando Guerra, Episcopal Diocese of Guatemala; The Rev. W. Frank Allen and Carol Kangas, St. David’s; Terry Clattenburg, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Chestnut Hill Philadelphia.

Detail of The Bishop’s Cross.

Old church building.

New 2004 church building.

Chimaltenango Church Dedication Plaque translation:

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

With sincere gratitude to St. David’s Episcopal Church, Wayne, PA for their contributions for the construction of the Episcopal Church of Santiago de Jerusalén. Episcopal Church of Guatemala

The Right Reverend Bishop Armando Guerra

Venerable Lucas Choc

Chimaltenango, June 6, 2004

After the death of Padre Lucas, Miguel Salanic came to Santiago as a lay minister in 2008, and St. David’s parishioners Cheri McCaslin and Carol Kangas represented St. David’s at his ordination to the priesthood in 2009. In addition to his rectorship at Santiago, Padre Miguel also was named rector at the Church of San Andrés in the nearby town of San Andrés Itzapa.

Soon after Padre Miguel’s arrival, St. David’s parishioner Austin Hepburn organized a men’s work trip to paint the inside of the church. While they were working, they noticed that the sturdy bell tower was empty. They remembered that the bell that had hung in the old St. David’s Chapel (which originally came from an engine on the Pennsylvania Railroad), was no longer being used, and they decided to have it refurbished and shipped to Chimaltenango to be installed in the bell tower. It was first rung on Easter Sunday, 2009.

Old St. David’s bell in the new bell tower in Santiago.

Men’s work trip.

Inspired by some of St. David’s outreach projects in the Philadelphia area, both Padre Miguel and his wife Roselia have initiated partnerships with communities outside Chimaltenango. During a visit to St. David’s in 2016, Roselia spent time with Leslie Roy to learn about the Days for Girls menstrual care kit. As president of the diocesan women’s group, Roselia has given presentations on Days for Girls and organized training for women and girls to make and distribute the kits. Members of the Siloe youth group at Santiago and San Andres have traveled around the country, organizing activities and retreats with other youths. This led to contacts between Padre Miguel and community leaders in the town of Morelia, whose water source was destroyed by the eruption of the Fuego volcano in 2018. During the seventh Guatemala summer work trip in 2019, 24 youth and adult participants helped the community members dig a trench and install pipes for a wastewater drainage system.

After the work was finished, they all attended a youth retreat on the shores of Lake Atitlán that was organized by the Siloe youth group. One of the activities was separate Days for Girls presentations to female and male attendees, followed by a distribution of kits for the girls.

Digging the trench in Morelia.

Lake Atitlán.

Blessing the water that will run through the pipes.

Distributing Days for Girls kits with Leslie Roy, Jennifer McCulloch, and Sarah Champlin.

YOUTH WORK TRIPS WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

Between 2006 and 2012, there were four summer work trips, comprised of members of the St. David’s youth group and adult chaperones, to work with Habitat for Humanity in various locations in the Department (State) of Chimaltenango. The St. David’s participants were divided into four or five small groups to spend four and a half days helping families with construction on houses that would eventually be given to the families. These trips always included visits to one of our partner churches for Sunday services and fellowship with the congregations, followed by a bit of tourism.

Several times, the Habitat work trips coincided with visits by small groups of St. David’s parishioners who had a separate itinerary that included some tourism along with visits to the Bishop at the Cathedral and our partner parishes.

St. David’s Habitat for Humanity group arriving for Sunday service at Santiago.

Diana Calligan and friend.

Fellowship after church Irma Choc and Ben Emlen.

Sunday school kids in t-shirts from St. David’s youth group.

Roselia receiving prayer shawl from Theresa Marlino.

Theresa showing kids their photos.

Susan Nagy, The Revs. Miguel Salanic, Tomás Calel (father), Tomás Calel (son), Carol Kangas, and Ned Miller.

SANTA CRUZ del MONTE CALVARIO

The Church of Santa Cruz in the town of Santa Cruz Balanyá was started by Padre Lucas in the late 1990’s with people of the Kakchikel group of the Maya. Most of them speak Spanish, but many are more comfortable in their native tongue, so the sermons were usually preached in both Spanish and Kakchikel. After Padre Lucas died, Padre Tomas Calel served as rector here from 2006 to 2008, when his son Tomas, Jr., then a seminarian, became the minister.

In 2013, The Rev. Matt Holcombe, associate rector for outreach, and two St. David’s parishioners were among the presenters at Tomas Calel, Jr.’s ordination to the priesthood. From the beginning, the congregation gathered for services in the homes of parishioners or in the rented home of the rector. St. David’s financed the purchase of a piece of land on the outskirts of town, and the construction of a new church was begun in March 2014.

In June of that year, the fifth Guatemala work trip brought 44 youth and adult members of St. David’s to help prepare and pour the cement floor of this building. Before mixing and pouring the cement, each group member placed a small stone brought from home in the leveled dirt of the subfloor. In this way, we left a permanent remembrance of the people who came from St. David’s to work together with our Guatemalan companions on the foundation of their lovely church.

Preparing to dig out and level the floor at Santa Cruz.

People arriving for the consecration of the church.

The finished construction before painting.

They also worked in small groups assisting Dr. Mike Damiano at a medical mission at the clinic in the center of town.

In 2016, the sixth summer work trip included 24 St. David’s parishioners who helped construct a cement patio and steps at the front of the church. In July 2017, The Rev. W. Frank Allen and parishioners Cheri McCaslin, Kipp Gearhart, Joe Rollins, and Carol Kangas represented St. David’s at the consecration of this beautiful church.

Church Dedication Plaque Translation: In the Name of the Father And the Son and the Holy Spirit

With sincere gratitude to our Companion parish St. David’s Church in Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

For your contributions to the construction of this temple of Santa Cruz del Monte Calvario in Balanyá (2014-2017) The Right Reverend Armando P. Guerra Soria, D.D. The Reverend Father Tomás Calel Calel

The Vestry

Guatemala, July 30, 2017

SAN BARTOLOMÉ

San Bartolomé is in the small town of Chucalibal (pop. 3,000). The members of the congregation all belong to the Kiché group of the Maya. Since not all of them speak Spanish, conversations often involve translating from Kiché to Spanish to English and back again. There is a spring on the church property, and St. David’s provided funds to pump water uphill into the parish house, where it is stored in a tank. In 2013, parishioner Brady O’Mara raised funds to build a washhouse so that people wouldn’t have to go down the hill to wash their clothes in the spring. Also included in this construction were two restrooms that replaced an outhouse. The water is gravity-fed from the storage tank, and the washhouse is available to everyone in the community

Bishop Guerra knocking on the door as part of the consecration ceremony.

as an outreach project of the church. Padre Tomas Calel, Sr. has been the rector here since 2008. After the Sunday services, there’s usually a meal for everyone, and it used to be cooked over an open fire in a small, thatched hut outside the church. St. David’s provided funding to construct a cement kitchen building, and the members of the sixth Guatemala work trip dug and prepared the foundation for this building.

San Andrés Itzapa is a suburb of Chimaltenango and the home of the congregation of San Andrés. It is a daughter church of Santiago de Jerusalen, and the two congregations have many shared activities. Services are held in a house whose rent is paid by our companions in ministry at St. John’s Church in Glen Mills, PA. The group and Dr. Mike Damiano worked on a medical mission here.

The masons haven’t arrived, so let’s play soccer while we wait!

Planting trees at San Bartolomé.

Unloading cement blocks for the kitchen construction.

Admiring the newly installed water tank.

The outdoor spring.

Our Companions Visit Us

Since the early 2000’s, we have been visited by Padre Lucas Choc, Bishop Armando Guerra, Padre Miguel Salanic, Bishop Silvestre Romero, members of their families, and several parishioners. Some of these visits have coincided with our diocesan convention, and Padre Lucas, Bishop Guerra, and Bishop Romero have all had the opportunity to speak at convention. These visits also have included church services and fellowship activities along with local sightseeing.

Carol Kangas, Janice and Geoff Chamberlain, The Rev. W. Frank Allen, Irma and Padre Lucas Choc.

Carol Kangas, Padre Miguel and Roselia Salanic, Bishop Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, Esdras and Angel Salanic at St. James School.

A visit to the Rocky statue at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The Rt. Rev. Silvestre Romero, Bishop Coadjutor elect of Guatemala and The Rt. Rev. Griselda Delgado del Carpio, Bishop of Cuba at St. David’s in October 2022.

Supporting our Companions in Ministry

Funds from St. David’s outreach grants, The Gift Shop & Art Gallery, and World Gifts have helped support the following:

• Construction materials and labor costs for the big projects at Santiago, Santa Cruz, San Bartolomé, and Morelia.

• Christian education materials

• Painting and staining walls doors and windows at Santiago and San Bartolomé.

• Annual aid to children in both parishes to help pay for school expenses. We have provided funds to partially defray expenses for up to 150 children for such things as tuition, books and supplies, uniforms, and transportation.

• Contributions to the Bishop’s discretionary fund.

• Travel expenses for visits of Guatemalan clergy, family members, and parishioners to St. David’s.

• Donations of clothing, toothbrushes, eyeglasses, and school supplies brought during the Habitat for Humanity work trips (bi-annually from 2006 to 2012).

• Purchasing cars for Padre Miguel, Padre Tomas, Sr., and Padre Tomas, Jr. Each priest is responsible for two parishes, and having a car makes traveling between them much easier.

• Purchasing furniture and equipment for all four parishes. These purchases have included pews and other furnishings for worship spaces, appliances, musical instruments, A-V equipment, prayer books, and vestments.

In 2020 and 2021, special outreach grants provided funding for various relief efforts due to the COVID-19 pandemic and back-to-back Hurricanes Eta and Iota. Funds were used to purchase and transport food, clothing, cleaning and sanitizing supplies, and material and training for making face masks and Days for Girls kits.

Saint David’s Reaches Out to Haiti

In response to the massive earthquake which struck Haiti in January 2010, St. David’s parishioners reached out with an outpouring of financial help to the devastated country.

The Rev. Allison Harrity connected with St. Gregory’s Church in Boca Raton, Florida which had a ministry called The South Florida Haiti Project serving Ste. Marie Madeleine (St. Mary Magdalene) in Bondeau. Ste. Marie Madeleine was a poor, rural parish with a guesthouse, school and a technical school offering apprenticeships in plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, and sewing.

St. David’s parishioners were invited to visit Ste. Madeleine in August of 2010 to see the work which was being done. John Nagy, Monique Laird, and Louise Haley met parishioners from other Florida churches and flew to Haiti; other members of our Haiti committee, including Lois Redmond, Robert DiFillippo, Robert White, and Sherri Mullen, kept the travelers in their prayers.

The capital, Port-au-Prince, was devasted. There were 250,000 dead and two million people left homeless in the country. Parks, golf courses, sidewalks, and concrete road dividers were filled with tents and makeshift living accommodations. United Nations peacekeepers were on every corner. People swarmed our car begging for help.

The Rev. Kesner, Pastor of Ste. Marie Madeleine met us with the truck, generously donated by one of our St. David’s parishioners. Our trip took more than three hours to drive 50 miles over ruined roads. St. David’s also contributed over-the-counter medicines, first aid equipment, and cleaning supplies which we carried on the airplane.

Ste. Marie Madeleine’s Guest House, built the previous year, was slightly damaged by the quake.

Acolyte on her way to worship at Ste. Marie Madeleine.

John Nagy (right) with parishioners at Ste. Marie Madeleine.

Prior monies contributed by St. David’s helped repair the damage to the exterior.

We witnessed the poverty in which almost all the people of Bondeau lived. The only running water and electricity available for the community was at the Guest House and at Ste. Marie Madeleine’s; therefore, they became the gathering center for almost all activities. They also served as an oasis for many people from the cities whose homes were uninhabitable. So many Haitians, who were left with nothing, moved to the rural areas, such as Bondeau, to be with relatives or friends. In another parish, St. Sacrament, the number of children being fed rose from 300 to 450.

We visited the crowded, tiny island of Bidew, just off Bondeau and, through the mangroves, could see the deep poverty. There was no fresh water or sanitary facilities and 150 people were living in makeshift homes made from cardboard and discarded plastic bags.

We also witnessed great joy during our trip: a graduation ceremony and party to celebrate was held for the students at the technical school; there were three weddings and four baptisms. Many Episcopal diocesan priests came from all over Haiti for the services and celebrations. We were treated to fresh Haitian cuisine during the all-day festivities. Our group was very grateful to The Rev. Kesner and all the people we met for their wonderful fellowship.

Through 2011, St. David’s continued as partners of the South Florida Haiti Project. We contributed to the feeding of the children at Ste. Marie Madeleine’s. We also helped the people of Bidew transition to housing on the mainland with grants from our outreach commission. After some discussion, the Haiti committee decided that St. David’s had helped Ste. Marie Madeleine’s with enough specific projects and, because of distance, excused itself from the partnership with The South Florida Haiti Project and its relationship with Ste. Marie Madeleine.

In May 2012, The Rev. Matt Holcombe contacted the members of the Haiti committee and explained that a Haitian friend from seminary, The Rev. Frederick (Fred) Melenes, had contacted him for support in his parish, St. Sacrament Fonds-Parisien, outside Port-au-Prince. Lois Redmond and John Nagy had a chance to meet him when he was visiting his brother in New Jersey. In a subsequent Skype meeting the committee was able to determine The Rev. Melenes’ needs and our ability to help.

Monique Laird with parishioners at the school.

Celebrating the Feast Day of Ste. Marie Madeleine.

In 2013 St. David’s provided its first grant to The Rev. Melenes which allowed him to repair the sacristy that was damaged by an earthquake two years previously. The Rev. Matt Holcombe, David Noteware, Nerida Gordan, and Louise Haley travelled to St. Sacrament that September. John Nagy provided 20 laptop computers to be used by the students of St. Sacrament, again, other members of the committee held the travelers in their prayers. St. David’s parishioners also contributed school supplies, toys and first aid supplies.

We saw that Port-au-Prince was returning to its original, crowded self. The Peacekeepers had left, and the parks and sidewalks were cleared; yet it was evident that poverty was everywhere in the town. Our group was able to see the repaired sacristy, as well as the church and the school on the compound. We were given the opportunity to spend time with The Rev. Melenes, his family, parishioners and, also to interact with the many children at the school.

The Rev. Melenes took us to Croix-des-Bouquets, an area outside of Port-au-Prince, that features artists creating world famous Haitian steel drum art. Nerida and Louise purchased many items to be sold in the St. David’s Gift Shop, which supports international ministries. The Rev. Matt Holcombe employed a local artisan to create a piece of art depicting the St. David’s cross and purchased 25 to bring home for sale in The Gift Shop.

We were surprised by The Rev. Melenes’ news that a week previous to our visit, he was told he was being transferred. He was to go to a rural parish in the mountainous Sud (South) area. At this point, our Haiti committee had to decide whether to continue supporting St. Sacrament or follow The Rev. Melenes to St. Matthias. After much discernment, we decided to follow The Rev. Melenes to support him and the other NGO’s currently supporting St. Matthias.

Because it was very difficult to get to a town for supplies, St. Matthias also had a general store for all the people of Cheridant, a “boutique.” Most supplies were brought up from Jacmel or Portau-Prince. It was difficult and expensive to haul items in trucks traveling on the treacherous roads in the mountains.

Through the St. David’s grant process, we were

The Rev. Fred Melenes outside the rectory with St. David’s parishioners.

The Rev. Matt Holcombe serving communion at Sunday worship.

able to replace the roof of the boutique and offer cash to purchase rice, pasta, and other nonperishable food items and building materials. These could then be deeply discounted for the people of Cheridant.

After The Rev. Melenes had settled in at St. Matthias in Cheridant, we learned that there were almost no tap-taps (public buses) within his rural location. There were also no working cars and fewer motorcycles available. It took him an hour to traverse the mountainous roads by motorcycle to get to the closest town of Jacmel. Then, it took another hour to arrive in Portau-Prince where he was required to teach at the seminary. The First Presbyterian Church of Shreveport had provided a guesthouse and rectory at St. Matthias school, and the HEF (Haiti Education Foundation) provided meals for hundreds of elementary school children. Being one of the very few places in the Cheridant area with running water and electricity, St. Matthias was the main gathering place for both parishioners and locals.

In 2015, the St. David’s grant process helped The Rev. Melenes purchase an SUV to allow him to transport people to Port-au-Prince hospitals for medical emergencies, deliver items to the boutique, and visit parishioners in the more remote areas of Cheridant.

In November of 2015, as part of St. David’s 300th Anniversary Celebration, we invited all our international partners to Philadelphia to participate in our celebration. We were blessed to have The Rev. Melenes, his wife Wislande, and their two young children come to meet many of our members and to share his mission in Haiti.

In late 2015 HEF pulled its support from St. Sacrament. This meant that 500 children would not be fed. The First Presbyterian Church and St. David’s took over the feeding ministry. St. David’s provided help for half of the cost of food for the year through the St. David’s Cares outreach grant program.

In August of 2016, The Rev. Matthew DaytonWelch, Teri Santivasci, and Louise Haley traveled to Haiti. The other members of the Haiti committee continued to hold them in their prayers. The Rev. Melenes met the group at the airport with the Nissan SUV provided by the parishioners of St. David’s. Again, they carried school supplies and medical supplies for the small “hospital” on the campus of St. Sacrament.

The members of St. David’s met with the St. Matthias parishioners, the vestry, and many people of Cheridant and the Grande Colline area. Teri, laughingly called The Rev. Melenes the “mayor,” as almost everyone with whom we spoke expressed their gratitude for the help he provided to the community. We also found that First Presbyterian was taking a very active role in supporting the parish, including taking over the feeding program and some building projects.

The Rev. Matthew Dayton-Welch with The Rev. Melenes’ children.

When we arrived, the parish was getting ready to put the roof on a church it was building and preparing to plant a few acres of beans to supplement the food provided by outside sources. We came home with a video from the vestry expressing their gratitude for the help we have provided. The parishioners

also spoke of the progress they are making in becoming selfsustaining.

Unfortunately, in October of 2016, a hurricane went through Haiti devastating the area. The crop was wiped out and the school buildings were badly damaged. All the supplies in the boutique were ruined, but no one was injured. St. David’s again provided monies to St. Sacrament to help repair the damaged and to replace supplies so the people of Cheridant could begin rebuilding. For the 2017 St. David’s grant, the Haiti committee requested money to shore up the walls of the church to support a roof. First Presbyterian was providing the roof, but engineering was needed for a correct fit. Haitians do not receive loans to complete projects, rather they build as money becomes available. We witnessed the parishioners putting coins in the offering plates, money, we understood from getting to know many people in the area, was hard-earned, especially in the mountains.

The Rev. Melenes was in constant communication with the Haiti committee. He was grateful for the help that St. David’s was

Two photos of Vestry members at St. Matthias.

Parishioners after worship at St. Matthias.

providing for his parish, but the Presbyterian Church at Shreveport was becoming very active in supporting the parish financially. When discussing his needs for the 2018 upcoming grant, The Rev. Melenes requested a small grant to start a goat farm. St. David’s happily granted the request.

Louise Haley served as the lead for the Haiti committee for some years and decided to step down after the First Presbyterian Church assumed the feeding and school supply needs. The committee was disbanded in June of 2018.

St. David’s parishioners with Pere (Father) Fred Melenes and his parishioners.