DDG Companion News | March 11, 2016

Bishop Quezada and his family immediately after his ordination and consecration. From left: son, Moisés Elias Quezada; Bishop Quezada; wife, Mary Jeannete Pringle de Quezada; daughter, Mercedes Alexandrina Quezada Pringle.


[EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE]  The Rt. Rev. Moisés Quezada Mota was ordained and consecrated bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic on February 13, 2016, at the closing Eucharist of the 58th annual diocesan convention in Santo Domingo. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry presided over the service held in the volleyball stadium at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center.

The new bishop coadjutor was elected on July 25, 2015, at an extraordinary convention of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic at Epiphany Cathedral in Santo Domingo. He will succeed Bishop Julio César Holguín as the fourth bishop of the Dominican Republic when Holguín retires.

More than 1,500 people witnessed the consecration with 21 bishops and 100 priests, deacons and seminarians from throughout the Episcopal Church participating in the service. Students from many of the Dominican Episcopal schools led the procession into the stadium with colorful flags and banners.

Curry served as the chief consecrator and co-consecrators included Holguín; Bishop Telésforo A. Isaac, the second bishop of the Dominican Republic, who also preached the sermon; Bishop William J. Skilton, assistant bishop of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic (retired); Bishop Wilfrido Ramos-Orench, bishop of the Diocese of Puerto Rico; and Bishop Lloyd Allen of the Diocese of Honduras. Special guests included representatives of the Evangelical Church of the Dominican Republic (Iglesia Evangélica Dominicana), one of the largest Protestant denominations in the country.

For the complete text of this press release about the consecration from the Episcopal News Service (ENS), please click here

Sign-Up Dates Approach 
for Two Special DDG-Sponsored Teams


In this photograph, members of a November 2014 exploration team meet Padre Daniel Samuel (in green shirt) at St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church in Montellano on the north-central coast of the Dominican Republic. 

The Dominican Development Group sponsors specialized mission trips several times each year that are open to individuals from any diocese or other organization who are interested in advancing the facilities and programs of the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic. Two such trips have sign-up dates that are approaching soon. 

From April 7-13, 2016, the DDG will conduct an explorat ion trip designed to show both experienced and potential mission trip leaders many possible work sites for mission teams. The trip will be led by DDG Executive Director Bill Kunkle and Missionary Karen Carroll, the head of the mission team support office in Santo Domingo and coordinator of the logistics for over 50 mission teams each year. The sign-up deadline is March 21. For more information, including a detailed itinerary, click here.

From April 13-20, 2016, the DDG will conduct a mission trip designed to test construction techniques for a new latrine design developed by Water Mission, another non-profit organization based in Charleston, SC. This trip will be led by the Rev. Tar Drazdowski, who serves as the Vicar for Mission in the Diocese of Nebraska. The sign-up deadline is April 1. For more information, including a detailed itinerary, click here

New DDG Officers Elected

The DDG Board of Directors at their meeting in the diocesan office in Santo Domingo.

At their meeting in Santo Domingo on February 15, 2016, the members of the DDG Board of Directors elected these new officers: The Rev. Deacon Beth Drew (Diocese of Western Michigan), President; The Rt. Rev. Julio C.  Holguín (Dominican Republic), 1st Vice-President; The Rt. Rev. Wendell N. Gibbs, Jr. (Michigan), 2nd Vice-President; Julia Ariail (Georgia), Secretary; David Morrow (Northwest Texas), Treasurer.

The attendance at this meeting was the  largest in recent years with representatives from eleven dioceses. Among those attending was the Rt. Rev. Moisés Quezada at his first DDG meeting as Bishop Coadjutor.  First row, from left: David Morrow, Treasurer, Diocese of Northwest Texas; Bill Kunkle, Executive Director, Southwest Florida; the Rev. Deacon Beth Drew, President, Western Michigan; the Rt. Rev. William J. Skilton, Dominican Republic; the Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguín, 1st Vice- President, Dominican Republic; the Rt. Rev. Moisés Quezada, Dominican Republic; Virginia Norman, Dominican Republic; Karen Carroll, Dominican Republic. Second row, from left: The Rt. Rev. Rob Skirving, East Carolina; the Rev. Deacon Alexander Romero, Dominican Republic; Rafael Griffin, New York; the Rev. Rhonda Rubinson, New York; the Rt. Rev. Wendell N. Gibbs, Jr., 2nd Vice-President, Michigan; Julia Ariail, Secretary, Georgia; Sally Thompson, Southwest Florida; the Rt. Rev. J. Michael Garrison, Southwest Florida; Meredith McGowan, Nebraska; Tom McGowan, Nebraska; Patricia Martin, Dominican Republic. Third row, from left: Bob Stevens, Southwest Florida; Laura Morrow, Northwest Texas; the Rev. Deacon Bob Snow, Nebraska; Julius Ariail, Georgia; the Rev. Ed Miller, Virginia; the Rt. Rev. Scott Mayer, Northwest Texas; the Rt. Rev. Todd Ousley, Eastern Michigan; the Rev. Tar Drazdowski, Nebraska; Ellen Snow, Nebraska. 

During his report to the Board, Bishop Holguín noted that the diocese's dependence on funds from The Episcopal Church to balance its annual budget has decreased from 85.6% in 1990 to 8.3% in 2016. This reduction in financial dependence is largely due to the interest generated by the diocese's DDG-supported endowment fund, which on December 31, 2015, had a balance of RD$315,005,068, or approximately US$6,980,457.  Coming in April: more information on the DDG's program to raise additional endowment funds to enable the diocese to achieve complete financial independence in the near future, along with a complete report on the activities of the DDG Board in the Dominican Republic from February 11-16, 2016.

Links to online copies of recent 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 | bkunkle@dominicandevelopmentgroup.org
PO Box 272261 | Tampa Florida 33688-2261

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