Reps Circular

Dear ALMA Reps and Friends,

It was good to see so many of you on Thursday at the reps meeting and to know in advance that several of you were unable to make it. Perhaps in future we will avoid Lent – it is no surprise that ALMA Reps are busy people!

This circular includes:

1. FLOOD UPDATES
2. DATES FOR 2007 Especially 9 May and provisionally 12 September
3. REPORT ON ALMA REPS MEETING 15 March
4. NOTICES, NEWS and POINTS OF INTEREST:
   • Flood Appeal update.
   • Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to Angola.
   • Linking London Lent Appeal and ALMA.
   • Musings on UNICEF’s 2002 and 2007 reports on childhood.
   • London Challenge 2012 & fairtrade Diocese Goal.
   • Jonathan Palmer’s Sponsored Diet for ALMA.
   • Welcome to Anne Lindley – new ALMA Administrative Officer.

1) Flood Updates

a) From Bishop Dinis 28 February - Zove and Mazungo churches roofless

In addition to the floods in the central part of Mozambique and the severe drought in the south, cyclone Favio added more destruction in the south and center.  A number of people lost their houses. St. Mary’s Church at Zove and S. Michael & All Angel’s Mazundo, 13km east of Zove were left without their roofs. More Churches will have suffered but communications are difficult. Our response in helping to restore these and other buildings and provide for some basic necessities is “a must” now.

Once again we reiterate our requests for your prayers that God may heal our land and restore the dignity of His children here in Mozambique.

You will understand the pain we have in our hearts as we hear the state of helplessness of some people, at the some time we realize how malaria is already causing havoc specially in the central part of the country.

May God guide you in your ministry. Together in Christ’s name.

b) From Revd Helen Van Koevering, Niassa 14 March

Greetings from a sunny Lichinga today! I hope you won't mind me replying for Mark, but relief work coordination has been with Charles and I whilst Mark has been in South Africa for the past three weeks.

We have had dreadfully heavy rains all over northern Mozambique this year - Kylie and I were even caught in flash floods here in Lichinga last week. It does seem as if we might be coming into a drier patch now in Niassa province, but it is a different story down in Quelimane and Morrumbala, where we have so much new church growth (20 new churches planted by Padre Eugenio in the last two years). Tomorrow our church and a few friends are helping to distribute emergency relief to 250 families in Morrumbala - food, blankets, plastic roof sheeting, chlorine for clean water. I am told the situation there is beyond attempting to plant new crops for this year, so hunger will be high. Last weekend, relief support for 10 communities (480 families) along the southern Lakeshore began, not focussing on food until the shortages we expect next month, but sending seeds as well as the materials sent to Morrumbala, in the hope that it is not too late to try replanting crops there. I shall have some photos and news to share after the teams return in a week or so.

We are grateful that we are able to respond with money that has come in from Mary Sumner House initially, though we know more is on its way. The Governor of Niassa, a very committed Anglican, is thrilled that the church is able to respond. I have been impressed by the call of local government here to Mozambicans to send food and support to these needy areas. What a positive sign - Mozambican economic growth means that some can help others now, and that they do help shows their commitment and 'being in it together'. It is good to see.

So far, as a diocese, we have just looked at emergency, survival help, but once the rains slow down, the damage to buildings and properties will be more easy to assess. We do already know that churches, especially Messumba Cathedral, on the Lakeshore have suffered badly, and +Mark was unsure whether Easter services will be possible in the Cathedral this year, which will be a real blow to morale. I do know that Quelimane's church is on the verge of collapse, if it hasn't fallen since Sunday.

Please do pass on our thanks to all who have helped with prayers and donations. These things hit the international news so briefly, but the rainy season is ongoing. Even where the drama and danger of flooding rivers like the mighty Zambezi, the heaviness of the rains of this season are causing, and have caused, enormous damage to housing and crops. We will feel the hardship for a few months yet.

c) From Revd Helen Van Koevering 15 March

We have heard of a cholera outbreak in Metangula and the Lakeshore. This is one of the repercussions of the rain and resultant dirty water. 25 people have cholera and 5 have died in the last 24 hours. We are being sent a tent by World Vision for the diocese to help separate patients in the Metangula hospital.

Please keep praying for us.

2) Dates

April  Visit to Sta Maria Madelena, Pemba, Niassa by Chris Owens & Clare Rider of St Peter and St Paul Teddington.

Elizabeth Tucker, (ALMA Rep Friern Barnet Parish) on the piano and 2 friends on cello and violin, will be giving 2 concerts for African charities including ALMA.
10 May 8pm St John’s Friern Barnet Rd. Refreshments at end.
12 May 7pm Bourne Methodist Church, Southgate. Refreshments at end.
Both churches clearly marked in the A-Z. Do come and support them.

5 - 13 May

Bobbie and Richard Ennals from All Saints Hampton are visiting Maputo for personal work reasons. They hope to visit their link parish of Todos os Santos in Nacala, Niassa

May/June

Visit to Mandimba in Niassa for the inauguration of Mandimba Church by a group from St Mary’s Hampton

June

Visit to St Marks Cuamba Niassa by St Pancras.

A visit to St Augustine’s, Viana, Angola is planned by All Saints Fulham

St Stephen’s Canonbury are planning to receive visitors from St Stephen’s Golfe, Angola.

July

15 July is ALMA Sunday. Please see if you can mark this in your church and take a collection for ALMA funds - ALMA Gift Aid envelopes are available from Peter Southwood.  Resources will be available to download.

3) Report on ALMA Reps Meeting 15 March

This was an ALMA Reps meeting with a full agenda and considerable buzz. Bishop Michael opened and closed the meeting in prayer, there were 4 sections to the evening – with many questions and exchanges along the way.

First Nicky Thomson from All Saints Fulham spoke about their link with St Augustine’s Viana, Luanda. We saw pictures of the visit to St Augustine’s in 2005 (do look at the excellent visit report), heard about the return visit to Fulham in 2006 and plans for another visit to Angola in 2007. All Saints also has a church school connected with the school in Viana and a teacher from the school was one of the visitors to Angola. In the 2007 visit another teacher from the school will be in the group going to Angola. Nicky’s ‘slide show’ with music was splendid and we will see if we can put it on the website in its entirety.

Second Richard Bartlett, ALMA Twinning Officer, introduced a new Chaplaincy  scheme to help sustain links and enable people with links in the same dioceses to be in contact with one another. We spent some time in groups: those linked with Angola; Lebombo; Niassa met each other and the 2 Chaplains for each Diocese. The ALMA Reps with no link parishes met to look at how to be agents for ALMA in their churches. We looked at noticeboards, intercessions and the possibilities of being ‘project parishes’ – supporting particular projects.

Third Margaret Davies from Kenton spoke of a visit to Mozambique when she and her husband John spent some time visiting ALMA parishes among other things. She showed very clear photos of people and places we are connected with including Father Juliao Mutemba at St Barnabus Bagamoyo, Jose Cuna the administrator of street boys project at St Stephen and St Lawrence Maputo. They visited in addition the church of the Good Samaritan in Zimpeto, and St Monica’s Mahlazine (desperately seeking a twin). In Niassa they went to Nacala where they met Father Damiao Jacquessone and his wife Rebecca of Todos os Santos. As well as the church they saw the newly completed school which ALMA’s Children has helped fund and the improvised nursery for deprived children run under a tree by Rebecca. This urgently needs proper accommodation and could perhaps be an ALMA project for parishes without a twin. Margaret and John have made their photos available and we will work out the best way of using them on the website so those who missed the meeting can also enjoy them.

Fourth  Peter gave an update on the flood appeal – money is gradually coming in and currently stands at about £3000 and rising. Sheenagh shared several notices and points of interest (see 4) and concluded the meeting with the distribution of the flood information from Bishop Michael (reprinted in this circular) and laminated ALMA Posters for long term display! There are 2 types of poster: general posters which state that ‘ALMA is the Diocese of London’s link with Angola and Mozambique’ and personalised posters for twin parishes which include an extra line – ‘This parish is twinned with the parish of …’.

4) Notices; News; Points of Interest

a) Archbishop of Canterbury visits Angola 10-12 March 2007

A full report of this visit is on our website.

You might like to use Archbishop Rowan’s prayer in your own churches:

“ My prayer for this country (Angola) and for the churches here is this; may the Christians of this land hear day by day the word of God that is the word of hope. May they hear the word of the God 'I am what I choose to be', I do what I have decided to do. The word of the God who has said 'I have decided to be with you and nothing will change that'. And because of that may the Christians of this country be courageous day by day. May they have the courage to do what is in front of them, even if it seems small, it will be great in God's eyes. And as Christians grow in that confidence, that honesty and that courage, they will build a community and a nation that is confident and honest, a nation which will give glory to God. May God give us all in this country and across the world, that courage and that faith so that we may work together to do away with the violence and the terror the disease and poverty that make us less than human.”

b) Linking 2007 London Lent Appeal and ALMA:

Although this Lent Appeal is not specifically focused on ALMA, issues of human trafficking do impact on Angola and Mozambique and are of great concern to us. A recent report in the Sunday Times Magazine, featuring trafficked Angolan children, shows the seriousness of the problem.

c) UNICEF 2002 report and UNICEF 2007 Report

In light of our ALMA relationship it might be worth looking at these two reports:

• The 2002 UNICEF Report declared Angola was the worst place in the world to be a child.
• The 2007 new UNICEF Report ‘An overview of child well being in rich countries’  ranked Britain the worst place in the developed world to be a child’.

d) London Challenge 2012

This was launched in February. Section 5 connects with some of our ALMA concerns: the Millennium Development Goals and fairtrade.

We are committed to expressing God’s Love in our World City:

1. We will engage with the Millennium Development Goals and build on our existing partnerships with Mozambique and Angola.
2. We will strive to achieve Fairtrade status as a Diocese.
3. We will implement the C of E policy on Shrinking our Environmental Footprint and will play a full part on ecological matters.

Do see if you can do anything to promote these in your parish –there is an excellent London Diocese Fairtrade website which shows the Fairtrade status of all London parishes.

e) ALMA Posters

Do get in touch to collect your poster.

f) Sponsored Diet

Jonathan Palmer (ALMA Rep St John’s Isleworth) has finished his 4 month sponsored diet for ALMA, losing 3 stone and raising between £2,000-£2,500. He has been featured in his local press in Hounslow which we hope to have up on the website soon. Congratulations to Jonathan. As if that wasn’t enough he imported some capalanas (Mozambican printed fabrics c. 1.5 metres which are traditional attire) to raise money for the emergency flood appeal. We had eight on sale at the meeting at £20 each. I have received the money for four, and know there are three cheques coming this week ..as for the eighth …

g) New Member of the team

Anne Lindley is a new addition to the ALMA team, taking on the role of Administrative Officer particularly for Lebombo. She, like the rest of us is a volunteer, who is giving a day a week – usually Monday - to be in the ALMA office. Welcome Anne.

Thank you all for taking the trouble to read this fairly lengthy circular and for the contributions for the website that you are sending me.  Please do send a profile of your link if you haven’t yet and keep those visit reports coming!