Mission to Belize

Mission to Belize

As some of you may know, I’ve recently spent 10 days in the diocese of Belize.  Our diocese and the diocese of Belize are in the process of developing a partnership that is to be built on relationships and mutual support.

My purpose in going was to do some work with the various groups in the diocese; to get a sense of the diocese and the country; and to make up my own mind whether this partnership is something worth supporting.

Of course, as many of these sorts of things go, I received a lot more than I gave.

We have a lot to be thankful for

Canada is the best country in the world to live in.

Newfoundland, in my opinion, is the best province in Canada to live in.

The parable of the talents: the more you have been given, the more is expected of you.

As Canadians, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and as people of the Christian Church, we have been given a lot in many ways. The consequence of this is that more is expected more of us.

3^rd World Country

The country of Belize is so poor.

The diocese of Belize is so poor.

Resources are so lacking.

One of the things that I spoke to clergy and lay leaders about was the building up the church for ministry.

If we, as Christians, want to contribute to our country, province, and indeed the world, we need to be always striving to build up the church.

In the Gospel Jesus calls us to be “Fishers of people”

In another part of the Gospel, Jesus says “I call you servants no longer, but friends”

The Heart of the Gospel is to...

- connect with people

- build relationships

- make friendships

…not for our own benefit only, but to build up society and to draw others into our shared life of love.

This is the heart of the Gospel of Christ.

To fall in love with each other.

To intentionally build relationships, friendships

To organize our selves for more effective reaching out to others.

Every single one of us are called to make a contribution to the life of our local community, our province, our nation, and yes, to our neighbours in Belize. This can only be done with effectiveness out of a collective love and mutual respect in relationships that are joined together for the purpose of serving others.