Anglicans reach out on 120th anniversary
They were an integral part of Belize’s earliest colonial history. But while the Anglicans have seen their numbers eclipsed, today they are reaching out as never before to make the church’s role more meaningful. Jacqueline Woods has more.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
This year the Anglican Church in Belize celebrates one hundred and twenty years as a Diocese.
Cannon Phillip Wright, Anglican Theological Institute
“Now as a Diocese it means when we had the right to govern ourselves, to have our own bishop and so on and so forth. But prior to that, the church has been in this part of the world as far back as 1776 or before. And so really we are celebrating over two hundred and twenty years of existence in this part of the world and one hundred and twenty years as a separate diocese with our own bishop and governing bodies and so on.”
Director of the Anglican Theological Institute, Cannon Phillip Wright, says over the past century the church’s teachings have remained consistent, but believes that today a closer relationship has been forged between the church and its congregation.
Cannon Phillip Wright
“The unique thing about the Anglican Church is I call us the dialogue church. We welcome dialogue, we welcome open discussions, and so whereby essentially our teachings and the premise upon which we build our faith remains the same, we are willing to adopt and to bring on board new things and new approaches.”
Cannon Wright says one of the main challenges they confront is finding ways to make a difference in people’s lives, especially with at risk youths.
Rev’d Lynda Moguel, Asst. Priest, St. John’s Cathedral
“If we look first at schools, we are working with them from that level, from they are in schools, trying to inculcate in them Christian values, morals and making them aware of how they can be kind and serving in their communities.”
To celebrate the Anglican Diocese’s one hundred and twentieth anniversary, a number of events are planned for the occasion including a Labour Day Fair at B.T.L. Park.
Carol Babb, General Manager, Anglican Schools
“It’s not a fair where you will only find food, but we are having service organisations there like Red Cross, Alliance Against AIDS, the whole gamut of service areas will be there to educate our public about the various issues in our community and we will also have a grand raffle, where the first prize will be a house and lot. We got the lot courtesy of Mr. Gillett from Burrell Boom and the house part sponsored by the Ministry of Housing. So we are inviting all the people in Belize to come out on that day from wherever you are located in Belize, come and join with us and celebrate with us a hundred and twenty years of Christian ministry.”
The actual anniversary date is August tenth. On that day a service will take place at the St. John’s Cathedral. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
The Anglican Diocese is comprised of twenty-eight congregations. It manages one secondary and eighteen primary schools, as well as operating feeding programmes for most of those institutions.
