Visit to St Peter’s Hammersmith by Padre Mauricio Msossa and Monica Msossa July 2005

The visit made by Padre Mauricio Msossa and his sister Monica in July 2005 was a notable event for everyone in the Parish here at St Peter’s. It was the first time that we had had the opportunity of welcoming visitors from St Bartholomew’s Messumba since our link was formed in 2002. Messumba is in the Diocese of Niassa in northern Mozambique, a fairly remote part of the country on the Lake Shore.

David Broad, an assistant Church Warden at St Peter’s, had paid a visit to St Bartholomew’s in October 2003 at the time of the consecration of Bishop Mark as Bishop of Niassa. I had not visited Messumba, but had met Bishop Mark, and have a niece who had spent six months teaching at a school on Likomo Island. Although part of Malawi, the island is near the Lake Shore and people there share the same language as people in Messumba.

David and I were given the task by the PCC of St Peter’s of making all the necessary arrangements for the proposed visit by Padre Mauricio and Monica. We did not consider that establishing a sub-committee of the PCC would serve any notable practical purpose, and Stephan Welch, Vicar of St Peter’s, together with the Churchwardens, were content for us to deal with what had to be done. We started planning work in February 2005. We decided that, if possible, a visit in the middle of the summer would fit best into the rhythm of Parish life.There was a chance that the weather would be warm and better suit our visitors than a cooler time of year.

We consulted with the Diocesan office in Lichinga, and we all agreed that it would be best if two rather than a single visitor came from St Bartholomew’s, albeit since they would be staying with parishioners and not in a hotel they would need to be willing to share a room. Travelling together had the potential advantage of their being able to give each other mutual support on the journey and, once they had arrived, coping with what would be such a strange and perhaps at times rather intimidating environment. As priest in charge of St Bartholomew’s, Padre Mauricio was naturally to be one of our guests. Since his sister, Monica, is a leading figure in the Mothers’ Union in Messumba, and indeed in Niassa Diocese, she was also an obvious choice as his companion. Fortunately, the first two weeks in July suited both them and us.

There were a lot of things to organise for the visit. David and I were greatly assisted as a result of discussing practicalities with Margaret Bennett of St Nicholas, Shepperton who had master-minded arrangements when they acted as hosts for visitors from their link parish in Mozambique. She provided many very practical ‘tips’. We were also given valuable guidance by Hugh Watkins of ALMA. Among other matters, he advised with regard to the way to go about arranging flights and travel insurance.

Everyone agreed that it was fundamental to the purpose of the visit that as many people in the congregation as possible should be involved. We sought volunteers to act as hosts, both for accommodation and for meals, to act as companions, as guides and as chauffeurs, and to donate funds for out of pocket expenses while Padre Mauricio and Monica were with us. Since neither of them speak English, and hardly any members of St Peter’s congregation speak Portuguese, arranging (and paying for) interpreters was an important part of planning. Fortunately, my niece who had lived on Likomo Island, speaks the local African language that is shared with people in Messumba. She was able to stay with us during the first part of the visit and volunteered to act as an interpreter. This proved very helpful for the first few days of the visit. For Portuguese interpreters we sought and very gratefully received help for a modest honorarium from members of a Brazilian Church in Heston.

Since St Peter’s doesn’t have accommodation for visiting clergy, we were dependant on members of the congregation coming forward to offer accommodation and to provide meals. Many people provided hospitality, and appreciated the opportunity of getting to know Padre Mauricio and Monica a little, and of hearing from them about life in Messumba.

Since there is a strong link between the Mothers’ Union in Niassa and the Diocese of Bath and Wells, David and I enquired whether for part of their time in England Padre Mauricio and Monica would like to pay a visit to members of the Bath and Wells Mothers’ Union. They were very happy to have that opportunity. After two days in Bath they had lunch in Abergavenny with Bishop Mark’s commissary The Rev’d Patrick Coleman who had visited Messumba, and then went on to Hereford to see Archdeacon Malcolm Colmer who had also visited Messumba when Archdeacon of Middlesex. Fortunately, we were able to arrange for this to take place during the second week of the visit.

For Padre Mauricio’s and Monica’s time based with us all in Hammersmith, apart from their attending various Church Services, we arranged visits to St Peter’s CofE Primary School, to a nursery school, a picnic in St Peter’s Square, various social functions hosted by members of St Peter’s, a tour of a number of sites in central London including Westminster Abbey, a visit to the Mothers’ Union headquarters, and a tour of St Paul’s Cathedral. We also fitted in a visit to Canterbury Cathedral for which we were lucky that Canon John Paul was able to join the party and act as interpreter.

Canon John Paul also acted as interpreter when Padre Mauricio preached at our Parish Eucharist on the middle Sunday of the visit. This was ALMA Sunday and the weekend of the G8 Summit in Scotland, so it was very apposite that Padre Mauricio’s and Monica’s presence with us coincided with the occasion.

One or two practical points. It’s wise to remember to leave sufficient time for visas to be obtained from the British High Commission in Mozambique. Global Link Travel, the travel agents recommended by ALMA through whom we arranged the flights, were very obliging and efficient. At Hugh Watkins’ suggestion we contacted Murray Thomsett, the C of E Chaplain at Heathrow. He very kindly met Padre Mauricio and Monica off the flight from Johannesburg, and escorted them from the aircraft, helping them through the immigration formalities before they emerged to be welcomed by David and me in the arrivals hall. During the visit members of the congregation were able to provide warm clothes and umbrellas for them both – the British summer was cold and wet at times while they were with us. We also supplied quite a lot of things for them to take back to people in Messumba.

It was a busy programme that David and I had arranged. Padre Mauricio and Monica embraced it all with enthusiasm. They were greatly intrigued to travel by underground train, for instance, and their stamina and interest in everything was most impressive. On reflection, it would probably would have been better to build in a little more time when they could have relaxed on their own if they so wished. All in all, the visit was a memorable one for all concerned, and we hope a reciprocal visit to St Bartholomew’s by representatives from St Peter’s will take place before long.