Bishop’s Lent Appeal

English Church in Liège, Belgium

Liège is a former industrial city and provincial capital in eastern Belgium. It is also now home to large numbers of migrants from beyond Europe. The Anglican congregation there is predominantly African, especially coming from Ghana. After several years of change and supported by strong lay leadership, the church now stands ready to welcome a new priest next month, The Reverend Guy Diakiese.

Fr Diakiese is originally from the Congo. He studied for the priesthood in Nigeria and Rome and has recently completed his curacy in The Hague. Bishop Robert’s Lent Appeal will raise much needed to help renew this chaplaincy. Contributions can be made through St Alban’s treasurer.  To find out more, follow Lent Appeal 2021.

Giving to others: ACAS

At its 27 September meeting, ACAS (Association Caritative Anglicane de Strasbourg) approved financial support to the following projects:

Lors de sa dernière réunion, l’ACAS a accordé son soutien financier aux projets suivants :

  •  – CASA and CIMADE, local groups which support asylum seekers / CASA et CIMADE, associations locales pour leur aide apportée aux demandeurs d’asile ;
  •   – Girls’ and boys’ education in Pakistan / Scolarité d’enfants en Pakistan; 
  •  – Reconstruction of Anglican church in Foulpointe, Madagascar, damaged by hurricanes /
  • Communauté anglicane à Foulpointe, Madagascar, pour la consolidation de leur église détruite par les cyclones.

   Thank-you for your continued support of ACAS !

Season of Creation – Harvest / Moisson

On Sunday 4th October St. Alban’s celebrated the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi with a Harvest Festival. This also marked the end of the Season of Creation which began on 1 September. Christians around the world have committed themselves to the work of protecting the Earth, through prayer and hands-on activities.

During the service, Madeleine and Louisa took it in turns to read out the Canticle of Creation by St. Francis.

Gifts of food were donated to the Salvation Army, which provides breakfast for many homeless people in Strasbourg.

 

Frederick’s Walk for ACAS

On 2nd June, the day after Pentecost, Frederick started on his 90-lap walk around the perimeter of his house in order to raise money for St. Alban’s charitable wing, ACAS.  In a short ceremony he was sent on his way by St. Alban’s priest Mark Barwick and other enthusiastic supporters.

Now, three weeks later, he has completed well over 70 laps, that is more than 7kms / 4 miles, and he is still going strong.  His goal of 90 laps is now well in sight. No mean feat considering his age – he turned 90 this year, hence 90 laps – and his reduced mobility after a recent foot operation.

The response so far has been all that he has hoped for: €2900 have already been pledged and more has been promised.  That means that ACAS (Association caritative anglicane de Strasbourg) will be able to continue supporting its long-term projects: caring for refugees in Strasbourg, educating Christian school children in Pakistan, and supporting an Anglican church in eastern Madagascar which has repeatedly been harried by hurricanes.

All are asked to continue supporting Frederick with both encouragement and donations as he completes his 90 laps and tots up the grand total of 9 km.

Through the garden, round the side of the house and along the pavement outside = 1 lap

Frederick walking in mid-June with the support of physio Stéphane and cheered on by Chantal.

ACAS Walking Challenge / Défi de Marche pour ACAS

Frederick and Maryline William-Smith have been inspired by the UK’s 99-year-old Captain Tom, who walked around his
garden with his walker to raise funds for the UK National Health Service. Frederick, by comparison a mere chicken at 90, had to have a toe amputated in March and since then has slowly but surely been recovering his mobility. He now feels up to the challenge of walking 90 steps through the front and back gardens around his house and trying to do four circuits a day. That would amount to 400 metres a day, and in 22 days, starting on 1 June, he hopes to complete 90 circuits, walking a total of nine kilometres. You are invited to sponsor Frederick’s walk to raise much-needed funds for ACAS, St. Alban’s organisation for charitable work. At present ACAS is supporting agencies in Strasbourg looking after refugees, an Anglican community in Madagascar much battered by hurricanes and students at a Christian school in Pakistan.

For further details about how to sponsor Frederick’s walk follow this link.  All contributions are welcome!

       

Frederick et Maryline William-Smith ont été inspirés par l’aventure du capitaine Tom au Royaume-Uni qui a parcouru son jardin avec son déambulateur jusqu’à son 100e anniversaire pour collecter des fonds pour le Service National de Santé du Royaume-Uni. Ils ont pensé que cela constituerait, pour Frederick, un excellent challenge pour améliorer sa santé.  Le 12 mars, deux semaines avant son 90e anniversaire, il a subi l’amputation d’un orteil. Depuis, il se remet lentement mais sûrement. Voilà le défi d’aujourd’hui : il doit faire environ 90 pas pour faire le tour de la maison par le jardin et les portails. Ils essaient de faire 4 tours par jour, ce qui les amène à environ 400 mètres. Ils estiment que 90 tours de la maison lui prendront environ 22 jours, commençant le 1er juin. En même temps, c’est un bon moyen de réunir des fonds extrêmement nécessaires pour financer les différentes activités de l’ACAS (dons aux organismes locaux d’aide aux réfugiés, soutien à divers projets à Madagascar et scolarisation de jeunes chrétiens au Pakistan). Ils vous lancent un appel :

Accepteriez-vous de le parrainer ?  Pour en savoir plus, suivez le lien. Tous les dons seront bienvenus.

Getting off to a good start with plenty of support.

Bishop’s Lent Appeal 2020

Expanding the Bishop Hannington Academy for primary education in the Anglican Diocese of Mumias, Kenya.

In 2013 the Kenyan government introduced free primary education. This has led to big increases in the numbers of children enrolled in schools. But the number of teachers has not increased and classrooms are congested. Some classes have as many as 150 pupils with students sharing desks. In other cases, a shortage of buildings means children trying to learn outside, despite the vagaries of the weather.

Aware of this challenge, the Anglican Diocese of Mumias established the Bishop Hannington Academy as their contribution towards better quality primary education in a Christian context. Their current enrolment stands at 38. The school currently consists of just one block with two classrooms, with a third room serving as the administrative wing. At present, they have three grades, Kindergarten, Grade One and Grade Two. The Diocese employs three teachers.

The Bishop and Diocese would like to expand the school and build more classrooms. It will cost 20,000 USD to build and furnish a new classroom. Very good value by Western European standards!

Our Lent Appeal could go most of the way toward assisting the Diocese of Mumbias’ mission to educate primary school children.

I wish you a holy Lent.

With every blessing,

            +Robert Gibraltar in Europe

Donations to the Bishop’s Lent Appeal can be made through our Treasurers or speak with fr Mark for more details.

CHURCH FINANCES: What do you know?

What was the financial state of the church over 2018?

The total income received of 53 415 Euro was not sufficient to meet the total expenses of 64 829 Euro ; thus a deficit of 11 414 Euro had to be taken out of reserves. The difference corresponds to a shortfall of nearly 250 Euro per week!

What will be the state of church finances in 2019?

That is in your hands ………  with increased commitment to regular giving being essential.  Currently, over the first part of the year, we have been running a deficit of about 1200 Euro per month, even though we are not incurring exceptional expenses.

It is time for positive action to move the tide in the right direction so that the work and witness of our church community can prosper with God’s help.

Church finances: What do you know?

What is the largest expense in our church budget?

It is the rental costs of the flat at 12 avenue de la Forêt Noire at 1800 € per month (21 600 € per year).  This is not only the home for our priest and his family; it also serves as an essential church office base, the legal siège de l’association cultuelle and for various church activities.