In 1998, St. James parishioners involved in Project 2010 identified a goal of establishing a mission relationship with a parish outside the U.S. In late 2002 and early 2003, Tom and Vicki Vinton began correspondence with the Precious Blood Missionary office, to identify a parish with whom we could twin, and invited interested persons to join the committee.
By mid-2003, the parish of Capilla de Preciosa Sangre in the El Pinar district of Lima Peru was identified as the preferred candidate, and initial correspondence with the pastor, Fr. Joe Deardorff (known as Padre Jose) and their new twinning committee, had begun. Shortly thereafter, a date was set for the first St. James parishioners to travel to Peru. About the same time, it was suggested that the committee raise funds for the mission initiative by selling fair trade coffee, and the first coffee sales occurred in fall 2003.
The first group traveled from St. James to Lima on October 30, 2003. A variety of photos from this trip can be seen on the Mission Trips link. Within several weeks after the trip, the travelers gave a slideshow presentation to St. James parishioners.
During 2004, the communicating secretaries of the two parishes conducted occasional correspondence with each other, regarding celebrations and feast days. They communicated to us about their fundraising drive to repair the church roof, which had been damaged by wind.
Padre Jose visited St. James on the weekend of October 2-3, and he celebrated all Masses, gave homilies, and attended the kickoff dinner of the St. James “Dinner for Eight” group. He was accompanied by the Director of Religious Education of another of his Lima parishes, Johnson Romero, who is studying English at the University of Dayton. See photo below of Padre, Johnson, Fr. Ron, Fr. Keith, and the Vinton family. The Peru Mission committee held a planning meeting with them, to discuss a variety of topics regarding the twinning relationship and possible future travel and donations for the Capilla construction projects.
In January 2005, the Peru Mission link was added to the St. James website, and a $1000 donation was sent to the Precious Blood Missionary office, for use by the Capilla de Preciosa Sangre for facilities construction.
In January 2005, the Peru Mission link was added to the St. James website, and a $1000 donation was sent to the Precious Blood Missionary office, for use by the Capilla de Preciosa Sangre for facilities construction.