I recently got the chance to meet and talk with Tulio Quintero, our parish’s Facilities Coordinator. It was a great learning experience. I admit that I had never really taken the time to think through what is involved in the maintenance of our parish building and grounds. Early in the conversation, I began to see just how much is required to keep our church fit and functioning. 

Tulio was quick to tell me that the ‘secret sauce’ for tackling the many projects at the church is a small army of dedicated volunteers. He has adopted a ‘5x5 principle’ for gathering volunteers. It goes like this: someone asks five people if they’re willing to help with a project, and then they are invited to ask five others, and so on. 

Saint Benedict Parish’s church building is 14 years old. Like any building of this size and activity, there is a lot of wear and tear. Its many parts and systems include heat and ventilation, electrical, safety, gardens and grounds, the roof, foundation, windows, doors, cleaning, lighting, and furnishings. 

Tulio has oversight of all these components. He is a trained chemical engineer with work experience in Health, Safety, and Environment, employee training, and infrastructure improvements. He realized that in a parish of our size there are many people who work in facility maintenance, as well as people who have retired from that career. Many of them have offered their help and expertise to Tulio. Whenever he reaches out for help with a project, the 5x5 principle kicks in and his broad network continues to grow. 

After I had asked about the skilled volunteers, he was quick to point out that not every member of the volunteer group needs to have special skills or training. All that is required is a heart for helping. He has found there is a wonderful willingness to help here at Saint Benedict Parish.

One of his earliest projects as Facilities Coordinator was the removal of a wood planter adjacent to the foundation. As he reached out to people to help, he was delighted as his network of willing volunteers grew. The project started with Tulio serving breakfast to the crew. The social bonding at breakfast set the tone for the day, and carried over to the hard work outside.

In the course of our conversation, Tulio shared some of his personal story. In his home country of Venezuela, he and his family were persecuted in the destabilized political environment. They decided to flee, and settle somewhere they could live in peace. Tulio came to Halifax as a Protected Person, a kind of permanent resident classified by the federal government. It has been a very happy choice with Halifax as a good place to start a new life. They are very thankful to God.

Tulio feels especially blessed to have landed in our ‘explosively alive’ parish. He took Alpha and now serves as part of the team. Thanks to Tulio and other Spanish speaking parishioners, we now have tables at Alpha specifically for Spanish speakers. He says that Alpha, along with its many virtues, creates a desire for people to become more involved in the parish.

If you feel that desire to be more involved, you can contact Tulio: tulioq@ saintbenedict.ca. You might want to start thinking about the five people you can invite to help out with you!