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Thanks from PWRDF – March 2020

Christ Church Cathedral
168 Church St
Fredericton NB   E3B 4C9

March 26, 2020

80 Hayden Street, Toronto ON  M4Y 3G2
866-308-7973
 pwrdf. org

Dear Friends of PWRDF,

On behalf of the Board, staff and partners of The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), I would like to extend our thanks for the recent generous donation of $13,957.50 from your church.

Your gift supports the work of PWRDF and its partners in preventive health, mother and child wellness, food security and nutrition, clean water and sanitation, Indigenous language and cultural reclamation, economic empowerment, and emergency humanitarian relief both here at home in Canada and in more than thirty countries around the world. For over 60 years PWRDF has worked to improve the lives of marginalized people around the world through development programs and relief efforts. We could not achieve the results and successes and helped so many without the generous support of our caring donors like you.

Thank you again for your support for the work of PWRDF and our vision of creating a truly just, healthy and peaceful world.

With blessings and gratitude,

William Postma
Executive Director

View in PDF format

Bishop McAllister College Appeal (July 2020)

July 20, 2020

Dear Friends,

I am writing to update you about the status of the school and to request your prayers and support as Bishop McAllister School and Seminary face their greatest threat in my 23 years here.

On March 18th all schools in Uganda were abruptly closed due to COVID 19 for a period of 30 days. After several extensions, all schools in Uganda were closed indefinitely. It is now unlikely that we shall reopen before February 2021.

When we closed in March we suffered a loss of $15,600 USD in unremitted fees and an additional $8,200 already spent on food that had to be given away. While this was an enormous loss to us (about 7% of our annual operating budget), we hoped to be able to survive assuming that we would collect fees for the second and third terms of this year. Now as we face losing the entire year of fees the financial challenges on several fronts could jeopardize our entire ministry. Our teaching and non teaching staff have remained unpaid for three months and could remain without any income until February 2021. The school continues to have a basic operating staff, security, grounds keepers etc, and there are bills mounting each day that we are closed. Our annual operating budget is based solely on the collection of school fees, of which 27% comes from sponsorship. We are in need of funds to maintain and secure our property and facilities, to provide some small support to our teaching staff whom we will need on reopening and to make sure that we have funds at opening to purchase food and other necessities for a boarding school of 750 students. 

With the encouragement of leaders and supporters in both Canada and the USA I am launching an Appeal, BMCK 2020. I know many churches and individuals are facing financial constraints just now, and I would not ever suggest christians should divert their support from their local churches, but only appeal to those who are able to support this one time effort. My target would be to raise $40,000 USD. $20,000 would be to cover current operating costs, including the maintenance of the schools property and buildings, and ensure the school was ready to open smoothly with food and other necessities unhand as soon as we are given permission to open. The additional $20,000 would be allocated for teachers and non teaching staff, providing them with a small living allowance per month. Gifts may be sent for BMCK to the Diocese of Fredericton. Lastly, the other way of keeping Bishop McAllister College stable is by supporting the student sponsorship program. This important program not only provides needy students an opportunity to go to school, but also provides a certain amount of financial stability for the school. Currently we more than 30 students enrolled in their first year who are seeking assistance. Many of these may be forced to drop out when school resumes, a negative impact both for the young student as well as the school.

I am so grateful for your partnership in this work, for our hundreds of successful graduates who are serving in all walks of life (priests, teachers, doctors, lawyers, including several working internationally in the field of computer engineering), for the Child Sponsorship Programme and for our able and loyal staff. We have grown from a small two room to a two stream school know in the province and country for our excellence in morals, discipline, teaching, sports and music thanks to God’s grace and provision.

Your Servant in Christ,

Rev. Canon Paul Jeffries

Rector Bishop McAllister College

https://bishopmcallisterschool.com

 

Send Gifts payable to Anglican Diocese of Fredericton with a MEMO BMCK 2020

Mail to:

Anglican Diocese of Fredericton

115 Church St.

Fredericton, NB

E3B 4C8

A message from Bishop David Edwards

July 21, 2020

Dear friend in Christ,

COVID-19 has had devastating effects which, unfortunately, have had an impact on our diocesan fundraising campaign to buy and equip a mobile medical clinic for our companion diocese in Ho, Ghana.

What began in early 2020 as a solid plan to fundraise here and access Rotary Club funding for this $268,000 (CDN) international project has been stalled by the inability to hold fundraising events in the diocese as a result of the pandemic, and a run on Rotary funding for COVID-related projects.

Yet the people of the Diocese of Ho still have little or no health care. We heard recently from health care workers in Ho that there is little help, limited testing, and incomplete statistics to add to the international database of cases. But the virus has not spared the region, and people are understandably fearful and desperate.

Our Companion Diocese Committee has reworked the application to Rotary and, thanks be to God, it has been submitted. In the meantime, we must raise a good deal more money than we originally planned. We need $93,000, but the good news is we have already received $31,000 in donations — from the generosity of parishioners and parishes here, and a good many kind people in Grand Manan, where Companion Diocese chair Robbie Griffin has been unceasing in his efforts to get this project off the ground.

The need for this mobile medical clinic is great and the hand of God is surely on it. In January, Robbie, Cheryl Jacobs (chair of the spiritual development team and my secretary) and Lilian Ketch (Mothers’ Union member) visited Ho on a fact-finding mission. They did a needs assessment, asking 14 different communities in the rural area of the Volta and Oti regions how their communities could be best improved. They met with teachers, parent groups and church groups. In every community, the primary need was health care. 

But near the end of the trip, the group was dismayed. It seemed all the pieces were not fitting together. Then, suddenly, everything fell into place — attitudes changed, answers were provided and support offered. Now again, with this pandemic, when it seemed all was lost, money continued to trickle in, and Rotary opened up new grant opportunities. We, the Companion Diocese Committee, truly feel God is pushing this project ahead, and we must do our best to see it to fruition.

What I am asking is that you consider a donation to this most worthy cause. It’s not for us. We are well cared for. It’s for the two million people in the Diocese of Ho who enjoy virtually none of the health care services we do here at home.

If you’d like more background information on the need and the mobile clinic plans, please click these links to stories that have been published on this project.
New Brunswick Anglican September 2019, page 12   
New Brunswick Anglican March 2020, pages 8-9
ENews story March 3  
ENews story June 30  

To donate, click this link and choose Diocese of Ho Mobile Medical Clinic from the drop-down menu. E-transfers are also accepted: send to this e-mail: [email protected] .  Or you can mail a cheque to the Anglican Diocese of Fredericton, 115 Church St., Fredericton, E3B 4C8. In all cases, be sure to note the project: Diocese of Ho Mobile Medical Clinic. Tax receipts are available.

I appreciate your attention and time to this appeal. May God bless you as you consider this request.

Sincerely,
The Rt. Rev. David Edwards
Bishop of Fredericton

Episcopal Church of Roatan / Nelson and Kara Ministry (July 2020 Update)

Roatan Update July 2020

Roatán Update July 2020

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5, NIV)

We give all glory and honour to the Lord for your partnering with us. Without your support and especially your prayers, our ministry would never have been possible or impact our generation. We give our heartfelt special thanks to all of you for your sacrificial giving.

Emmanuel Community Kitchen Project (Soup Kitchen)

Yes, in response to the effect of the pandemic, we are cooking for about 200 people. Every other week we cook  for the congregation at Emmanuel Church and the people who work at the dump. In between, we cook for other people in need around Coxen Hole.

A website has been set up to publish the progress of the project and collect financial donations for food.  It is capable of taking not only single donations but recurring donations as well.  It will also be linked to our blog. To see weekly updates and support this project please go to: www.tttfmicro.com

REPORT THIS AD

Please click on the link to see a small video of the project.

Please pray that all the resources will be obtained and any obstacles overcome to establish this project for the benefit of individuals and families on the Bay Islands who are impacted by Covid 19.

Impact of Covid 19

We continue to face Covid 19. To update you on Honduras, at the moment we have 18,082 cases, 479 deaths and 1,875 people who have recovered.

We in Roatán have 108 cases confirmed at the moment, 3 who have recove and we are expecting more confirmations in the next few days. These cases are located all over the island of Roatan.

The authorities are very concerned about the increase of cases, and at this point are calling for help from other countries. Here is the information if a Doctor or Nurse is willing to come to support Roatan.

By Amy Eader Beasley

Want to come to Roatan for diving or fishing? The island is requesting help from doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, from around the world, who have (preferably) experience with COVID-19 and are willing to volunteer their services. Please complete this form and you will be contacted: https://forms.gle/ja8CtoHGA1Dx3JgaA Housing will be provided at a resort for volunteers. And we will take any volunteers that come through this post diving and/or fishing on Maxina (with proper biosecurity measures) on your down days.

Roatan Emmanuel Episcopal Church

At Emmanuel Episcopal/Anglican Church we continue to be closed. 

We hope we can open our building soon, but the most important thing is to do it safely, according to the government regulations and those of our Diocesan Bishop and his team in the Episcopal Church in Honduras.  

REPORT THIS AD

Please pray that we can continue to be safe from the Covid 19 virus, and we pray the same for all of you.

Projects at Emmanuel Church

Just before the pandemic arrived in Honduras, we had started with the stucco of a side wall of the church, a small project that we had to stop due to government regulations. A few weeks ago we resumed work on it  in order to finish the project and most importantly give some work to two or three people so that  they could put bread on their table.

However, we will not be able to continue for long, since the resources we have are very few. We pray that God will provide the necessary resources for small projects and in this way provide a little work to some of the members of the Church.

If you as a person or as a Parish would like to help people with work, we have some small projects that we can develop at Emmanuel Church. Please contact us at: revnelsonmejia@yahoo.com

Ho Mobile Medical Clinic Project

Psalm 46 begins with the words “God is our refuge and strength.  A very present help in trouble”.

We are living in a different world than we were a few months ago.  I am writing this letter to you today to ask for your careful prayer and consideration regarding the Mobile Medical Van Project in the Diocese of Ho, Ghana, of which I have been involved with.

THE PROJECT

 History

In January 2019, The Diocese of Fredericton and with the Companion Diocese of Ho, began work to identify a project that could assist the Volta and Oti Regions of Ghana.  Robbie Griffin visited the region in May 2019.  As a representative for Mothers’ Union, I was asked to return with Robbie and Cheryl Jacobs in January 2020 to ascertain a required need.  We met with various groups in 14 rural communities including teachers, school administrators, Mothers’ Union members as well administrators of the Ho Teaching Hospital, clergy and the local Rotary Club.  Each group provided us with their feedback what they felt communities needed to assist in their everyday lives.

Unanimously, all groups stressed the need for specialized HEALTH CARE IN RURAL COMMUNITIES as travel to the city is so very difficult.  A Mobile Medical Clinic was determined to be a great need and the Ho Teaching Hospital, and the local Rotary Club of Ho joined to begin the project.  The Clinic will provide basic health care to approximately 2,000,000 people in rural areas of the Diocese of Ho.

The Clinic will provide some of the following basic services:

  • Pre and post natal care, with properly trained midwives
  • Diagnostic services for breast and cervical cancer
  • Prevention for outbreaks of typhoid, cholera, and measles, malaria and HIV
  • Monitoring for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer
  • And NOW as I write this letter there is a great need for testing and management of COVID the region. (Note, life expectancy for men is 42 years of age and for women, 65 years of age (if they make it to age 15).  The government does not count anyone who dies under 15 in their statistics.
Ho Medical Clinic

Lillian in the Diocese of Ho

The Mobile Medical Clinic

The Clinic will:

  • Be specially suited for Ghana and designed by Malley Industries in Moncton, worldwide leaders in designing medical vehicles for special needs.
  • Operate much like an army hospital, with the van being the nerve center of the unit, and examination and procedures being done in field tents. Tents will be on roof racks during transport.
  • Contain a diagnostic lab, pharmacy and specialized equipment (i.e. ultrasound machine).
  • Be staffed by a medical team provided by the Ho Teaching Hospital who will travel in a separate vehicle alongside the medical van. The team will also include medical students.
  • Be operated by the Ho Teaching Hospital which will maintain and staff the clinic; to ensure sustainability of the project.
  • Register rural citizens not currently registered with the Ghana Government Health Insurance Program.

Sustainability of the Project

The host Rotary Club of Ho will oversee the project and ensure elements required can be procured in Ghana.  The Ho Teaching Hospital will provide staff and supplies; as well, maintain the vehicle.  The project must be able to continue to be self-sustainable once initial funding has been provided.   Funding will come from the Ghanaian Health Insurance Program to cover treatments, prescriptions and costs associated with the project (as citizens are registered as noted above).  Rotary International will undertake period audits to ensure all requirements are being met.

Funding for the Project

The budget for this project is $280,000 CAD. Working with the Rotary Club of Ho, and the Diocese of Ho, the aim was to apply for a Global Grant from the Rotary International Foundation. If this grant was approved, it was possible for the Rotary Foundation and the District of 7810 - the District in which the local Rotary Club resides - to match some of our fundraising.

BUT COVID-19 has now disrupted the financial world.  The National and International Rotary Foundation has depleted many of their funds for COVID-19 relief.   Instead of the Diocese needing to raise the initial $40,000 (which would then be matched by District, National and International Rotary grants), this has now increased to $90,000.  In addition to the needs identified above for this rural area, imagine coping with COVID-19 with no medical care at all.  This is the situation for most of Western Africa currently. 

Appeal for the Project

The Diocese of Fredericton has offered to help with the fundraising.  The local Rotary Club has committed to supporting the project financially.   Fundraising initiatives are being planned on Grand Manan Island (where Robbie Griffin resides) as possible (a couple of large ones were cancelled unfortunately due to COVID-19).

My plea, as your representative of the Committee and as a Mothers’ Union member, is to consider donating whatever you might be able, every little bit will help if we can all donate something.

Donations can be made by a cheque or money order made out to the Diocese of Fredericton (indicate Ho Mobile Clinic Project on the subject line of the cheque) and can be mailed to Diocese of Fredericton, 115 Church St, Fredericton, NB E3B 4C8.  E-transfers are also accepted (email finance @ diofton.ca - indicate in comments for Ho Mobile Clinic Project). Tax receipts will be issued by the Diocese.

Thank you in advance, for consideration of donating to this life saving project.  If you have any questions or need any further information, please let me know.

Many blessings

Lilian Ketch
Companion Diocese Committee Member
Diocese of Fredericton Mothers’ Union

More information here

Back to volunteering at the Community Kitchen

Back to volunteering at the Community Kitchen

While the Cathedral teams' regular Saturday volunteer shifts at the Community Kitchen have not yet resumed, Cheryl and Peter Jacobs have begun volunteering for a weekly shift, and they shared this reflection.

After three months of missing our every 4th Saturday evening shift at the Fredericton Community Kitchen due to the restriction of volunteers during our provincial lockdown, we discovered that the Kitchen was welcoming volunteers again with some revisions.  In order to have as few different volunteers in the Kitchen as possible, they are asking people to commit to a weekly shift and those shifts are now four hours rather than the normal two.  We decided that weekly on Saturday was not going to work for us, but with permission for me to leave work early one day a week, we have committed to Thursday afternoons from 2:00-6:00 and we started June 25.

Having volunteers in to help at all is a recent change. For several weeks, the amazing chefs and other staff carried the load of preparing and serving three meals a day on weekdays and two on the weekends - averaging 14,000 meals each month.

Much has changed at the Kitchen with the COVID-19 pandemic.  Each meal is now placed in a take away container; this along with a wrapped dessert and baggie of cutlery, napkin, salt, pepper, sugar and coffee whitener, are bagged for quick and easy taking.  Cold drinks are made ready and coffee is poured to order in paper cups. Meals are dispensed by the chefs on duty from behind a plexiglass shield mounted on a cart in the doorway.  In the main dining area, most of the chairs are stacked on the sides and groups of tables are used as prep stations.

On our first Thursday shift, we helped prepare food items for use in future meals (e.g., Peter and a third volunteer Brian, cut 40 pounds of carrots while Cheryl cracked 40 dozen eggs for scrambling), prepared many cutlery bags, served up the take away containers and washed the pans and cooking utensils.  The time passed quickly as it always did before.  And Cheryl did not miss having to clean the chairs.

We did miss, of course, the interaction with the guests. Heather, the chef our Cathedral team had been working with on Saturdays for several months, commented she misses hearing the happy interaction of the volunteer teams and the guests. Expecting this new way of serving to carry on for a long time we mused about what it will be like in the winter when guests who have no place to go cannot come into a warm building to sit and eat.

The Kitchen is still looking for some volunteers to fill a few weekday and Saturday slots, on a weekly basis.  The daily morning shift runs from 9:00am - 1:00pm.  If you have some time to spare and would like to participate in this worthwhile activity, just send an email to volunteer@frederictoncommunitykitchens.com.  You can also help by donating funds or food items to the pantry box program (supplying food to about 180 families with children from the school lunch program). More details can be found at www.frederictoncommunitykitchen.com/covid19.

- by Cheryl and Peter Jacobs

Episcopal Church of Roatan/ Nelson and Kara Ministry (June 2020 Update)

Roatán Update June 2020

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5, NIV)

We give all glory and honour to the Lord for your partnering with us. Without your support and especially your prayers, our ministry would never have been possible or impact our generation. We give our heartfelt special thanks to all of you for your sacrificial giving.

Emmanuel Community Kitchen Project (Soup Kitchen)

As we said in the previous update (Roatan Update May 2020) in response to the effect of the pandemic, on June 4th we started cooking for 100 people, most of them from the congregation at Emmanuel Church. We cooked rice, beans, tortillas and chicken, and a member of every family came to church to pick up the food, following the regulations of biosecurity and especially social distancing.

We expect next Wednesday to cook for about 150 people in the community of Brick Bay where we have St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. The goal is to cook one day for Coxen Hole and another for Brick Bay or more, if we can, as financial resources allow.

A website has been set up to publish the progress of the project and collect donations for food.  It is  capable of taking not only single donations but recurring donations as well.  It will also be linked to our blog.

To support this project please go towww.tttfmicro.com

We have already had a commercial smoker donated toward this effort, an electric stove, and an electric rice cooker for 300 people. We are looking for a propane stove, a refrigerator, and a freezer.  After tourism returns and people get back to work, the kitchen equipment will be retained to help feed the very poor on the island but on a smaller scale.

Please pray that all the resources will be obtained and any obstacles overcome to establish this project for the benefit of  individuals and families impacted by Covid 19 on the Bay Islands.

Impact of Covid 19

We continue to face Covid 19. To update you in Honduras, at the moment we have 5690 cases, 235 deaths and 583 people who have recovered.

We in Roatán have one case confirmed at the moment, and we are expecting more confirmations in the next few days. We hope most of the test results will be negative.

The Island is still closed — no one can come in or go out.

By now we have over 200 people in quarantine, including islanders that the authorities brought back home from the mainland, and the marines who were working for cruise companies.

Roatan Couldn’t open churches for services

At Emmanuel Episcopal/Anglican Church we expected to open our building for services on Sunday 24th of May.

This privilege to open our buildings was cancelled, because on Saturday 23rd the first case arrived in eastern Roatan. A group of nine people arrived in Roatan illegally by boat, the authorities put them in quarantine and tested them, and one  of them tested positive.

We hope we can open our building soon, but the most important thing is to do it safely, according to the government regulations and those of our Diocesan Bishop and his team in the Episcopal Church in Honduras.

Please pray that we can continue to be safe from the Covid 19 virus, and we pray the same for all of you.

Financial Support

On the financial side, we continue to be very positive and to pray and praise God with faith and thanksgiving. We also ask you to continue to pray about our finances, that for the rest of the year our support will stabilize and be sufficient to cover our needs. At the moment our balance is very low. Therefore, please consider sending a special offering to cover our expenses and needs.

To donate now, please click on the following link (or copy and paste it into your browser):

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/13778

Or you can visit the Diocese of Fredericton’s website (www.anglican.nb.ca) then go to “Donate” for various ways to give online. Be sure to select “Honduras Mission Fund”.

Cheques should be made payable to “The Diocesan Synod of Fredericton” and sent to: Anglican Diocesan Synod of Fredericton, 115 Church Street, Fredericton, NB E3B 4C8

Phone: (506) 459-1801

All cheques should have “Honduras Mission” noted on the reference line.

We greatly appreciate your prayer and financial support to date and trust that you will continue to support us.

Please continue to pray for:

1.   Please continue to pray for Roatan and Honduras at a difficult time caused by Covid 19.

2.   Pray for Stephen Mejia Thompson, our son who was accepted at Providence University College in Manitoba. Providence awaits him in September 2020. His flight on June 10th was cancelled, but we hope he can get another one soon.

3.   Please pray for our Diocese in Honduras that is starting the process to elect a Suffragan Bishop to assist our Diocesan Bishop, Lloyd Emmanuel Allen.

4.   Continued and stable financial support for the next three years as we continue to serve the Lord in Roatán, Honduras.

5.   The ongoing construction in Coxen Hole. Pray for the remaining installation stages: Cement concrete for the floor at the moment.

6.   Our congregations: St. Peter by the Sea in Brick Bay, and Emmanuel in Coxen Hole.

7.   Please pray for the Rev. Robert Browning and for his ministry to English-speakers in Eastern Roatán.

8.   For youth leadership, that God will provide someone to minister to and guide the young people.

9.   Spiritual and practical outreach in the local communities.

10.  For leadership for the Church in Roatán.

11.  The Episcopal Church in Honduras, for the process toward self-sufficiency and to be continued in 2020.

Thank you to all who have faithfully prayed and faithfully given to support this incredible work of ministering to the people in our congregations.

Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Your prayers and continued support enable us to continue touching people’s lives with Jesus’ love.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.     Ephesians 3:20-21

Empowering the Church

Learning, Growing and Serving

Nelson and Kara Mejia

Episcopal Church of Roatan/ Nelson and Kara Ministry (May 2020 Update)

Roatán Update May 2020

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. (Philippians 1:3-5, NIV)

We give all glory and honour to the Lord for your partnering with us. Without your support and especially your prayers, our ministry would never have been possible or impact our generation. We give our heartfelt special thanks to all of you for your sacrificial giving.

Emmanuel Community Kitchen Project

In response to the effect the pandemic has had on the people of Roatan, Emmanuel Episcopal Church/Teach Them To Fish is temporarily repurposing the glass recycling shop to be the ‘kitchen’ of a soup kitchen project.  Our goal is to feed as many people as we can in the coming months until tourism can return to the island.  Since about 85% of the population relies on tourism for their living, there are going to be families literally starving if we don’t pull together as a community to make sure everyone gets food for the rest of the year. According to the local authorities and the central government, local businesses will be open on May 18th from 6 am to 8 pm. Construction and churches are included in this and will  be open.

We as the Episcopal Church/Teach Them to Fish are ready to set up the kitchen and begin training. Last Friday 15th we began training. We used the smoker and we fed about 50 people including 13 that are in quarantine by the Covid 19 team.

The church’s plan is to start serving lunch to the local area around Emmanuel Episcopal Church once or twice a week until we can scale the operation up to as many days per week  as we can afford.  Our goal is to serve meals daily for three to five hundred people around the Island.

A website is being spun up to publish the progress of the project and collect donations for kitchen equipment and food.  It will be capable of taking not only single donations but recurring donations as well.  It will also have links to other local efforts and events and a blog.

We have already had a commercial smoker donated toward this effort.  We will begin training on how to use it now that the authorities will let us circulate.  The first loads of wood and ‘practice’ meats have also been donated.  We are looking for a six or eight burner stove, a refrigerator, and a freezer.  We are talking with the local grocery stores to sell us food at wholesale prices.  After tourism returns and people get back to work, the kitchen equipment will be retained to help feed the very poor on the island but on a smaller scale.

Please pray that all the resources will be obtained and any obstacles overcome to establish this project to benefit individuals and families affected by the impact of Covid 19 on the Bay Islands.

Impact of Covid 19

We continue to face Covid 19 and for two months we have experienced a new way of life. To update you on  Honduras, at the moment now we have 2646 cases, 142 deaths and 289 people who have recovered.

As well, we remain under curfew until May 17th, by order of the president. We in Roatán have no cases at the moment, and we hope we won’t; as a result of this, the central government and the local authorities will let businesses open in Roatan from May 18th from 6am to possibly 8pm; this is to support the local economy and also as a pilot project to implement in other cities and departments on the mainland. The Island is still closed — no one can come in, and every business needs to implement all the requirements established by the government.  

Solidarity Bags

In response to this difficult time for our parishioners we continued delivering bags of groceries among our congregation on May 5th and we expect to distribute more bags. Also one of the gas stations in Roatan brought groceries specially for the mothers in our church on Mother’s Day. 

Roatan opens churches for services

At Emmanuel Episcopal/Anglican Church we expect to open our building for services on Sunday 24th of May. This privilege is just in Roatan, and in the next few days we will receive the regulations we need to follow for the services. Also we will need the approval of our Bishop Lloyd Allen. We will need to use shoe disinfectant, masks and hand sanitizer; otherwise the authorities said a person can’t come into the church building. If a congregation  is bigger than 50 members, we need to hold two services to protect the people. Please pray that we can continue to be safe from the Covid 19 virus, and we pray the same for all of you.

Financial Support

On the financial side, we continue to be very positive and to pray and praise God with faith and thanksgiving. We also ask you to continue to pray about our finances, that for the rest of the year our support will stabilize and be sufficient to cover our needs. At the moment our balance is very low. Therefore, please consider sending a special offering to cover our expenses and needs.

To donate now, please click on the following link (or copy and paste it into your browser):

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/13778

Or you can visit the Diocese of Fredericton’s website (www.anglican.nb.ca) then go to “Donate” for various ways to give online. Be sure to select “Honduras Mission Fund”.

Cheques should be made payable to “The Diocesan Synod of Fredericton” and sent to: Anglican Diocesan Synod of Fredericton, 115 Church Street, Fredericton, NB E3B 4C8

Phone: (506) 459-1801

All cheques should have “Honduras Mission” noted on the reference line. We greatly appreciate your prayer and financial support to date and trust that you will continue to support us.

Please continue to pray for:

1.   Please continue to pray for Roatan and Honduras at a difficult time caused by Covid 19.

2.   Pray for Stephen Mejia Thompson, our son who was accepted at Providence University College in Manitoba. Providence awaits him in September 2020. His flight on June 10th was cancelled, but we hope he can get another one soon. 

3.   Please pray for our Diocese in Honduras that is starting the process to elect a Suffragan Bishop to assist our Diocesan Bishop, Lloyd Emmanuel Allen.

4.   Continued and stable financial support for the next three years as we continue to serve the Lord in Roatán, Honduras.

5.   The ongoing construction in Coxen Hole. Pray for the remaining installation stages: Cement concrete for the floor at the moment.

6.   Our congregations: St. Peter by the Sea in Brick Bay, and Emmanuel in Coxen Hole.

7.   Please pray for the Rev. Robert Browning and for his ministry to English-speakers in Eastern Roatán.

8.   For youth leadership, that God will provide someone to minister to and guide the young people.

9.   Spiritual and practical outreach in the local communities.

10.  For leadership for the Church in Roatán.

11.  The Episcopal Church in Honduras, for the process toward   self-sufficiency and to be continued in 2020.

Thank you to all who have faithfully prayed and faithfully given to support this incredible work of ministering to the people in our congregations.

Matthew 25:40: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Your prayers and continued support enable us to continue touching people’s lives with Jesus’ love.

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.     Ephesians 3:20-21 

Empowering the Church

Learning, Growing and Serving

Nelson and Kara Mejia