All Saints Episcopal Church, Hilton Head Island, SC 

Dominican Republic Mission

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Dominican Republic Mission

“The Dominican Republic is a place of profound poverty and amazingly upbeat, loving and spirit-filled people, who, in spite of their circumstances, are an inspiration to all who encounter them. We came away as highly honored that we had a chance to be with them even for such a short time.”   - A short term mission team member

All Saints Episcopal Church has a long-standing special relationship with the Diocese of the Dominican Republic. Fr. Rick Lindsey and others have been committed to the work in the Dominican Republic since the 1990’s, sending short term mission teams to teach Vacation Bible School, do construction work on churches and schools, and participate with the Diocese of SC in medical missions. See for yourself how All Saints has been involved.

Father Rick Lindsey Helping Children		Deacon Sandy Grant instructing VBS
Nurse Dale Finn on a Medical Trip		Soozie Williams with the Children
The 2008 All Saints Construction Team		Dave Saunders Painting
Rick Lindsey, Fred Finn, Dave Saunders, Hilda (engineer) Arthur McVitty, Dennis Foss

In February 2006 a small group of parishioners went on an exploratory trip to observe the Dominican Diocese in action, to understand its needs and discern how to become directly involved in its growth. The Rt. Rev. Julio Holguin,  Bishop of the Dominican Republic, identified the area east of Santo Domingo as the area least served by his diocese. Earlier in the decade devastating floods had ravaged the area near the Haitian border. After participating in the relief effort the Bishop believed that he had been given an opportunity to expand the presence of the Episcopal Church west of the capital toward the Haitian border.

Upon return from the exploratory trip, the group recommended to the vestry that All Saints support the construction of a church and school in Barahona, a large port city about 3 hours west of Santo Domingo on the Caribbean coast. The vestry approved and through the Cornerstone Campaign, All Saints committed funds for construction over a five year period.  Starting in 2007, the parish joined with the Clearwater, FL Deanery to complete the building of Iglesia La Redención.  Additional support has been provided by a sister church, Ascension & Holy Trinity, in Wyoming, OH.

With a steady flow of funds, All Saints has been instrumental in the completion of the church building, helping our brothers and sisters in Christ move from a tiny store front to a new church. The first service in Iglesia La Redención was held on Sunday, June 22, 2008 which coincided with the All Saints team being able to conduct the first Vacation Bible School in the new church building.

Store Front		Iglesia La Redencion

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2009 – A Year Like No Other For All Saints

         Iglesia La Redención was dedicated by the Bishop of the Diocese of the Dominican Republic on April 3, 2009, providing a new church home for 75-100 Dominican and Haitian parishioners to meet their spiritual needs as they grow in Christ. Fr. Lindsey represented All Saints and preached at the dedication service.

   Work on the schoolrooms at La Redención was completed in June 2009 by our construction mission team, Fred Finn and Michael Wolstencroft. The new Episcopal school is expected to open in 2010 and will ultimately educate in excess of 200 Dominican and Haitian children.

   Vacation Bible School 2009 at La Redención was very successful. Planning and purchase of craft items by Soozi Williams tied very well into the daily religious lessons led by Sandy Grant with assistance from Julia Stegman and Maria Lang from Ascension & Holy Trinity in Wyoming, OH, and women from La Redención.

   All Saints parishioner Dale Finn, a registered nurse, continued her commitment to providing medical care in Santiago as a member of the SC Diocesan Medical Team.

   Results of the All Saints ‘Concrete Solutions’ project to repair or replace roofs and pour concrete slabs for floors in houses in the barrio near Iglesia Jesus Peregrino in Barahona are now being realized. Over $1100 in contributions from All Saints parishioners permitted this work to be done and improve living conditions for several families.

   Eighteen children were given the gift of an education through $300 student scholarships. Individuals, dinner groups and organizations within All Saints, St. Marks Chapel, Beaufort and Church of the Messiah, Murphy, NC gave generously to support this worthy effort.

   AND FINALLY, a highlight of the year was a visit to All Saints on December 4 – 6, 2009 by The Rt. Rev. Julio Holguin, Bishop of the Dominican Republic with informal gatherings and preaching at two services to hear the Bishop’s vision for God’s work in his diocese.

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 Many Ways You May Become Involved In the Dominican Republic

    PRAY: Pray daily for the people and clergy of the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic.

   SHORT TERM MISSION: Be part of a Short Term Mission Team.

• Construction – Contact Fred Finn  dale355@yahoo.com
• Medical Mission - Contact Dale Finn  dale355@yahoo.com
• Vacation Bible School – Contact Sandy Grant  sandygrant@roadrunner.com

   STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS:  Give the gift of learning. $300.00 provides a full scholarship and uniforms for a needy child to attend an Episcopal school for a year. Contact Bonnie Gruetzmacher at bonniegee@embarqmail.com.

   DOMINICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH ENDOWMENT FUND: In 2010 the Episcopal Church will stop funding the Dominican Episcopal Church. Contact John Gruetzmacher at jgruetz@embarqmail.com for details on contributing toward the self-sufficiency of  the Dominican Church through the Dominican Episcopal Endowment fund.

   DOMINICAN REPUBLIC COMMITTEE: Become involved in furthering All Saints work in the Dominican Republic as a member of the DR Committee. Contact Bonnie Gruetzmacher at bonniegee@embarqmail.com. 

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“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out on this earth, yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.” - Teresa of Avila
 

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