Newsletter

Warm greetings for 2018 to ALMA Friends in Angola London and Mozambique! Already it is shaping up to be a busy Spring for us and I hope that many of you will be able to join us for our special meeting in February when we will have three visitors from Mozambique with us!

ALMA Meeting

Tuesday 13 February Main Hall, London Diocesan House 6-8pm with light refreshments from 5.40pm

with an OPPORTUNITY TO MEET:

• Bishop Vicente Msosa, Bishop of Niassa
• Bishop Carlos Matsinhe, Bishop of Lebombo
• Revd Teodósio Tovela from Diocese of Lebombo

Please RSVP to Helen Doery to reserve your place

This is Bishop Vicente's first visit to London and our first opportunity to meet him. He and Bishop Carlos will be in Canterbury 1-12 February at the New Bishops' Course and will then spend a few days in London with us before returning to South Africa for the Anglican Church of Southern Africa Provincial Synod of Bishops and then finally home!

Revd Teodósio Tovela is now the Assistant Priest at St Benedict, Malhangalene and teaches Philosophy and Theology at St Christopher's Seminary. He will be in London for a month, attending St Mellitus College and various Diocese of London Continuing Ministerial Development and Post Ordination training sessions, the Cathedral, and other training opportunities, with a view to researching new resources and materials for St Christopher's Seminary and building closer links with St Mellitus. This is a very exciting development for the ALMA partnership. We are very grateful to Bishop Graham Tomlin, Russell Winfield the overseas director for St Mellitus, Revd Neil Evans and St Paul's Cathedral for their help with the programme; to Sion College for supporting this exchange visit, and to Martin and Brigid Russell for hosting Revd Teodosio.

News of the Van Koeverings

We are delighted to hear news from America concerning Revd Helen and Bishop Mark Van Koevering:

‘The Reverend Canon Helen Van Koevering, after her election by the Vestry, has accepted a call to be the next Rector of St Raphael Episcopal Church, Lexington, KY.

Bishop Mark Van Koevering has consented to the invitation to place his name before the 122nd Diocesan Convention in session from February 23 – 24, as the Standing Committee's nominee for election as Bishop Provisional of the Diocese of Lexington’.

Please hold Mark and Helen and their family in prayer as they prepare for another move, to Lexington Kentucky, and for these exciting new ministries!

Diary Dates

3 February - 3 March: Revd Teodósio Tovela in London for study visit

12-17 February: Bishops Carlos and Vicente in London

13 February: ALMA Meeting see page 1 for details. Please RSVP.

14 February: Ash Wednesday 8 pm Eucharist at St Luke’s Chelsea with Bishop Carlos. All ALMA Friends welcome

12 May: Installation Bishop Sarah Mullally as Bishop of London

May: visit to St Stephen's Canonbury from St Stephen’s Golfe Luanda

June: John Tasker, ALMA Twinning Officer to Angola

8 July: 20th ALMA Sunday Afternoon tea at St Vedast 3.30-5pm followed by ALMA Sunday Eucharist 6pm St Paul’s Cathedral

News from Partners

Angola

• On Friday 26 January we joined with the whole Anglican Communion in praying for the Missionary Diocese of Angola and for Bishop André Soares. The Anglican Church now has a presence in thirteen of Angola’s eighteen provinces.

  Provinces with an Anglican Presence: 2. Benguela, 3. Bie, 4. Cabinda, 5. Kuando Cubango, 6. Kuanza Norte, 7. Kuanza Sul, 8. Cunene, 9. Huambo, 10. Huila, 11. Luanda, 14. Malanje, 17. Uige, 18. Zaire.

• Young Angolans have committed to Greening their Environment at the third national conference for young Anglicans at Cuanza Norte from Wednesday (10 January) to Sunday (14 January). Angola is greatly impacted by climate change and deforestation, as well as very high levels of littering.

Lebombo

• January saw some senior staff changes in Lebombo with some Archdeacons standing down and new ones appointed.

  Please do pray for these new Archdeacons as they take up their new posts.

Niassa

• The church in Sanga, 30 Kilometres from Lichinga, suffered in the extreme rain with the exterior wall collapsing – a major blow for this rural community. Bishop Vicente had a difficult journey into Malawi for his visa interview as the roads had also suffered from the weather.

London News

• Bishop Carlos has sent his welcome to Bishop Sarah:

  We are excited to meet Bishop Sarah partner through the video she has shared with us. We look forward to meet her in person as soon as possible. We in Lebombo join our London friends in thanking God for the election of Bishop Sarah and we join you in prayer as the new bishop prepares for her installation in May. May God bless her coming in.

• A huge thank you to all the parishes and individuals who supported the 2017 Diocese of London Lent Appeal 'Sowing seeds for tomorrow' and also to the LDH fundraising team. It is wonderful to report that we exceeded our target and that there is just over £20,000 for each of the three projects we are helping to support in our partner dioceses: the extending of church schools in Angola; the new Seminary building in Lebombo and the regional training hub in Nampula, Niassa Diocese.

The ALMA London Team look forward to seeing you on 13 February at our meeting. Please come if you possibly can to welcome Bishop Vicente to London!

All best wishes,

Sheenagh Burrell
ALMA Co-ordinator
Tel: +44 20 7932 1231 Tuesdays Diocese of London, London Diocesan House, 36 Causton St, London SW1P 4AU.