Sunday, September 24, 2006
Bishop leads retreats in UK and USA
The Bishop is in London from September 23rd-30th to lead the bible studies at the International Bishops' Conference at the Pastoral Centre in London Colney, near St Albans. He will then travel on to Nashotah House Seminary in Wisconsin, USA for the annual seminarians' retreat, October 2nd-6th.After the retreats he will be visiting partner churches in the Diocese of Dallas and returns to Peru on October 18th.
During his time away please pray especially for him, for Judith and the Diocese.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Day Out for Mission in Southern Lima
Over 300 people from various of our missions took part in an outing on St Rose of Lima Day. They went to one of the biggest parks in the south of the city for a picnic and games.Oratory in St Matthew's School
The First Communion Class at St Matthew's School welcomed the Bishop and Judith for a celebration of the Eucharist at the beginning of September. The Headteacher, Prof. Carmen Sanchez (right) and Rev Jorge Aguilar, the parish priest (back left) were there - dressed in the school's new track suit colours - together with P. Jorge's wife Sandra and their son Georgie. The day of their First Communion will be December 8th.On the same day the school held a fund raising event at which almost one thousand meals were served - chicken and french fries (chips for the English!) - and over US$1,000 was raised for school funds. All the teachers and many parents helped and besides raising funds it was an excellent community building day for the school.
Roof for New Church - Jesus El Salvador
A roof is being put on the Jesus El Salvador Church (Jesus the Saviour) in southern Lima. Work began on it almost two weeks ago and will bring the whole area of the church into use for worship. For the past few months only the area under the balcony has been available. The priest of the church is the Rev Juan Carlos Marces and there is great excitement in the congregation about the work being done.This was one of the first churches in the Diocese to use the Alpha course, which is now being used in a number of our parishes and missions, and there has been real spiritual renewal and growth among the members of the congregation.
San Francisco Mission - blessing of the site
The new San Francisco Mission took an important step forward when the local community made over a piece of land to the Diocese for development. Documents were signed in the presence of several hundred people, the Eucharist was celebrated and the land blessed.Until now the land has been used as a rubbish tip. It is on a steep slope and two steps will have to be cut for construction work to begin. The proposal is to build a medical post, facilities for a children's centre, ocupational training worshops and a church. The photos show the Bishop with members of the local area committee and the celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Soup Run in Central Lima
Three of our seminarians, Carlos, Rolando and Juan Carlos, have been moved to respond with practical help to the needs of the homeless and street people in the centre of Lima. Every Friday night they begin their "soup run" at 10pm and are often on the streets talking to people and putting Christ's love into practice until the early hours of the morning.Pray for the people they meet, for the three of them, for their safety, and that their mission may be filled with God's compassion and grace.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Partner Churches: San Lucas Arequipa - St Luke's Denison
The San Lucas Mission in Arequipa is hoping to create a link with a partner church in the USA - St Luke's Church, Denison, Texas. The proposal has been made and both churches will be looking at what it will mean and the commitment they are making in the coming months.Both churches have schools, both are committed to mission and both share the name of the Evangelist, St Luke. They have much to learn from each other and much to share.
The Rector of St Luke's is the Rev Curt Norman and he is keen to bring a mission team from Denison to visit San Lucas in 2007. The interim priest in charge of San Lucas will be the Rev Juan Carlos Revilla, who will be taking over following the deployment of the Rev Alejandro Mesco to the mission in Cabanaconde.
Parish to Parish relationships are an important means of encouraging the mission and growth of churches and the Diocese is keen to develop such links for all its congregations.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Women's Retreat in Lima
Women from the AMA groups in Lima enjoyed a weekend at the Franciscan Retreat House in Rimac. The retreat was lead by Major Luz of the Salvation Army and the theme was Signs of the Times. A group of eight women from Christ Church, Plano, was among the sixty seven participants, making an important contribution to the testimonies, worship and other activities. Marsha Costus is the leader of the North American group.The retreat concluded on Sunday morning with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist, presided over by the Bishop.
The Plano group now goes on to Arequipa to lead a second retreat for the women of AMA there.
AMA stands for the Asociacion de Mujeres Anglicanas (the Association of Anglican Women), which is affiliated to the worldwide Mothers' Union with its headquarters in London.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Alms Houses in Lima?
The Diocese has been asked to consider building a centre for "senior citizens" on a piece of land in La Tablada, a middle class area of Villa Maria de Triunfo. It is a big area of approximately 3,000m2 and initial thoughts are centred round an old fashioned "alms house" principle. It would also include occupational workshops, a chapel, community center and vegetable garden, and provide housing for local people as well as retired clergy.Building small, individual houses around a central court yard would have the advantage of a rolling development, and would not involve a large initial investment.
While projects centred on children remain a priority, there is an ongoing need of provision for the elderly in supervised accomodation, and the move would have the full support of the local municipal authority.
The Bishop is due to meet with the Mayor and Local Councillors on Friday 15th September to discuss the proposal.
Baptism of Revs. Julio y Norma Montoya's Grandson
Julito, the son of Julio and Rita, and the eldest grandson of the Revs. Julio and Norma Montoya, was baptised in the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in May. It was a very special occasion with all the family present. Lucas, Julito's cousin, was the Bishop's server and his grandfather Julio assisted.The only member of the family who was unable to be there was Angelo, who lives in Italy. So a special greeting to him....
Un saludo muy especial para ti, Angelo, en Italia, y un gran abrazo de toda tu famila y amigos aquí en el Perú. Te queremos mucho y te extrañamos. Que nuestro Dios te bendiga y te guarde con su gracia y amor. Obispo William
Angelo is a member of the Anglican Church in Florence and the Diocese of Peru's "Youth Ambassador" in Italy.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Deacon David Gonzales Posted to Arequipa
Deacon David Gonzales (on the left in the photo) has been posted to Arequipa to assist the growing Southern Region in its mission and ministry. David worked for eight years in the Mission Church of Jesus the Nazarene, Lima, before going to the Ecumenical Seminary in Cuba. He returned in July to take up his responsibilities again in the Diocese.He was formally presented to the congregation of Christ the Redeemer Parish on Sunday 3rd September, where he will assist the Rev. Juan Carlos Revilla (on the right in the photo), who is the parish priest.
The Arequipa Region is one of the fastest growing areas in the Diocese and besides the two parishes (Cristo Redentor and San Lucas) has three missions, two diocesan missions (Juliaca and Cabanaconde), a seminary (Santos Agustin), two schools (San Lucas primary and high school), a pre-university academy (San Andres) and two children's homes (San Jose and Sagrada Familia).
Visit of the Lady Mayoress of Villa Maria del Triunfo
The "First Lady" of Villa Maria del Triunfo, Doña Nery Tirado de Ipenza, visited the Mission Church of Santa Maria Virgen with representatives of Rotary Internacional, of which she is currently president.The Municipal Authority is working with the Church in some of the Districts poorest areas to help improve the plight of the poorest. Padre Aurelio, who is the Deacon in charge of the mission, has been the vital link. Among his gifts is his love and ability with gardens, and the street outside the church has been transformed by his efforts and has plants and trees of every sort.
In 2005 the Bishop was given the keys to the City because of the Anglican Church's efforts and commitment to its people.
New Mission Post in Villa El Salvador
San Andres is a new mission post in Villa El Salvador. Following the Eucharist on 20th August the Bishop was taken to visit the outreach by members of the mission team, which is led by Seminarian, Ruben Mancilla. It is an initiative of the Church of Jesus the Saviour, whose priest is the Rev Juan Carlos Marces.Villa El Salvador is one of the largest municipal authorities in Lima, to the south of the city, and in the past thirty years has grown from nothing to over one million people. And people are still arriving to take over the desert areas which surrounds it, living to begin with in makeshift shelters of wicker panels and boarding, without sanitation, water and light. Pray that the Anglican Diocese may know how best to repond to the enormous needs and have the means to do so.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Request for Help
The Bishop was taken to a Pueblo Joven in the Municipality of Villa Maria del Triunfo by a local councillor and asked to help the community with the development of a medical post, community centre and mission church.It is an area of 15,000 people in a valley on the outskirts of Lima. There is nothing there except shacks and basic housing and the community is asking the Anglican Diocese to respond to their need.
As ever the Diocese is stretched for both human and financial resources yet hopes to respond in a practical, effective, and loving way. Pray for resources to respond and that the Lord will bless these people.
Presentation of Albs to New Seminarians
Four new seminarians, Carlos, Juan Carlos, Rosario y Rolando, were presented with their albs at the Patronal Festival of their Mission Church, Santa Maria Virgen, on August 15th. They are photographed here with the Bishop and the Deacon in Charge of the Mission, Aurelio Rodriguez.Visit to St Peter and St Paul's, Hucknall
The Bishop and Judith visited the Church of St Peter and St Paul's, Hucknall, where they lived from 1975 to 1986, the church from which they left to go to Uruguay.It was the patronal festival weekend and many people were there for the BBQ and garden party on the Saturday, and then for the Parish Eucharist on the Sunday morning.
It was a marvellous celebration in which God's praises were sung, the Word of God proclaimed and the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist celebrated. There were very many happy memories of blessings, people and faces, and the Godfreys came away from this dearly beloved congregation feeling truly blessed.
Visit to Gibraltar
The Bishop and Judith visited the Cathedral of Gibraltar on Trinity Sunday, June 11th, on behalf of the mission society USPG, as guests of the Dean and his wife, the Very Rev. Alan and Barbara Woods, .It is hoped that the English chaplaincy churches of Spain and Portugal will provide support to USPG to cover some of their costs of maintaining missionaries in the field and the Bishop's visit was to establish and develop this link.
After the Sung Eucharist in the Cathedral, the Bishop and Judith met members of the congregation for a potluck lunch. Afterwards the Dean took them to see "The Rock" and to catch a glimpse of Africa across the strait. They also saw some of the Rock's famous apes!
Ordination Vows and Blessing of Holy Oil
Deacons and priests of Lima renewed their ordination vows in the Bishop's Chapel during Eastertide. (This is a late report!) On the photo are priests Juan Bernardo Marentes, Misael Varillas, Juan Carlos Marces; deacons Norma Carrasco, Aurelio Rodriguez, Rachel and Allen Hill; and priests John Park, Julio Montoya, Luis Villalobos and Jaime Siancas. The Bishop is in the centre.
During the Eucharist the Bishop blessed the Holy Oils of the sick, of catechumens and of chrism. Prayer for the sick with holy anointing, according to the teaching in the Letter of St James, is normal in the Diocese and we have seen many people healed by God's grace.
