Mission San Pedro y San Pablo

Overview: We started the year dreaming of finishing both floors of San Pedro & San Pablo in La Barquita then realized that that was trying to do more than we would be able to do financially so we settled for finishing the first floor interior and the entire outside.

In February Bishop Dabney Smith and Mary Ellen visited La Barquita at which time he said, “This is where the Church ought to be working.” He made the commitment to help raise funds to finish La Barquita. The deanery sent five teams during June and July.

Bishop Holguín cooperated by setting the dedication of San Pedro & San Pablo for Saturday July 16^th when Teams IV & V overlapped. However worthy that goal was we did not make it, even though, as the pictures show, we made great progress by finishing the outside and the entire first floor including the construction of the pews and altar furniture by Teams IV & V. The dedication was a great event with a standing room only crowd in attendance.

The 2011 Teams: Early in the year it appeared that as many as 60 people might volunteer for the teams this year so four teams were initially planned for but finally we ended up with five. A total of 63 persons went including youth from St. John’s as part of Team III. Three persons went twice, first on an earlier team and then on later teams. The teams again stayed in the Bishop Holly dormitory at the Diocesan Center, taking breakfast and supper there, and lunch at the job site. Team I installed the doors and the electrical, did some “stoning” and started painting. Team II did a lot of stoning and primed a good portion of the first floor including the final coat on the sanctuary. Team III “stoned” and painted the entire outside except for the fence, and finished the second coat on the classrooms and church offices. Team IV constructed the pews and altar furniture from pressure treated wood, and Team V finished them.

Background: Mission San Pedro y San Pablo in barrio La Barquita was founded in the early 1990’s as a mission of San Felipe in nearby Sabana Perdida. They met in rented storefronts until this summer when they started holding services in the new church. Fr. Adolfo Moronta has served in La Barquita the last two years. He is now finishing his Masters of Theology at Virginia Seminary from where he will return to teach at the seminary in the DR as well as serve in a local church. Church member and builder, Beato, oversaw the entire construction.

San Pedro & San Pablo is strategically located for the lower parts of La Barquita flood during hurricanes and tropical storms. San Pedro y San Pablo will serve as a shelter in times of need. It will also be used to meet community needs including worship and pastoral services, education for younger children, job training for teens and adults, and as a nutritional center for the neighborhood.

Financial: As of this writing the Tampa Deanery churches raised some $105,960 for the 2011 San Pedro y San Pablo mission project. The total includes $12,250 through Bishop Smith’s efforts which appear in the “General Income” line item below, along with the raffle earnings. Two thousand eleven was our best year ever for fund raising due principally to the large numbers of persons who went on the teams this year and also to Bishop Smith’s support for the project. Overall, some $45,000 was transferred for materials. However, although many persons did very well fundraising this year, on a per person basis fundraising was down from previous years, and it was only with Bishop Smith’s help that we were able to finish the first floor and the exterior of San Pedro & San Pablo. I believe there are a few outstanding contributions yet to be received.

Project expenses for construction materials, airline tickets and team support came to $99,491. Income plus the surplus from last year leaves a balance of some $16,920. A table below shows the distribution of income by church and expenses by category. The balance from last year plus some contributions that came in after we closed the books for 2010, and early contributions from Holy Innocents allowed us to transfer funds in a timely manner to keep construction moving forward to be ready for the teams when they arrived in June and July. As always, the DR also put in significant funds or San Pedro & San Pablo could not have been completed.

Miscellaneous notes. 1.) Tickets were more expensive this year, averaging over $500 each, thus adding to the cost of this year’s mission. 2.) This year’s raffle brought in $2,215 the night of the raffle at the kickoff potluck at Henry’s house plus an unknown amount that came in through people’s home churches. 3.) The Fun Run “La Barquita Race for Mission” netted some $1,865, a significant amount for this first-time event. 4.) By staying in the modest Bishop Holly units at the DR Diocesan Center considerably money was saved on lodging compared to staying in a hotel. These savings were passed on to purchase building materials.

2011 Income and Expense