2009 Newsletter

From: the Revd. John Wilkinson

Dear Friend of the Belize Church Association

I am writing to invite you and all friends of the Diocese of Belize to this year’s Festival which will be held on Saturday June 27th 2009 at St Anne’s, Brondesbury, 125 Salusbury Road, London NW6 6RG.

The Festival Eucharist begins at 11.30am. The president will be The Revd. Bob Rhodes, who served as priest-in-charge of All Saints, Belize City from 2003 to 2006. The preacher will be the Revd Clifford Bradley, sometime priest-in-charge of St Matthew’s Pomona and Christ the King, Dangriga, and my predecessor as Chair of the Association. We look forward very much to welcoming both president and preacher to the Festival.

After the service there will be a Belizean lunch (adults £8; children £4). The lunch is always a good opportunity to hear the latest news from Belize and to meet up with old friends and we urge you to make a special effort to join us on this occasion. After lunch Ally Saunders, acting USPG Regional Desk Officer, Latin America and the Caribbean, will give a short presentation about her recent visit to Belize.

Please let our Secretary, Barbara Harris, know by June 20th how many lunches you require, by e-mailing her at

b-k-harris.caye@virgin.net

Also please let her know your e-mail address if you have not already done so. We would be grateful for prizes for the Raffle (please bring them with you, but it helps if you can let Norma Best know in advance (020-8866 5437). There will be a Bring-and-Buy stall – new items only, please.

During the Year

The 45th Synod of the Diocese of Belize took place over four days last October. A large number of delegates and other Anglicans were joined by the Prime Minister and other distinguished guests from both the state and the wider church. Central to the occasion was the Bishop’s Charge in which he set out a vision of the church as a “thankful people”, a people which responds to God’s grace by fostering a deeper unity within itself and by developing a committed engagement with the needs of Belizean society. The Synod was an inspiring occasion but could not of course, by itself solve underlying structural problems faced by the Diocese, notably the struggle to put its finances on a securer basis and to develop both the number and the skills of the clergy.

On December 17th the Diocese announced the death of the Very Revd. Lloyd Neal, Dean of Belize, at the age of 64. Dean Neal had been much in our prayers since he was diagnosed as having cancer. I myself worked with him for six weeks in 2004 and remember with gratitude the gentle and caring way he allowed me to take on more than one ministerial role at the cathedral. Bishop Philip wrote of him:

“Dean Neal has served the Diocese for well over twenty five years as a teacher in the school system, as a priest serving in Stann Creek and in Belmopan and most recently as Dean. Many will remember him as a jovial man, one who was always there to give an encouraging word, a peace maker and in short an all around pastor. I would say to all Belizeans that he was another proud son of the soil. He was the first native Dean of the Cathedral and, overall, a faithful servant of Christ. I ask everyone to hold up in prayer his wife Mae and his sons and grandchildren, as well as the rest of the diocese as we go through this time of bereavement.” (edited).

Last year we announced that a husband and wife clergy couple, Malcolm and Ruth Lambert, had gone from the Diocese of Leicester to Belize to serve respectively as Director of the Anglican Theological Institute and parish priest of St Anne's, Belmopan. During the year we were distressed to learn that they had suffered break-ins at the Belmopan rectory, the last of which was of such a distressing kind that they have since felt obliged to return to Britain. They are both in our prayers as they seek a new ministry at home.

Lloyd Perriot, has returned from studying at Codrington College, Barbados and was ordained Deacon in Belize Cathedral by Bishop Philip Wright in March.

During the year, Bishop Phillip has announced the creation of a Bishop’s Scholarship Fund to support the education of poorer children from the Diocese at primary, secondary or higher education levels, at his discretion. The Association is looking into how best to commend this initiative and also to engage with any visit Bishop Philip may undertake in order to further the work of the Diocese.

For your prayers

Please remember in your prayers Bishop Philip and all the clergy, readers and officers of the Diocese, and for its life and work and mission. Please also remember Malcolm and Ruth Lambert. Please pray for the souls of Dean Lloyd Neal and of Lena Arnold who was a stalwart member of the Association. Please also remember Dean Neal's wife Mae, his family and all who mourn his death.

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