DDG Companion News | November 10, 2015

Western Louisiana convention
Bishop Jake Owensby of the Diocese of Western Louisiana and Bishop Holguin during the Western Louisiana convention on October 23, 2015.


Members of the Board of Directors of the Dominican Development Group were in Louisiana from October 21-26, 2015, for their semi-annual meeting in conjunction with the annual  convention  of the Diocese of Western Louisiana, one of the Episcopal dioceses with a companion relationship with the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. The Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguin served as the co-consecrator during the Convention Eucharist. The Rev. Moisés Quezada, Bishop Coadjutor-Elect of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, also attended this convention and the DDG board meeting that followed on October 26. Several board members, including Bishop  Holguin, Fr. Quezada, Mother Tar Drazdowski (Nebraska), and Deacon Beth Drew (Western Michigan) visited area Episcopal churches on Sunday, October 25, to preach and to speak about the programs of the DDG and the Dominican diocese.

Bishop Coadjutor-Elect Quezada being introduced
 during the Western Louisiana convention.


Highlights of the DDG board meeting included an announcement of a new project to build 100 homes in the Dominican Republic in the next several years using standardized floor plans; the schedule for a mission team to begin work on a project to fabricate latrines (see article below); the scheduled consecration of Bishop Coadjutor-Elect Quezada by Presiding Bishop Curry on February 13, 2016, in Santo Domingo; the schedule for the April 2016 exploration trip (see article below); and the status of a capital funds campaign to increase the endowment of the Dominican diocese so that the additional income from the endowment can make it possible for the Diocese to achieve financial self-sustainability -- one of the long term goals of the Dominican Development Group. 

The DDG board meeting in the parish hall of St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on October 26, 2015.

For more information on the DDG's activities in the Diocese of Western Louisiana, click here. For more details on the DDG board meeting, including reports distributed at the meeting, click here. For a set of photographs from these events, click here.

Missioners Being Recruited for Pilot Latrine Project
 
One of the Healthy Latrines designed by Water Mission.
The Rev. Tar Drazdowski, Vicar for Mission in the Diocese of Nebraska and a veteran team leader since 2001, is getting together a multi-diocesan team of missioners to travel to the Dominican Republic and build one or more "Healthy Latrines" using a design pioneered by another non-profit organization, Water Mission in Charleston, SC. The dates of the trip are April 14-20, 2016. The team will probably work at the technical school in Consuelo ( click for map location) and stay in the Kellogg Center in San Pedro de Macorís ( click for map location). It is hoped that missioners on this team will learn the building techniques well enough to be able to serve as instructors on other teams to build latrine structures at a central location and then to install them at locations all over the Dominican Republic. To volunteer to join this team or for more information, contact the Rev. Drazdowski at < [email protected]> or DDG Executive Director Bill Kunkle at < [email protected]>.

Next Exploration Trip Scheduled for April 7-13, 2016
 
Members of the DDG-sponsored exploration team in the neighborhood near Iglesia Episcopal Jesús Peregrino in Barahona in April, 2015.
One of the DDG's programs is the sponsorship of multi-diocesan exploration teams twice each year to allow mission team leaders and others interested in an overview of the churches, schools, and other facilities of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic to see as many of these locations as possible within a one-week period. The next exploration trip departs Santo Domingo on Thursday, November 12, 2015, and will travel a general east-west path along the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. The next trip is scheduled for April 7-13, 2016, and will follow a general north-south path. The cost of this trip is US$700 (not including airfare). For more information on this April 2016 trip, including the probable itinerary, click here. To sign up for the April 2016 trip or for additional information, contact DDG Executive Director Bill Kunkle

Links to online copies of previous issues of the DDG Companion News:
For older issues on the Publications page of the DDG website, click here.

Contact the DDG:
Office: (813) 400-2722 | Fax: (813) 983-5082
Executive Director: Bill Kunkle | [email protected]
PO Box 272261 | Tampa Florida 33688-2261

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