The People of San Pedro

The People of San Pedro
Working With Our Friends

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Donate a Family Stone Tile to the Church in El Salvador

In addition to supporting the annual charity golf outing on September 10th, you can purchase a hand made, individually designed 12" x 12" family stone which will be mounted on the alter in San Pedro Church in Teotepeque, El Salvador.

These stones are crafted by a wonderful artist (pictured below) specifically for you. You can purchase one in memory of a loved one who has died, your family, or dedicate a tile to someone you love.  Below are a few examples.  St. Rita Church in Solon, OH purchased a tile and dedicated it to the kind folks who live in the poor community.  I dedicated a tile to my family, and Fr. Michael Stalla purchased a tile to dedicate to his parents for the all their love and support of his ministry.

The tiles can be purchased for $200 each.  Each one will be uniquely designed and hand-laid out of stone in a mosaic style.  Your tile can be made for a donation of $200 payable to Swing into Action.  Include an 8-10 word dedication, your name, address, and phone number and send to:

Swing into Action
2409 Gardner Ct.
Twinsburg, OH 44087

This is a fantastic way to memorialize your family or loved one AND support God's poorest of the poor.




Sunday, March 6, 2011

What We Did in El Salvador

Our combined parish mission trip to El Salvador was a huge success!  This past February I took my 8th trip to sunny El Salvador with parishioners from St. Rita and St. Christopher parishes located in Cleveland, OH. 


Our journey began 6 months before we left.  During that time, the pilgrims from both parishes were prepared by learning about the El Salvador culture, social justice, and even a little Spanish.  It's all that we do before hand that makes being there so much better!  Read the press release below to learn about this amazing trip:




Cleveland Parishes Provide Meals for More Than 400 poor in El Salvador.
Reverse Missioning idea is a Huge Success

Solon, Ohio – February 25, 2011 – St. Rita and St. Christopher parishes embarked on “Mission Possible,” during a recent visit our Cleveland Diocesan Mission Team serving in El Salvador.  Organizing, preparing, and then serving lunch for more than 400 extremely poor in the community of Mizata. 

“Our original plan was to prepare a lunch for about 100 people during our visit,” said group organizer, Joyce Colovas, “but about 2 weeks before we were to arrive in El Salvador I received a phone call from Fr. Michael Stalla, Pastor of San Pedro Parish in Teotepeque, El Salvador, asking me if we had enough money to feed closer to 500 people instead,” said Colovas.  “I was so stunned because I had been to this community before and it seemed rather small and rural, but apparently when the word got out that we were coming everyone wanted to be there,” said Colovas.  “The saddest thing for me was when we actually started to serve the food, no matter how many times we asked them to form a single line, they were so afraid that there was not going to be enough food that they began to push their way forward.  I was so heartbroken when I saw them doing that, I just started to cry.  We have so much food and waste in this country but we hardly ever take the time to remember that there are actually people, little ones, going to bed hungry,” said Colovas. 

The two parishes did a phenomenal job working together and making their projects successful.  In addition to feeding the hungry, they organized an entire day of games for the children.  With a donation they received from Footbag.com and from parishioners, they were able to bring over 100 hacky sacks to the children.  As part of their on-going commitment to education they also were able to donate 500 book bags filled with school supplies.   

“The lunch and book bag distribution ran very smoothly,” said Fiona Hudec, missionary and parishioner from St. Christopher’s.  “We had everything running like an assembly line and we had the help of many, many El Salvadoran volunteers, but the best part for me was learning how to make Papusas (a traditional Salvadoran meal),” she said.  As part of an effort by the Mission Team to promote reverse missioning, the youth group in Mizata helped prepare peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and the Americans helped make over 400 papusas, each one learning something about the other’s culture.

“This project, in fact the whole trip, was a huge success,” said Fr. Michael Stalla. “It’s hard enough to organize a meal like this in the states but to do that down here is nearly impossible.  The logistics alone are extremely difficult, but they pulled it off and the people of Mizata left that day feeling happy and satisfied.  I am very thankful for all that Clevelanders do for the mission team down here,” said Fr. Stalla.

Joyce is already planning here next mission trip to El Salvador scheduled for some time in June of 2012.  “I have a waiting list of students from Ignatius, Gesu, and Twinsburg High School who want to participate in our next mission trip,” said Colovas.  “It is very exciting and rewarding for me to be able to offer this kind of experience to others.  For me, after 8 years, each time is like returning ‘home’, said Colovas.

Joyce is a member of St. Rita Parish, located in Solon, and the Founder and Chairperson of the charitable organization, Swing into Action, which was formed in 2004 to help support her parish priest, Fr. Mark Riley, who left St. Rita and was reassigned to serve in El Salvador.  Among other things, Swing into Action hosts an annual charity golf outing to raise money for education and hunger relief projects.  This year’s golf outing is scheduled for Saturday, September 10th at Gleneagles Golf Course located in Twinsburg. 

Recently, Fr. John Ostrowski was reassigned to El Salvador to replace Fr. Riley who has since returned to the states.  Fr. Ostrowski was Parochial Vicar serving at St. Christopher parish in Rocky River.   Originally, Fr. Ostrowski had planned on taking his parish on the trip to El Salvador but because of some reassignment issues here in Cleveland he had to leave sooner than expected and asked Joyce if she would be willing to include St. Christopher Parish in her group plans with St. Rita. 





Tuesday, January 18, 2011

St. Rita and St. Christopher Prepare for Mission Trip Feb. 15- 22

For the past 7 years, Swing into Action has been helping Cleveland Parishioners find Christ in the poor.  This year, St. Rita Parish in Solon, OH and St. Christopher Parish in Rocky River are joining together for a pilgrimage to the poor.  


The 13 members will embark on a trip they will never forget.  The trips activities include: visiting the martyr sites of the Jesuit priests at the University of Central America, the martyr site of the 4 Cleveland nuns and religious who were murdered, visits to our four Cleveland mission sites, 2 days at COAR, the orphanage founded by Cleveland priest, Fr. Ken Myers, and a community building day.  During our stay in Teotepeque, we will provide a day of reflection, fun, and food for all.  We teach the adults how to make jewelry and purse sacks, and we will have a foot bag contest with the teens.  The day will end by us sharing a special meal together where we each get to enjoy each other's cultural cuisines.  In addition, we will be donating 500 book bags filled with school supplies to the school children.  We will work together to fill the bags and then visit many homes to surprise them with the much needed gift. 


This year, we are especially excited to make this trip because Fr. John Ostrowski, St. Christopher's parish priest, has been reassigned to serve in El Salvador.  He has made a 6 year commitment and has an incredible missionary heart.  We look forward to helping him, help others!


Please pray for us as we make this very heartwarming journey to a place where Christ's presence is alive and well.  If you would like to make a donation, please email Joyce and we can make arrangements to have your donation picked up or delivered. 




Paz y amor!

My Family & Friends

My Family & Friends
Jessy, Philipe, Willy, Tony, me & Mark J

The Guys

The Guys