St. Christopher’s Catholic Church - Kakata, Liberia
Rev. Father Peter Paase - Missionaries of St. Paul
Type of Mission: Parish & School - Year Support Began: 2010
Mary Ellen Seaver (Mission Circle) served in Liberia with the Peace Corps in 2009/10 and attended this church.
Rev. Paase’s
mission serves parish of 500+.
|
December 29, 2011
St. Agnes Mission Circle
St. Agnes Catholic Church,
San Diego
Blessings and peace on you from God our father and Our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Over the past two years a relationship of love and support and
prayer has developed and grown between you and the family of St.
Christopher's
Parish. Kakata in Liberia where I am the pastor. I remain grateful
to God who through the agency of Mary Ellen Seaver and the untiring
work of Mr. Conrad Olson made this relationship possible. The support
you send to me in the course of the year supports greatly the pastoral
work I am doing here in Liberia.
Perhaps what I am writing next is known to you already but just
to mention again very briefly the family of St. Christopher. There
is
the main parish and then two outstations: St. Mary Magdalene (30
minutes away from here) and Ss. Peter and Paul (one hour away from
here). The former is relatively younger but has grown even more
than the latter. I put up a church building at St. Mary Magdalene
( as
quite alot of people do here) using Mud (dirt) bricks and cement.
it was not plastered and the floor was a mud floor. The people
organized and have put a cement floor and are working towards plastering
the
walls. They have even started a daycare centre within the church.
It is in this connection that I am putting this proposal forward
for your consideration and possible action. I am quite aware of
the economic downturn that has affected so many people in the United
States and in most parts of the world.
We the priest and people of St. Mary Magdalene would like the Daycare
centre to grow into an elementary school and would want to put
up a single block of six classrooms or as finances are available
a single
block of two classrooms, an office and two restrooms and then every
year add a classroom until the elementary block gets to sixth grade.
I have asked the builders who have always worked for us to give
me an estimate and this is the estimate they have given me for
each
of those possible buildings;
ONE BLOCK SIX CLASSROOMS
1. concrete blocks for foundation $ 1500.00
2.dirt bricks $ 160.00
3. roofing sheets $ 1440.00
4.cement $1750.00
5.wood $ 1750.00
6.labour charges $ 1600.00
7. contigency and logistics $ 1500.00
Total $ 9700.00
ONE BLOCK TWO CLASSROOMS, ONE OFFICE, TWO REST ROOMS
1. concrete blocks for foundation $600.00
2. Cement $ 950.00
3. dirt bricks $ 150.00
4.Roofing sheets $ 640.00
5. wood $ 770.00
6. Labur Charges $ 700.00
7. contigency and logistics $ 1500.00
Total $5310.00
May God bless you and lead all of us into the new year.
Sincerely yours
Rev. Fr. Peter Paase MSP
December 13, 2011
Dear Conrad and the St. Agnes Mission
Circle,
Greetings of peace and love from Liberia
I have been away from you and from all that has been my life for
the past three months. I went to Nigeria for the burial of My brother's
wife and took my holiday
too. I only came back last week and am just settling down again. I appreciate
so much the missionary concern that St. Agnes Mission Circle has for me and
the many others Missions that you support. May God richly bless
all of you and your
families. I will try to locate an address and person in the United States for
these transactions. Obviously they are many but I need to get their consent
for such transactions and then I will get back to you.
I still look forward to offering the sacrifice of the Mass for any and all
of your benefactors for anything intention they might wished offered to God
on their
behalf in the context of the Holy Eucharist.
with Love and affection
Rev. Fr. Peter Paase MSP
On Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 2:30 PM, Peter Paase wrote:
Dear St.
Agnes Mission Circle,
Its been a while since we last communicated and I am sure that
you have been wondering at my loud silence. I have been disorganized
since i came back from the retreat about two weeks ago. First,
I wanted to send to you something on the sister Church of St. Mary
Magdalene which is growing and showing much promise. I wanted to
include photos of the efforts of the Community that is barely five
years old. My efforts were not successful as the cameraman whom
I wanted to go with me and who had promised to do so, failed to
show up for two consecutive sundays. I know very well that a photo
conveys such a strong message that often words fail to convey.
I offered the sacrifice of the holy mass to rejoice with your friends
on their witness of many years to the sacrament of holy matrimony
and will willingly offer such masses for any of your many friends
who wants to thank God for any reason or to bring a special intention
before God.
Please God tomorrow I will send to you an article on St. Mary Magdalene
Catholic Church which you could use. I am in the process acquiring
a good camera and once I get that I will be able to send photos
that make real what I may be writing to you about at any time.
I have not forgotten your reminder that I could propose a project
to the St. Agnes Mission circle that you could support. I will
do so indeed.
May God bless all of you and thank you for your support and prayers
Sincerely,
Rev. Fr. Peter Paase MSP
Mon, Jul 25, 2011 at 4:44 AM, Peter Paase wrote:
Dear Friends "St. Agnes Mission Circle"
Greetings of peace and love from Liberia
I have been away from you for Close to two weeks. I have been away from my
Parish and Diocese to the Diocese of Cape Palmas to do the Annual retreat for
a group of Nuns, Sisters of the Holy Family. I will wirte fully when i get
back. The retreat ended only yesterday from the 17th - 24th. Just a few assurances.
I have read the newsletter and your coverage of kakata is Beautiful. when I
have more time when i get back on thursday i will highlight some few points
and hopefully send new updates on what we are doing and hope to do.
Of course, without question, I will readily join in the joys and pains of any
person you ask me to do so in celebrating any Mass intention for any of your
supporters and for John and Joyce Verskena, I will celebrate mass for their
intentions on August 7th, to thank God for the many years of witness they have
given in the marital life,
I will write more when I get back to base.
God Bless all of you
Fr. Peter Paase MSP
On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 2:15 PM, peter paase wrote:
My dear people of St. Agnes mission circle,
Greetings of peace and love
I hope all of you are doing well despite the propblems
of the Economy. I have not opened my mail box for a long time(I suppose
because
I am not too caught
up in the world of the internet) and opened it just today and saw your message
and right now I am installing the pdf program so that i can look at the newsletter.
I will surely send back comments as soon as i look at it. Thank you so much
for making the work of God here in a backyard place the focus of your goodness
and bringing this work as well to the wider audience who get to read your
newsletter.
I am sorry that i didnt acknowledge the last transfer but indeed it got here.
things have been busy these last months. ordinations of two Bishops and myself
involved in giving retreats and so it has been tight. I go again on wednesday
to a distant part of the country in the Diocese of cape Palmas to give the
annual retreat to a community of Nuns. it starts on sunday July 17th -24th.
I will pray for all of you.
As soon as I open the news letter, I will send back to you some comments.
Thanks and God bless.
Fr. peter paase MSP
We are glad to add Father Paase's mission church in
Liberia to our supported missionaries. Our member, Mary Ellen Seaver,
served as director of the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute
while serving as a Peace Corps Response. Mary Ellen attended St.
Christophers and was a lector. Below is the artile Mary ellen Seaver
wrote for our Spring 2010 Mission Circle Advocate.
"Welcome to Reverend Father Peter Paase, MSP,
who most recently joins the group of Catholic missionaries supported
by the St. Agnes Mission Circle. Father Peter is the spiritual leader
of St. Christopher’s Catholic
Church
in Kakata, Liberia. On Sunday mornings, he rushes back to Kakata,
a medium-sized town, north of the capital city of Monrovia, Liberia.
He drives two hours round trip into the forest to celebrate Mass
for two small parishes before attending to the needs of 500 Kakata
parishioners. Less than 1% of the parishioners have running water
or electricity. Neighborhood wells provide buckets of water for cooking
and bathing and candles and flashlights provide light in the evenings.
St. Christopher’s Parish features an enthusiastic
choir whose members chant to the rhythm of West African drums. There
is no dearth of generous spirit emanating from St. Christopher’s
parish members even though the church building is lacking in doors
and windows. Occasionally, a goat, or, two, wander onto the altar.
During Holy Week, all three Catholic communities gather
together in Kakata to participate in services. A large flat-bed truck
is rented to transport parishioners from the forest. The visitors
cook, eat, sleep and pray together on the grounds inside the mission
compound. Despite soaring West African temperatures and 95% tropical
humidity, at high noon on Good Friday, Catholics walk the stations
of the cross through the neighborhoods of Kakata.
After fourteen years of civil war, the Catholic communities
of Liberia are in dire need of prayers and financial support to rebuild
and refurbish churches. Both public and private (church) schools
are reopening with volunteer teachers, no resources—no books,
no paper, no chalk. Students hungry for education and spiritual solace
attend a Catholic school attached to St. Christopher’s Parish.
Fr. Peter spends enormous time, energy and creativity in attempting
to keep Liberian children active in their faith.
During the 2009-10 academic year, St. Agnes Parishioner
and Mission Circle Member, Mary Ellen Seaver, mentored the director
of the Kakata Rural Teacher Training Institute while serving as a
Peace Corps Response volunteer. For eight months she was a Lector
at St. Christopher’s Catholic Church.
The members of St. Agnes Mission Circle welcome you
to join them monthly for a delicious continental breakfast and for
discussion on how St. Agnes parishioners can further reach out to
and support, spiritually and financially, the global Catholic Community,
including St. Christopher’s Parish in Liberia, West Africa.
