Reps Circular

The second half of January and the first of February have felt like a living through a verse from Ecclesiastes 3. It has been a time of great rejoicing: the foundation stone was laid at the T3 Bernard Mizeki church in Lebombo; Priests have been ordained in Angola (including the first female priest) and Lebombo; the Provincial Synod has approved the next phase of the multiplication of the Mozambican dioceses but at the same time the church has been battered, quite literally, by a succession of tropical storms and cyclones.

Tropical Depression Dando, Tropical Cyclone Funso and Cyclone Giovanna have wreaked havoc on all coastal areas.  Dando affected Maciene where the school rood was blown away and filled in some of the new foundations at T3; Funso caused widespread flooding in Zambezia in the north, and Giovanna caused flooding and power surges in the south. Please pray for our partners as they respond to this devastation.

You may like reflect on the impact of Climate Change by reading and signing the Ash Wednesday Declaration by Operation Noah and hold this alongside our Lent Appeal ‘Giving Ministry Wheels’ also launched today.

1. Diary Dates

Wednesday 22 February Ash Wednesday. Launch of our Lent Appeal ‘GIVING MINSTRY WHEELS’.

Tuesdays 28 February to 27 March. Lent Lunches at St Mary’s Stoke Newington. A lunch of homemade soup, bread, cheese & biscuits will be served from 12.30 - 2.00pm. All donations will go to the lent appeal.

Sunday 11 March. Fairtrade Diocese Celebration Service at St Paul’s Cathedral 6 pm. All Welcome – a fairtrade nut producer from Malawi will be speaking.

Saturday 17 March 1.30 - 5 pm  Route around the World at St George’s Church Bloomsbury part of Climate Week – Climate action for resilience, renewal and hope. A very relevant topic for all ALMA Reps and Friends.  Come and hear how communities around the globe suffering from environmental stress and disaster are gaining resilience and building a better future.

To attend - RSVP to brian.cuthbertson@london.anglican.org 

NB: MANNA AGM in September is just Bishop Mark Van Koevering, no Helen this time.

2. News from our Partners

a) Angola

• Epiphany Sunday was a joyous one in Angola – in Uige 1100 people celebrated the ordinations of four Priests and four Deacons, including that of Revd Joana Francisco the first female priest in Angola.

  Read more …

• This first Angola monitor of 2012 covers confirmation that local and national elections will be held, the re-elections of Unita’s leader and visits by the governments of Brasil, Norway and Portugal. In economic news it covers the $32 billion discrepancy in Sonagol accounts, the 2012 budget and the new banking law for foreign oil companies. It also covers accusations of the police using excessive force, human rights in Cabinda, children’s rights groups activities disrupted, displacement due to floods and repatriation from DRC.

b) Mozambique

• At the Provincial Synod of Bishops the multiplication of Mozambican dioceses was on the agenda. Archbishop Thabo reports:

  We began our work with a lively discussion facilitated by Bishop Brian Germond around the topic of creatively thinking outside of the box. We re-examined some of the mission opportunities God provides us, and the recent proposals of multiplication coming from the dioceses of Mozambique challenged us to think again on how we might respond to the fresh manifestation of the Spirit of God in our midst. We were challenged to take imaginative and courageous action that might include alternative models of ministry, mission and episcopal oversight. We agreed that we must willingly take risks, in faith.

  The Archbishop supported a call from the Dean of the Province that each diocese should send a further two students for training at the College of the Transfiguration. The Bishops agreed to consider this request seriously, and act upon it.

• Sunday 29 January was World Leprosy Day  and Mozambique’s northern province of Cabo Delgado (population around 1.7 million) was highlighted in the publicity for the day as having one of the highest numbers of reported cases of leprosy in Africa.

  At the ALEMO (Association for Leprosy Affected People in Mozambique) centre in Pemba there are provisions for income generation, such as tailoring and a shoe smith's room. There is a grain mill, pottery making room and area for basket weaving.  In addition, they also hold self-care groups and the Government has an area on the ALEMO premises which are used for teaching.  Some people from the ALEMO centre use these facilities.  Read Ernesto and Fatima’s Story

c) Lebombo

• The long awaited foundation stone for the church of Bernard Mizeki at T3 was laid on 14 January in a special service led by Bishop Dinis
• On 16 January the roof of Maciene Schools suffered considerable damage in the first of the tropical storms. See picture
• On 29 January an ordination service was held at St Cyprian’s Maputo with 2000 people attending to support and share the new ministries of two Deacons and four Priests. Do hold them and the new Angolan priests in your prayers.

  There is more on the three stories above, and some pictures, on a recent news page.

• Cyclone Giovanna affected Maputo and we’ve learnt to date of the impact at St Barnabas Bagamoyo where a power surge and lightning strike has taken out all the electrical appliances including the borehole. Please hold this and other affected areas in your prayers. We have asked Bishop Dinis for a fuller picture from across the diocese.
• Look out for prayers from Fr Juliao in the USPG prayer diary in March w/b 26th.

d) Niassa News

• Flooding is a major issue as a result of the cyclones especially in Zambezia. Ramine, the young evangelist, has just written from Dere, Zambezia, sending greetings. He says the heavy rain of the last four days (this cyclone coming up from Limpopo) has destroyed his little rented house and a couple of the meeting places/churches. He doesn’t seem despondent, except for the state of the roads which stops all communication in that very rural area.

  Many from the Diocese are involved as part of a flood relief mission to Zambezia and Shire. Remember Rebecca, Mario, Rosa, Padre David and Ramine especially.

• Another consequence of the cyclones has been the intermittent electricity connection in Lichinga. Today has been the first day since 8 February that there has been electricity after 6.15 pm.

3 London News

• 2012 Lent Appeal Giving Ministry Wheels. I hope you’ve all had the opportunity now to see the Lent Appeal resources and to know that it’s not too late to collect these. Email us so we can pack your orders on Tuesdays and leave them at reception for collection.

  Do encourage reflection on the transport provision and choices we have in London and suggest that people may like to give a proportion of their bus/tube/rail/ tickets during Lent or alternatively a portion of their fuel costs so that we might be alongside our partners in their biggest challenge to ministry.

  Please show the Lent Appeal PowerPoint if you have the opportunity. It illustrates some of the obstacles and conditions faced and endured so that the Gospel can be preached and God’s work carried out even in the most remote places.

• Many thanks for your patience and forbearance at the last Reps meeting in January when the projection system let us down badly. Thank you especially to Revd John Seymour who became the AV star of the evening as well as sharing so memorably about Twyford’s visit to Maciene. Thank you too to Claire and Olyve from St Pancras and to Revd Stephen Coles for sharing their insights, pictures and films.
• Our prayer section has been updated and Beryl Warren our Intercessory Chaplain has added a reflection. Are there others called to join Beryl?
• ALMA has a new recruit: – Helen Brown, teacher (and ALMA Rep) at Edward Betham School has given birth to a son, George. We wish them all well.