Category Archives: Belize

Missions Committee provides support throughout the pandemic

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“Serving God in mission, sharing Jesus with the world” is the mission statement of the Christ Church Cathedral Missions Committee.

The committee works together with the Cathedral congregation to reflect the teachings of Jesus and the heartbeat of Christian history. The committee's goals are to: raise awareness about mission work, prayerfully and financially support missionary efforts, and encourage action by the congregation.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the committee has been conducting business virtually, primarily through email, and has been able to continue communications and support for several long-standing mission partners.

Annual financial assistance of $1500 was provided to support the stipend for Canon Paul Jeffries at Bishop McAllister College in Uganda as well as $1500 for Reverends Kara and Nelson Mejia and their Honduras Mission Fund.

A $350 donation supported the mobile medical clinic in Ho, Ghana - a campaign initiated by the Diocese of Fredericton.

$250 was donated in response to an urgent appeal by PWRDF for financial assistance in August 2020 to assist with humanitarian needs following the Beirut explosion.

The Cathedral Missions Committee has remained in touch with members of the Refugee Family Sponsorship Team. In October, members of the committee assisted others in helping the Weah-Gmah family move to their new home.

A related committee under the Bishop and Chapter responsibility of Mission/Outreach maintains communication with St. Hilda's Anglican School in Belize.

Like so many others across the globe, our mission partners faced unforeseen challenges over this past year. School closures threatened to jeopardize the entire ministry at Bishop McAllister College. A shut down of the tourism economy in Roatan placed Rev’s Nelson and Kara in the position of needing to feed regular meals to over 200 residents in their community. When both of these partners reached out, the Cathedral offered additional assistance of $250 each and shared their messaging with the congregation via the missions web page and corresponding links on the Cathedral website and Facebook pages.

The committee posts online updates to keep the congregation informed of ongoing developments with our mission partners and continues to ask for prayerful support. In the year ahead, it is hoped that guest speakers can be invited back to the Cathedral.

The Missions Committee welcomes new members and is happy to answer questions. Contact the Cathedral Office or communicate directly with committee members Brad McKnight, Sam Mayo, John DosSantos or Kurt Schmidt.

Details from the Missions Committee update in the Christ Church Cathedral Annual Report for 2020.

Commitment to Education in Belize

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Christ Church Cathedral has a special relationship with the staff and students of St. Hilda’s Anglican School, an elementary school in the rural village of Georgeville. Two hundred children attend the school, ranging between kindergarten and grade 8. Cathedral teams have travelled to Belize five times: in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2018. Over 60 Cathedral members ranging in age from 15 to 79 have gone on a mission trip to Belize, and hundreds of people in Fredericton have supported the work through organizational support, donations and prayers.

As part of the Cathedral's ongoing financial commitment to St. Hilda's, in 2020 we sent the school $1000 in August and $1000 in December to contribute to ongoing needs for the students and teachers. Although we were unable to do any fundraising in 2020 due to COVID-19, enough funds were available from efforts in 2019 to continue our support for the school.

The money sent to St. Hilda's was helpful in preparing for opening of the school with the restrictions and regulations of COVID-19. They used the funds to purchase cleaning and sanitation supplies, as well as garbage bins, masks, and gloves for teachers. Teachers were also given a stipend to assist with  classroom preparation and arrangements for physical distancing.

According to Ms. Jane, principal of St. Hilda’s, the school typically holds fundraising events throughout the year to help with supplies, but has been unable to do so since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We communicate with Ms. Jane on a regular basis, who recently shared, "I continue to express sincere gratitude to our Friends of St. Hilda’s family. You all have truly blessed us. I keep seeing God working through your sponsorship. When we were at our lowest, that’s when the funds came through. We are truly thankful. Prayers for you all during this time. God’s continued blessing on your ministry."

In addition to support of the elementary school, the Cathedral supports scholarships for selected St. Hilda's graduates. In Belize, the average age at which a child leaves school is 13 years old, because of the prohibitive costs of high school. Unemployment in the country is high, there are many large single-parent families, and almost half of Belizeans live below the poverty line. In 2010, Cathedral mission team members established a high school scholarship program which has allowed St. Hilda’s students to apply for a scholarship to continue their education past grade 8. Some of the graduates supported by the Cathedral have gone on to post-secondary education.

Currently, four students attending high school benefit from Cathedral scholarships. $4000 was sent in August 2020 -- $1000 each to four students, which helps to cover the cost of tuition, books and other required materials. The 2020-2021 scholarship students are Edvin Perez Grade 9, Gian Myvette Grade 10, Jenniah Tillett Grade 11, and Joselyn Herrera Grade 12.

Our congregation continues to support and pray for the students and teachers at St. Hilda’s school, past and present.

Read more posts about Belize missions.

Update from St Hilda’s Anglican School in Belize

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The following is a letter sent March 11/21 by Ms. Jane Martinez, Principal at St. Hilda’s Anglican School, to Kelley Hall of the Belize Mission Committee.

Good Afternoon Kelley,

I pray all is well with you and your family. I wanted to send you an update so that you know what is going on at St. Hilda’s Anglican. Due to the Covid19 situation, we are only at school Monday and Tuesday. We are still doing distance learning. Teachers print packages every week for students and they also do online sessions twice a week. It has been truly challenging because both teachers and students have to adapt to a new way of teaching and learning. My staff has been very vigilant in this exercise and I must commend their efforts. 
It is being said that the vaccine will be given to teachers soon and classes will resume in April. I’m not sure if that will work out. Some people are hesitant about getting the vaccine because much controversy surrounding it. There has been no Education or information given to the public and people are hesitant. 
The high school students have gotten some reports so I will forward that to you as well.  I’m still waiting for two more students to send theirs. They have also been doing online learning and receiving packages. 
I am including pictures of some repairs that we were able to get done in one classroom as well as the signs that we set up. I also bought folders for teachers to create a portfolio with lessons and packages that are sent out.  Overall,  I must say that we are blessed because we have all been able to cope and have stayed healthy. 
I continue to express sincere gratitude to our Friends of St. Hilda’s family. You all have truly blessed us. I keep seeing God working through your sponsorship. When we were at our lowest, that’s when the funds came through. We are truly thankful. Prayers for you all during this time. God’s continued blessing on your ministry. 
Blessings, 
Jane

News from St. Hilda’s Anglican School in Belize

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I pray that this email reaches you in good health. It has been some time since I contacted you but We have been keeping you all in prayer just as I know you have done for us. Our little Belize is battling the pandemic. 

In August we were out of school for two weeks because one of our staff members had to get swabbed because she was displaying symptoms. We waited for almost two weeks for her results. Thankfully, the test came back negative. We have to be at school everyday but the students are at home. Some teachers are doing online classes via Google Classroom or WhatsApp. We also prepare learning packages each week for all students.

It has been a very difficult time trying to cope with everything that is happening and staying focused. The funds that you sent were very helpful in preparing for the reopening. Registration has been very slow and we usually get our funds from fundraising activities but unfortunately, we can’t do anything at this time. We were able to purchase cleaning and sanitation supplies as well as garbage bins, masks and gloves for teachers. Teachers were also given a stipend to assist with preparation of classrooms. We had to arrange our furniture to cater for social distancing.

I will be sending you some pictures of the classrooms and other arrangements that were made during this time. I am also attaching receipts from students. They started their sessions on October 5th, Some of them are doing online sessions while others are receiving printed materials as well. So far they are all engaged and have started working. I will keep you updated as the time goes by. We will continue to ask God’s blessings on you all. we love you and pray the best for all our Friends of St. Hilda’s. Be safe.

Best,
Jane (Principal at St. Hilda’s)

Ten Years A Missionary – David Alenskis

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February 2021

Dear friends and partners in ministry,

I want to take this time to wish you a very blessed Ash Wednesday, and to thank you for all the support that you have generously given us over the past few months! It has been a joy to know you are praying for us, and to receive your notes of encouragement since our last update in December.
This year certainly does not feel like any Lent Mary Beth and I have experienced recently: in Belize by this point in the liturgical calendar we are usually boiling from the hot season rolling into town, but at the moment we instead have sub-zero temperatures and mounds of snow where we’re hunkered down in the Midwest. As we prepare for Easter in just over forty days, we ask you to keep our family in your prayers as we seek his strength, provision and guidance in the months ahead.
Yesterday I posted an update on how we are doing, and I invite you to give it a read:
Here is a quick brief summary of what the blog post is sharing:
  1. Academics. So far I am performing very well in my doctoral program—despite having to do everything remotely—and I am enjoying the coursework I am taking. I am still on track to defend my thesis and graduate by 2024 … it will be tough to fit in everything by then, but I am highly motivated to get it done and my track record so far is encouraging. (Read more!)
  2. Family Life. Mary Beth and the boys are doing very well. Because we were unable to proceed to Canada in time for the Winter term, we have rented a small two-bedroom place a few miles from my parents’ home in Indiana, and we are enjoying being together as a family in our own space.A very big development over the last few weeks is that our parish in San Ignacio, St. Andrew’s has decided to rent out the Rectory as soon as next month, so we are shipping our belongings to our home in the States—and we will probably not be returning to Belize this summer to pack out and say goodbye. We are grieving the loss of this opportunity to take an extended time to pack out and say goodbye, but at the same time we have seen God’s hand working in amazing ways. (Read more!)
  3. Finances. Shipping our belongings from Belize to the U.S. is going to be a tremendous expense (around $7,000), right at the same time that Mary Beth and I will have to take a salary cut. Our regular/pledged giving is $3,300 below our bare-bones basic SAMS budget each month, and now that we are in 2021 we will have to lower our salaries by 30–40% beginning in March. (Read more!)To make sure that we do not have to decrease our salaries any further, we would ask you prayerfully to consider giving a one-time donation to our missionary account to help us rebuild some margin. And if the Lord is guiding you to become a pledged supporter of our ministry, we would be deeply grateful to have you on the team.
Next month will also mark ten years (!!!) since I left California to become a full-time SAMS missionary in Argentina. So much has happened since then. I want to thank each of you for first supporting me, and then Mary Beth, and now our whole family as we pursue the vision for mission and ministry that the Lord has given us. Please keep us in your prayers, and be in touch as together we move ahead in service to our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his name,
David+ and Mary Beth (and Austin and James)

Remembering Saint Hilda

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November 18th was the Feast of Saint Hilda. Members of the Cathedral congregation will recognize Saint Hilda’s name, through our connection with St. Hilda’s Anglican School in Belize.

Mission groups from Christ Church Cathedral have travelled to Belize five times: in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2018, and through these trips, bonds have been formed with the staff and students of St. Hilda’s, an elementary school in the rural village of Georgeville. Two hundred children attend the school, ranging between kindergarten and grade 8. Over 60 Cathedral members ranging in age from 15 to 79 have gone on a mission trip to Belize, and hundreds of people in Fredericton have supported the work through organizational support, donations and prayers.

To commemorate the life and work of Saint Hilda, at the worship service in the Cathedral on November 18, Canon Patricia Drummond shared these words.

Hilda was born in 614 A.D.  She was a daughter in a royal household at the time when England had different royal families in various areas of the country.  She was baptised a Christian at 13, but lived a secular life for 33 years.  Then she became a nun.  In 657 she was appointed the founding abbess of Whitby College and remained there until she died in 680.  She followed strict ideals of monasticism - all property and goods were held in common, peace and charity were considered especially important, and everyone must study the Bible and do good works. 

Hilda had a lot of wisdom and energy, and was a very skilled administrator and teacher.  Kings and princes often asked her for advice. 

St Hilda is the patron saint of the National Cathedral School for girls in Washington, D.C.   Hers is also the name given to St Hilda's College in Oxford, established for female students, but now a college for both men and women. 

For the last 7 years of her life Hilda was sick.  She died on November 17th, 680 at 66 years old.  In those days 66 was considered an advanced age. A man living nearby claimed he saw her soul being taken to heaven by angels.

St Hilda was an excellent example of someone who, as in St Paul's letter to the Ephesians (4:1-6), which was read earlier, lived a life worthy of the calling she had received, with humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with others in love.

Learn more about Saint Hilda in this video from the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Canon Dana Corsello speaks enthusiastically about St. Hilda during the morning prayer service (approximately between the 5-and-11-minute marks). She calls Hilda "a ray of light during the Dark Ages," referring to her as brilliant and as a strong proponent of Celtic spirituality. She was a princess in Britain before becoming an abbess, teacher and peacemaker. There is a school for girls situated at that cathedral, which is named after St. Hilda.

New Horizons in Ministry – David and Mary Beth Alenskis

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Dear friends, family and supporters,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! Many of you have been keeping up with us regularly over the last few months, as we evacuated Belize, as we continued ministering remotely with our congregations, schools and diocese in Belize, and as we prayed urgently for our people there when cases began to climb dramatically last month. We want to thank you for your partnership with us in your prayers, in your giving, and in your words of encouragement during what has been some of the hardest six months of our lives. Again, thank you so much!
Mary Beth and I have two important things we need to share with you this week:
  1. We are beyond excited to announce that Austin has a younger brother! James Edward Alenskis was born this week, and both he and his mother are doing very well. Please join with us in expressing our joy and thanksgiving to God who kept Mary Beth and James safe throughout the length of her pregnancy!
  2. We are also excited to announce that we are entering a new season of ministry as SAMS missionaries, one during which we will be preparing ourselves to serve on the mission field in the realm of theological education and ministry development.I encourage you to watch the following video discussing these changes. In the video Mary Beth and I share the vision that God has put on our hearts for discipling and raising up leaders to serve Christ and his church … and SAMS president Stewart Wicker even has a cameo presenting his perspective on these new vistas in mission. You can check it out here: A Special Address.Please also read our blog update regarding our transition to a new season of ministry as SAMS missionaries: New Horizons.The short version is this: in order to answer God’s call to serve the church by teaching and equipping emerging leaders, and with the support of SAMS and the bishops to whom we are accountable, this month I am beginning a PhD in Theological Studies through Wycliffe College, an orthodox Anglican college that forms part of the University of Toronto. When the Canadian border actually opens to us, we will be moving to the greater Toronto area for the next 4–6 years in order to pursue this new direction for our ministry. This means that although our time in Belize will be coming to a conclusion, we will also still be serving as full-time SAMS missionaries and will still be in need of your fervent prayers and financial support.

    On that note, I should add that your continued gifts to our ministry are crucial as we anticipate a much higher cost of living in Toronto than in Belize. We have been granted some scholarship funds by Wycliffe and by SAMS, but we will be covering the majority of my tuition and school fees from out of our family’s budget. Your financial support will help ensure that we are able to rent a modest apartment, feed our family, and raise our children over the next few years, allowing us to truly focus on finishing my academic program and therefore get back on the mission field as soon as possible.
Friends, we understand that you probably have some serious questions for us, and we would love to answer them, not only via email, but through Skype or FaceTime or Zoom or even an old-fashioned phone call. So please let us know how best to touch base with you, and we’ll do our best to make it happen.
Until then, know that we are deeply grateful for your partnership and collaboration with us, for your willingness to be stakeholders in our ministry abroad. May the Lord richly bless you and everything that you are doing, not only for our growing family, but for Christ and his Kingdom!
In Christ,
David+ and Mary Beth
760.523.2233
The last time we were in Toronto was four years ago for missionary training. Who could have guessed we would be back for so much longer?

Update from St. Hilda’s School in Belize March 2020

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The Cathedral’s Belize mission team has been in touch with Ms. Jane Martinez, principal of St. Hilda’s Anglican School. Please keep the teachers and students of St. Hilda’s, and the people of Belize in your prayers!

Ms. Martinez writes:

Good evening Kelley:

You all have been on my mind as well. Things have been hectic here because they will close the schools on Friday. We have been preparing supplementary information for children to take home to ensure that the educational process is not badly disrupted. From reports that we have been getting, there has not been any confirmed case here as yet but we are taking precautions. Since Monday, we have only had half of our population. Each day the attendances is lower. We have been educating our students and parents this entire week about safety precautions.

It is a sad time for us here also because our crime rate has escalated especially in Belize City. This week alone two young children were shot to death. Altogether in 48 hours we have had about 14 deadly shootings. Most of the victims were innocent bystanders. The children were shot at home in their sleep. Someone just decided to take revenge and shot at the house. Unfortunately, children were also casualties.

We need to pray for each other and keep our focus on God in these troubled times.

Thank you so much for your concern. I will pass on the information to the staff. Please stay safe.

Blessings,
Jane

A Prayer Request for Belize and the Alenskis Family

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While Austin, Mary Beth and Fr. David Alenskis have decided to temporarily return to the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are continuing their ministry in Belize remotely as best they can.  You can follow along with their morning and evening prayers on the St. Hilda’s Facebook page.

Please click HERE for their latest update and prayer requests.

In short, please pray specifically for:
• Full funding for ministry
• Ministry team in Belize
• David’s academic research
• Ongoing health issues
• Discernment for future

 

 

Update from Belize

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The Cathedral's Belize mission team has been in touch with Ms. Jane Martinez, principal of St. Hilda's Anglican School. Please keep the teachers and students of St. Hilda's, and the people of Belize in your prayers!

Ms. Martinez writes:

Good evening Kelley:

You all have been on my mind as well. Things have been hectic here because they will close the schools on Friday. We have been preparing supplementary information for children to take home to ensure that the educational process is not badly disrupted. From reports that we have been getting, there has not been any confirmed case here as yet but we are taking precautions. Since Monday, we have only had half of our population. Each day the attendances is lower. We have been educating our students and parents this entire week about safety precautions.

It is a sad time for us here also because our crime rate has escalated especially in Belize City. This week alone two young children were shot to death. Altogether in 48 hours we have had about 14 deadly shootings. Most of the victims were innocent bystanders. The children were shot at home in their sleep. Someone just decided to take revenge and shot at the house. Unfortunately, children were also casualties.

We need to pray for each other and keep our focus on God in these troubled times.

Thank you so much for your concern. I will pass on the information to the staff. Please stay safe.

Blessings,
Jane

St. Hilda's Anglican Church, in the school, has also temporarily suspended its Sunday services due to guidance from the government, but Father David Alenskis has been sharing videos of morning and evening prayer on the church's Facebook page. Please feel free to join the congregation at St. Hilda's in worship.