LOOKING FORWARD

Our Charities for 2010 and 2011 – by the Secretary

For a number of years the chaplaincy council of St George's has been choosing two charities to support for two years at a time. Our aim is to give these charities 25% of our annual income – and so far we have managed to give even more. In 2008 and 2009 we supported Infants del Món, which is important as an overseas charity founded in Andorra, and The Rural Development & Research Centre, Chiapas, South Mexico which was introduced to us by The Rev. Bob Short whose parents-in-law founded it. Fr Bob regularly visits the Centre and he and his wife, Clare, are taking a sabbatical and working there now. As Fr Bob has written to us: " I will be working 3 days a week at the Centre and helping them with the crop demonstration program and in reclaiming some of the land that was damaged in the Zapatista uprising time. You can keep up with our progress on our blog site: www.bobandclare--wanderings.blogspot.com. "

For 2010 and 2011 we needed to find two new charities. Our preference is for small organizations, recommended to us by someone who has personal experience of their work. With this as our guide we have selected two new charities:

Hogar Infantil Marsh – Acapulco, Mexico – this children's home is already known to some of our members, one of whom at least sponsors a child at the home. It rescues and protects homeless and needy children, having been founded in 1990 by two people who had themselves been rescued and brought up in an orphanage.

St Luke's Home Care – Bosnia – this local project sets out to supplement the limited local healthcare services for both children and, more particularly, old people who live on their own and are receiving absolutely no care from anybody. There is a very high incidence of poor mental health coming from the experiences of suffering in the war and its associated ethnic cleansing and the physical help given is much strengthened by the effect of regular contact and the bringing of hope back into the lives of those being helped.

Please remember our work in supporting these charities – and that we aim to exceed our minimum commitment of giving at least 25% of our total income as a church to these charities.



from our newsletter, January 2010




What are our plans for the future?by Valerie Rymarenko

• We organised a Retreat from 6th – 9th May, 2010 at the Abbaye d'En Calcat, Dourgne, France, led by The Reverend Canon Dr Alvyn Pettersen, Canon Theologian at Worcester Cathedral. 13 people attended.
• A Songs of Praise service on Whitsunday, 23rd May, 2010, led by Michael at La Massana Church.
• We have to convince Patrimoine (department responsible for ancient buildings) to allow us to make Erts Church warm and winter-proof.
• In January this year we chose two new charities to support for two years. The Marsh Children's Home, Acapulco, Mexico; and St Luke's Home Care, Bosnia, Herzegovina. Samia Omar regularly visits and teaches at the Marsh Children's Home, and Val Rylatt supports an orphan there, so we can be kept informed about the home's activities. Sheila Maher is in Croatia now and will go on visits with nurses from St Luke's Home Care. Sheila will report to the chaplaincy council on her return to Andorra.
• We hope to visit the congregation of Cahors this autumn
• In October 2010, The Reverend Bob Short and Clare (Ibiza) will celebrate Holy Communion and also give a talk, during a Fellowship Lunch, bringing us up to date with their work for the Rural Development and Research Centre, Chiapas, Mexico.
• We hope to produce more information about St George's to make it easier for visitors, tourists and churchgoers to find out about our services and how we can help them when needed.

from our newsletter, May 2010

In the Diocese in Europe: The English-Speaking Church of Andorra - St George's, Box 113 Credit Andorra, La Massana, Andorra