Twinning
Twinning with St Joseph in Enghein-les-Bains, France
The link between St Nicholas Shepperton and St Joseph, Enghien-les-Bains has been developed over twenty-nine years.
Visits alternate between the two parishes each year.
ENGHIEN. This year we are visiting Enghien, on Friday 4th. May until Monday, 7th. May. We will travel on Eurostar. This is always a warm, interesting and memorable event. You do not have to speak French, that can be part of the fun. Please think about coming with us, and contact Doris Neville Davis, John Child or Maggie Hammond for more details.
For more details of the ecumenical twinning, please contact Doris Neville Davies on 01932 242785or doris.n.d@btinternet.com
Twinning with the Diocese of Niassa and the parish of Milange in Mozambique
On the first visit Sandy Swift and Alyce, the Bishop of Niassa's administrative assistant shook hands over the foundation stone of the new church.
On the second visit Chris Swift took part in the service when the church of St Simon of Cyrene was consecrated by Bishop Mark.
We send a monthly letter to Milange from one of the congregation.
This is the latest letter from Maggie Hammond

St. Nicholas Church,
Shepperton.
April 2012.
Dear Father Bonafacio and all our friends in Milange,
A happy and Blessed Easter to you all. I’m sure you have had a very busy season as have we. We focussed on prayer this Lent, and in our groups, we thought about prayer in the context of a real relationship with God, and how our human experiences can deepen that relationship if we learn to think of them in that way.
On Palm Sunday, we had a procession from a local carpark to the church, carrying palms, and singing All Glory, Laud and Honour, and in Holy Week itself, we had poetry and meditations, leading up to our Easter Vigil, and then the joy of Easter day. We had a very moving presentation of the passion story by some of our older children, who are often very hard to engage with the faith in Western society. It showed what can be achieved by two inspirational leaders.
We hear that you are moving, Father Bonafacio, and that a new archdeacon is coming to Milange. We send you our very best wishes for the move, and hope that your family settle down in their new surroundings. In our United Benefice, Alison Waters, the associate vicar of St. Mary Magdalene in moving in June, and, as yet, we do not know if anyone will replace her, as the church of England is chronically short of money. The other move that we are thinking of is that of Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. We are praying about the appointment of his successor, because this is a crucial and sensitive time for the Anglican church and we need wise leadership. Perhaps we should pray for each other at this time of change.
We love to hear news of Milange, especially those of us who have been out to visit you.
With our best wishes in Christ,
Maggie Hammond
Senior Priest Revd Kiaku Avelino
Diocesan Secretary Revd Nunes Pedro
Mothers Union President Mrs Elisa Cória
Youth Executive Secretary Beirão Garcia
National Director of Community Health Dr Matondo Alexandre
National Director of Anglican Schools Revd Kiaku Avelino
Youth Chaplain Revd Filomena Teta
Mothers Union Chaplain Ven Garcia Kazayilawoko
Theological Education Director Revd Simão Adolfo
The Archdeacons
Luanda Ven Dacosta Emmanuel
Uige Ven Eduardo da Silva Clemente
Lukunga Loge Ven Garcia Kazayilawoko
Nzadi a Lukizi Ven João Panda
Missionary Areas
Priest Supervisor Revd Kiaku Avelino
The Diocese of Angola is growing! Important areas of the church's mission will be strengthened by these new appointments of diocesan directors for community health, Anglican schools and theological education, and a priest supervisor for the missionary areas in the south of the country.
On his appointments as National Director of Anglican Schools and Priest Supervisor of the Missionary Areas, Revd Kiaku Avelino has relinquished his role as parish priest of St Augustine's, Viana in Luanda. Other parish priests have moved within Luanda and the new list is as follows.
Archdeaconry of Luanda
St Stephen, Golfe Ven Dacosta Emmanuel
St John the Baptist, Sambizanga Revd Ernesto Luimbi
St Mary, Kikolo Revd João Lombo
St Augustine, Viana Revd Adão Alexandre
St Peter, Cazenga Revd Joana Francisco
Christ the King Revd Kiakumbanzila Mvumbi
Christ the Redeemer Revd João Fundo
Patterson the Missionary, Sapu Revd Alberto Ximutu
St Andrew, Paraíso Revd Desejo Kikuango
St Joseph, Rocha Pinto Revd Simão Adolfo
Archdeaconry of Lukunga Loge
Revd Garcia Kazayilawoko has been appointed Archdeacon and parish priest of St Barnabas, Songo. Revd Pedro Sacala has moved from St Barnabas to be parish priest of St James.
Please pray for the Holy Spirit to be at work through these new ministries in the Diocese of Angola.
Episcopal Visits: Please hold these journeys in prayer
04-08 April Missionary Area of Kunene
26-28 May Missionary Area of Malange
24-26 August Missionary Area of Lubango
13-20 September District of Uíge
16-18 November Missionary Area of Cabinda
You might be interested in reading the transcript of this talk:
Angola’s External Relations in Africa talk by Foreign Minister of Angola, Georges Chikoti, at Chatam House
MOZAMBIQUE
Lebombo
19th March Fr. Joao Carlos Roque Assistant Priest at the Congregation of Bernard Mizeki in Chimoio passed away, soon after his wife died. May they both rest in peace and rise in glory.
St Barnabas Bagamoyo is progressing its plans to build a guesthouse which can accommodate church visitors to Maputo, both from abroad and from outside Maputo. We will have more news on this in the next circular.
Niassa
Nacala: Padre Agostinho, who has been providing pastoral care for Nacala, has now managed to get a transfer from Nampula to Nacala to be the Director of Nacala school. He will be the priest in charge and be paid by working at the school
Pemba: Hilario Muahete (a 37 year old catechist/evangelist in Chiure, outside Pemba, for the last 10 years or so) has been on the recent Community Priest training course in Lichinga
Messumba Dean Cacongue has retired as Dean of Messumba Cathedral but remains as a priest in Messumba until his house in Metangula is finished probably in June. See photo of his farewell service in online version of circular.
Flood Relief
The Mother’s Union and Equipa da Vida have been very involved in flood relief work with Rosa (MU) and Mario (Equipa) off again for the next phase in the flood relief Tearfund project in Zambezia. They'll be gone a month. Mario will be training the church committee groups to reach out with teaching on sanitation and health through basic Umoja techniques: Rosa will work more specifically with women now, as a great opportunity to be with the remotest churches and MU groups. MU Niassa is supporting 10 most vulnerable children and sick in each of 7 communities with mosquito nets and 100 of most vulnerable elderly women with our diocesan capulana.
It’ also possible to see some of this work and the seriousness of the floods in a Tearfund compilation video.
Other Mozambican News:
Two people were killed during a raid on a camp of opposition supporters in Mozambique, police have said. BBC World News reports ‘About 300 men, the bodyguards of Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama, had been living for weeks in makeshift shelters outside their party headquarters in Nampula.
The ex-rebel movement said the officers shot at unarmed men, but the police say they came under attack first. It is the first time police and ex-rebels have exchanged direct gunfire since the civil war ended 20 years ago. Renamo fought a bloody 16-year war with the ruling Frelimo party’.Read more
(2012-03-23) President Guebuza has announced more malaria prevention and stressed that the government could not have made the advances it has in the battle against malaria without the work done by the church programme and by “Roll Back Malaria”. “Your intervention is an example of collective action, involving both Mozambicans and foreigners, who, through coordination rather than fragmentation and duplication, have been transforming the national and world panorama in the fight against malaria”, he said. He added that these partnerships, which have been expressed in a wide range of interventions, have helped reduce the number of deaths from malaria. By way of illustration, Guebuza said the number of malaria cases diagnosed in Mozambique fell from about six million in 2005 to three million in 2011. The number of deaths had also halved in the same period – from 4,000 in 2005, to about 2,000 last years. The decline in malaria cases has also had an impact on child mortality, Guebuza added, and would be of key importance for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One of the MDGs is to cut the mortality rate among children under the age of five by two thirds between 1990 and 2015
3) London News
We’re delighted that the ALMA Team in London is almost at full strength again with Michael Collop, a Reader from St Andrew’s Enfield taking on the role of Projects Officer for Mozambique (almaprojectsm@london.anglican.org, and Ian Gleeson, ALMA Rep at All Saints Fulham, taking on the roles of Project Officers for Angola (almaprojectsa@london.anglican.org ). They are a great addition to the Strategy Group and we are grateful for their volunteer commitment.
4) Wider Issues
The annual reviews of Angola and Mozambique published by IPRIS, the Portuguese Institute for International Relations & Security has just been published. Two articles are of particular interest to the ALMA community:
Vasco Martins, "Angola in 2011: West Africa, Asia, and Security Exports" and Kai Thaler, "Mozambique in 2011: Staying the Path".
John has teased out some interesting things from them and has issued a challenge: Whilst daily struggles for subsistence and basic goods continue for most people in Angola and Mozambique, do you know which country …
saw social media used to win a mayoral election?
halted a coup in Guinea Bissau?
bought shares in newly privatised Portuguese companies?
is a popular transit point for drug shipments?
has tried to develop the production of bio fuels?
is seeing Japanese investment?
Answers next Circular?
Wishing you and your families a truly blessed Easter
Sheenagh
Sheenagh Burrell
ALMA Co-ordinator Tel: 020 7932 1231 Tuesdays
Diocese of London, London Diocesan House 36, Causton St, London SW1P 4AU. www.almalink.org