DDG Companion News | July 15, 2015

From left:  Carol E. Barnwell, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Texas; The Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguín, Bishop of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic.
Bishop Holguín on the Haitian Residency Situation in the Dominican Republic

Carol E. Barnwell, Director of Communications for the Diocese of Texas, interviewed the Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguín, Bishop of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, during the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bishop Holguín was asked to comment on the Dominican Diocese, the current Haitian residency situation, and his impression of the General Convention. To access this video, click this link: 

https://vimeo.com/132115614 For an English transcript of this interview, click here: http://dominicandevelopmentgroup.org/2015/06/30/bishop-holguin-interviewed-at-general-convention/

 

During the interview, Bishop Holguín mentions that the Dominican diocese has a committee that is helping undocumented Haitians living in the Dominican Republic to obtain legal residency documents. Contributions to assist in this work may be sent to the Dominican Development Group at the address at the bottom of this message for secure transmission to the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. These contributions are tax-deductible as a charitable contribution. Contributions for this purpose may also be made on the "Donate" page of the DDG's website: http://dominicandevelopmentgroup.org/donate/

 

Please note "Haitian Residency Assistance" on your check or in the notes section of the online donation form.

 
Sermon on the Rev. Charles Barnes at the General Convention
On June 2, 2015, The Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguín, Bishop of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, presided at the daily worship service of Holy Eucharist during the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church. During the service, the Rev. Colin Mathewson from St. Paul's Cathedral, San Diego, preached a sermon on the martyrdom of the Rev. Charles Barnes in the Dominican Republic in 1938. France Euphonise Vixamar, a deputy from the Diocese of Haiti, read the second lesson in French. As reported by the Episcopal News Service, the Rev. Sandy Webb of the Diocese of West Tennessee, one of the convention's liturgy planners, stated that "The symbolism was that, in The Episcopal Church, all of those constituencies are represented, and that we can stand together at the Holy Table. We try and say we are one church, and we can stitch together and weave together and be best in that way."
From the sermon by the Rev. Mathewson: And the Dominican Episcopal Church, strong and growing stronger each year, stands as a truth teller in the gap between racial justice and political expediency.  Our memory of the saints and martyrs show us this way.  Indeed, every Sunday the congregants of the Episcopal Cathedral of the Epiphany in Santo Domingo take communion above the tomb of Charles Barnes. 
The complete text of this sermon is here.
Photo: The Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguín showing the tomb of the Rev. Charles Barnes in Epiphany Cathedral in Santo Domingo to the Rt. Rev. J. Scott Barker, Bishop of the Diocese of Nebraska, during the annual convention of the Dominican diocese in February, 2014.

Histories of Dominican Episcopal Churches Posted Online
For the past several months, Emily Gibson, a longterm volunteer in the Mission Team Support Office of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, has been working to compile histories of the Episcopal churches in the Dominican Republic. In the photo above, she is shown interviewing members of Iglesia Episcopal Jesús Peregrino in Barahona. The Dominican Development Group is sponsoring this project as a way to record the vibrant history of the growth of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, and to assist incoming missioners in becoming more familiar with a particular church and congregation where they will be working. The Rt. Rev. Julio C. Holguín, Bishop of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, has endorsed the project and has been assisting Emily in making contacts with individuals who would be able to help with the history of a certain location.

Once the history of a particular church is written, specific location information from the DDG-sponsored project to obtain precise GPS coordinates for all of the churches, schools, and other institutions is added along with one or more photographs of the church. 

 

Her first three completed histories are of these churches: La Epifaní­a in Santo Domingo, Santa María la Virgen in Monte Llano, and San Tito in Boca de Cachón. These histories are now available in the "Church Histories" section of the "Publications" page on the DDG website, here:

http://dominicandevelopmentgroup.org/publications

 

For more information on Emily and this project, click here.


Bishop Coadjutor Election on July 25, 2015
The election of a Bishop Coadjutor for the Diocese of the Dominican Republic is scheduled for Saturday, July 25th. In the event that the election cannot be completed on that date, it will continue on August 29, 2015. The four candidates are the Very Rev. Ramon Antonio Garcia De los Santos; the Rev. Moisés Quezada Mota; the Rev. Salvador Ros; and the Rev. Daniel Samuel. The new Bishop Coadjutor will eventually succeed Bishop Holguín upon his retirement. For more information on this election (in Spanish), click here.

Watch for a special edition of the DDG Companion News after the election results are announced.

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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