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San Jacinto churches ready to catch the rain

Work has just been completed on rainwater harvesting systems at each of the four churches in the rural community of San Jacinto, bringing the different denominations together for the first time.  The opening of the tanks this week marked the culmination of six months’ hard work and the realisation of the vision of the pastor of the Baptist church.

Seeing fourteen rainwater harvesting tanks built during the ‘Catching the Rain’ project in 2005, the Baptist pastor approached Nuevas Esperanzas to suggest using the roof of his church building to catch rainwater.  Others were also interested and our project brought together all four churches in the community: Roman Catholic, Baptist, Assemblies of God and the Church of God of Prophecy.  The aim has been to build faith and unity amongst the congregations as well as building four more rainwater tanks which will be of long term benefit to the community.

Training workshops on construction techniques were held for the participants and under the skilled supervision of local builders, teams from the churches built their own tanks.  The two largest tanks will each hold 71,000 litres of rainwater with almost half of the tank underground.  The greatest challenge, though, was in working together across the denominations, a first for these congregations.  To promote the project and to break down denominational divides, a very successful concert was held at the local school.  Over 350 people attended with representatives from each of the participating churches as well as the wider community.  This kind of event hardly ever happens in places like San Jacinto so it was a really special occasion.

As the project continued, the congregations have learned more about working together and the friendship between the leaders of the four churches has grown.  The congregations joined together to help each other when progress fell behind at one site as all had agreed that the churches should finish their work together.  The final task of fitting and connecting the gutters and pipes so that the tanks can start filling with rainwater was eagerly undertaken by all!

At the opening this week, a ceremony of thanksgiving and blessing was given at each tank.  The ceremony was attended by members of each of the four congregations as well as several members of the Nuevas Esperanzas team.  Continuing in the spirit of unity, each of the leaders gave a blessing and prayers in accordance with their own traditions at the tanks of the other churches; the Catholic priest gave a blessing at the tank at the Baptist church while the Assemblies of God pastor led the prayers and cut the ribbon to open the tank at the Church of God of Prophecy.  The four church leaders are keen to continue exploring ways of working together for the benefit of the community and future workshops for young people and adults are being planned as part of this ongoing project.

This project has been funded through donations from churches and individuals of different denominations in the UK and the USA.

19/07/06