Philippines - yet another typhoon

Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos have been displaced by Typhoon Koppu, the second strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year. The Philippines endures about 20 major storms a year, many of them deadly. 

Now, heavy rain has lashed the typhoon-hit areas, where 22 people have been killed. Nearly 300,000 people have been affected. The floods are as high as rooftops in some of the nation's most important rice and corn farming regions in Luzon. More than 200 villages have been flooded, with some areas more than a metre under water. Weather forecasters have warned that the typhoon could cut back onto the far northern edge of Luzon on Wednesday morning after picking up more water in the South China Sea.  

The churches in Northern and Central Luzon are deeply affected and devastated by this typhoon. DAP regional President Emma Cantor and Diakonia Philippines, along with the social service agencies of the churches and NGOs, are collectively engaged in supporting those who have been affected by the typhoon.

DOTAC Conference - participants arriving for day 1

It's great to see Facebook lighting up with photos posted by Dionata Rodriquez de Oliveira and Arlene Prochnow, who are welcoming the DOTAC Conference participants as they arrive.
Please uphold in prayer the DOTAC Conference, and the Regional President Lisa Polito, and Ingrit Vogt, as they offer leadership for the conference.

Participants are gradually arriving in Porto Alegro for the DOTAC Conference which begins tomorrow (October 21). It was a pleasure to share dinner at Hotel Embaixador with three new friends - Linda and Shirley (Presbyterian Church, Canada), and Jamie (Episcopalian Church, LA).
The DOTAC Central Committee has been meeting since Friday to conduct its business and to make plans.

Shirley, Sandy, Jamie and Linda

SOLI DAY in Fiji

The Methodist Deaconesses in Fiji held a SOLI DAY on October 10th, to prepare for their Golden Jubilee Celebration to be celebrated on  February 10, 2017. The purpose of the SOLI DAY was to raise funds to build a Double Storey Buiding at the Deaconess house in Samabula. Each of the Deaconesses has been invited to contribute financially, as well as all ministers in the Methodist Church in Fiji. A grand total of $28,393 was raised for the new building at the Deaconess Training Centre. More photos on Facebook here.

40 Deacons to be ordained as Deacons in the Church of England

On Saturday, 4th July, 40 women and men from the Diocese of London will be ordained as Deacons at St Paul's, London. The main part of the ceremony will see the Bishop of London, The Right Reverend Richard Chartres, lay his hands on the heads of the candidates, before they are each vested in a white stole symbolising the liturgical role of deacons in the Eucharist. Many of those ordained Deacons are 'transitional deacons' and will be ordained as priests in the future (all priests are firstly Deacons, and remain Deacons when ordained as a priest). Some will stay as 'distinctive' or 'permanent' Deacons, and some will serve as 'vocational Deacons' with secular employment.
Let us join the prayers of many for these 40 men and women to be ordained, and pray a blessing on their ongoing ministry.

DRAE Assembly 2015

The DIAKONIA Region Africa Europe (DRAE) Assembly has gathered in Kongshaug, Bergen. With more than 140 delegates from the UK, Scandinavia, Europe and Africa, this is a wonderful time for renewing friendships and making new connections, for sharing stories, engaging in learning, and for building community. Please hold the DRAE Assembly in your prayers this week. The input from guest speakers is being posted as PDF text files on the DRAE website.

Rev Sandy Boyce with the DRAE sign at the airport

Participants are being encouraged to knit, for a project in Estonia

the view from the venue at Kongshaug

The moon at 2am with a blue sky - summer in Norway!

Delegates at the opening gathering for DRAE Assembly 2015

Rev Sandy Boyce with African delegates - Ibironke, Joanna and Margaret

snow capped mountains in the distance

a time for lament in response to tragedy and domestic terrorism

'Claiming Common Ground against Gun violence' was a peaceful protest planned in Salt Lake City, Utah, held in response to the shooting of nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Deacons were encouraged to participate in this peaceful march on Sunday June 28th, during the Episcopal Church's General Convention in Salt Lake City.

"We are making a witness to Utah and indeed to the world that as people of faith, we need to claim common ground on gun violence. The incident that was reported out this morning, when you combine mental health issues, which I think is in play here, and racism, which is obviously in play, and guns, you have a toxic combination which produces tragic results," said Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, N.J., a founder of Bishops United Against Gun Violence.

“The type of healing we need can only be borne out of lament — a lament that holds space in the deepest pits of our beings for the piercing sorrow and rage being expressed by black communities, cultivates empathy, and puts restorative justice at the center of our collective action.” (Sojo)

Around the world, let us pray with the people of Charleston, and with the Bishops United Against Gun Violence. 

A hymn by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette for Charleston:They Met to Read the Bible
ST. CHRISTOPHER 7.6.8.6.8.6.8.6 (“Beneath the Cross of Jesus”)

They met to read the Bible, they gathered for a prayer,
They worshiped God and shared with friends
and welcomed strangers there.
They went to church to speak of love,
To celebrate God’s grace.
O Lord, we tremble when we hear
What happened in that place.

O God of love and justice, we thank you for the nine.
They served in their communities
and made the world more kind.
They preached and sang and coached and taught,
And cared for children, too.
They blessed your church and blessed your world
With gifts they used for you.

We grieve a wounded culture
Where fear and terror thrive,
Where some hate others for their race
And guns are glorified.
We grieve for sons and daughters lost,
For grandmas who are gone.
O God, we cry with broken hearts:
This can’t continue on!

God, may we keep on sowing
the seeds of justice here,
Till guns are silent, people sing,
and hope replaces fear.
May seeds of understanding grow
And flourish all our days.
May justice, love and mercy be
The banner that we raise.

Tune: Frederick Charles Maker, 1881
Text: Copyright © 2015 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: bcgillette@comcast.net New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com
Permission is given for free use by local churches and in ecumenical services.