From the Rector – Entering the New Year

As we enter this New Year we also approach the season of Epiphany.  I am told that in the Eastern Church the feast of the Epiphany is a much more significant festival than Christmas.  This makes a great deal of sense, after all Christmas has been inflated as a festival because it was placed mid-winter in the west of Europe when Christianizing pagans who celebrated their own festivals at that time.  The cards with snow and carols referring to the cold weather are surely more about north-western Europe than first century Palestine.  And the theology of the incarnation is surely no less revered by celebrating Epiphany over and above Christmas – in fact we have often been guilty of conflating the two into one long Christmas season.

For that reason I am pleased to say that St Faith’s holds the two as mostly distinct, although undeniably related, festivals.  This year Epiphany falls on a Sunday and we celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men with a Family Service in the morning at 9:30am and the Eucharist at 6pm that evening with our friends from St Alban’s, St Clare’s and St Francis.  Immediately following the Eucharist we go on to dinner at the Brookfield, so furthering the celebration and sharing it with friends locally.  The celebrations also precede the day, because on Saturday afternoon there will be a party in the Church Hall from 2 – 4pm for all the children of the church, and we anticipate anything from 40-60 children for a very happy event.  This year the party includes a drama, which will feature again in the next morning’s Family Service, so all the adults have a chance to share in the occasion.  Another element of celebration this year is the involvement of the Revd Catherine Keyser-Mary from the United States, who will be taking part in the service.  Revd Cat is much loved by you all, so I know you will enjoy welcoming her again.

But Epiphany is not just a day it is a season extending throughout the month until the feast of Candlemas on the 2^nd February (and by the way have you noticed in your diary that no sooner do we leave Epiphany than we enter Lent, because Ash Wednesday is the 6^th February – as early as it can be).  The word Epiphany, from the Greek, means the ‘showing forth’, and is most accurately translated as ‘making known’.  Thus in the season of Epiphany the real nature of the Christ child is gradually revealed.  The Wise Men prostrate themselves at the feet of a tiny baby having travelled many miles from distant lands (Matthew 2), thus pointing to the child’s divinity, echoing the worship of the shepherds (Luke 2).  The Wise Men’s gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh invite us to reflect upon Jesus’ Kingship, divinity (again) and sacrificial self-giving as Saviour.

The next Sunday in Epiphany tells of the Baptism of Jesus when the Spirit descends upon him like a dove and his Father’s voice from heaven declares, “This is my Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased.”  The sonship of Jesus – the one whom the Father sends, and is intimately related to him – was the single most significant aspect of early Christianity.  It marked out the followers of Jesus as people of a new religion, coming out of Judaism and yet different from it.  Jesus’ baptism also declares his salvific intent – he came to save us all.  The third Sunday in Epiphany usually retells the first miracle of Jesus at Cana in Galilee when he turned the water to wine.  Foretelling his resurrection, Jesus is the one through whom God demonstrates his ability to turn our disasters to hope and death to life.

This wonderful season is one full of joy and life, not only telling us who we believe Jesus is, but inviting us into a life that is Christ-filled.  If this is the Christ we believe in then hope and joy are the marks of Christian life, which not only inspire us but demand our sharing with others.

So I hope you enjoy a wonderful Epiphany season,

David

Flights of Mystery

There were two pioneer flyers who were heroines of my generation of children.  Their feats in the early years of flight captured the imagination of the world.  Flying cost them their lives and their bodies were never found.  To this day their deaths remain a mystery.  One was American and one British.  As we shall see, the British flyer had links with Portsmouth, so let us start with Amy Johnson who was born in Hull in 1903.  In 1925 she gained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics at Sheffield University and started work as a secretary in London.  She joined the London Aeroplane Club and in 1928 became the first woman to gain her Pilot’s Licence.  Unusually, she also gained a Ground Engineer’s Licence.  After just 50 hours flying, she set off to fly to Darwin, Australia, in a De Havilland Moth aircraft, modified from a bi-plane to a monoplane.  She became the first woman to complete the flight solo, which took 19 days.  In doing so, she won a prize of £10,000 from the Daily Mail, who dubbed her the “Queen of the Air”.

Further records followed.  In 1931, Amy made a record flight across Siberia to Tokyo and the following year she broke the record for a solo flight to Cape Town, South Africa, and back.  In 1932 she married a Scottish airman, James Mollinson, but the marriage only lasted six years.  In 1933, the couple flew across the Atlantic in 39 hours.  The same year, Amy flew solo to India in 22 hours and the following year she flew solo to Cape Town and back in 12 days 15 hours.  On one transatlantic flight, the couple spent a weekend with the second heroine in our story and also had lunch with President and Mrs Roosevelt.  In June1939, Amy joined the Portsmouth, Southsea and Isle of Wight Aviation Company as a pilot.  There was then a Portsmouth Airport off the Eastern Road.  With the outbreak of war that September, Amy joined the Air Transport Auxiliary as a ferry pilot.

On 4 January 1941, Amy was ferrying a yellow-painted Oxford trainer, built at the Portsmouth Airspeed factory adjacent to the Airport, from Scotland to Kidlington, near Oxford.  The weather was atrocious and Amy decided to land at Blackpool, where she spent the last night of her 37 years with her married sister, Molly Jones, who later recalled pleading with Amy not to take off the following morning because of the appalling weather.  Freezing fog reduced visibility to almost zero but, against advice, Amy took off at 11.49am to fly south.  In the Thames Estuary, a small convoy of colliers, escorted by naval ships including HMS Berkeley, the AA Trawler HMS Haslemere, which was towing a balloon, and the motor launch, ML13, had been bombed for more than an hour on route from Portsmouth.  Lookouts in the convoy caught sight of a single parachute descending, together with an aircraft which came in on a low dive before crashing into the water, sending debris everywhere.  Soon the Haslemere was close enough to throw two lines to the parachutist who made no effort to reach them.  Two witnesses said that they heard a woman’s voice say, “Hurry, please hurry.”  Then a second body, this time a man, was seen floating in the water, eventually turning until it was face down in the freezing water.  The captain of Haslemere, Commander Fletcher, courageously dived into the water to attempt to swim to the woman but was soon in very serious difficulties.  He could get nowhere near the now motionless figure of the woman and it took the crew of the whaler 20 minutes to reach and haul the unconscious Fletcher out of the water.  Sad to record that he died minutes later from what the medical verdict described as exposure and shock due to immersion.

Nearby wreckage was clearly of the yellow-painted Oxford and two bags were found floating near to it, one marked AJ and one “Amy Johnson”.  There was much speculation in the Press about the man, whose body was never recovered.  One wild story was that Amy was taking someone to the continent.  The family hired a lawyer to defend Amy’s name from slanderous rumours.  At that time, it was fairly common to see bodies in the Estuary from shot down aircraft (the Doctor on HMS Berkeley once saw six bodies in the water at one time!)  There is absolutely no doubt from witnesses at Blackpool Airport that Amy flew off alone and we can safely eliminate the man from our story.  The next mystery was why Amy was over the Thames Estuary at 3.30pm when she should have arrived at Oxford, 100 miles away, at 1.00pm.  She was also in a highly defended area, likely to be shot down by both Army Batteries and warships.  No explanation has ever been given as to why she baled out.  She would have been low on petrol, so that might be an explanation.  No sound of gunfire was heard prior to the parachute descending.  Her body was never recovered and all that remains is the memory of an extraordinary aviator.  So who was the second intrepid woman flyer whose death was most sinister and even more mysterious?  For that you must await next month’s “Faith Matters”.

Roger Bryant

Visit to Uganda

Our trip to Uganda was to visit a few projects based in the Mbale region of the country.  The main project and where we spent the majority of our time was the Bunghoko Rural Development centre.

Rural Development Centre.  The Rural Development Centre is owned by Church Army Africa and is run with the help of two Church Mission Society (CMS) mission partners Bob and Rosalind Arnold, with whom we stayed in their lovely bungalow at the centre.  The main focus of the centre is vocational training for young people in skills such as carpentry, tailoring, masonry and farming.  The skills the students learn at the centre enable them to go back into the community to work and earn a living, often some of them will be the only bread winners in a family sometimes supporting parents and many siblings.  The centre’s mission is very much to ‘help people help themselves’ and it is having a great success. 

The centre has a demonstration farm where students can learn efficient ways of using their land for crops and keeping animals.  One area of great success has been the introduction of large goats.  These have been imported from South Africa and are considerably larger than the goats already in Uganda.  For a small fee people in the area can bring their female goats to be ‘served’ and produce larger kids.  The goats are used primarily for meat.

The other area that the centre works in is the local villages where they have begun digging wells.  In June 2007 they began digging 10 wells 6 of which had been completed.  When we left the centre they had just received funding to dig another 10 wells.  This of course is of such enormous benefit to the people to have clean water and saves the women so much time. 

A more recent project has been that of working with people in the outlying villages (mainly the women) to form something similar to a co-operative.  The women meet on a weekly basis and bring to each meeting a small amount of money.  One group we visited had used the money they raised to rent some land and grow crops.  They had grown enough crops to feed their families and also extra to sell at market.  The extra money is put back into the pot and members can borrow money for school fess, medical expenses, etc.  This work with the villages has given the women a purpose and for many has enabled them to become a community of people rather than people just existing as neighbours in the same village.

The centre runs a Nursery School held every day from 8am to 12-noon.  This gives the local children a great start in their education.  They begin their day with a work out and breakfast, and have classes in English and basic reading skills.  The children really seem to really enjoy their time at the Nursery School.

Retired Clergy.  The other project we visited was the work the church is doing with retired clergy in the Mbale Diocese.  (Retired clergy in Uganda don’t receive any pension and rely solely on the gifts of other people and farming their land to produce food).  The work with retired clergy has been supported by St James Church, Emsworth, over a number of years (it was begun by a previous incumbent); we met some of the people involved with the work.  The main problem the clergy has is that they have spent their working lives as priests and are not familiar with working on the land.  It is hoped that some of the money we raised will be used to give the clergy some training in how to work on the land. 

As we were travelling around the rural areas of Mbale, the absolute poverty that people are living in was very evident.  People still have to walk miles to fetch water, although the centre is working to dig wells in the villages, but like anything it takes time and money.  Driving around during the day we saw many children walking to school (often walking a few miles) and many of them on dusty roads with no shoes.  My daughter Emily spent some time working in the Nursery at the centre, and one of the staff asked her how far she had to travel to get water in England.  She didn’t have the heart to say that we just turn on a tap!  Just one of the many things which we take for granted but for them is not even a luxury.

We had some amazing experiences, like worshipping one Sunday at a church in the country which was no more than a mud hut, but with a congregation that really had such a faith and vitality.  Tom (my husband) felt so privileged when they invited him to preach and to baptise some of their children.

We were lucky enough to have a few days safari at Murchison Falls Park for the last part of our trip.  This is a vast area which is now the largest game reserve in Uganda.  During the reign of Idi Armin the game was hunted to very near extinction, but thanks to years of work by the Uganda Wildlife Authority is now making a good recovery.  We were lucky enough to see giraffe, elephants, antelope and my daughter (who is lion mad) was delighted when we came across a mother and three cubs in a bush.  The River Nile makes its way through the park, so one afternoon we had a boat ride up to the spectacular Murchison Falls and saw hippos in their hundreds, crocodiles and so many different species of birds -I think we lost count.  We stayed in a Banda in the Red Chilli rest camp which was a great place to stay.  We were surrounded by wildlife, warthogs, storks and even at night hippos would come to the camp to find food.  It was quite unnerving being in your bed and hearing them roaming around - glad we weren’t in a tent!

There is so much more I could say about our time in Uganda, but this is just a brief summary of our visit.  The warm welcome we received by the people we met was truly humbling, and the hospitality we received, particularly in people’s homes, was truly amazing.  Uganda is a beautiful country with fertile land but is hampered by a very poor road system (which the government is trying to rectify).  We will definitely go back and hope while we are in England to keep fundraising for the fantastic work people are doing.

My husband, who is the Curate of the Parish of Warblington with Emsworth, was very disciplined and kept a detailed journal which he has published on his website at www.tomkennar.com where you can see many pictures of our visit.

Clare Kennar

Congratulations to Fr Dudley Gummer, who celebrates his 80^th birthday on the 3^rd January.  Fr Gummer still takes services in Havant and keeps in touch with his training Incumbent, Canon Brown, with whom he served in the parish of Deptford.  Most recently Fr Gummer took the 8am Christmas morning service at St Nicholas, Langstone – so this comes with much love and gratitude from all at St Faith’s and St Nicholas to you and Jane.

Burns Night

The Burns Night is on Saturday 26^th January at 7pm in the church hall.  Tickets are £8 and include a traditional supper.  Come along and enjoy Scottish dancing, a good fun evening.  To ensure you get your tickets, book early.  Tickets available from Sandra Haggan.

Visit to Armenia

Anyone with an interest in the history of Christianity ought to know something about one of the oldest churches of all - the Armenian Apostolic Church.  Unfortunately, we in the West are largely ignorant of the fascinating and at times tragic story of Armenia.  Alan and I have recently returned from a visit to that country, in which we learned a lot about the history and visited churches and monasteries.

Armenia lies on the neck of land between the Black and Caspian Seas and is surrounded by four countries - Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran.  It has had the misfortune to be fought over and subjugated by succeeding waves of invaders during the last 3,000 years - Assyrians, Persians, Alexander the Great, Romans, Arabs, Seljuk Turks and Mongols.

It is amazing that the Armenian people have managed to keep their identity, rather than be absorbed into the ranks of the invaders.  The reason for this is the phenomenon that had stimulated my curiosity and brought me to Armenia - the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Christianity was first brought to Armenia in the second half of the 1^st Century AD by Saints Thaddeus and Bartholomew, two of Christ's apostles (hence the name of the Church).  Then, at some time between 301 and 314, St. Gregory the Illuminator converted and baptized the King of Armenia and Christianity was adopted as the State Religion - even before that happened in Rome.  This is perhaps the most important event in Armenian history, because the Armenian people are defined by their Church and together they have survived persecution and martyrdom - common occurrences in the life of the Nation.

100 years later, in 406, Mesrob Mashdotz invented the Armenian alphabet (quite unlike ours), so that the Holy Scriptures could become accessible to the people. This ushered in a period of intense development of the Church and culture.  In Yerevan, the capital city, we visited the Matenadaran Museum of Manuscripts, purpose-built to house 14,000 Armenian illuminated manuscripts in controlled atmospheric conditions.  Of course, only a small number are on display at any one time - but what treasures!  They are beautifully painted, like the medieval manuscripts with which we are familiar, but in a different style and using the Armenian alphabet, rather than Latin.

The purpose of these books was to aid worship and was intended to be displayed on the altar.  There are a few surviving examples that predate the Arab conquest in 640.  The subsequent suppression of Christianity by the Muslim invaders meant that artistic activity was suspended until the end of the Arab occupation in the 9^th Century.  After that, the art flourished.  The large number of manuscripts that have survived show how valuable they were considered to be and how closely they were guarded in times of danger.  Most of them were saved by people fleeing the country in successive waves of the Armenian Diaspora.  Many were unable to take any of their possessions with them, but they carried the manuscripts from their Churches to prevent their destruction.  Since the building of the Museum, these manuscripts have been and are being returned, now that there is a place of safety for them.  What an inspiring story!

We visited many churches and monasteries - some high in the mountains.  We went in a minibus on hair-raising drives up hairpin bends like in Switzerland, but on dirt tracks - and no seat belts!  It was terrifying at times, but well worth it for the views from the top.  Those early Armenians certainly liked to site their monasteries in inaccessible places - understandable when you consider how often they were pillaged and destroyed over the centuries.  Armenian churches have a distinctive style.  There is always a cupola, pointed in shape, unlike the rounded ones with which we are more familiar.  Inside, at the eastern end, there is a high, raised platform with steps leading up to it at the side.  The altar table is there.  The congregation stands in the main part of the church, as is the custom in other Orthodox Churches.  There are some differences in theology between the two branches of the Byzantine tradition, concerning Christ's Divine and Human natures.  The Armenian Apostolic Church belongs to the group of Oriental (Non-Chalcedonian) Orthodox Churches, which includes the Coptic, Syrian, Ethiopian and Indian Malabar Churches.

You can't visit Armenia without being aware of the strength of feeling which still exists about the Armenian Genocide, particularly that of 1915.  This is not the place to go into details about the convoluted politics of the late 19^th Century, in Tsarist Russian times, when half a million Armenians were massacred.  Later, the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War on the German side and suffered a crushing defeat from the Russians, who were fighting on the Allied side.  The Ottoman Turks became suspicious about the loyalty of their large Armenian population, who were Christian, like the Russians.  In 1915, all able-bodied men were sent away with the army and were worked to death or massacred.  The remaining people - women, children and old men - were uprooted from their villages and sent on a forced march, ostensibly for 'resettlement', into the desert, where they died of starvation.  At the same time, massacres were carried out in all the other regions of the Ottoman Empire.  There is no doubt that one and a half million souls perished in the first genocide of the 20^th Century.  No Turkish government has ever accepted that these events happened.

In Yerevan there stands a wonderful new Cathedral, which was opened in 2001, to celebrate 1,700 years of Christianity in Armenia.  It was paid for by funds sent from the people of the Diaspora from all over the world.  Even those born overseas hold on to a strong feeling for their Armenian heritage and come on regular visits.

It was a positive experience for us to go to a country where the Christian Faith is still held to be of such importance.  Perhaps what we need here in the West is a bit of persecution to stiffen our resolve! 

Frances Joyce

West Side Story

The Dynamo Youth Theatre (DYT), who rehearses in the Church Hall, is performing “West Side Story” as their Christmas show.  There are seven performances at the Havant Arts Centre, Thursday 3 to Saturday 5 January and Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 January at 7.30pm, with a matinee at 2.30pm on Saturday 12 January.  Tickets cost £8 & £6 from the Box Office (023 9247 2700) at the Havant Arts Centre.  You may recall that the DYT put on the excellent production of “The Roses of Eyam” in St. Faith’s Church in July 2007.              

Greetings

With the song of the angels to cheer you

The spirit of the Christ child near you

The good shepherd walking beside you

The star of the east to guide you

With friends who are constant and dear

Peace be yours through the coming year.

Best wishes to everyone at St. Faith’s

Judy and Innis

 

Child Minder for Summer 2008

Chloe, the 19 year old daughter of a friend of ours in France is looking for a family to take her in for part of this summer, e.g., July and/or August. In return she would be happy to act as an experienced child minder (any age– she comes from a large family!).  Her plan is to use the time to improve her spoken English.  If you are interested, please call Jan or Carmen Stuart on 023 9247 0335 for more details.

Restoration & Redevelopment Committee

Last month the R&R committee under the chairmanship of Paul Utting decided to bring a close to their work.  The R&R committee have been raising funds for the church's restoration since 2002, when funds were needed to repair the tower roof.  They have been highly successful in this time, raising near to £100,000, and overseeing the initiation of the Town Fair.  Our very grateful thanks go to the outgoing committee, who are: Paul Utting (Chair), Sara Freeston (Secretary), Roger Simmons (Treasurer), Joy Utting, Sandra Haggan, Joan Burrows, Ken & Mary Bracher.

The decision to close the committee was made partly because a clear way forward was envisaged.  I am pleased to say this way forward involves the continuation as Treasurer by Roger Simmons, and by members of the former committee in their involvement in co-coordinating specific events, such as the Saturday Coffee mornings (last month’s was our most successful ever, taking around £500).

In addition to this I am pleased to announce that Martin Poliszczuk has agreed to take on the role of Events Co-ordinator.  Martin will be responsible for establishing events in our diary for 2008 (we already have a Flower Festival booked for June as well as the Town Fair for September), and for liaising with the co-ordinators of individual events.  Therefore if you would like to offer to host or co-ordinate an event in the parish please contact Martin (023 9247 6001).                                  David

Congratulations to Choir Members

Congratulations to Louise Hedley, Anna Hudson, Eva Poliszczuk and Emma Smith for the award of the dark blue level of the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) on 2 December 2007 and to Beth Udy for the award of the light blue level.  The awards require 12-18 months study to achieve and students are examined in theory, singing and knowledge of music.  There are four levels for the RSCM “Voice for Life” scheme – Light Blue (beginners), Dark Blue, Red and Yellow.  They apply to both children and adults.  Well done to Sylvia Willey, our Musical Director/Organist for helping them to achieve their awards. 

Tearfund “Lasangne Lunch” 15 November 2007

A letter has been received from Mrs Allison Liu, the Donor Care Manager for Tearfund thanking those attending the “Lasangne Lunch” at Mary & Ken Bracher’s home for the generosity in sending £105.                                                                                                                    

Visit to Ghana

On 18^th November 2007 our Inter-Diocesan West Africa Link (IDWAL) link parish, the Anglican church of St. John the Divine in Nsawam, celebrated its 90^th anniversary.  As St. Faith’s IDWAL representatives, we travelled to Ghana in response to an invitation to represent our church at the celebrations.  This was our second visit in two years.

There may be concerns about declining congregations in the UK, but West Africa is a centre of growth in the Anglican Church.  At a time of uncertainty in the world-wide Anglican Communion, IDWAL is an important channel of communication and friendship, providing oppor­tunities for developing understanding between cultures and for sharing faith, encouraging mission, and for mutual support through prayer, correspondence and personal contact.  IDWAL’s main priority isn’t financial support; but, due to the immense economic disparity be­tween Ghana and the UK, Havant Deanery and several parishes in our diocese provide support for a number of Church and community projects.

In both our visits to Ghana, we have been struck by the high profile of the Christian faith there.  Shops and businesses commonly take Christian slogans as their title - “God’s Way Hardware Store”, “Hope in Christ Beauty Salon”.  Taxis (the most common vehicles on the roads) and lorries generally display phrases like “My Lord is good”, “Trust in God”, “God is power”.  There is a plethora of churches, the most prominent being Presbyterian, Anglican, Methodist, and Roman Catholic.  A high proportion of schools are faith schools.  Adjacent to St. John the Divine is an Anglican infant school, a junior school, and a secondary school; and we were taken to visit other Anglican schools within the parish and its ‘outstations’.  In collaboration with the Ghanaian government the Church is also involved in health care, e.g., building and supporting clinics in rural areas.

At Easter 2006 we travelled with four other IDWAL representatives from churches in Havant Deanery.  That inspiring trip, described in the June 2006 issue of “Faith Matters” (still accessible on St. Faith’s website), gave us two weekends in Nsawam, separated by a week of IDWAL visits to other places in Kofuridua Diocese.  This time we travelled alone and were able to spend most of our twelve days getting to know the new priest Canon Seth, the people of St. John the Divine, the community served by the church, and something of life in this part of Africa.  We found real hospitality, friendship, and strong Christian faith; we were welcomed into people’s homes, and an interesting well-thought out itinerary was arranged for us.  We had a chance to renew old friendships, e.g., with the church warden Janette Wilson with whom we and Sandra Haggan have been corresponding, and to form new friendships, particularly with Nana Amonoo Smith, Chairman of the Anniversary Committee.  Janette and Nana are the representatives for whom we hope to arrange a visit to St. Faith’s in 2008.

The highlight of this visit was the weekend of celebrations marking the 90^th Anniversary of St. John the Divine, founded in 1917 when an English expatriate together with sixteen Ghanaians were led by the Holy Spirit to establish an Anglican church in a large cocoa shed on the site of the present building.  The Anglican Church in Ghana traces its roots to the 19^th Century and the ‘Anglo-Catholic revival’.  This is evident in the ‘high-church’ feel of its services (lots of incense), but that has been combined with a strong commitment to evangelism and outreach.  This is especially evident in Nsawam, as reflected in the special souvenir 90^th Anniversary Service booklet:  The Bishop’s message emphasises that “there is only one way for salvation, and that is in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The parish is therefore challenged to proclaim the name of Jesus in every nook and cranny of the parish, to lift high the cross of Christ and to make Him known at all times”.  Canon Seth’s message says, “Our vision is to reach out in tolerance and dedication.  We should not be an inward church, but try to preach the gospel to all and sundry.  St. John’s has been a true mother-church in the diocese, having given birth to Suhum, Kibi, and Adaeso, which are now sub-parishes.  St. John’s now has five outstations and our vision is to make these outstations parishes in a decade”   Likewise, in his Chairman’s message; Nana Smith asks “Have we been active in the church?  On Evangelism, I wish to urge you all to take it seriously.  Within the next ten years let us focus on winning souls for Christ, so that we could double our membership before we celebrate our 100^th anniversary”.

The Anniversary celebrations began in an atmosphere of joyful exuberance with a ‘parish picnic’ on Saturday.  This turned out not to be a ‘picnic’ as we understand it but a 3-mile parade of two hundred church members through the town, complete with banners, brass band (think ‘New Orleans’ rather than ‘Salvation Army’ here), and marshals, and with everyone (ourselves included) kitted out in specially designed polo-shirts and baseball caps.  The occasion was very joyful and relaxed, to the extent that the whole procession ended up by dancing, rather than marching, through the streets despite the heat, before returning to the church for much-needed cold drinks.

The Anniversary service on Sunday was not only an important event for St. John the Divine, but also for the Anglican Church.  This was underlined by the participation of the recently retired Archbishop of West Africa (who delivered the sermon), the Bishop of Kofuridua, various canons, and a representative of the Government whose speech highlighted the importance of the Anglican Church in Ghana and its contribution to the life of the country.  Reporters and film crews from three TV channels were present.  The service, in Twi and English, lasted 6½-hours(!) and was attended by over two hundred people of all ages (not all of whom could fit inside the church), dressed in traditional African robes made from a specially-designed fabric incorporating a picture of the church building – they had very kindly taken our measurements and made us robes too.  It was a most impressive and moving occasion that included: a solemn mass, with lots of incense; prayers; sermons; addresses; presentations of awards; a lot of music – mainly Hymns Ancient & Modern to familiar tunes but with a distinctly African rhythm which had everyone present (bishops included) swaying, dancing and waving handkerchiefs.  There were three separate collections, in which everyone – elderly people and young parents with babes in arms - danced rhythmically up the aisle to place their contributions in a large bowl before dancing back to their pews.  Following the celebration of Holy Communion, we were invited to address the congregation. We read the message that Father David had prepared, then presented a card and the gift of the thurible on behalf of St. Faiths; this was very well-received.  Later, Canon Seth presented a number of awards to members of the congregation who had made particular contributions to the life of the church; these not only included medals, but also seven St. Faith’s mugs which we had taken out with us.

The trip was a wonderful and transforming experience which has deepened our understanding of the Anglican faith as lived-out in Ghana, and which will assist in strengthening the link between St. Faith’s and St. John’s.

Michael & Ann Fluck