The committee was appointed by His Eminence Archbishop Zena Markos, and  delegated with the task of  raising funds and purchasing a church for the growing Ethiopian population in the greater Seattle area, in October of 1994. 

At the time the understanding was that, the committee will raise enough money to buy an existing church or a warehouse and convert it into a church with a slight modification. It was also  understood, even though not stated,  that such an endeavor will cost any where between $200,000.00 to $300,000.00, and could be accomplished under a year.

The committee submitted it's final financial report to the Archbishop, on October 11, 2001. From these report, we are learning that the committee:

• Had raised over a million dollars
• Bought and paid land for the church building
• Managed the design and permit process for a brand new church
• Administered and managed all phases of the project and paid it's bill in full without the lending hand of a single financial institution.
• Built the first church of it's kind in the US, debt free and completely designed by Ethiopian engineers and architects.

The project manager for the design and construction of the church, Engineer Girma Mekuria submitted to the Archbishop, the occupancy permit from the City of Seattle as well as a permit set of drawings, and his entire construction admin documents to be kept in the church archives.

In short statement he said that, even though the church was inaugurated in July 2000, the permanent occupancy permit was contingent upon  the successful development of S. Norman Street, which was accomplished in June of 2001. He also said that it's customary in the construction trade, for the general contractor to give a one year warranty period, and after one year he said, our church is standing erect and beautiful and has survived an earthquake unscathed, referring to the February 2001,  7.4 Seattle earth quake. Finally he thanked his project members for their cooperation, and the entire congregation for giving him the opportunity to participate in such an uplifting project.

The Chief Structural Engineer Girma Haile-Leul, in his short statement thanked the congregation for the opportunity given to him to participate in this project and outlined his vision for the future of the church in general and the next generation of Ethiopians in particular. He stressed the need for the entire community to come together to cultivate and nurture the youth, as well as for parents to get involved in their kids educational process.

W/o Mulumebet Reta, a committee member and co-treasurer extended her thanks and gratitude to the congregation for their trust, and urged the entire community and specially parents to get involved in the effort that she is spearheading, that of the education and welfare of the Ethiopian youth.

Ato Fikru Kifle, Chief Treasurer of the committee, in his customary low profile, low key  manner presented the final financial report of the committee.  This is a 160 page detailed transaction report for the last six years, filled with figures, facts and charts.  The St. Gebriel congregation has a complete trust in this committee due to the caliber and integrity of the individuals involved in it.  In this report one can literally find out not only where each and every penny came from but also how it was spent. Due to the limitation of this medium there is no way we could present the entire financial report, but we have prepared a summarized version of the report with some analytical charts.  

We in Seattle feel really lucky and truly blessed to have such individuals with high integrity and moral value, that are willing to put their personal reputation, time and money for our common good and purpose.