As of today - October 1st

Last week went well, Fr. Juan and Maria got back safe and sound from the United States, and we had some great services at our churches in Cayo this past weekend. Unfortunately, I was unable to accompany the bishop up north to see some parishes there and talk about my experience so far: the bishop came down with vertigo, and he was strictly instructed by his doctor and his Boss to take a break. We'll try to make it work next time.

 

Instead of travelling north, I'm taking a few days (now that los Marentes are back) to preemptively regroup my thoughts and my spirit: a kind of time to rest/refresh/renew/revision. So, today I hopped on a bus and have come down to the far south of Belize, the sleepy seaside town of Punta Gorda in the Toledo District. I love it here: I have inexpensive lodgings, a peaceful atmosphere, a church right next door, and if I look across the Caribbean from my inn I can see Honduras. It doesn't get much better than this for a break.

 

I'll be back in San Ignacio for the craziness of ministry again on Thursday, but please pray especially for my time in Punta Gorda (or "Pee Gee" as the Belizeans say). Pray that God would let me clear my mind, rest my soul, get in a lot of prayer (and maybe reading), and come back with batteries recharged in ways that I need but that I don't even realize right now.

As of today - September 24th

Patriotic celebrations are winding down here in San Ignacio. The pavilion put up for the month is being taken down, the banners and flags are slowly disappearing, and life is returning to normal. It's sad to see some of the pomp go away, but life must go on again as it had before.

The festivities last week were indeed truly exciting: I marched in two parades. Thursday I marched again with our St. Andrew's school students through most of San Ignacio. Then on Friday, I was privileged to give the prayer of invocation at the opening ceremonies of the parade on Independence Day. It was an honor to share the podium with public officials, community organizers, and the winners of the beauty pageants from around the district. We then marched through the two towns, waving at friends and supporters and trying not to dance too wildly to the Caribbean rhythms being pumped out noisily from the floats behind and before. While it was a little strange to march alongside of political figureheads up soon for re-election, it was great to be out to see everyone and be seen. A ministry of presence and visibility in a way.

Apart from that, the week was full of interaction with the schools and pastoral visits to youth and their families: all in all, the days that were not spent in patriotic festivities were busy but routine, and I was able to prepare some for my Sunday sermon and to get ready for the start of Confirmation classes as well.

This week looks to be interesting: on Wednesday, there is a celebratory gala for the Peace Corps at the U.S. embassy in Belmopan that I am looking forward to attending, and Sunday I am hoping to accompany Bishop Wright on some pastoral visits that he will be making to other congregations and missions in parts of Belize that I have not yet seen. I'm very excited.

Well, that's it all for now. I hope you all have a blessed Michaelmas (autumn's smaller yet still cheerful counterpart to Christmas), and keep those prayers coming for me!

A Bidding Prayer for Belize

Today as we began the Independence Day parade in San Ignacio, I was asked to give an opening prayer. What follows is about what I used for an invocation:

Good afternoon to all of you. It is my deepest pleasure, on behalf of myself and of the Anglican churches in Cayo, to wish you a very Happy Independence Day as we celebrate this great nation of Belize together.

On this day of joy and happiness, I call for your sincere prayers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I bid your prayers for our nation: for our elected officials and civil servants, for our police and military, for our farms, industries, businesses and markets. I bid your prayers for our families and homes: for parents and grandparents, for children and grandchildren, for brothers and sisters and those who are adopted. I bid your prayers for our schools: for teachers and students, for preschools and primary schools, for colleges, technical schools, and universities. I bid your prayers for our churches: for congregations and missions, for the poor, the victimized, and the homeless, for nonprofit organizations and charities, and for a love among us that reflects the love of him who first loved us.

I bid your prayers for the continuance of peace and prosperity in our beautiful land of Belize, for the abounding of true liberty and just order among all Belizean people, and for the flourishing of true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness over the face of the earth.

And finally I bid your humble and heartfelt praise and thanksgiving to the only true, living and almighty God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for all those blessings that he has already granted us and that he continues to pour out upon each of us every day and upon this fair nation whose independence we are celebrating.

I therefore invite you to join with me in bowing our heads and our hearts before his heavenly throne of grace as we seek his face of mercy and his hand of grace.

Let us pray.

ALMIGHTY and eternal God, you are the Father of all life, the Defender of all freedom and liberty, and the Source of all goodness and blessing. In your hand rest all nations upon earth, in your counsel reside all wisdom and virtue, and in the fullness of time you will establish your everlasting kingdom upon this earth and make all things new. Grant to us now, therefore, to our nation, to our town, to our villages, and to our families, the blessing of your gracious care and providence. As we celebrate Belize this Independence Day, give us a heart to love and fear you, to delight in your law and to walk in your ways. Increase in our nation true knowledge, true righteousness, and true holiness. Guide our leaders by your Holy Spirit in the paths of transparent justice and faithful wisdom, following after the courageous example set by your incarnate, crucified, and glorified Son Jesus Christ. And grant us grace now, merciful Father, to pursue justice, peace, humility and love, that in the present age we may through faith be conformed to your image in the sure and steadfast hope that, in the age to come, we might behold your unreflected glory in the face of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who is even now King of kings and Lord of lords, and who ever lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Blessings to you this day and always!
David+ 

As of today - September 17th

A lot has happened in the last two weeks, and I guess it's really only fair to fill you in on it all!

We are at the moment square in the middle of September festivities. Maybe I should clarify. Belize celebrates two national holidays in September, the 10th (St. George's Caye Day) and the 21st (Independence Day). We've been holding marches and celebrations and carnivals and other fine shindigs for the last couple of weeks, and we have another week to go. Really, the whole month has been set aside for the due festivities, and I am happy to participate in them as part of the community here. Please pray for me in particular on the 21st, as I am scheduled to give the invocation for the Independence Day ceremony in town.

Church has been going well. It's a "low month" for attendance due to all the festivities, but we're charging ahead and making progress in the meantime. We met with the young adults of St. Andrew's church again, and though we don't have momentum quite yet, we haven't hit a wall either. Sunday services have been going well, and I was very excited this past Sunday to travel to Santa Cruz (Selena) again to be a part of their patronal celebrations (Holy Cross Day is September 14) and visit from Bishop Wright. This coming Sunday we start our weekly preparation for Confirmation in St. Hilda's church, and we look forward to presenting a good crop of youngsters to the bishop to have hands laid on them.

School has also started, and we are in the thick of things now. We are holding chapel services at our three schools every two weeks, and having devotions for the teachers every two weeks as well. Lots of little issues are popping up (as is to be expected), but bit-by-bit I am being invited to participate and lead in the life of these Anglican schools, and I'm always honored and happy to do so.

And finally, let me just say that we're looking forward to having Fr. Juan and María back with us at the end of next week. They've been missed, and we're excited to hear about their vacation (and have them take the reins here again). I hope you all are doing well too, and shoot me a note when you have the chance!

As of today - September 3rd

Almost a week down without Fr. Juan and María, and we are (by God's grace) surviving well. Pastoral visits have been going well, and we had a great couple of worship services on Sunday at St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's.

Saturday saw quite a bit of important activity. First, we had an important Pre-Synod Conference in Belmopan which took most of the day. The Bishop and his staffed prepped us regarding the up-and-coming Diocesan Synod (October 11-14), placing the vision, topics, and roles in high relief. Then later than evening, we commenced with "young adults ministry" in Cayo. Twelves young people showed up for some traditional rice 'n' beans and stewed chicken, and we talked over how youth ministry might look in the coming months. We're going to give meeting every two weeks for worship and fellowship a try. Please keep this in your prayers!

This week looks to be "tranquil" ... at least, as much as it can be when all the Anglican schools are starting classes. I visited each school today, giving opening prayers and occasionally a few words. It was great to see all the teachers and staff back in gear. Tomorrow at St. Andrew's we'll begin our devotions with the teachers, and then next week we start regular chapel services at each school. On top of that, we're starting up again our Thursday evening children's ministry in Georgeville on Thursday evenings. In other words, we have our work cut out for us!

Oh, and I'm preaching this weekend. So ... the picture is painted for you, my readers. Would you please keep me in your prayer? 

As of today - August 27th

Last week went pretty smoothly, despite the fact that (as I look back over my calendar), a lot ended up being squeezed into seven days. It was a week with important meetings for the start of school (with teachers and principals) or for the diocesan Commission on Ministry (where we ended up heading to Belize City), with time spent with the new students at the local Creation Care Study Program, and with some intensive pastoral care for a beloved couple in our congregation.

In addition, I was privileged to bring God's Word on Sunday to his people from John 6:60-71. My voice however was drowned out by the rain on the tin roof of St. Hilda's church, so I'm not entirely sure of how much actually came across. Not exactly a "First World Problem."

Please pray for me this week ... this whole month actually. Fr. Juan and María are headed to the States for around four weeks on vacation, and the Senior Warden and I will be heading up the church in their absence. This alone would be reason enough for intensive prayer. However, in their absence, I also have several important goals to accomplish this month: the launch of regular youth ministry at St. Andrew's, the commencement of preparation for Confirmation at St. Hilda's, and the work of a sub-committee that may change the way we take care of all the parish properties here in San Ignacio. Please keep me in your prayers.

Please also keep my further discernment in your prayers: questions, thoughts, and things for me to pray about are beginning to trickle in, and I need the Lord's wisdom during this critical phase of transition. Thanks!

As of today - August 20th

It's been a reasonably quiet couple of weeks here in San Ignacio. I think we are all enjoying the few remaining days left before summer ends, school begins, and the weeks fill up with chapel services and Bible studies. In the meantime, I've been able to chew through some reading (a little bit of D.B. Hart, J.L. Borges, and Marilynne Robinson). I've also been slowly working through and translating some treatises by John of Damascus On the Holy Trinity and On the Two Wills in Christ. It's nerdy and whatnot, but it helps keep me sane, especially as soon as things get crazy come September.

A few other things of note to report from last week. First, we were unexpectedly graced by a visit from the Bishop of Belize, Philip Wright. He preached and led services at St. Andrew's and St. Hilda's, and inaugurated our new Community Center, a building which will basically function like St. Andrew's church's parish hall. It was great to spend time with him and a few other visitors on Sunday.

Second, we are moving ahead to try and begin some real work with adolescents and young adults in the Cayo area. I've begun speaking with key people to get it going, and we're hoping to start meeting in a couple of weeks. Please pray that God puts hunger and desire in our youth for spiritual community, godly teaching, and holy living!

It looks like I will also be preaching this Sunday ... I anticipate the passage to be John 6:60-71. Please keep that in your prayers as well!

As of today - August 8th

Well, it's been a bit too long since I gave an update, but let me get in here and give you all a few details about what's been going on.

Last week ended up being a great cluster of days to rest and study without having to worry too much about groups coming down or people to visit. I was able to work somewhat on last Sunday's sermon from John 6:24-35, a passage which is legendary in its awesome complexity. So, that was tasty! Juan and María were off for a few days in San Pedro in ministry with a SAMS-USA Bridger Missionary couple.

As we've been waiting for Hurricane Ernesto to roll in, I've been spending some time with a group that suddenly came in from Church of the Good Shepherd (Norfolk, VA), who has been working with some of our kids from St. Hilda's in Georgeville. My hands are a little blistered from chopping lawns with a machete, but we've had a good time.

Please keep us in your prayers for these storms, and that I continue to recover a little bit from the stress of the month of July! Thank you all!

As of today - July 31st

Well, today the last of our short-term groups has left our churches here in Belize. We had a great time with the most recent group from New York and New Jersey led by Gus Calvo and Geoff Miller. I spent most of last week helping them out as the team cleaned and painted classroom walls, tiled classroom floors, poured concrete, and built lunch tables for the children of St. Andrew's Anglican School in San Ignacio. I spent most of my time helping build the tables, and I had a great (if sweaty) time on their construction with the other members of the team.

We topped off the excellent week with a visit to Guatemala, to see the Mayan ruins of Tikal. It was absolutely incredible, and I was grateful for another day with the last team to come and visit for a while.

I also had a very productive time with the Spanish-speaking missions on Sunday, preaching at San Andrés (San Ignacio) and Santa Cruz (Selena Valley). Unfortunately, we got rained out from going to Santa Trinidad (Frank's Eddy Village). We're hoping to get together on Friday to have a good-old-fashioned hymn and praise chorus sing-along in Spanish. It was a great time of building relationships!

And hopefully as well, today or tomorrow I will be getting out another installment of "The Occasional Newsletter". I make no promises, but the publishing process seems most imminent! Thank you for all your prayers and support!

As of today - July 23rd

Last week was kind of a blur: we got a lot done, but it was a whirlwind. The team from Grace and Holy Trinity Church (Richmond, VA) did a great job working with the kids in the Arts and Music Camp, and we were very blessed to have them with us. I was set to work helping out with music, and was impressed at what together we were able to transmit to the little noisemakers who came every day. The church is looking forward to seeing them again very soon.

For those of you who were wondering, I enjoyed the trip to Belize City over the weekend. I was very honored and pleased to be at a Gala Event on Saturday night celebrating the bicentennial anniversary of the foundation of the Anglican Cathedral, and the following morning I attended worship (as a "visiting foreign clergyman") at a massive eucharistic celebration for the whole diocese in the cathedral. Great times.

As for this coming week, we are enjoying a visit from an interdenominational short-term mission group from New Jersey and upstate New York, led by the Rev. Gus Calvo. The group is fun and low-key: in addition to some building projects, they are meeting with the families, youth, and others of the church to encourage and build up our congregations. I look forward to accompanying them in their work this week.

One other tidbit. This coming Sunday I will be the guest preacher at all three Spanish-language congregations in the diocese: San Andrés (San Ignacio), Santa Cruz (Selena Valley), and Santa Trinidad (Frank's Eddy Village). We're going to do the wide-sweeping tour that day, starting at 7 am, and going until about 6 pm. I'm looking forward to it.

Have a great week!