Mission teams from parishes throughout the diocese of North Carolina participated in Lent Build 2008. The Habitat for Humanity event brought together volunteers from four Episcopal dioceses in North Carolina and Virginia to build 15 houses for needy families in the community of Amecameca and in Santiago do Anaya, near Mexico City. The dioceses of North Carolina, Western North Carolina, East Carolina and Southwestern Virginia were represented by participating parishes and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Foundation in Salisbury, N.C. provided money to fund the construction of at least four of the 15 homes.

According to Jose Luis Villasenor, manager of International Church Partnerships for Habitat for Humanity, Lent Build is a massive construction project which creates an opportunity for churches to carry out humanitarian missions of love and hope by reaching out to families in need during a most sacred season. “By uniting with local and international groups to engage in missions, volunteers are able to celebrate a richer participation of Easter working together to care more for humanity”, said Villasenor.

Retired North Carolina Bishop Suffragan Gary Gloster was instrumental in organizing teams to participate in the project. During the course of the 40 day Lenten season, which ended on March 23, Easter Sunday, teams of clergy and laity from St. Mark’s, Raleigh, St. Paul’s Winston-Salem, Holy Comforter, Charlotte, St. Peter’s, Charlotte, Christ Church, Charlotte, and Church of the Good Shepherd, Raleigh rolled up their sleeves and did everything from mixing cement and hauling dirt, to stacking bricks and mortar. Bishop Gloster, working along with his wife Judy and other volunteers, called the Lent Build an opportunity to serve the world. “We are committed to making a difference in the world”, said Bishop Gloster. “The Lent Build has given us the opportunity, as we live out our faith, to put hands, feet, hearts, and souls to an outreach project in which we interact with sisters and brothers from other parts of the world”, he said.

As some volunteers returned to the states after taking part in the building project, news of their involvement reached Bishop Michael Curry who was attending the House of Bishops Spring Retreat in Camp Allen, Texas. Moved by the spirit of mission exhibited by participating parishes, Bishop Curry described their service as answering to a prophetic call. “The prophet Isaiah calls the people of God to a spiritual discipline of fasting.(Isaiah 58:1-12) But this fasting is a fasting from injustice by working for justice. It is a fast from greed and selfishness by feeding the hungry and responding to those in need. It is a fast to transform the world into the dream that God intended. This Lent, congregations from our diocese took this fast of Isaiah seriously. By partnering with Habitat for Humanity, they helped build houses for God’s people, and in so doing, helped to build God’s world. This is a fast that matters and I thank God for it”, said Bishop Curry.

This was the second annual Habitat for Humanity Lent Build. Last year in Brazil, 40 houses were built for families in need of safe, affordable housing.