To: Clergy and People
From: The Bishop
5th March, 2019

Greetings!

Ash Wednesday-Lent

The Season of Lent begins on Ash-Wednesday 6th March, 2019. Please see the attached – Spiritual Disciplines.

Lenten and Good Friday Collection

As you are aware our Diocese has a Missionary Outreach to the Church in West Africa, and in particular the Church in Guinea. Our Lenten Mission Services Collections have been earmarked annually. Good Friday Collections are for the Church in Jerusalem.

It would be appreciated if you’ll send collections to the Diocesan Office in due course for dispatch to the relevant missions.

Disaster Preparedness Workshop

The Anglican Alliance, together with their partners the ERD, PWRDF, and ACF, are pleased that they can support the work of the dioceses in the Caribbean to enhance capacity to prepare for, and respond to, disasters.

They deeply regretted that they had to cancel last year’s workshop to adapt the Pastors and Disasters resource and train persons in its use. However, they are happy that this year they are able to support more detailed work in this area.

•  During the Period March 10-15, they hope to host a workshop in Grenada to adapt the resource to the Caribbean context. They will do this QY undertaking a very detailed and highly participatory training workshop in the resource. They have built stops into the schedule so that they can gauge feedback from participants and test the tools in communities. These will enable them to make amendments to the resource where community tests and participant feedback indicate that some adaptation of the tool is needed.

They really hope that each diocese can send at least 1person to this pivotal activity as it would assist them to make changes that are relevant in a local context- changes needed for Jamaica may be different for Trinidad, which is why they hope to have persons from all dioceses together in the room.

After this adaptation workshop they will publish an addendum to the tools with any changes that have been made.

It is important to note that by attending this workshop, participants will be fully trained in the resource and will be able, and expected, to begin supporting the work of disaster preparedness in their dioceses.

Working Days: March 11-15

Travel days: March 10 and 16

Venue: St. Martin’s Retreat Centre, Mt. St. Ervans, St. Andrew, Grenada

Working sessions: 9am-Spm daily.

•  At a date which will be soon determined, they will move to the next phase which will involve the mass training of persons in dioceses using the adapted resource. They invite all dioceses- to participate in this and will send more details after the adaptation workshop:

They expect that the persons from dioceses who attended the adaptation workshop in Grenada will play a leading role in this mass training. Specifically, they hope to support workshop 2 in the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago where several groups were mobilized to participate last year. They are keen to see them trained in the use of the adapted resource and commence their work.

• Built into their programming for this year is also some capability to support grassroots work in other dioceses, they expect this to be led by persons trained at the adaptation workshop and supported by them.

The following are expected to attend the workshop: The Venerable Michael Marshall, The Rev’d Fr, Edward R Mark, The Rev’d Fr. Junior Ballantyne, the Rev’d Eleanor Glasgow, Mr. Alphonsus Daniel, Ms. Joan Charles, Mrs. Hermione St. Bernard, Ms. Lana Me Phail and Mr. Clifton Nedd.

Memorial Service

There will be a Requiem Mass for the repose of the soul of the late Festus Augustus Toney at 3:00pm on Thursday 28th March, 2019 at the Holy Trinity Parish Church, Georgetown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Festus Augustus was a member of the Holy Trinity Parish Church, Georgetown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He was choir director, lay reader, and a member of the Parochial Church Council of that parish for many years as well as represented the parish at the Island Church Council, and at Diocesan Synod.

Mr. Toney served as secretary to the Island Church Council and Incorporated Trustees of the Anglican Church, Advent Mission Committee, Anglican Primary School Board and served on the Board of Governors of Bishop’s College Georgetown, in the Archdeaconry of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and also as secretary to the Diocesan Board of Finance and as assistant secretary at Diocesan Synod. He also represented the diocese at the Provincial Synod of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. Mr. Toney was present at every Patronal Festival and ensured that the annual servers’ festival was organized and held. He was so devoted to the servers Festival that he penned a hymn to be sung at the Festival when it was held on the 22nd January, 2009 being the feast day of Saint Vincent Deacon and martyr.

Mr. Toney served as lay assistant to the Bishop for many years from Archbishop Woodroffe in the 1980’s to Bishops Elder, Goodridge and Friday in 2009.

Institution and Induction

The Service of Institution and Induction of the Rev’d Pamela Daniel as Rector of the St. Matthew Parish Church with St. Sylvan, Stubbs and St. Mark, Greggs is scheduled for 5:00pm on Wednesday 8th May, 2018 being the feast of Julian of Norwich at the St. Matthew’s Parish Church, Biabou. Your prayers and presence are requested.

Provincial Sunday Special Collection.

This is a kindly reminder to send Collection taken for the Province on Provincial Sunday to Diocesan Office, for dispatch to the Provincial Secretariat in Barbados.

With every good wish and God’s blessings!

The Rt. Rev’ d C. Leopold Friday
Bishop of the Windward Islands