Proclaim It From the Roofs

Thanksgiving offerings will help repair the rooftop of Catedral El Buen Pastor (Cathedral of the Good Shepherd) in San Pedro Sula, Honduras.

“What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs” (Matt. 10:27, NIV).

In this verse, Jesus refers to both physical and metaphorical roofs. He is urging his disciples to share the treasure of the gospel by announcing it far and wide. 

Making a Difference
If we want to get a message out today, we post it on social media. The social media of New Testament times was the roof, from which a herald’s proclamations could reach a large number of townspeople as quickly as possible. 

Roofs don’t play as prominent a role today. Or do they? We may not need roofs for proclamation, but we certainly need them for protection from the elements. Here in Central Florida, driving rains, hailstorms and hurricanes can lead to the need for roof repairs or replacement, often at a high cost. These conditions and costs exist at an even greater level in Honduras, the focus of our annual Thanksgiving offering. 

I have often shared the profound impact that my relationship with The Right Rev. Lloyd Allen, bishop of the Diocese of Honduras, has had on my life. He has become both a dear friend as well as a partner in ministry, and I have had the privilege of visiting his country and seeing the glory of God’s work along with the profound needs. 

Developing Self-Sufficiency
Bishop Allen has made his emphasis clear: He wants his diocese to work toward self-sufficiency, of which education is a major part. In fact, you’ll read an article in this issue about how the Nightingale nursing school in Siguatepeque, Honduras, is working to change the lives of both its students and those they serve through their learned medical skills.

I agree with Bishop Allen that education is a vital key to developing self-sufficiency throughout his diocese. By training future Christian leaders and moving young adults out of poverty via training and skills, education brings light out of darkness and offers hope amidst despair. 

But just as our children sometimes need assistance on the way to self-sufficiency, our Honduran partners do as well. My friend Wesny Dubic, chair of the Central Florida Honduras Commission, made a return trip to Honduras this summer and visited a number of sites where the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras is making a difference. One of those was the Catedral El Buen Pastor (Cathedral of the Good Shepherd), which stands in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, surrounded by miles of poverty. The Cathedral’s new dean, The Rev. Hector Amilcar Ortega, is doing his best with very limited resources to make Catedral El Buen Pastor an example for all the churches there.

Meeting a Need
Ortega has already accomplished much, but he and his congregation now face a huge need. The cathedral’s roof is in a state of disrepair and will cost $6,000 to replace. To our Florida ears, this may sound like a bargain. But in a country where the average per capita annual income, as reported in 2016, was less than $4,300, it seems insurmountable. 

Bishop Allen has requested that all monies raised in our Thanksgiving offering this year go toward replacement of the cathedral’s roof. I’m including a photo so you can see the deep need, much as I saw other needs on my own visits there. I urge you to remember that our joint work serves to extend the name of Jesus throughout Honduras and that Bishop Allen, with his strong emphasis on both education and outreach, is succeeding in this goal.

I ask you to prayerfully consider what God would want to do through you to support this project. As we co-labor with our Honduran brothers and sisters, we are quite literally making a way for them to shout the good news from the roofs and continue proclaiming his name in the Diocese of Honduras.