Lanzarote Relocation

Individualism vs Community

When I was growing up as a boy in a village on the outskirts of Manchester, there was a great sense of community. The church, the school, the sports field and the many pubs featured highly in our social life!    There were many community activities which brought people together and you had a sense of “belonging”. If you were missing for a few hours no-one worried because you were usually eating or playing with friends.
There was also a sense of community responsibility. If you did something wrong, it was highly unlikely that you would get away with it because someone would know who the culprit was!
It did have its problems! Small communities could also be rather introspective, and strangers were looked upon with suspicion! Some felt there was no privacy and everyone knew your business!
But I wonder if things have swung too far the other way? It appears that it is the “individual” who matters and not the community. With such an attitude there can very little regard for the community or society in which we live. There can be an attitude of “I will do what I want to do”
People strive for a “detached” home and with it can often come a “detached” attitude. We build high walls and our car in the drive means that we do not even need to see our neighbours, let alone speak with them. Highly sophisticated home entertainment means we do not even need to go to community functions and meet people, and when we do need to communicate, it is often by email or mobile phone. Face to face contact in a social context is becoming less and less. Bars and restaurants are closing because (partly due to the recession) people are eating and drinking at home. This is just as true for us in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura as it is in the UK. How do we ensure privacy and security without becoming “detached” from the community?
For the Christian, Community is what it is all about. From the early days the Israelites regarded themselves as a community under God. For the Early Christians becoming a Christian was a community matter. Whole families were baptised and welcomed into the Christian family. They shared everything they had, and met together for prayers and the “Breaking of bread”
Jesus called together his 12 disciples and they were given the command to go out and baptise and bring others into the community of faith.
Religion cannot be a “private” affair. We are commanded by Jesus to “Love one another” and that demands a sense of community. The Church, above all other organisations, should be promoting a sense of a community where all are welcomed and valued because all are made in the image of God.
Jesus said “I am the vine, you are the branches”. The image of the vine is not just about one person’s relationship with Christ. No, it is about many people, joined to one another and to Christ from whom we get our sustenance to enable us to bear much fruit.
We must not allow individualism to destroy our sense of belonging, for there are many who feel isolated and unloved.
Language may be a barrier but there are many events on both our islands that would bring both English and Spanish people together. Let’s take advantage of these and bring about a better sense of community.
And the best way of beating the credit crunch is to do things together!
With God’s Blessing
Fr Idris

Our regular services are shown further below.  Other  meetings and events to be held in May include:

Mothers’ Union:
There is no Mothers’ Union meeting in June.  Our new season will start in October with the theme ‘The Cost of Relationships’.

Advance Notice!    The St Laurence Olympic Games (SLOG)  will be held on Friday 12th June at Linda and Sid Davis’ house in Guime.  All events and activities strictly waist upwards!   The games begin at 3pm sharp.

Apostles Lunch:   The  Apostles Lunch will be at 1 pm on Tuesday 9th June at a  venue  to be announced later.                                        Would anyone wishing to attend, please contact Freida Burke on 928 524347.

Bible Study  is held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.  Please contact David Dowdell on 928 834351.

St Laurence Website.  We are pleased to announce that our new website at www.lanzarotechurch.com was launched during April. We hope and pray that this will be a source of information, instruction and inspiration to our residents and visitors alike.

We would welcome your comments and suggestions for the website.  Please contact either David Dowdell at david.dowdell@btinternet.com or on 928 834351, or  Michael Norsworthy on mnorsworthy34@yahoo.co.uk

Normal services this month will be as follows:

Costa Teguise  – “Avecost” Meeting Hall, C/La Fragata.  9.30 am
1st & 3rd Sundays: – Morning Prayer
All other Sundays: – Holy Communion

Nazaret   -  Church of Nuestra Señora de Nazaret      -    10.00 am
1st and 3rd Sundays only: – Holy Communion

Puerto del Carmen -  Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen
in the harbour of the Old Town   -  12.30 pm
Every Sunday: – Holy Communion

Playa Blanca – Church of Nuestra Señora del Carmen – 6.00 pm
Every Sunday: – Holy Communion

NB:  If you would like prayers for loved ones during intercessions at our Sunday services, please contact Father Idris below.

Principal Church contacts are:
Chaplain:   The Reverend Idris Vaughan        928 514241 Chaplaincy House, Calle Los Sabandenos 37,  35510   Puerto del Carmen
Reader:   David Dowdell                928 834351
Churchwarden & Secretary to the PCC: Linda Davis   928 520803
Churchwarden:   Ken Rees                928 173003
Lay Vice-President:   Michael Norsworthy        928 173052