Dear members and friends of St. Stephen’s Church:
This note is coming to you on the day that your Holy Cross Anglican School mission team returns to Edina from Belize. We understand you have a little snow waiting for us. Thank you?!
We brought a small yet very enthusiastic team of Saint Stephen’s members to the city of San Pedro and the neighborhood of San Mateo to help with the school. We brought a little skill and a lot of heart. Along with a bunch of computers and supplies the school seriously needs. Just as important as all that, we brought support, friendship, hope, and a little love that lifts the school spirit and reminds the students and staff that people far away remember them, care for them, and are a part of Christ’s body with them.
What we found was a resilient and creative educational and spiritual community. Just like us of St. Stephen’s Church, the people of Holy Cross Anglican School have had to create, adapt, and live into the challenges of Covid.
Students were present for classes, but the school alternates the student body with half on campus Monday and Wednesday, half Tuesday and Thursday, and Zoom worship from home on Fridays with the help of an Anglican priest. While we were certainly visible (and working loudly) near the students, this year of regathering during a pandemic meant we were not able to work in classrooms or libraries, read to the students, or lead worship. That’s a loss, but the time will come again, and just seeing and greeting the students each morning was a blessing for everyone.
Our mission team is only the second to return to the school since Covid hit nearly two years ago. We worked primarily on the House of Grace, a comfortable home envisioned to host a resident priest to serve the school and the San Mateo neighborhood. We hung soffitting near the roof, built railings round the edges of the house (which is high on stilts to avoid flooding), and did a lot of painting. Fortunately, other church teams are already scheduled to return to the school after us. Without these volunteers, the school simply cannot maintain.
A word of thanks to Jim Bizal, who arranged our mission, had to back out due to Covid, yet still supported us from afar every single day. Thanks to Richard and Cindy Shaffer, members of the board of Holy Cross School and now resident in Belize, who served as wonderful hosts and checked on us every day. And on behalf of our five-person powerhouse of a team —- Jimmy Barnett, Britton Cook, Paul Hedberg, Miranda Ward, and me— and with continuing hope for the ongoing care and education of the over 400 students served annually by Holy Cross School, we return home with gratitude and renewed spirits.
Thank you for supporting us, and even more thanks for the support of Holy Cross Anglican School.
See you soon,
Fr. Tom
