By Gretchen R. Crowe
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 12/23/04)

"Are you still looking for the perfect gift for Christmas?" Father Stephen Leva, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Warrenton, asked at the end of Mass last weekend. "How about a goat?"

For two weekends in December, Carol and Sue, two goats on loan from the neighbor of a St. John parishioner, have served as a live show and tell to encourage parishioners to participate in a Christmas charity supporting the people of Bánica, Dominican Republic. Although these particular goats were not on the market, they represented goats for sale in the mountains of Bánica.

Father Daniel Gee and Father Christopher Murphy of the Arlington Diocese staff St. Francis Parish in Bánica. Each year medical teams from the Warrenton parish travel to the country to provide health care for families who would not otherwise receive any.

In 1999, Peggy and Deacon Bernie Ragan, members of St. John Parish since 1976, traveled to Bánica with Medical Missionaries, a non-profit organization that reaches out to individuals in need. Peggy served as a nurse practitioner and Bernie as a permanent deacon.

"We learned that we back here could actually help people in some way," Peggy said. Together, she and her husband developed Operation "Baa," a program that recruits parishioners in Warrenton to buy goats for the people of Bánica.

Calling it "a wonderful Christmas gift to someone this year," Peggy said that providing the people of Bánica with their own goats helps them become much more self-sufficient.

At a cost of $80 per goat, which includes seed, Operation "Baa" purchases and delivers goats to families in Bánica who can then use them in a variety of ways. If they have two goats, they can breed them. With one goat, they can make milk and cheese.

"It’s even a little savings account for them," she continued. If a family member needs to have surgery, they can take the goat to market, sell it and get the money to pay for the emergency, she said.

As of last weekend, the Ragans had sold nearly 150 goats.

"We do it during Advent to encourage people to use this as Christmas giving," Peggy said. Contributors are even encouraged to name the goats they buy.

Kathy Mugnolo and her husband Jim decided to make Operation "Baa" part of their Christmas charity this year. In fact, while filling out the form for one goat, Kathy changed her mind, said, "I’m going to buy two," and promptly got to work picking out names.

This was the third year St. John has participated in this project, but the first year the goats visited the church.

Peggy said having Carol and Sue on display was "more effective" in selling the goats. "It’s an impetus to have (parishioners) take action," she said. "It’s something people can grasp — that they’re really helping someone."

According to Peggy, volunteers gather the money for the goats here, through pre- and post-Mass displays, and "then (the money) is sent directly to the Bánica mission," she said. Volunteers then "go to the goat farm and deliver the goats to the people."

Father Leva said the program means a lot to the parish and to the people of Bánica.

"This is truly a great way to help others help themselves," he said. "It’s a real thrill for us to help out in this way."

For more information on Operation "Baa" go to www.stjohntheevangelist.org/news/banica_mission.php.