Parish Ministry Website

Description of Ministries:

Our ministry might be best described by the covenant between our parish and Christ the King Cathedral Parish in Bungoma, Kenya. The covenant reads, ?The communities of the Cathedral Parish of Christ the King in Bungoma, Kenya, E. Africa and Immaculate Conception, Arlington, and St. John Vianney, Darrington, Washington, USA, pledge our encouragement and support to each other in prayer, learning, and generosity as members of the Body of Christ, who is the vine and we the branches.?

?YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. YOUR LIGHT MUST SHINE IN THE SIGHT OF ALL.? - MATT. 5:14, 16

This covenant has been honored in the following ways:

1) Regular prayer for each other?s community at our weekly liturgies.

2) Learning from each other the ways we live out our call to be Christians, through regular correspondence between parish councils concerning the operation of their respective churches, and a ?Stay in Touch with Africa? pen pals program.

3) Immaculate Conception and St. John Vianney churches have pledged to support the needs of Christ the King Parish with 1% of our annual ordinary income

4) Parishioners of Immaculate Conception Parish and St. John Vianney churches will be encouraged to support a scholarship program known as ?Adopt-a-Student? to provide school fees for students of Christ the King Cathedral Parochial Academy

5) A future exchange program to help parishioners experience each other?s customs and ways of life.

The covenant will be reviewed and evaluated every three years.

Our first project in 2006 was the assisting of the establishment of two wells in the community of Siritanyi, a village near Bungoma. We had a ?Giving Well? in the church into which children and adults placed their loose change. During Summer Bible School the children earned money doing chores around the church and placed their earnings in the ?Giving Well?. Direct donations during church services were also solicited and given. Prior to this time residents had to walk miles to get water.

In 2006, we sent a donation of 650 pounds of clothing and school supplies, which were provided by parishioners. In addition, 14 computers donated by Holy Rosary School of West Seattle were sent. The goods were transported gratis of Kenya Airways and The Boeing Company, in February 2007

In 2007, we hosted Father Christopher Wanyonyi, Pastor of Christ the King Cathedral and John Simiyu, Council President who visited for about three weeks in June. During that time our guests were involved in liturgies, made presentations at other churches in the Diocese, and learned about American customs while staying at parishioners? homes and viewing the sites of Western Washington.

Our Adopt-A-Student program provided scholarships for over 30 students during the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years.

In the wake of the post-election violence we have had special fund raising campaigns for relief, raising over $28,000. The monies have gone for relief, building the Christ the King Parochial Academy kitchen and assisted in the building of two (2) sub-parish churches, and a Diocesan Office Building in Bungoma.

Our ?Stay in Touch with Africa? pen pals program, run by the youth of our church has begun.

We have published our newsletter ?Kenya Connections? at least annually and kept parishioners informed through frequent reports in our weekly church bulletin.

Members of our Sister Parish Committee have met monthly and also assisted in getting the African Connections website and the African Connections Annual Conference established.

We had hoped to have a ?Pilgrimage to Kenya? trip in June of 2008, but have had to postpone it until next year. 12 people were involved in monthly study groups in preparation for the trip.

Description of fundraising efforts (if any):

In addition to our normal direct solicitations we have had the ?Giving Well? campaign, described above.

Collaboration with individuals or groups outside of the parish/community:

1) Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace in Bellevue ? Helped raise about $27,000 for two wells in Siritanyi, Bungoma, Kenya. In Kenya the project was assisted by Catholic Diocese of Nakuru Water Programme, Kenya Power & Lighting, and Telecom Kenya

2) Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Church in Woodinville ? After hearing about our well project, members of this new church collected over $42,000 for 7,721 mosquito nets, given to members of the Bungoma Parish. They have also begun the Kibera Orphan Project to get children out of the slum and into decent housing and schools. The leadership for these projects has come from Ken & Carol Fabrizio.

3) Holy Rosary School in West Seattle ? Donated 14 used computers and two new printers to Christ the King Parochial Academy. We assisted in Shipping.

4) Kenya Airlines and The Boeing Company ? The Global Corporate Citizenship Division of Boeing greatly assisted us in coordinating in-house storage, delivery, and making sure goods arrived safely in Nairobi, on the delivery flight of a new Kenya Airways 777. This delivery was accomplished with the approval of Kenya Airways CEO, Titus Naikuni.

5) Assumption Parish in Seattle accepted sponsorship of St. Mary?s sub-parish, Ngoli, Bungoma Parish through a $12,000 donation which completed the construction of the church. Fr. Oliver Duggan gave leadership to this effort. This project resulted from Fr. Christopher Wanyonyi?s visit in June 2007, which we helped facilitate.

6) Our Lady of the Lake, Seattle Assumption Parish, Seattle and St. Anne Parish, Seattle ? We facilitated Fr. Christopher Wanyonyi?s visit to these three churches which resulted in $13,000 in donations. Donations helped complete Samoya Church and the Bungoma Cathedral church.

Describe visits (if any) between your parish/community and your African Partners:

In June of 2006, Father Jim Dalton traveled to Bungoma and Siritanyi to visit the sub-parishes and well sites. The following September, Fr. Chrishtopher Wanyonyi from Bungoma visited Arlington and Darrington and thus began the ?After the Well ? What?? phase of our program. In June of 2007, Fr. Christopher returned with John Simiyu, Diocesan Council President for a three-week visit. While here these brothers were busy with activities described above.

How is your ministry organized and run:

The Sister Parish Committee is a sub-committee of the Parish Council. The Committee is composed of 12 members which meet monthly. We have a chairperson who works closely with Fr. Jim. As needs in the Sister Parish in Bungoma, Kenya are presented the committee analyses them and explores how we might best meet the identified needs. Various committee members then become project leaders. We believe strongly in delegating roles based on what best fits the skills of each committee member, allowing them to share the stewardship of their talents. The concept of short-term commitments also seems to best meet members? demands on time. There is a real team spirit among us.

The church treasurer accounts for all monies collected for each project in separate sub-accounts by project. A report is given back to the parish on each project wheich makes it easy for all parishioners to know exactly where their donations are going and being used. Father Christopher Wanyonyi give periodic accounting of all monies raised through written reports sent via e-mails, photographs, correspondence, and phone calls. We are excited and love to get his letters and photographs. Some parishioners are also in direct contact with both Fr. Christopher and John Simiyu.

Describe Youth Involvement (if any):

Two of the members of the Sister Parish Committee are teenagers. They currently coordinate the ?Stay in Touch with Africa? pen pals program.

One young adult has been involved in our Pilgrimage to Kenya study group. We plan on making this more of a focus 2008-2009.

Describe areas of expertise that exist in your mission work:

Our committee members have many skills acquired over their lifetimes including teaching, city planning, nursing, marketing and sales, website development, spiritual guidance, and overseas agricultural missionary work. We bring all these skills to bear on each challenge presented to us

What other information would be helpful for others or your community to know/learn from:

A Half Ton of Goods Shipped Half-way Round the World for FREE??

SHIPPING DONATED SUPPLIES - Kenya Airways & The Boeing Company

As Sister/Parish relations develop many different needs become clear. Often a need to ship goods and supplies to a country overseas develops out of the peoples needs.. Transportation of goods and people in the 21st. Century is different than in the past. Today airplanes, ships, trucks, and trains provided a seamless transportation system to the global economy. This provides an opportunity to help Sister/Parishes if one can tap into this system. How to do this becomes an interesting challenge.

Many of the companies involved in the system have divisions of Global Corporate Citizenship or something like this, which are directed to help in just the endeavours needed by our brothers and sisters in the less developed countries. So, part of the way to get access to the transportation system is to contact this division. We were fortunate in that two of our parishioners worked for a company in the system. This provided a local contact that proved invaluable.

They helped us understand the internal companies needs and system, and made the goods move thru smoothly. So, ask around in your parish for people working in the system.

In the last year, Immaculate Conception Parish has delivered clothes, school supplies, and computers to our sister parish, Christ the King Cathedral, in Bungoma, Kenya. From this experience we have learned additional aspects that may help other parishes in the future.

Here are some Lessons Learned:

The Nitty Gritty Ones

1. Regardless of the method of shipment both the shipper and receiving country will need an itemized packing list of what is being sent, with the weight and value of each item. This would read something like:

   a. 200 gross, pencils -- $28.00 ? 15 lbs.

   b. 5 gross, crayons -- $ 13.00 ? 10 lbs.

   c. etc

2. Along with the list(s) you will need Pro-Forma Customs Declaration Forms, obtained from any international shipper, correctly filled out. We found it helpful to have a copy of the itemized packing list with the weight of each box tapped to the outside of the box. Also send a copy of the packing lists along with the customs forms to the individual receiving the goods way before the goods are actually sent. This gives the in-country receiver time to confirm with their customs service that the goods will not be charged duty upon entry. In our particular case a National Identification Number of the charity to which the goods were being sent was also required. This number was also clearly attached to each box. It indicates to the customs officers that the goods are for charity and not sale. So, check to see if your receiving country needs such a number. If the in country church does not know it, they can get it from their country?s Department of Revenue or Income Tax Department. Lastly it is also helpful to number each box, and if all goods are being shipped together ? highly recommended ? write 1 0f 12 boxes, for example, ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE BOXES.
   
   
3. You will be required to fill out a Shipper?s Declaration Form, 7525-V obtained on-line from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/regulations/forms/index.html This form can be a bit onerous to fill out as each item must have what is called a Schedule B number ? Description of Commodities ? obtained from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Export Administration web site. http://www.census.gov/foerign-trade/schedules/b/ The Foreign Trade Division of the U.S. Census Bureau can also be helpful in filling out this form. They can be contacted at 1-800-549-0595. If you have any difficulty getting the form, let the secretary at Immaculate Conception Church in Arlington know, and we cansend you a copy. (360) 435-8565, ext 10.
   
   
4. To ease the time and effort to complete all these forms it is helpful to pack as many similar items in separate boxes, i.e. all crayolas in one box, books in another, and so on. This will most likely not be the way parishioners will give you the goods, so be prepared to repack all donations to suit your needs.
   

Some broader areas:

1. We were fortunate it getting the goods sent along with a new plane delivery. It is best, in fact almost essential, to have an in country representative rather than a public shipper, that you know personally to receive the goods. He or she can inform the sending church of any unique customs regulations they need to meet. They can also make contact with the in-country shipper. In our case we had an airline shipping the goods upon receiving one of their new planes. By the in-country representative contacting the CEO of this airline, he was able to get the CEO?s consent, clearing the way for the airline manufacturer to load and ship the goods.
   
   
2. If you have a parishioner who works for Boeing you can have them explore the possibility of shipping goods on a new plane delivery thru The Boeing Global Corporate Citizenship Division. Hopefully these learning experiences will help others to not become discouraged about ?getting the stuff thru?. For ?Catholic social teaching proclaims that we are our brothers? and sisters? keepers, wherever they live?Learning to practice the virtue of solidarity means learning that ?loving our neighbor? has global dimensions in an interdependent world?.

What would you like to see or experience at future conferences