India,Anglican Church of India – Diocese of Andhra Pradesh and Telengana:
In July 2018, Bishop Jaya Rao, Presiding Bishop of the
Anglican Church of India, reported that the monsoon rains had caused extensive
damage resulting in the development of a large number of cracks in the walls of
the Cathedral Church of the Holy Nativity in Jammalamadugu, Andhra Pradesh.
Funds were raised by Bishop and Dr. Mary Grundorf and those funds were sent to
India in November, 2018. Bishop Jaya Rao
reports in his most recent email that these wall-cracks were cut out of the
walls and the walls shored up and all repairs completed in time for the
Christmas services that were held at the Cathedral.
The accompanying photographs show the work in progress and
after completion. And the other photographs show part of the Christmas
celebrations that took place at the Cathedral.
Damage to Holy Nativity Cathedral
Damage to Holy Nativity Cathedral
Damage to Holy Nativity Cathedral
Damage to Holy Nativity Cathedral
Repair work underway
Repair work underway
Repair work underway
Repairs completed
Repairs completed
Repairs completed
Christmas at Holy Nativity
Christmas at Holy Nativity
Christmas at Holy Nativity
Christmas at Holy Nativity
Christmas at Holy Nativity
Christmas at Holy Nativity
India, Good Shepherd School in Kollur, Telengana:
In the month of December, the APA was able to forward sufficient funds to sponsor a total of thirty-six children who attend the Good Shepherd School in Kollur, Mahubnagar, in the state of Telengana. This is a school that the APA funded from monies raised during the Lenten Appeal of 2011. This is the third year that the APA has been able to raise funds through its churches and generous donors to sponsor children at the school. In 2017 the APA was able to sponsor eleven children and in 2018 twenty children were sponsored. The 2019 number represents an eighty percent increase over the previous year. This increase in sponsorships is largely due to the efforts of Bishop and Dr. Mary Grundorf who have made it part of the Bishops annual visits to parishes to raise awareness of the work being done by our Global Partners. As a result of their efforts there are now sponsoring churches and individuals from each of the APA Dioceses in the US.
Mission team at Good Shepherd School (February 2017)
Fr. Haines greets the school children in India (February 2017)
Good Shepherd students (February 2017)
Philippines:
Following the Christmas Eve celebrations at St. Joseph the
Laborer Church, in the barangay of Masoc, Bayombong, Nuevo Vizcaya, on the largest
island of Luzon in the Philippines, Fr. Alex Abraham traveled to Occidental
Mindoro, an island south and west of Luzon. He was invited by a local
benefactor to barangay Tayamaan, Mamburao to celebrate Holy Communion and to
explore the possibility of establishing a mission church in this area among the
native Mangyan people. The benefactors also arranged for food to be distributed
and for gifts to be given to the children as part of what they called “Share A
Blessing Outreach Ministry”. On December 29, Fr. Alex, after preparing an area and
erecting a canopy, on a piece of land that the benefactors appear willing to
donate for the establishment of a church, celebrated the Mass which was
followed by a Christmas gift exchange for the local children who attended. The
benefactors have named the location The Mary Hill Mission Center and more than
sixty adults and children were in attendance.
Please pray that this outreach effort will result in the
establishment and construction of another church in the APA Missionary District
of the Philippines. The accompanying photographs show the benefactors and Fr.
Alex and “Santa Claus”, and many of the children during the gift distribution.
Earlier in the month, Fr. Joel Arellano attended the funeral
Mass and the burial for the Rt. Rev. John Benedict, bishop for the ACC
Missionary Diocese of the Philippines, at San Isidro Labrador Cathedral, Santa
Rosa, near Manilla. On this occasion he was also able to meet with ACC Bishop
Terry Lowe (Episcopal Visitor to the ACC Missionary Diocese of the Philippines)
who invited the APA clergy and their Missionary Bishop, Rt. Rev. David Haines,
to attend the ACC Synod which will be held in 2019, date and location still to
be determined.
Christmas Eve, St Joseph the Laborer, Masoc
Christmas Eve, St Joseph the Laborer, Masoc
Christmas Eve, St Joseph the Laborer, Masoc
Christmas Eve, St Joseph the Laborer, Masoc
Mindoro Occidental Island land for outreach mission
Mindoro Occidental land, Fr. Alex
Outreach mission to the Mangyan people, Occidental Mindoro Island
Outreach mission to the Mangyan people, Occidental Mindoro Island
Outreach mission to the Mangyan people, Occidental Mindoro Island
Outreach mission to the Mangyan people, Occidental Mindoro Island
Outreach mission to the Mangyan people, Occidental Mindoro Island
Outreach mission to the Mangyan people, Occidental Mindoro Island
Outreach mission to the Mangyan people, Occidental Mindoro Island
Outreach mission to the Mangyan people, Occidental Mindoro Island
Fr. Joel and others at Bp Joh Benedict’s funeral
Funeral of Bp. John Benedict
Fr. Joel Arellano (3rd from left) and ACC Clergy at Funeral of Bishop John Benedict
Ecuador:
During the most recent visit
to the Indigenous Pastoral of the Anglican Province of America in Ecuador
(IPAPAE) in April, 2018, Bishop Walter Grundorf, amongst other activities, laid
and blessed a foundation stone on a newly acquired property where a cathedral
church is to be built. In the interceding months, architectural plans have been
approved and the necessary permits acquired to begin construction of the church
and seminary. Construction was scheduled to begin on January 7, 2019 and the
project is expected to be completed by February, 2020.
In the meantime, the seminary
has begun meeting in rented space and currently there are thirteen students
enrolled, five of whom are candidates for Holy Orders, two for the transitional
diaconate and the priesthood and three for the permanent diaconate.
Please continue to pray for
all of the efforts of our Global Partners in Ecuador.
Blessing of foundation for new cathedral church (April 2018)
Blessing of foundation for new cathedral church (April 2018)