Reps Circular

Dear ALMA Friends,

Eastertide greeting to you all – and thank you to those who have shared photos of their journey through the Passion. We are so privileged to see and feel part of each others' celebrations from Palm Sunday in Lichinga, Inhambane, Northolt and Bagamoyo, to Maundy Thursday in London, and Good Friday in Tete. We rejoice in being part of the global Body of Christ.

As the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC16) meets in Lusaka with an overarching theme of ‘Intentional Discipleship in an age of change’, it is special to see the delegation of young Green Anglicans from Southern Africa addressing, and challenging the Archbishops to protect the Environment. See the youtube clip!

David Júnior from Mozambique and Eduardo Quinguidi from Angola are two of the delegates and their experience of devastating drought gives extra urgency to this vital area of discipleship. One of their practical suggestions is for a tree to be planted for each baptism and confirmation.

Palm Sunday procession

Good Friday enactment

Child with Palm

1. Diary Dates

Sunday 17 April Chareen Lyle runs the Brighton Marathon for ALMA. Her ALMA T shirt for the race is pictured! Would you consider encouraging her by donating to her fundraising page?

Tuesday 19 April. ALMA Reps Meeting at Diocesan House Main Hall 6-8pm. Please RSVP to Sheenagh for catering purposes. (Helen is in Sierra Leone). Everyone is welcome. We hope to greet the marathon victor, hear updates on the drought, two brief visit updates, Review of 2015 and sharing with each other.

Sunday 10 July. ALMA Sunday – afternoon tea with Bishop André Soares – 3.30 - 5pm at St Vedast Foster Lane (very near St Paul’s Cathedral).
Followed at 6pm by ALMA Sunday Service St Paul’s Cathedral with Bishop André - to mark the coming of age of our partnership: ALMA is 18.

Tuesday 12 July. Lunch for Priests with Angola Parish Links with Bishop André. 12.30 - 2pm Main Hall Diocesan House.

Tuesday 18 October. ALMA Reps Meeting at Diocesan House Main Hall 6-8pm. Light refreshments from 5.40pm

2. News from our Partners

a) Angola

• In the very worrying economic climate the fall in oil prices (which account for more than 95% of export earnings and more than two-thirds of government revenue) is causing real hardship. The government has sought IMF financial assistance.

  A yellow fever outbreak began in December in Luanda, and has since spread to most of the country's provinces with more than 1,100 total cases. At least 168 people have died. Please pray.

  The Anglican Church has partnered with USAID, the provincial government of Uige, and Episcopal Relief and development to launch a water and sanitation project in the Songo municipality of Uige, working with 80 rural communities and a total of 32,000 people.

• One bright piece of news has come from Benguela. Revd Maria Domingos, our Link Officer in Angola, has recently sent photos of 170 children attending school (in two sessions each day) in the first four classrooms of the Benguela School Project (a St John’s Pinner and ALMA’s Children project). What a joy to see this and for the long held dream to be realised.

  In Mucaba Angola, the first stone of the construction of St. John the Evangelist Parish, Wando, Mucaba was laid. Hear the glad sound of the choir.

  

  

  

b) Lebombo

• Drought response:

  The areas of Lebombo worst affected by the drought are Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Sofala, and Tete. The local response has been the purchase of seeds (corn, peanut, bean, cabbage, lettuce, onion, repholo cabbage and courgette seeds) and agricultural tools, including watering cans, to benefit 34 communities and 680 families at a cost of £305. A further appeal was launched over Easter:

  • 500 (£6.80) Meticais would provide 10 kilos of maize flour or beans for a family of 5 people
  • 1500 (£20) would provide nutritious food for a family of five
  • 3000 (£40) would provide 6000 litres of water for 300 families

  Our ALMA General Fund has sent £2000 to assist with this work and willingly send any further London donations to Lebombo.

  On 5 April the ‘latest data from the government’s Technical Secretariat for Food Security and Nutrition suggest that 315,000 people are facing hunger, and the number has increased considerably recently’. The National Institute of Disaster Management is to spend $103 million on tackling this food insecurity.

• Other News: There has been heart warming news of two new church building projects:
  • Revd Carlito Mussambaule (Congregation of SS. Peter and Paul, Nhampfunwine in Maciene Archdeaconry) shared that at Easter the church had 500 people present; baptized 15 people, and in addition to the regular offertory received 25.600 MT for construction of the church of Saint Anthony of yitka venheni, as well as 1200 blocks, 15 irons, 30 bags of cement, and the donation of a plot of land.
  • St Bernard Mizeki de Massingir dreams of another type of church and shared photos of the congregation unloading stone and blocks that had been contributed as they start to build a solid church for future generations

c) Niassa

• There has been an intense programme of drought relief with regular updates from Rebecca Vander Meulen, Mario Muromua and a helpful reflection by Jo Beale. We have shared these on our ALMA London face book page as they have arrived but we have also collated the various reports in chronological order and put these on the ALMA Website as one article. Particular thanks to some link parishes for their response to this appeal.

  Albertinia’s story underlines the severity of this drought ‘This family, composed of Albertina, her elderly sister, and three grandchildren, grow all their own food. This year, they managed to prepare a larger farm than they had managed the year before. They waited for the rains, and after the rains began, they planted maize, beans, and cassava. But the rains stopped and the seeds never germinated. They are currently surviving on roots and on the help of their neighbours, and are grateful to have received bean seeds’

• It was good to share Easter in Lichinga and especially Palm Sunday Procession to Yohannah Abdallah Church, and also news of the Diocesan Board who met in March. We continue to pray for Bishop Manuel and Team Niassa as together they hold the diocese (as they await the appointment of the next Bishop of Niassa in September) during the demanding and challenging circumstances of the drought. Please remember them all in your prayers.
  
  Palm Sunday procession at Yohannah Addallah Church

  

3. London

• Apologies - This wonderful news should have been on the front page:

  In March we were delighted at this appointment, and are so pleased to welcome Bishop Rob Wickham, Bishop of Edmonton, as Bishop for ALMA, and the Archdeacon of Hampstead, Ven John Hawkins to the ALMA London Team. See more …

• The challenge of climate change is so much more real to us because of the deep friendship with our partners in Angola and Mozambique – how are we in London to respond? Brian Cuthbertson, Head of Environment and Sustainability in London Diocese has issued a challenge in response to the launch of Eco–Church (See edited film of launch here). He is seeking the first eleven Eco Churches.

  It would be SO special if some of the first eleven were ALMA Twin Churches – it would demonstrate the capacity of our partnership to inspire change and committed action. Any churches out there up for this? Please keep us posted.