WHILE NATURE DOES THAT THING IT DOES!

Father God,
Please protect and preserve this nation of ours as we entr into another month of the Hurricane season. Help our neighbours in other countries who are experincing hurricane situation as we go about our happy lives. Help u to know and love you, dear God, and to do your will.
Amen.

YOUR WONDERS NEVER CEASE - NATURE PROTECTING ITSELF

Dear God, Today I want to thank you for all the wonderful things there are in nature. I also want to thank you for my life and the lives of Carolyn Angela, Ciarra Alexandra, Miya, Abel, Triccia and all the rest of my family and friends. Bless them Oh, Lord and keep them safe at all times.
Amen.

THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYWHERE

Have you told HIM lately that you love Him?

GOD IS PRESENT IN FAMILIES THAT WORK TOGETHER

ALL OUR LOVE TO OUR NEW EXTENDED FAMILY,
Brenda and Abel

GOD IS PRESENT IN ALL CREATION

Even on a lagoon in a quiet little spot a water lily's beauty is untouched by nature.

NATURE TAKING CARE OF ITSELF... THAT'S GOD

IF CHICKENS CAN BE SO LOVING, SO CAN WE!

THIS MOTHER HEN AND HER 13 YOUNG ONES LIVE ON PANTO-HA RESORT IN XUL-HA, QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO

HIS WORK ON NATURE IS LIMITLESS

A CLOSER LOOK AT THAT LAGOON IN XUL-HA

GOD IS GREAT

DOWN THE ROAD IN XUL-HA, QUINTANA ROO, MEXICO. THE BEAUTIFUL SITE WE SEE IS A PART OF THE LAGOON MANY OF US KNOW FROM THE BACALAR AREA.

NATURE... GOD'S BEST GIFT AFTER LIFE TO THE HUMAN RACE

LIKE JESUS

PLEA TO ALL FATHERS TO PLEASE LOVE THEIR CHILDREN LIKE JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE ONES.

JESUS SMILING

IF ONLY THE WORLD COULD LEARN TO DO THINGS LIKE JESUS DID. LOVE CHILDREN. DON'T HURT THEM.

THIRD CURFEW AMID KASHMIR TENSION

A curfew has been imposed in parts of Indian-administered Kashmir for a third consecutive day after violence in the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley.

More than 20 people were killed when security forces opened fire on protesters on Monday and Tuesday.

Tension is also high in the mainly Hindu region of Jammu. Two people were killed in communal clashes on Tuesday.

Police have been given orders to shoot demonstrators who defy a curfew in the town of Kishtwar, in Jammu.

At least four districts in the valley region - Baramulla, Bandipora, Pulwama and Shopian - remain under curfew for a third consecutive day, a BBC correspondent in Srinagar says.

Kashmir's summer capital, Srinagar, and five other districts were hit by violence on Tuesday.

Anger and shock

Our correspondent says people in many parts of Srinagar came out of their homes before midnight on Tuesday and chanted pro-freedom slogans.

Many of them assembled in mosques where they turned on loudspeakers to relay the slogans.

This followed reports that the police had ransacked some homes in the city, and more than 30 people were injured when paramilitary forces fired at protesters in the valley.

The BBC's Altaf Hussain says there is anger and shock among people in the valley region over what they describe an excessive use of force by the police to break up protest demonstrations
Protests and counter-protests have been taking place for weeks both in the Kashmir valley around Jammu, further south.

The demonstrations in the valley are some of the biggest since a separatist rebellion against Indian rule broke out nearly 20 years ago.

Tensions are rising and threaten peace hopes after years of relative calm. Correspondents say Kashmir is now dangerously polarised by a dispute which began over the control of a small piece of land.

Violent demonstrations began two months ago in the state when a decision to transfer a small area of land to the trust which runs a Hindu shrine provoked an angry Muslim reaction.

When the land transfer was abandoned, groups from the state's Hindu minority began furious protests of their own.

POPE PILGRIMS SEEK AUSTRALIA HOME

About 20 Catholic pilgrims, in Australia since the July visit of Pope Benedict XVI, have applied for asylum, a refugee support group said.

Experts say more visitors are expected to seek asylum as their visas, many of them valid for three months, expire.

Applicants were mainly from African countries, including Zimbabwe, and Pakistan, said Asylum Seekers Centre director Tamara Domicelj.

More than 100,000 pilgrims attended World Youth Day led by the Pope.
"At this stage we've had about 20 people present to us as identified pilgrims indicating they're needing to seek protection in Australia," Ms Domicelj told reporters.

"It might well be that at the end of those three months we see a spike in applications for protection," Ms Domicelj said.

Citing individuals from Cameroon, Burundi, Kenya and elsewhere, Ms Domicelj told Reuters: "We are seeing utter destitution, we see malnutrition, we are seeing depression, we see homelessness. People are coming to us from a place of crisis."

More expected

Rights watchdog Amnesty International said more pilgrims are likely to seek asylum once special three-month visitor visas expired. An estimated 3,000 were still in the country.

"There are still a number of people in the community who came out during World Youth Day. There is certainly an expectation that some will decide to seek asylum rather that return," Amnesty International refugee co-ordinator Graham Thom said.

The new Australian government led by Kevin Rudd overturned his predecessor John Howard's stringent immigration policies last month. Mandatory detention in special immigration jails forced many asylum seekers into years behind razor wire awaiting refugee visas.

Detention is now only allowed for people who pose a risk to the community.

A spokesman for the Department of Immigration could not confirm whether any World Youth Day visitors were seeking asylum but said most pilgrims had been given three-month visas.

He said all applications for asylum from the pilgrims would be treated on merit.

MILLIONS JOIN ANTI-TERRORISM CALL

Millions of people in Pakistan have signed up to a campaign started by a man from Warwickshire to make a pledge against terrorism, he has said.

Writer Waseem Mahmood, from Stratford-upon-Avon, said he set up the campaign after hearing his children say young Muslims were misinterpreting Islam.

The project, called the Yeh Hum Naheen Foundation, meaning "this is not us", is funded by donations and UN grants.

It has been publicised across Pakistan by billboards and a pop song.

A total of 6,000 volunteers have been employed to help collect signatures from across the country, asking people to sign to say they do not support terrorism.

'Very moving'

A group of Pakistan's most popular singers released a song encouraging people to sign the petition, and other personalities, including soap stars, also joined the campaign.

Mr Mahmood, who has family links to Pakistan, said out of the country's population of 162 million people, a total of 50 million had already signed the petition.

He said: "It is very moving to see them. It gets me there.
"I didn't expect that much support here (Pakistan).

"I knew we would get a few million people here, but 50 million - it's almost as if we've given them something they were waiting for."

Mr Mahmood said he hoped it would make a difference to British Muslims too.

"As we know the 7/7 bombers all had links back here (Pakistan).

"A lot of young Muslims are coming back here and I think we need to address the cause of terrorism - and the root cause is here."

VANDALISED CHURCH PARTLY RESTORED

A medieval church in Leicester which was vandalised two months ago has been cleaned up.

Vandals broke into St Margaret's Church on 15 June, damaging wooden altars and panelling, art deco paintings, a stained-glass window and candlesticks.

The 13th Century church has since been cleaned and will now feature in a series of guided walks through the city's historic sites.

Canon Barry Naylor said the superficial damage had been repaired.

"We have worked really hard to get the church cleaned up and to ensure that church life and worship would continue and not be disrupted by this incident.

"All the superficial damage has been sorted out, and the main structure of the church, along with much of its beauty and splendour, is still here for visitors to enjoy," he said.

'Encouraging' recovery

He added that the broken stained glass window, a smashed glass panel covering medieval stonework and some painted plaster panels still needed to be restored.

The organ is being repaired at a cost of around £9,000.

St Margaret's Church will be one of the main attractions on a series of tours to highlight Leicester's medieval heritage.

Visitors will be shown around the church on 25 August, as part of the Castle Park Heritage and Arts Festival.

Leicester City Council's cabinet member for culture and leisure Andy Connelly said: "It is very encouraging to see that this church has recovered from the vandalism it has suffered."

AUTHOR'S NOVEL INVITATION TO HOME

A 93-year-old woman who has had her first novel published has bought a house in Devon so she can help friends stay out of nursing homes.

Lorna Page has moved from Surrey to the five-bedroom house in Weare Giffard, near Torrington. She has one friend staying with her already.

Her son, Robin, and his wife are also sharing the home and providing support.

The author said she wanted to buy other properties so more people could live with her in dignity.

She hopes the book's royalties will pay enough so her friends do not have to move into nursing homes, something she dreads.

'Not living'

She said: "It's pathetic. It seems to me that in those places people just spend their time alone in one room and people come in and give them food.

"Either that or they just go down to a room and sit at the edge of it. They don't seem to talk to each other at all, they're just sort of there. That's not living."

Mrs Page wrote her book, A Dangerous Weakness, three years ago.

She did not get it published until her daughter-in-law found the manuscript, read it, and convinced her to send it to a publisher.

TH CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS

In the spring of 1820, Joseph Smith Jr. retired to the woods near his home in Palmyra, New York, and offered a simple prayer to our Father in Heaven. This humble prayer set into motion a series of events that brought forth The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from its obscure beginnings in upstate New York to a worldwide church. The introductory resources assembled here tell this story.

The Restoration of Truth
God is your loving Heavenly Father
God is your Father in Heaven (Matthew 6:9). We call God Heavenly Father because He is the Father of our spirits and we are created in His image ( Genesis 1:27).

God has a body that looks like yours, though His body is immortal, perfected, and has a glory beyond description. He knows you personally and loves you more than you can comprehend. To help you find happiness in this life and guide you to return to live with Him, Heavenly Father provided a plan called the gospel? of Jesus Christ, a guide based on the life and teachings of His Son, Jesus Christ.

From the beginning, Heavenly Father has called prophets? to testify, record His word, and provide His plan for His children on the earth. The teachings of prophets are found in sacred? books called scriptures? ( Amos 3:7).

Your Heavenly Father knows you and loves you and wants to help you return to Him. Your life on Earth is part of His plan for you to gain a body, learn, grow, and find joy. Sometimes life is hard, lonely, or frightening, but your Heavenly Father is always there. He sorrows when you suffer and rejoices when you do what is right. He wants to communicate with you as you sincerely pray to Him, and He stands ready to give you comfort, peace, and guidance in your life.

Jesus Christ taught that you must know the only true God to have eternal life ( John 17:3). As His child, you must know who He is and what He is like to find greater peace and joy, both in this life and in the life to come.

SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST

As a Christian church, Seventh-day Adventists are a faith community rooted in the beliefs described by the Holy Scriptures. Adventists describe these beliefs in the following ways:

God's greatest desire is for you to see a clear picture of His character. When you see Him clearly, you will find His love irresistible.

For many, "seeing God clearly" requires that they see God's face. However, how He looks is not the issue. Seeing and understanding His character is what's most important. The more clearly we understand Him, the more we will find His love irresistible. As we begin to experience His love, our own lives will begin to make more sense.

God most clearly reveals His character in three great events. The first is His creation of man and woman--and His giving them the freedom of choice. He created humans with the ability to choose to love Him or to hate Him! The death of Jesus Christ, God's only Son, on the cross as our substitute is the second great event. In that act He paid the penalty we deserve for our hateful choices toward God and His ways. Jesus' death guarantees forgiveness for those choices and allows us to spend eternity with Him. The third event confirms the first two and fills every heart with hope: Christ's tomb is empty! He is alive, living to fill us with His love!

Jesus' disciple John wrote that if everyone wrote all the stories they knew about Jesus, the whole world could not contain them. Our knowledge of God helps us understand His love, character, and grace. Experiencing that love begins a lifelong adventure in growth and service. This knowledge and experience powers our mission to tell the world about His love and His offer of salvation.

Scripture is a road map. The Bible is God's voice, speaking His love personally to you today.

The Bible speaks the Creator's directions to us, like a detailed road map that clearly shows the exit ramp directly into heaven. It is also much like an owner's manual for a life ready to be lived on the cutting edge of liberty.

Sometimes His voice speaks through stories, such as those of David and Goliath, Ruth and Boaz, Naaman's little servant girl, Christ on the cross, and fisherman Peter learning how to tend sheep. Some of these stories teach us how to handle the troubles we face each day. Others fill us with hope and peace. Each of them is like a personal letter from God to you.

Portions of Scripture are direct instructions and laws from God such as the Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20. These tell us more about God and His expectations for us. When people asked Jesus to summarize these commands, He focused on the way God's love affects the way we live. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul," He said. "And love your neighbor as you love yourself."

On other pages the Bible gives God's practical advice and encouragement through parables, lists, promises, and warnings. Amazingly, though many different writers throughout thousands of years wrote the Bible, each page describes the same God in ways we can understand and apply in our lives today. This book is always His voice talking personally to anyone who is willing to read and hear.

God loves us even when we choose to reject His love. In those times He allows us to walk away into the life of our own choices. Yet He is still there, always ready to redeem us from the results of our decisions.

Jesus is the one who never changes in a universe that always does. Jesus is Creator, Sustainer, Saviour, Friend, God's Son, and God Himself!

Everything in this world is always changing, even our desires, interests, skills, and body shapes. But Jesus? He's consistent. He's always the same. Sure, He's always surprising us and touching our lives in thousands of new and different ways, but His character is unchanging. He's God's Son, the Creator, our Saviour, and Friend.

Jesus has promised to be all of that, and more, for each of us. We can trust His promises because He is God. When the words of Colossians say "in Him all things hold together" (1:17, NIV) that includes everything in our lives. He keeps us whole when the enemy is trying to make us fall apart.

Seventh-day Adventists believe that Jesus is one of the three persons, called the Trinity, who make up our one God. The Bible describes Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit as each being committed to our growth as Christians and to our salvation as their children. They made this salvation possible when Jesus came to Bethlehem as a human baby. He lived a life perfectly in accord with God's will and then died innocently for all of our sins. He was placed in a borrowed tomb, but He came back to life three days later. Now he is in heaven interceding with the Father for us, preparing for our deliverance from sin and death.

When everything may be falling apart, when you feel totally alone in the universe, Jesus is right there in the center of it all, offering personal peace and hope. Allow Him into your life. He immediately begins "remodeling" who you are and how you live. Jesus, in fact, is busily transforming His followers into accurate representatives of God's character.

Look to Jesus, and you'll be looking into the understanding and loving face of God.

God's vision for you is life as He lives it! God loves you, and wants to give you the highest quality of life imaginable.

No, not a second-rate existence somewhere on earth, but the highest quality of life imaginable, here and in eternity with Him! That's what God wants us to have. The best!

This is why He provides church families where we can belong. This is why He gives each of us special gifts and talents, so we can live life fully. Amazingly, this is why He's concerned about what you're doing, when you're doing it, and how you relate to Him. God doesn't want anything to get in the way of our friendship. He especially doesn't want us to get involved in anything damaging or hurtful. He's like a loving father or a good big brother. He's someone who loves you so much that He's always looking out for you.

When God designed you, He included special talents and skills that will help you become a uniquely valuable individual. These may be your ability to teach, your love for others, or your leadership skills. Still, whatever special gifts you have received, God has also provided all of the energy and wisdom necessary for you to use them well.

By the way, how God feels about death is part of the quality life He offers. For followers of Christ, death holds no fear. Remember, Jesus defeated death on Calvary and has given us freedom from death. Cemeteries, then, are filled with followers of God who are in the "peaceful pause before the resurrection." Yes, they are dead, but that death holds no power over their future. Jesus is coming to take them (and those of us who are still living) HOME! Death is almost like a wintery promise of spring.

The Seventh-day Adventist faith in today and in the future comes from seeing this life "overflowing" with hope!

Because love is the key aspect of His character, God is also deeply into gratitude. Before we even finish saying thank you, He's already busy sending more blessings.

In the heart of God is a place you can experience as home. God loves you, and wants to spend time with you personally, one on one, as two close friends.

Because you and God are friends, you will spend time together as friends do. Each morning you'll share a hello and a hug and discuss how you can face the day's events together. Throughout the day you'll talk with Him about how you feel. You'll laugh with Him at funny things and ache with Him over sadness and hurts. It's pleasant being God's friend, able to snuggle comfortably into the safety of your relationship. You can always trust Him to treat you well, because He loves you.

The seventh day (Saturday) is an extra-special part of the relationship. The Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, describes the seventh day as the one day God has set aside for focused fellowship with His people. God has named that day "Sabbath" and asked us to spend it with Him. "Remember the sabbath day," He says, "to keep it holy." The Sabbath is a whole day to deepen our friendship with the Creator of the universe! A day when we're together, Jesus with us and us with Jesus.

There's another great truth about friendship with God. It doesn't end in a cemetery, for God is planning a homecoming better than anything we can dream. A homecoming filled with angels, trumpets, Jesus, and resurrections! He's promised to bring His followers, those who have accepted the offer of His life-changing love, from this earth to His home, a place He calls heaven. A place where our friendship can go on growing forever, endlessly, joyfully!

God keeps a family album-and your picture is in it. God loves you and has a plan for your life.
God's love is about you. Personally.

God made you and has a very special plan for your life. It's a plan that will fill you with hope, love, peace, and activity. In fact, when Christ paid the penalty for sin on the cross, that gave Him the right to claim you as His own. As a result, you can experience His love and priceless salvation freely and fully without limit.

By the way, pictures of everyone fill that album: Nepalese, Brazilians, Nigerians, Yupiks, Germans, people of every nation, culture, background, gender, hair color, and foot size. In God's eyes all are equally "children of the King"!

Salvation? God cleans away all our sins and replaces them with His goodness. We don't have to be "good" for Him to accept us. Nevertheless, we must accept His promise and allow Him to clean out everything the enemy has left in us. Then we begin to experience the transforming power of His love. It's like a giant war: one side pulling us toward empty pleasure and destruction, and God urging us to accept His offer of peace and purpose.

Remember, Jesus has already won the war. He is victorious! We celebrate His victory in our lives when we participate in the Lord's Supper. This meal includes three symbols:

Foot washing (which symbolizes our commitment to love others as Jesus loves us),
bread ("This bread is my flesh," Jesus said, "which I will give for the life of the world," John 6:51, NIV), and
wine or grape juice ("Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." John 6:54, NIV)
To help us understand how God can transform us into His children, Jesus modeled the process of baptism for us. Baptism symbolized dying to self and coming alive in Jesus. Seventh-day Adventists practice full immersion baptism because by being fully buried beneath the water we symbolize that God's grace fully fills us with His new life for the future. Through baptism we are truly born again in Jesus.

Eternal life, peace, purpose, forgiveness, transforming grace, hope: Everything He promises is ours, because He's offering it and He's shown we can trust Him to do exactly as He promises. Accept His gifts, and you immediately become an active part of His family, and He joyfully becomes part of yours.

A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN WESLEY OF THE WESLEY CHURCH

John and Charles Wesley were born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, into the large family of Samuel and Susanna Wesley (of about nineteen children, three sons and seven daughters survived). Both parents were devout and strongminded people.

Samuel had been raised in a Dissenting academy, but became a high church Anglican and was Rector of the parish at Epworth. He was a man of faith and spoke of ‘the inward witness' as ‘the strongest proof of Christianity.'

Susanna Wesley, who seems to have had a considerable influence over John, raised and educated her enormous family with great competence and discipline – the children had 6 hours of home schooling a day. She also found time, during one of Samuel's absences, to set up a Sunday afternoon house group in the rectory kitchen, which eventually attracted 200 people.

Samuel had a turbulent relationship with his flock and when in 1709 the rectory was destroyed by fire, some speculated that disgruntled parishioners might have been responsible.

John Wesley, who was six at the time of the fire, was caught in the house but was rescued from an upstairs window. This gave rise to a belief in his family that he had been spared for some special purpose, and later John used to refer to himself as ‘a brand plucked from the burning'. This literal event was a powerful image of having been saved ‘from the wrath to come'.

ST. JOHN'S ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL OF BELIZE

The Diocese of Belize serves as the Anglican Church home for the people of Belize, the new Central American nation in the heart of the Caribbean.



Established in 1883 as a member of the Church of the Province of the West Indies, today the Diocese is comprised of 31 churches spread throughout the country, and is engaged in missionary outreach on a national and international scale. In partnership with the government, we also operate 20 schools across the country.




MISSION STATEMENT:



To help all our members seek Jesus as the Christ and discover the authority within us so as to:

Be faithful stewards of the church and of God's creation.
To be in fellowship and partnership with all other Christian denominations, bodies, governments and states in creating a nation to love God, and love our neighbors as ourselves.
To be an open, growing, nurturing and worshiping community of faith for all of our multi-racial and multi-ethnic society.
To proclaim the Gospel of Christ through meaningful programs, to seek the root causes and address crime, violence and other social challenges of the nation.
History of the Anglican Diocese of Belize



In some sense, to understand the history of the Anglican Church in Belize, one has to look back to the Indian tribes of the Moskito (or Mosquito) Shore in the mid-eighteenth century. After repeated appeals by the Rev. Mr. Peat, Rector of Jamestown, Jamaica, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) sent a succession of missionaries to work among the Indians. Thsi started sometime after 1747 with the Rev. Nathan Prince. Many of these missionaries did not fair well, succumbing to the harsh conditions and dying shortly after arrival in the region.



The Early Chaplains to the Belize Settlement
The Moskito Coast Mission received the Rev. Robert Shaw in 1774. However, in 1776, due to illness and inability to bear the climate there, Shaw was forced to return to England--being replaced by the Rev. William Standord. On his way from the Moskito Coast, Shaw made a stop in the Belize settlement (the 'Bay Settlement') which then comprised of British buccaneers living on St George's Caye, located a few miles offshore the mainland. Shaw stayed on to become the first chaplain of the Belize settlement.



Shaw's chaplaincy was interrupted by a Spanish invastion in 1779 from which Shaw escaped to the Moskito Shore. The public records make no mention of a permanent chaplain between the late 1780s and 1794. Ecclesiastical functions were carried out by the magistrates during this period.



In March 1794, Rev. William Stanford was appointed as chaplain. By this time the settlement had moved to the mainland, developing into what became known as Belize Town (today's Belize City). Despite early confrontations with the settlers and Superintendent, Stanford later became a Police Magistrate. This was a full-time administrative and judicial office in the local government and a most influential position. In 1803, by resolution of the magistrates, and through the efforts of Stanford, public funds were used to support the chaplaincy.



Between 1776 and 1810, the two chaplains (Shaw and Stanford) were more involved in the affairs concerning the government of the settlements than to that of the Church. They were more social stabilizers than evangelists. Yet partly due to their efforts and a growing sense of permanence among the settlers, the settlement was preparing to build a church building, call a rector and establish a school by 1810. on the twentieth of July, 1812, that the foundation stone of what was to become St John's Cathedral was laid by the then Superintendent, Lt. Colonel John Nugent Smyth. By 1817 the magistrates were petitioning for assistance for the completion of the building. in 1818 the SPG approved $200 for the project.



The Evangelical Influence
Around this time the Rev. John Armstrong arrived to replace Standford as the third chaplain of the settlement. His arrival was to produce remarkable changes in the relationship between the Church and the community at large. Armstrong was the product of the Wesleyan-initiated Evangelical Awakening that was taking place in England. Armstrong thus marked the start of the evangelical influence in Belize.



Two years later, in 1814, when the settlement received its new Superintendent in the person of George Arthur, the evangelical influence intensified. Arthur was also an Evangelical Anglican with very strong Calvinist views. He and Armstrong embarked upon a program to reform the society much to the disgust of many of the settlers. He condemned their drunkenness, immorality, cruelty to the slaves and the injustice of their courts.



Armstrong and Arthur did not always agree on certain issues of government, however. Arthur's constant meddling in Armstrong's work often created tensions between them. Yet both men were driven by similar religious convictions. They did their best to advance the work of the Church in the settlement by erecting chapels and opening schools. Armstrong periodically expressed his desire to extend his ministry to the Indians near the settlement and at the Moskito Shore, but was never able to pursue this goal.



By 1825 the evangelical influence had all but come to an end following the departure of Arthur and Armstrong, and thanks to the efforts of the majority of the settlers. Arthur was replaced by General Edward Codd, and Armstrong by the Rev. Dr. Matthew Newport in 1824. Newport was 'a high Churchman of the old eighteenth century type' who believed in the historic orthodoxy of the Church. His determination to return to traditional Anglicanism characterized the approach to his chaplaincy. He was to make the settlement his home for the next thirty six years.



Under the Jurisdiction of the Diocese of Jamaica
On the thirteenth of April, 1826, St. John's Cathedral was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Christopher Lipscombe, Bishop of Jamaica. He had earlier, in July 1824, been consecrated and appointed to the Jamaican See with jurisdiction over the Church in the Belize settlement, with state-supplied stipends for two clergymen. His visit marked the first such visit of a bishop to the Belize settlement.



This relationship with the Diocese of Jamaica proved beneficial for the Church in the Bay Settlement. A grant from the SPG's Negro Instruction Fund was secured for the erection of a school at Belize Town as part of the effort to provide education for the slaves who were now legally free. SPG missionaries could now also be sent from Jamaica to Belize, such as the Rev. Charles Mortlock in 1844--the first in over forty years.



The expansion of Belize Town to the north in the mid-1800s necessitated the construction of a second church building. A small wooden building was erected on the north side of the town dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin. It was consecrated by Bishop Aubrey George Spencer of Jamaica in 1852.



The Bishop of Jamaica in 1862 sought the support of the SPG in a scheme for the establishment of a mission in Northern British Honduras. By 1868 the bishop was able to send the Rev. A. T. Giolme to Corozal.



Disestablishment


On the second of August, 1872, the Anglican Church in British Honduras was disestablished following that of Jamaica in 1870. Some have suggested that by this time the prominence of the Anglican Church was already on the wane due to internal differences within the Church concerning 'High' and 'Low' church forms of worship; the growing strenth of the non-conformists (primarily Methodist and Baptist); and the arrival of the Roman Catholic Church within the influx of the Yucatan refugees. These developments changed the status of the Church in the settlement which then had to become more self-supporting.



The disestablishment of the Churches in Jamaica and British Honduras also placed both Churches under separate jurisdictions. When the Bishop of Jamaica, the Rt. Rev. R. Courtenay, resigned in 1879, his successor, the Rt. Rev. W. G. Tozer, was separately appointed as Bishop of Honduras, holding the title even after he had resigned the Jamaica See. Tozer's replacement, the Rt. Rev. Enos Nuttal, was then requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury to reorganize the Church in British Honduras. Nuttall succeeded in getting the Colonial Office to make some amendments to the Disestablishment Law thereby securing the property of the Church. During a visit to the colony in 1883, Nuttal was able to supervise the reorganization process.



A Separate Diocese
On the tenth of August, 1883, through Instrument by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Edward White, the Church in Belize was duly constituted into a separate bishopric and diocese. Nuttall of Jamaica continued to exercise jurisdiction over the diocese until 1891.



An Extended Diocese
The Venerable Archdeacon Henry Redmayne Holme was consecrated first bishop of British Honduras in St. Michael's Cathedral, Barbados, on the first of March 1891. This was the first such consecration in the West Indies. Holme arrived in the colony on the fourth of April but died shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by George Albert Ormsby whose appointment took place in 1983 with the SPG contributing to his stipend.



A year later, on the tenth of January, 1894, Bishop Ormsby's jurisdiction was extended to include Guatemala, Spanish Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. By 1895 it was further extended to include Panama, Bolivia, Magdalena, Isthmus of Panama, and the City of Panama. Ormsby divided the colony of British Honduras itself into eight large mission districts and had eighteen clergy at work throughout his extended diocese. Grants from the SPG were a great support for these expansions.



Ormsby was succeeded in 1908 by Herbery Bury. At this time the diocese was reduced by transferring the Isthmus of Panama and all areas south of it to the jurisdiction of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the USA. Bishops to follow Bury included the Rt. Rev. Walter Farrar in 1912, and the Most Rev. Edward Dunn in 1917.



By 1927, Bishop Dunn had ten clergy to serve six countries. Much work was maintained among the Moskito Indians who gave generously to the Church, longing to live under the rule of the Britsh flag, as their ancestors had so done.



The shortage of priests remained, however. In 1930 the Diocese of Derby in England sought to assist by sending priests to work in the Diocese of British Honduras. The Rev. Steven L. Caiger was among the first to go. He first served in British Honduras itself and later in Guatemala. He was followed by the Rev. R. A. Pratt, who later became Archdeacon of Belize.



The 1931 hurricane that devestated the colony caused tremendous damage to church property. The Cathedral, St. Mary's Church, and their respective rectories were seriously damaged. Again the SPG came to the rescue making a grant from the Marriot Bequest. Further depression set in when the United Fruit Company began to suffer serious losses in the 1930s.



Between 1947 and 1957 the diocese was reduced by transferring Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to the jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church of the USA. The diocese was now back to its original geographical area of British Honduras.



The Church in its Wider Context
In 1973, when the name British Honduras was changed to Belize, the diocese became known as the Anglican Diocese of Belize. It is one of eight dioceses that constitute the Church in the Province of the West Indies (CPWI) which was formed in 1883. The Anglican Church in Belize is a member of both the Belize Council of Churches (BCC) and the Caribbean Council of Churches (CCC). The Church is also seeking to establish relations with a newly formed Province consisting of Episcopal Diocese of Central American countries.



Starting in 1975, the Belize Diocese established a 'companion relationship' with the Diocese of New York. This was to be followed with similar relationships with the Dioceses of North Carolina (1984-1993), Georgia (1990-1996), and Los Angeles (1996). Today the diocese maintains a relationship with the Diocese of Southern Virginia. These relationships have consisted primarily of exchange programs involving youth groups and other church organizations. There has also been tremendous financial support for the Diocese of Belize as a result of these companion relationships.



The USPG is also active in the diocese.

AN AWESOME PRAYER

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness..

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through Your eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth of my wrongdoing, and receive forgiveness.

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will.

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who will delete this without sharing it with others. I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe.

I believe that You change people and You change things for good reasons. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For each and every one of my family members and friends and their families. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met.

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than You. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly..

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

TODAY'S WORDS FROM JOEL AND VICTORIA

Today's Scripture

“ It is an honor for a man to cease from strife ” (Proverbs 20:3)

Today's words from Joel and Victoria
Strife is a very destructive force. It can creep into relationships by starting small, maybe through a comment or a wrong look from someone, and can then escalate into something much bigger. But when you choose to cease from strife and overlook an offense, you are acting honorably, and you are honoring God. How do you avoid strife? The Bible tells us that love covers over many offenses. It means that you give people the benefit of the doubt. You consider what they may be going through over how they reacted to you. Maybe someone was short with you at the office, but they may have a loved one in the hospital, or they may have some other concern. Instead of getting upset, walk in love—be patient, be kind to them. Choose to avoid strife. Look for ways to walk in unity with the people in your life. The Bible says that He has commanded the blessing when we walk and live in unity. Choose unity today and watch the hand of the Lord move mightily on your behalf!

A Prayer for Today

Father God, today I choose Your ways. I invite Your plan to unfold in my life. Help me to avoid strife so I can walk in peace and unity and honor you all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

YOU CAN ALL HELP THROUGH SENDING THIS INFO AS AN EMAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU KNOW

Dear Blog Reader,
The following email message is of great importance. KINDLY READ, COPY AND PASTE TO YOUR EMAIL AND FORWARD TO AS MANY PERSONS AS YOU CAN SO WE CAN HELP THIS MOTHER TO CARE FOR HER CHILDREN.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL,
Brenda


EMAIL INFO:


Dear Reader

I am a single mother of four kids: ages five, three and a half, 17 months, and a two week old baby girl. God has blessed me with three beautiful, healthy children. Until recently, things were going great for us even though we struggled financially at times (my part-time job was not enough to support us).

Then, the tragedy struck on January 13th. My oldest, Matt, got hit by a car while playing outside. ( The driver was never found - it was a hit and run). After agonizingly long weeks of hospitalization, we did not think he would live but thank god he is alive right now ... but barely. He is still in the hospital in a comatose condition. Doctors say he will be a vegetable for the rest of his life, if he ever comes out of the coma - his brain is too damaged for him to live a normal life. My insurance coverage ran out and I can't afford the hospital bills. Right now, I owe the hospital over $500,000 dollars soo far.

Shortly after the accident happened, my 87-year-old grandmother, with whom I was really close to(she raised me as a child), suffered a stroke and could not live on her own anymore. I took her in.

All of this happened while I was pregnant with Carissa. Therefore, this severe stress that I've been through caused Carissa to be born a premie with Down's syndrome as well as chronic colitis. She is also missing fingernails on her right hand. She is in the hospital as well because she needs to be monitored 24/7. Right now I am at the lowest point of my life. I don't have a job. I'm taking care of three sick family members that are so dear to me, and it is a full time job. I can't afford to pay for my tiny apartment. My car got taken away because I couldn't make the payments, not to mention the debt with the hospital!

I know you are not obligated to do anything. You are free to delete this email without giving it a second thought, but please listen to the cry from a mother's heart! We worked out a deal with AOL where for every 12 forwards I will get 15 cents. Please don't harden your heart. If you can spare the time, then send this email to everyone on your list. This is crucial for our survival!! God bless you all!

Sincerely,

Debbie Shwartz

CON SUERTE ESTA VIVO

Benjamin Mullany, who is critically ill after he was shot in his hotel on his Caribbean honeymoon, has arrived back in the UK from Antigua.

His air ambulance touched down at Cardiff earlier. The body of his wife Catherine, who was killed in the attack, is being flown back separately.

The couple, from Pontardawe, south Wales, were attacked on Sunday, the last day of their two-week honeymoon.

British officers are to fly to Antigua to help police with the investigation.

Scotland Yard confirmed it was sending a team following a request from Antigua's police commissioner.

A spokeswoman said the team would include one officer from South Wales Police, and would "support the local senior investigating officers".

Bungled robbery

Mr Mullany's flight landed at Cardiff International Airport at 3.40am, several hours later than expected due to "refuelling difficulties".

He was then transferred by ambulance, with a police escort, to Morriston Hospital in Swansea.

Alison Gallagher, senior nurse manager at the hospital, said: "The medical and nursing handover between the clinical team, which accompanied him here, and the intensive care team at Morriston has now taken place.

"Initial medical assessments are now being undertaken by the Morriston staff and it is too soon to give any further details."

Mr Mullany's parents, Marilyn and Cynlais, requested the transfer from the intensive care unit at Antigua's Holberton Hospital.

The body of doctor Catherine Mullany is being accompanied home by her parents.

The couple, both 31, were shot in a suspected bungled robbery at the Cocos Hotel.

On Friday, police commissioner Gary Nelson said the shootings may be linked to another murder which happened about two months ago in a house in the Antiguan capital, St John's.

It also appeared to be a robbery and the young male victim was shot in the back of his head, he said.

Mr Nelson confirmed that Mr Mullany, a trainee physiotherapist, was shot in the back of the head with a handgun.

The bullet remains lodged in his brain and Mr Mullany is in a coma, he added.

Mr Nelson, who was brought in from Canada earlier this year, is in charge of a 350-strong police force which operates with no computers and no crime database, and only one forensics officer.

Police have now questioned 31 people in the investigation, and four people remain in custody.

A reward of £67,000 has been offered for information leading to the conviction of the killer.

AVECES SOLO UN ABRAZO ES SUFICIENTE

'It's a place I can go for a hug'

Paul Steinberg, BBC News

I don't know what will happen to us when we don't have this safe place to visit."

Eighteen years ago, aged 28, Maria was diagnosed with HIV.

Given just five years to live, she became depressed and lost her job and desperate to escape the negative reactions of her family and friends, she moved from her home-town of Madrid to Brighton.


"I didn't think I'd reach 40. Even when I came here and started working, I felt constantly sick, depressed and lonely."

But almost two decades on, Maria is alive and relatively well and about to enter the final year of her degree in fine art.

Her health has also improved, thanks to anti-retroviral medication.

Closed door
She has benefitted from the emotional and practical support of staff and volunteers at Open Door, a charitable day centre located in a discreet terraced house by the seaside.

It currently assists more than 200 people with HIV and Aids from across Sussex.

But the centre, which began its work in the mid-1980s at the height of the Aids crisis, is set to close this autumn.

It is not the only such service under threat. Others are closing or merging, which campaigners say is a sign of the changing nature of the HIV epidemic in the UK.

As drug therapies improve the prognosis of people with HIV, and the provision of support services takes lower priority.

For regular clients like Maria, however, the closure makes no sense

"With the statistics showing HIV infection increasing in Brighton, it seems crazy to close it down."

People who use the centre have written to the Diocese of Chichester, which owns the premises, as well as to local HIV commissioners and MPs, urging them to intervene in the planned closure.

Maria said: "I've used this service for almost a decade. One time I came in for lunch and I felt out of sorts, but thought I was just having a bad day.

"As soon as the staff saw me, they knew something was wrong. They arranged for an emergency taxi to the hospital as I was so ill. So many times, they've saved my life."

With HIV costs soaring as a result of effective - but expensive - combination drug therapy, health commissioners are being forced to make difficult decisions about funding for services like Open Door.

'I'm not judged'

But Maria said: "Just because we have drugs now, it doesn't mean we're not suffering. Sometimes I just need a hug."

"This is the only place I've found people who care about me and don't judge me for being HIV positive.

"I can be myself without worrying about people's reactions, and it's where I get the help, love and support I need to stay alive.

"Just being able to talk to other people in the same situation can be as helpful as seeing a counsellorOriginally set up in his home by the late Reverend Marcus Riggs, Open Door has continued under the auspices of the Diocese of Chichester, funded by the NHS and Brighton City Council.

But, announcing its closure, the diocese said there had been a decline in demand for such drop-in services.

Reverend Barry North, from the diocese, said: "The decision to close is very regrettable, but the demand for services has changed, as the nature of living with HIV has also changed.

"Open Door tried to respond to this challenge over recent years, but it was increasingly clear that the current set-up was not suitable twenty years on."

It had originally been decided to move the project to new premises, but in the end the costs involved were deemed to be too high.

'Still ignorant'

Maria says this is short-sighted.

"All the emphasis in recent years has been on us going back to work and study.

"That's fine, but we still need support when we're having problems with our health or finances.

"If they only run a drop-in one day each month, it's very difficult to fit that in around other commitments."

And she said support was harder to find when someone had HIV.

"If you go to a supermarket and feel dizzy, you can tell people 'I have cancer' and they'll be sympathetic.

"But if you tell them you have HIV, they'll run away. People think you're a potential bomb just waiting to go off and infect them.

"Even in the 21st century, the world is so ignorant of HIV."
Changes in the way people demand and access services like Open Door reflect developments in the progress of HIV care in the UK. In the 1980s and early 1990s, gay men were the main group of patients with HIV infection.

When Open Door started, it offered a safe meeting place and counselling as well as practical help with things like laundry.

Since then, the so-called 'imported epidemic' of HIV-positive people from sub-Saharan Africa coming to live in the UK as well as effective drug treatments, have meant that services have had to adapt to the needs of increasingly diverse groups.

Now Open Door has to provide services ranging from interpreters to powdered milk for HIV positive mothers to give their babies.


Continued support

Robin Brady, chief executive of Crusaid, which provides funds to HIV organisations said: "Over the years, as the profile of HIV has changed, there has been a shift in the way services are delivered.

"We have to do something about the increasing level of new diagnoses we're seeing every year."

Reverend North said he hoped to continue providing some essential services in Brighton, particularly those targeted at asylum seekers and refugees with no recourse to public funds, and he said other organisations in the area should take over some of Open Door's work.

But Maria is less hopeful.

"We've written letters of protest but nothing has changed. It's as if the church has closed its doors on us without providing much alternative. It's a sad end to a great service."

The BBC's health correspondent, Jane Dreaper, will be reporting from the 17th International AIDS conference in Mexico throughout next week.

MY LITTLE FRIEND JONATHAN

This weekend I met Joanathan and his parents at a resort in Mexico. He lives in the wilderness with his folks and their many animals and is one of the happiest and most healthy child I have ever seen. As I watched him run around I was amazed at the splendour of God to make and create humble beings.

DE OBISPO A PRESIDENTE

Pope lets Paraguay's president-elect step down as bishop
by Paul Virgo
Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI has taken the rare step of allowing Paraguay's president-elect, former Bishop Fernando Lugo, to step down as a bishop before he assumes office Aug. 15.

Lugo, who won April's elections, resigned as a bishop in 2006 when he decided to run for president, saying he felt unable to help the poor as a clergyman.

The Vatican had previously refused to recognize the 57-year-old's resignation, arguing that he was still a bishop since his ordination was a lifelong sacrament, and demanded that he cease all political activities.

But the decision by the pope to grant the former "bishop of the poor" an unprecedented waiver enables him to revert to being a layman.

"This is the first case within the church in which a bishop receives a dispensation," Orlando Antonini, the papal nuncio to Paraguay, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"Yes, there have been many other priests the pope has left in the status of layman, but never a member of the hierarchy until today."

Without the special dispensation, Lugo risked excommunication since papal rules forbid priests holding political office.

"It's a great pain for the church to lose a bishop, a priest whom we tried to dissuade from the political option up to the last day of his election campaign," Antonini said. "But the Holy Father recognized that he was elected by the majority of the people to lead Paraguay for the next five years."

Lugo began his political career in 2004 while he was bishop of San Pedro, amid widespread uprisings by peasant groups protesting against unequal land distribution and the encroachment of industrial farming.

He soon quit as bishop of the rural area, but maintained his bishop status for two more years.

"I'd like to sincerely thank his holiness Pope Benedict for a decision that hasn't been easy for the Vatican," the Associated Press quoted Lugo as telling reporters. "They reconsidered my request (for a dispensation) for the good of the country."

As a layman, Lugo is now free to marry under civil law. But he has shown no inclination of wanting to do so. His sister, Mercedes, is to serve as first lady.

SIN PODER VERLO

Elderly Blind Man Bowls Perfect 300
ALTA, Iowa (UPI) -- An elderly blind man says he wasn't nervous and felt like a pro when he bowled a perfect game in front of a crowd at Century Lanes in Alta, Iowa.

Dale Davis, 78, a legally blind man nicknamed "The Hammer," made headlines when he rolled a 300 while bowling with his league, CBS News "The Early Show" reported.

"I didn't feel nervous. My hand was a little sweaty, but other than that, I wasn't really nervous. I just thought, 'Good Lord, let me throw a couple or three more good balls' ... and I got the help, I guess," he said.

It is reported Davis has had macular degeneration for 10 years, an incurable eye disease that has caused him to lose vision entirely in one eye and partially in the other.

"It was quite a thrill. For just a few minutes there, I felt like a pro," Davis said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International