ALMA Annual Report 2015

Download a brochure version of the report (433Kb)

2015 ALMA Highlights

People

London: Bishop for ALMA, Bishop Paul Williams, moved to become Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham
Chair of ALMA Strategy Group, Archdeacon Rachel Treweek, moved to become Bishop of Gloucester
Niassa: Bishop Mark Van Koevering left Niassa after 12 years to be Assistant Bishop for Mission in West Virginia. Revd Helen Van Koevering, our long serving ALMA Link Officer, will continue her studies in the USA.
ALMA Sunday celebrated these ALMA ministries by presenting ALMA Stoles to Bishops Mark and Rachel; Lebombo sent a very special pectoral cross made in the Maputo ‘Swords into Ploughshares’ project for Bp Rachel.

Key Events

Niassa suffered severe flooding at the start of 2015. The diocesan emergency teams played a vital role in helping displaced people and in distributing basic survival kits
2,200 ALMA Tutudesks were delivered to Mozambique (from South Africa): 1100 to Maputo for Maciene School and rural schools in Pungue; 1100 to Nampula for Nacala, Messumba, Milange and Ngema schools. These £10 laptop desks will enhance the learning of children in schools where there are insufficient numbers of desks. In 2016 ALMA hopes to raise funds for more of these desks.

Visits

Team of six from St Mary’s Stoke Newington went to Tete for the opening of the Church of the Epiphany
Three people from Southall parishes visited Lichinga
Three people from St Mary’s Hampton returned to Mandimba
Maciene and Twyford School exchange: a Twyford teacher visited Maciene, the Maciene Head and 2 students visited Twyford School and also Brussels for EU debate
Two ALMA visits to partner Dioceses: Co-ordinator to Lebombo, and Niassa for Diocesan Strategic Review, and Twinning Officer to Angola visiting Luanda and Huambo
Bishop Mark Van Koevering came to London to celebrate ALMA Sunday and share the Niassa Diocesan Plan 2015-20

Four ALMA Partner Bishops and other delegates went to Recife in Brazil for the second Conference of Portuguese speaking Anglican Dioceses. The Lusophone network was set up to continue this helpful communication and sharing

See the list of visits in 2015 here.

ALMA Life, Links and Projects

Being Church Together is the defining characteristic of the ALMA partnership. We are a Companion Link, and not an NGO, nor a mission agency. ALMA is about sharing and learning from each other, and the increasingly complex world we share, as we seek to live authentic 21st century Christian lives.

However, the huge economic disparity of our contexts is a particular challenge we in London face in living Gospel centred lives, and we acknowledge that we have much to learn from our partners who, have very rich human and spiritual resources.

In 2015, out of the 187 countries listed in the Human Development Index, the ALMA partners were ranked:

		Income per capita
UK	14	$39,267
Angola	149	$6,822
Mozambique	180	$1,123

The 60 connected ALMA parishes and schools learn something of walking in one another’s shoes. Visits, and increasingly regular social media contact make this sharing ever more real and rooted.

Projects including church schools in Angola, the Good Seeds Projects at Mandimba and Maciene, support of new churches and vicarages, and the Tutudesk project impact on each link parish and their local witness - in Angola, London and Mozambique!

ALMA and Capital Vision 2020

Capital Vision 2020 is London’s Diocesan plan with the goal of building a more confident, creative and compassionate church to serve and witness to Christ’s love in London – London, the World City.

ALMA is part of Pray for 7 with the bookmarks being translated into Portuguese so we can share this prayer initiative across the partnership.

ALMA, through the development of web accessed RE teaching resources, RE With Soul, has enabled parish

churches to engage with their local schools using the ALMA relationship as an authentic and unique lens for 'Understanding Christianity' in the new RE Curriculum. See: www.rewith soul.org.uk to explore if this could benefit your church and school.

‘Neighbours across the World growing in love’

ALMA Facts and Figures 2015

Donations to ALMA in 2015:

Total Donation Received in 2015	£48,183
Unrestricted Donations (ALMA General Fund)	£22,224
Restricted Donations (Emergency Appeal, Special Projects, Link Parish and School Projects))	£25,959
Donations remitted to ALMA Partners in 2015 This includes £15,573 raised for flood relief in Niassa The major school building project in Benguela, Angola Completion of upper storey, five classroom, extension to St Stephen’s School Luanda.	£71,815