With the blessing of His Eminence Hilarion, Metropolitan of Eastern America & New York; in order to respond to the demands of the Orthodox parish community of Blessed Augustine in Jacmel, Haiti; and in order to glorify, worship, and praise God in a healthy environment, promoting the development of the Orthodox Faith, the administration of the Haitian Orthodox Mission has been working diligently to construct a new temple and parish complex.
In encouraging the participation of parishioners and those abroad who wish to help, parish rector Priest Claude Pierre writes: "The faithful of St. Augustine in Jacmel should involve and understand God's intentions for creation, from the beginning to this day, and into the future. We must not forget that we are part of God’s creation. Jesus died and is resurrected not only to be reconciled with God, but to be reconciled with the rest of creation with Him. It is for this reason that our ministry to our projects must be taken seriously. We have already seen how God loves His creation, takes pleasure in it, and takes care of it. If we love God, we must aspire to be like Him and take care of the same things as Him."
Under the aegis of the Haitian Mission administration, the St. Augustine parish committee has begun construction on the church, classrooms, a kitchen, and storage space. The Mission administration has disbursed a 50% down payment ($25,000) to begin work. So far, however, the total expense of purchased materials, including rocks, sand, gravel, backfill, cement, iron, and timber has exceeded $29,500. Your generosity would be greatly helpful and appreciated. You can make a donation through the Fund for Assistance on PayPal below:
Fr. Claude includes a photo report including the excavation for the church and classrooms (the foundation of the church is three feet deep), installation of support beams, pouring of cement, laying of bricks, and more. Each stage of construction begins with a prayer. The next steps include roof installation and electric. After this will come the preparation of ceramics, paint, the onion domes, and recruiting a carpenter, cabinet maker, painter, and professional ceramic-layer. The parish needs to continue making payments to avoid delays in construction and potentially losing contractors to other projects. Another consideration is the rising costs of materials, which the parish would like to stay ahead of.
Fr. Claude concludes, "We would like to thank God, the Mission administration and donors in Haiti, and the entire Church Abroad, the workers and all people who have participated in one way or another in carrying out this work."
