Overseas Church Links Group Newsletter

August 2008

New Group Members

In the last newsletter we appealed for new members, and we are pleased to say that Ian Douglas and Clare Jarmy have joined the Group. They have, respectively, undertaken to be responsible for our links with PNG Church Partnership and Borneo Mission Association. We still need a further new member to be our link with the Diocese of Peru.

Makeni

Barbara Topley visited the Makeni Ecumenical Centre earlier this year during a trip to Zambia. She gave an illustrated talk about her visit on June 22nd, and those who were there will be aware of her enthusiasm for the work being done by Wenda Dil and her team at Makeni, particularly in running the orphanage for children left destitute because of AIDS. Barbara writes:

"It is a wonderfully well-run Centre, but one which lives from hand to mouth. Many of the children have no relatives whom they see, so sponsoring a child would give them a personal link with the outside world as well as financial help. There are 36 children in the Orphanage, some of whom are sponsored already. We are hoping to increase this number by sponsoring one or more children.

The cost for each child is £40 per month which covers food, school fees and uniform. As £40 per month is a lot of money for most of us, we are hoping that a group may share in the sponsorship of one child with whom they will be in regular contact. Once we have the promise of a total of £40, these people will form a group helping a child. We hope to be able to create a number of such groups.

If you are interested, you can get the appropriate Standing Order Form from our Treasurer, Julia Wheatcroft, or from the back of the Church. Even £3 or £4 a month will help if enough people feel inclined to give. Details of the child you will sponsor will be given to you later, and you will receive letters from your particular child, so that you will know how he or she is getting on.

We are assured by Wenda Dil, co-founder of the Orphanage at Makeni that this is the best way we can continue to help the children. She would like to stress that just because some children are sponsored does not mean that others miss out on anything available at the Orphanage. Your sponsorship of a child would thus help all the children indirectly."

Peru: Father's Day at St Matthew's Mission and School

San Mateo school held an enormous fête to celebrate Father's Day and give thanks! Dances were performed at the gala tribute for the large number of parents who attended the celebrations and the children wore special costumes to illustrate the joy of life and were themed around nature and man as the administrator of creation. The fathers were also involved in the dynamics and joined in with their children for fun, games and contests. The children read poems they had prepared for their fathers and the fathers were also praised that they had accepted the liability of paternity — a gift from God. The festival ended with all the children dancing with their fathers and families.

We are pleased to say that Bishop Bill Godfrey has been able to return to Peru, and is working again, although he has not yet completely recovered from his illness. In a recent newsletter, he tells of soup kitchens, set up as part of the earthquake relief, which have now become new missions, so that "the primary emergency response has become church planting, and the response has been great." He also reports that the number of students at two seminaries, in Arequipa and Lima, has almost doubled, and there are now 69 students taking instruction.

St Cyprian's, Sharpeville

The parish of St Cyprian's s in the Diocese of Christ the King. The Bishop of the Diocese, the Right Reverend Peter Lee, visited Little St Mary's in July, and gave a most interesting description of life and work in the Diocese, which is expanding rapidly as more and more people are attracted to the urban areas around Johannesburg.

Fr David Dinkebogile has written to say that the building project which we are supporting, is progressing well. The foundation trenches have been dug and passed by the building inspector. By now, the construction of the building should have started.

There will be a collection for St Cyprian's at the Harvest Supper on Monday, 29th September. There is at present a display about St Cyprian's, and about the Diocese of Christ the King, on the notice-board in the Church.

PNG

Fr Andrew attended a gathering in London to meet bishops from PNG who were here for the Lambeth Conference. They described what was happening in their dioceses, several of which have been badly affected by the recent cyclone. Fr Andrew said they nonetheless spoke positively, and talked about the practical things which were being done, in particular with regard to HIV/Aids, and in schools.

A short film about PNG was shown after Evensong on Sunday, 31st August

Forthcoming Events

Sunday, 5th October 2008, 19:15: There will be a talk on "Christian Aid: Responding to Emergencies" by John Davison, Head of Media at Christian Aid in the Parish Room. Mr Davison is a journalist who was Defence Correspondent for the Independent before joining Christian Aid.

Saturday, 17th Januaary, 2009: There will be a Gathering of the Friends of the Calcutta Cathedral Relief Service at Little St Mary's. It is planned to start with a service in the morning, followed by a buffet lunch and discussion and presentation about the work of CCRS in the Parish Room afterwards.