DR Companion Diocese Program at the Southwest Florida Convention

by | Sep 20, 2016 | News | 0 comments

Companions in Mission and Ministry: Building Healthy Missional Relationships through the Episcopal Church’s Companion Diocese Program
Posted September 21, 2016

Diocese of Southwest Florida

One of the workshops during the October 2016 convention of the Diocese of Southwest Florida will feature the companion diocese program between Southwest Florida and the Dominican Republic. Panelists include Bishops Holguin, Quezada, Smith, and Skilton, along with DDG Executive Director Bill Kunkle, Coordinator of Mission Teams Karen Carroll, and the Rev. Deacon Kathy Gilpin, a veteran missioner and chair of the Southwest Florida Companion Diocese Committee. This workshop will be held on Friday, October 14, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. For the complete convention information booklet, click here.

The description of this workshop from the convention booklet is below:

Join us as we celebrate our successes, rejoice in our present endeavors and envision the future. Here is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the relationship between our Diocese and our companion diocese in the Dominican Republic.

A mission team from Clearwater working in July 2016 to build a kitchen at one of the Episcopal schools in the city of Barahona in the Dominican Republic. In brown t-shirt: DDG Executive Director Bill Kunkle. Having a kitchen will allow this school to move to a full-day schedule rather than the current half-day.

Established mission teams from across our diocese send more than 100 short-term missioners annually to participate in many different mission and ministry programs with our brothers and sisters in the Dominican Republic. These programs are transformational for both our missioners and our brothers and sisters in Christ in the communities where these teams serve.

Presenters: The Right Rev. Julio Holguín, bishop diocesan in the Dominican Republic; the Right Rev. Dabney T. Smith, bishop diocesan in Southwest Florida; the Right Rev. Moisés Quesada Mota, bishop coadjutor in the Dominican Republic; the Right Rev. William Skilton, assistant bishop (retired) of the Dominican Republic; Karen Carroll, missioner serving in the Dominican Republic for the last 12 years; Bill Kunkle, executive director, Dominican Development Group; Deacon Kathy Gilpin, chair of the Southwest Florida Companion Diocese Committee.