Reps Circular

Dear ALMA Reps and Friends,

Please join your prayers today with the Angolan church as they conduct the funeral of Fr Nunes Pedro, Diocesan Secretary and ALMA Link Officer, in his home church St Barnabas Songo (near Uige). Fr Nunes died last Friday and will be greatly missed by Joaquina and their family, the diocese, the youth who he pastored so generously, and by ALMA. Many of us remember his visit to London in 2009 and also the hospitality he showed to visitors to Angola. We mourn alongside the diocese of Angola and are holding them in prayer in the Cathedral today.

Many of you may also remember Revd Alison Warner, former WDA for the two Cities and former ALMA Strategy group member, who was an Assistant Priest at St John’s Waterloo and chair of Southwark’s link with Zimbabwe. Alison died unexpectedly just before Easter and her funeral took place on 13 April. It drew together many who serve in mission and development agencies, and companion links. May Alison and Nunes Pedro each rest in peace and rise in glory.

It is a little late to be sending you this greeting  ‘Que a paz do senhor esteja convosco FELIZ PASCOA’ but I hope those of you who use facebook will have enjoyed sharing one another’s Eastertide including:  Palm Sunday in Lichinga and Bagamoyo; Mozambican Women’s Day; the 37th Anniversary of the Consecration of Bishop Dinis, the ordination of three priests at St Mark’s Matola, Easter at Kuchijinji, and news of Bishop Dinis in Washington on a march of witness. Do look at, ‘like’ and interact with ALMA London and ALMA Lebombo.

1. Diary Dates

25 April was World Malaria Day. Invest in the future: defeat malaria is the theme chosen for the next three years to call attention to #thebigpush needed to reach the 2015 Millennium Development Goals and defeat malaria in the future.

22 May ALMA REPS and Friends Meeting 6-8 pm Main Hall London Diocesan House, refreshments from 5.40 (please RSVP). This meeting will share some of the Easter images mentioned above, a visit report from Niassa and some ALMA Sunday preparation for Reps to take back to your churches!

10-24 July Bishop André Soares will be in the UK on a joint ALMA-MANNA visit spending a week with each of us. Full itinerary in the next circular

13 July MANNA AGM at St John Waterloo

14 July ALMA Sunday service to mark 15th Anniversary of ALMA with Bishop André Soares, Bishop of Angola, at 6 pm St Paul’s Cathedral

2.News from our Partners

a) Angola

• Really good to hear that Tearfund’s 'Churches, Channels of Hope training' on HIV awareness in Luanda and Lubango led by Rebecca Vander Meulen and Mario Muromua from Niassa went well. Mario dos Santos and Nelson Mbianda from the Anglican church attended and after the course Mario and Rebecca had opportunity to meet others from the Angolan diocesan team.
• 19 May by the grace of God will see the ordination to priesthood of three female deacons In Luanda. Do pray for Rev Deacon Nsimba Fonseca, St John the Baptist, Sambisanga, Rev Deacon Filomena Teta, St Stephen, Golfe in Luanda and Rev Deacon Maria Domingos, St Joseph, Rocha Pinto in Luanda as they prepare.
• Angola in the News
  • The Financial Times had a rare interview Lunch with the FT: Isabel dos Santos the daughter of President dos Santos and one of Africa’s richest women.
  • UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has visited Angola this week. Do read her opening remarks and analysis of the last ten years in Angola

b) Lebombo

• Diocesan Secretary Bento Michangula expresses his thanks for the prayers and funds ALMA London has sent to assist with flood relief along the Limpopo and Chokwe.

  ‘It is indeed fantastic to be working together; ALMA London is being vital for our survival in the middle of such challenging financial difficulties and natural disasters hitting our people in almost the whole our Diocese. It is not just the question of financing projects and contributing towards relief of displaced people and victims of floods, but above all, is the Christian fellowship and love and prayers which sisters and brothers of ALMA London show to us’

• On March 21 Bishop Dinis and Lina, visiting Connecticut, were present for the Episcopalian Walk of Witness against violence in Washington, a modern version of the stations of the cross. What better Eastertide greeting than Ola Paz?
• He had a busy return home too:
  • 7 April: Three Deacons, Machado Sansao Nhapule, Felix Macane and Luis Silvestre Zandamela were ordained at St Mark’s Matola. Wonderful for us, and especially their link parish, St Dunstan’s North Acton, to see the new church building’s increased height.
  • 8 April was the MU Festival and the 37th Anniv. of Bip. Dinis Consecration (39 photos) held at St Barnabas Bagamoyo. Do control and click to see the photos our Lebombo Link Officer, Josephine Mutemba, has taken of this festive celebration.
• Projects are also underway! Maciene School is undergoing some reconstruction and refurbishment using re-designated funds from the 2008 Lent Appeal after the government built a school in the original village). It will be a delight to see this important school updated for a new generation of students and teachers.
• At St Barnabas Bagamoyo the project to build a guesthouse/retreat house which will ultimately service visitors to Maputo and provide employment has begun

c) Niassa

So much has happened since the last circular here is a brief précis in approximately chronological order!

• ACSA Synod of Bishop approved Niassa multiplication ‘The Diocese of Niassa has borne witness to an amazing outpouring of God’s grace resulting in a process of spiritual and numerical growth that is nothing short of miraculous. In response to a proposal to multiply, the Synod of Bishops gave unanimous approval to the establishment of a new episcopal area and election of a Suffragan Bishop. The Archbishop has set the processes in motion for them to realise this dream’.
• A Niassan Synod in June will work on the next steps and a timetable for implementation. For ALMA Link parishes this is an opportunity to send messages for link priests to Lichinga for collection!
• Flood relief work along the Zambezi has been a major area of work. Helen Van Koevering has written a brief report.
• The Maschamba or rural training centre near Lichinga airport has new life. Helen writes:

  Three seminarians in their final year before ordination: Mariano Tomo (27) from Milange, Zambezia, with his wedding coming up in February; Gabriel Mambo (25) from Massenger, Sanjala parish, Lichinga, who understood his calling through working with our Vida teams; Mauricio Namito (23) who has felt called to priesthood since his childhood and then nurtured under Archdeacon Diniz in Murrupula parish, Zambezia, will join in with a similar training to our community priests - spending time in Lichinga and applying their new knowledge in their parishes throughout the year. During Lent, they will serve their parishes, then return for 'Rooted in Jesus', SEAN, practical theology courses on the environment, healing, women and violence, etc with Padre Manuel and me.

• The final stages of Jonanna Abdullah church in Kuchijinji is underway with a team of carpenters from Cobue working on the roof. Helen writes:

  foundations thanks to Southall group of churches, our ALMA London-linked friends; walls, floor and roof thanks to Diocese of Natal, our ACSA-linked friends; and ourselves providing the bricks, doors, seating, windows, electricity, painting, time-tithed labour + singing-and-dancing-floor-stamping-fun, with the promise of Lichinga's biggest feast at the end on inauguration and Diocesan Family day with Bishop Rubin on 21 July

• Bishop Mark has just been on a two week visit to Lurio (Nampula, Nacala and Pemba area) to visit every parish in the area.
• Mozambique in the News
  • From Marxism to market
  • Mozambican ex-rebels Renamo in police clash
  • Bridging the gap in Mozambique's coal town  (about Tete)
  • Will Mozambique end up like Nigeria or Norway? ( how mineral discoveries are used)
  • Portugal's unemployed heading to Mozambique 'paradise'
  • Africa told to view China as competitor  by William Wallis in Nairobi. ‘Africa must shake off its romantic view of China and accept Beijing is a competitor as much as a partner’

3. London News

• There were great celebrations in St Paul’s Cathedral last Sunday as ALMA Link Priest Revd Philippa Boardman of St Paul’s Old Ford was installed as Residentiary Canon.
• Various ALMA Link Parishes have been fundraising for projects in their Link parishes:
  • Teddington and Hampton had an African meal to raise money for a new vicarage in Chiure.
  • St John’s Greenhill are raising money for the St Barnabas guesthouse
  • St Nicholas Shepperton and St Thomas Finsbury Park and several other churches have been active in raising money to help with flood relief. Although no longer in the news, the consequences of the devastating flooding remain.
• The ALMA family has grown — many congratulations to ALMA Rep Anusha Hesketh and her husband Peter on the arrival of baby Leila.