The La Paloma Campaign - Let's Go! 

The story of La Paloma, the dove, is a favorite one of the Rt. Rev. Julio Holguín, the Bishop of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. "Like the dove that has two wings, the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic needs the financial assistance of its partners in mission as the second wing to help it soar." 

With the visionary leadership of Bishop Holguín since 1991, the diocese has indeed been soaring. The number of congregations has grown from 22 to 70. The number of schools has increased from 7 to 28. Full scholar­ships to these Episcopal schools have increased from 0 to 298. The number of full-time clergy, including deacons, has grown from 15 to 43. This year over 50 mission teams will work in the diocese as compared to 2 that came in 1991. 

This dramatic growth has occurred at the same time as the Dominican diocesan budget has decreased its dependence on annual funding support from the General Convention of The Episcopal Church from 85.6% in 1991 to 9% in 2017. This movement toward financial self-sufficiency for the Dominican diocese has come about largely through the establishment of an endowment fund, the earnings from which funded 59% of the diocesan annual budget in 2016. In recognition of Bishop Holguín's retirement on November 1, 2017, the Dominican Development Group has launched a campaign to raise additional funds to increase the value of this endowment to make possible the financial self-sufficiency of the diocese under its new leader, the Rt. Rev. Moisés Quezada. This idea of self-sufficiency is not a new one: Bishop Holguín has been building on the foundation of his predecessors to work toward that goal throughout his 26 years as the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic.

In celebration of Bishop Holguin's 26 years of ministry, the DDG is asking involved dioceses, churches, mission teams and individuals to join this fundraising effort. Brochures, bulletin inserts, event ideas, etc, will be made available in April to support local activities and raise awareness of the good works of our brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic. These resources will be continuously updated on our campaign website, < https://givingsites.com/thedove>.

For information about donating to this campaign, click here.  

March 2017 Compañeros Dominicanos now online

The March 2017 issue of Compañeros Dominicanos, the DDG's bilingual magazine, has been distributed via email and is posted online here. This 20-page issue contains articles about Bishop Holguín's announced retirement date, the transition to Bishop Quezada's leadership, and the La Paloma fundraising campaign, along with others about the February 2017 meeting of the DDG's Board of Directors, a DOK assembly in the Dominican Republic, and a playground assembly mission team -- plus 5 pages of photographs of all of the missioners and mission teams who served in the Diocese of the Dominican Republic during January-March, 2017 (see collage below).

To join the DDG's email list to receive this and other publications and news from the DDG, click here. 

Click this collage for an album of these photos.

Last Call for Spring 2017 Exploration Trip

April 1 is the deadline to sign up for the April 27-May 3 DDG-sponsored exploration trip to visit many Episcopal churches, schools, and other facilities along the southern coast of the Dominican Republic. In addition to the coastal locations, this trip will also venture inland to spend one night in Jimaní, a town on the border with Haiti where the Diocese of the Dominican Republic has established a church, school, medical clinic, and mission team dormitory. This trip costs US$800, not including airfare. For more information, click here or contact the DDG's Executive Director, Bill Kunkle (contact information below).