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Meeting Report

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ALMA Reps Meeting 22 May 2013 at London Diocesan House

[Source: Helen Doery]

Archdeacon Rachel Treweek welcomed everyone and opened the meeting. A number of news items were shared, including:

1) the IF campaign gathering to be held on 8 June. The IF campaign, by numerous aid charities joining together to operate under the banner ‘there is enough food for everyone IF …’, is trying to influence the G8 Summit meeting to make decisions which would reduce hunger in the developing world.

2) the recent deaths, in Angola of Fr. Nunes our ALMA Link Officer, and in Mozambique of Fr. Juliao, well known amongst other things for his work with the people on the Hulene Rubbish Dump. Paul Hunneyball from St John the Baptist, Greenhill, who had met Juliao as priest of their link parish of St Barnabas, Bagamoyo, spoke movingly about him, his entrepreneurial spirit and his pastoral concern for the people in his communities. We also heard more about his wider work and showed pictures of both the priests. We had a time for silent prayer to give thanks for their lives and pray for the families.

This was followed by a presentation on the progression of the building of the Johanna Abdullah church in Lichinga, Niassa, from the foundation stage to preparing to raise the roof ready for its consecration in July.

Then there was information sharing about the ALMA London and ALMA Lebombo Facebook pages and discussion of recent additions to the ALMA website and what Reps would find helpful in keeping interest in ALMA alive in their individual parishes.  Several points were made including requests for prayer suggestions to inform intercessions, more photos of key people on the website, A3 posters, and invited speakers from ALMA.

In preparation for the ALMA Sunday Service in St Paul’s Cathedral on 14 July, singers from St Paul’s Ealing and Old Ford, aided by a couple of Portuguese speakers to help us with correct pronunciation, taught us two Taizé songs containing the word ‘alma’, meaning ‘soul’ in Portuguese, to welcome Bishop André. We all had a most enjoyable time singing together. This was followed by going through the simplified Angolan Creed with actions ably led by Simon Gordon Clark.

The evening concluded with half an hour’s chaplaincy time, for Reps to exchange information and encouragement about their different parish links. We concluded by praying for our partners and ourselves and by saying the Grace together.