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Silver milestone for La Trinidad
In June the church of La Trinidad in Las Condes, Santiago, Chile, celebrated 25 years. Pastor Alf Cooper (pictured with wife Hilary) reflected on how …
“… so many people contributed to a day which was, for Hilary and myself, the happiest of our ministry together, since it merged so many strands of the Lord’s masterful work here. We welcomed representatives of the church’s founders, of all the daughter churches La Trinidad has planted, and of the mother church, Providencia. All the church’s ministries were represented too, including Marriage Encounter, Women’s, Children’s and Young People’s Encounters, Cursillo, SHOC (Discipleship and training of Christian men), TEC (ministry for people in the 20-35 age bracket) and ALPHA. So many folk for whom God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit!
“My first words that day were ‘¡All glory to Jesus!’, and that’s how we felt throughout the service. It struck me that I did not feel comfortable in any position - standing, sitting or kneeling.” |
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March for religious equality in Peru
Anglicans, led by Bishop William Godfrey, were among more than 15,000 Christians who marched to the Congress Building in Lima on 11 June to ask for Religious Equality. Although granted religious freedom by the Constitution, Peru's non-Roman Catholics suffer in many ways on a daily basis and there are no laws to back up their cause. While the Roman Catholic Church receives financial support from the government, other confessions are penalised.
Since the creation of a Register of Non-Catholic Confessions in 2004, things have been changing. A paper is now before Congress' Constitution Committee and following the March it has been put in first place for consideration. It is hoped it will give other confessions the right to have chaplains in hospitals, schools, prisons and the armed forces; to enable non-Roman Catholics to have a religious education other than Catholic; to liberation from taxes; and to enter into agreements with the state, for example on issues of education, relief and development. Attitudes will have to change in the country, but there has been a huge step forward.
For us the possibility of the State paying for our school teachers, as happens with the RC Church, would be an enormous benefit.
I have been involved as one of the assessors to the Ministry of Justice on religious matters, specifically the registration of confessions and on the working group which produced the first draft of the proposed legislation.
We are also in the final stages of a new constitution for the Interreligious Committee of Peru, which will provide a forum for all confessions and their NGOs to meet and talk together. Much is already happening in areas such as the Bible, justice and peace, relief and development, HIV/AIDS, micro-finance, religious dialogue - but this will bring it all together at national level. There are to be three co-presidents of the new body, including Bishop William. Let us pray for God's blessing as the new body begins its work.
(from the bishop’s blog, 13 June 2009) |
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Discovering God in Fray Bentos
SAMS Latin Partner Gonzalo Soria (pictured with Mary Rollin of CMS), pastor of the church in Fray Bentos, Uruguay, remarks that “we are excited to be discovering Christ and working as if everything depended on us, knowing that everything depends on Him!”
This includes “restarting the young people’s group, which meets on Saturday afternoons. Please pray for this group, which is made up of youngsters from poor parts of town. We help them to keep up with their school work, and we talk about how to discover God in our lives.
“We are about to restart our community work – one group meets on the outskirts of the town and the other in the historical Anglo area, where the famous corned beef refrigeration plant used to be. Essentially these ministries allow us to carry out children’s work and to celebrate Holy Communion in the suburbs. We pray for the Lord’s guidance and that He will touch the hearts of all those living there. We are able to do this work thanks to the family who allow us to use their garage as a venue.
“We are also starting a new Bible Study group on Monday evenings at the home of a lady who used to be a Jehovah’s Witness. This is a group of people who all came from other faiths and belief systems. The process of discovering God in our midst and our lives is very lively and satisfying for us all.” |
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Peru growing
Bishop William Godfrey reflects on God’s grace alongside human endeavour:
“When I arrived in Peru in April 1998, there were 4 Peruvian priests and 1 deacon, looking after 9 congregations . They were helped by two ordained missionaries from overseas.
“Now there is Anglican worship in 41 congregations, led by 24 priests, 8 deacons and 23 lay ministers; and in our two seminaries there are around 60 seminarians, preparing for the work to which God is calling them.
”This amazing growth has come about by an outpouring of God’s grace, for which we praise and thank Him.
”Numerical growth must, of course, be matched by growth in faithfulness to Jesus, obedience to the Father's will, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit. As we prepare to push out in new mission, in Ica and Trujillo, it is so very encouraging for us to see that God is preparing His mission team ready for His new work.” |
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The Ark and the Cross
“God is continuing to really bless the ministry with children here”, writes Sarah Tester from Lima, Peru. “It has been great to be around on Tuesday afternoons again in Ventanilla (as well on Saturdays), where, with the help of some mums, I’m running ‘The Ark’ play scheme with extra teaching each week on one of the animals that went into the ark, followed by crafts. There are fewer children Tuesdays which gives me a good opportunity to be able to chat more and pray with them.
“It was interesting this week to observe a game some of the younger ones were playing at home time. Carlitos climbed on to the cross at the front of church calling, ‘¡Mirame, Sarita, soy Jesús!’ (Look at me, Sarah, I’m Jesus!’). Surrounded in Peruvian Roman Catholic culture by Jesus hanging on the cross, it was a good chance to talk again about why Jesus died and what happened afterwards. We then went on to act out the Resurrection with great vigour! Please pray that the children would really know Jesus and his power in their lives.”
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New missions but no more ducks
Norma Montoya (left, with Sarah Tester) reports that the Diocese of Peru has shut down the projects of duck-rearing and gardens. The duck project brought many blessings to the poorest people, distributing more than 22,000 ducklings to over 12,000 families in extreme poverty during 11 years’ hard work. The ducks were ‘evangelists’ too, the project bringing the gospel to old people, mothers and children, some of whom received Christ into their lives.
The Montoyas now have two new mission churches, ‘Valle 2000’ and ‘La cumbre’, making the number of mission churches equal to sectors in the parish. “Each Saturday”, they write, “we hold evening services there. Once a month we distribute boxes of food, approximately 6kgs in weight, and at the central church of Holy Trinity at the end of each month we hold a celebration with people from all the mission churches. We are praying to the Lord that this coming winter we can continue looking after these people in great need.” |
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A moving oasis
When Juan Carlos and Penny Marcés visited the mission church in the Oasis shanty town of Lima, Peru, they discovered that half the children were in the process of moving. “The council had relocated them”, writes Penny, “so they were literally taking their houses to bits – no water or electricity, so when they had taken off the tin roof and dismantled the wooden walls there was just (sometimes) a concrete floor left to show where a family had lived for 10 years.
“They have been moved several miles away so won’t be able to attend the meetings any more. It was a non-violent relocation since for once they are actually going to a better place; their houses, built literally on a sandy slope, were in a dangerous area, whereas they are now in a flatter area. But we shall miss all the children who have gone; pray for them, that somehow they can continue to receive the Lord’s word, and pray for new children to replace them. A group called Cedro, a non-Christian NGO aiming to help teenagers who have dropped out of school, now uses our premises for their meetings, so we have new contacts through them.” |
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Something stirring in the Argentine Chaco
The Northern Argentine Chaco is experiencing a kind of revival. It comes in the wake of a flowering of music over recent years, with groups writing their own songs and performing them at campaigns which bring a number of communities together over periods of at least three days. These have provoked mixed reactions, with some observers lamenting the preponderance of such music over against the traditional hymns and songs. The campaigns reflect a tendency to highlight ‘worship-in-song’ as the most valid expression of one’s faith.
Anglican churches across much of this vast area are now being affected by this phenomenon, whose characteristics are:
- the use of electronic equipment, especially the keyboard
- the effect on young people and children; conversions have been welcomed by parents whose offspring have left behind undesirable things such as drinking and nocturnal activities
- 4-5 hour open-air meetings each night, with a diminishing attendance at the traditional Sunday morning service
- dancing, sometimes to a state of ‘ecstasy’, with children as young as four participating
- everyone prays simultaneously, led by those at the microphone; prayers become louder and louder, invoking the name of Jesus and calling the Spirit to come and act
- prayer for healing in small groups, often causing the one prayed for to ‘faint’
- prophesying, usually by the young and newly converted, often speaking of some satanic threat or some evil in a person or community
- young people are drawn into imitating these ‘prophets’, but in doing so play hard and fast with the spirit world, admitting to frightening themselves with visions not of Jesus but of the devil
- a verse of the Bible may be read but there is no teaching or exposition of a passage; the Spirit is seen as superior to the Word as a source of revelation, and ‘Bible people’ have even been disparaged by ‘spiritual people’
- the main aim is joy, to which dance, music and prayer all should lead; the cross is dismissed in favour of Easter resurrection joy – ‘no need to be sad any more’.
Many people are concerned with what is happening, including ones who have supported previous revivals. They warn that Satan is a master of counterfeit and encourage the discernment of spirits. Attention has been drawn to passages such as 2 Corinthians 11:1-4, Galatians 6:1-10 and Matthew 13:24-30.
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Darwin: a link with Christian mission
Read about Charles Darwin's extraordinary relationship with SAMS in an article prepared for the secular press, including comment by the Society at the time of his death in 1882. more
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SAMS President Bishop Pat Harris writes about the link with CMS
On 29 November 2008, SAMS GB General Council took the significant and strategic decision "to approve in principle a merger of the Society and CMS". CMS members will vote on the issue on 20 January.
This clear decision (84% voting in favour) was made after a day of prayer, repentance and careful consideration of the reasons for and against, including the reservations of the Province of the Southern Cone. It also came at the end of a long and agonising period - nearly two years - of discussion and consultation.
It is important that all SAMS’ faithful supporters - some of you, like myself, over many decades - should be clear about two things that may concern you:
1. This decision does not mean that SAMS is going to be submerged by CMS, that this is a takeover or even that the name will disappear. SAMS will continue in a different form as a regional partner linked with other areas of worldwide commitment by CMS in Africa, Asia and Europe. There will still be SAMS family gatherings. You will receive SHARE, the prayer diary and CDs, and continue your specific support in intercession, interest, giving and the developing of partner relationships and friendships with those from churches and dioceses in South America and Iberia.
2. This decision does not mean a shift in the historic evangelical tradition and doctrinal position of SAMS. Both Societies have signed the basis of faith of the World Evangelical Alliance and have commended the GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration. This last point is particularly significant given the current upheaval in the Anglican Communion and the links both CMS and SAMS have with dioceses and provinces in the South.
The decision does mean that SAMS will participate in this new vision of a worldwide network of independent indigenous movements coming together for the mission of God to the whole world. The churches in South America have a hugely significant role to play here in both giving and receiving.
Much work remains, with considerable change and development particularly affecting staff who have faithfully served the Society.
This decision coincides with the appointment of Bishop Henry Scriven as Mission Director of SAMS GB. He has a major task ahead, especially in building trust and confidence at a time of change. Pray for him, the staff and the Trustees, and above all for the continuing work of the churches in South America which we serve and to which we unite in committing ourselves afresh. |
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El obispo Patricio Harris informa acerca de la fusion con CMS
El día 29 de noviembre del 2008, el Concilio de SAMS (GB) tomó una decisión estratégica y significante: de “aprobar en principio una fusión entre la Sociedad y CMS (Church Mission Society)”. 84% de los votantes estaban a favor de esta moción; los miembros de CMS votarán el 20 de enero del 2009.
Los representantes de SAMS tomaron la decisión después de un día de oración, arrepentimiento y una examinación concienzuda de los argumentos a favor y en contra, inclusive las reservas de la Provincia del Cono Sur. Fue la conclusión de casi dos años de consultaciones, discusiones y angustias.
Es importante que todos los que apoyan y aman la Sociedad – algunos, como yo mismo, por muchísimos años – entiendan claramente estas dos cosas:
1. La decisión no quiere decir que SAMS fuera sumergida en CMS, ni que CMS tomara control de SAMS, ni que el nombre <SAMS> desapareciera. Al contrario, SAMS continuará en forma distinta como un compañero regional de otras zonas de la obra mundial de CMS en África, Asia y Europa. Seguirán realizándose las reuniones de SAMS, no dejarán de existir la revista SHARE ni el almanaque de oración, y la gente podrá continuar y fomentar sus relaciones y amistades con las iglesias sudamericanas e ibéricas por medio de la oración, el interés y las donaciones.
2. La decisión no quiere decir que SAMS abandonara su tradición evangélica ni que cambiara su posición doctrinal. Las dos Sociedades han firmado la base de fé de la Alianza Evangélica Mundial y han respaldado la Declaración de Jerusalén formulada durante la conferencia de GAFCON realizada en el mes de junio del 2008.
Lo que la decisión sí que quiere decir es que SAMS será partícipe de la nueva visión de una red mundial de movimientos indígenas e independientes, todos unidos a realizar la misión de Dios hacia el mundo entero. Las iglesias sudamericanas tendrán un rol sumamente importante, tanto en recibir como en contribuir.
Queda mucho trabajo para hacer y resultarán cambios y nuevas situaciones que afecten a los obreros fieles de la Sociedad.
La decisión coincide con el nombramiento del obispo Henry (Enrique) Scriven como Director de Misión de SAMS (GB), el cual enfrenta un desafío muy grande, especialmente para fomentar la confianza en medio de los cambios venideros. Oren por él, por el personal de SAMS y por los encargados, y sobre todo por la obra de las iglesias sudamericanas servidas por SAMS y con las cuales nos unimos nuevamente en el servicio del Señor. |
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