 |
 |
|||
 |
 |
|||
 |
||||
|
||||
|
||||
 |
||||
|
BurmaLink WHO ARE WE? St. Stephen's, Rochester Row is a small parish church in Central London which has been linked to the Anglican Church of the Province of Myanmar (Burma) since 1989. While the Province's diocesan link is with Winchester, our location - between Victoria Station and the Houses of Parliament - has enabled us to be something of a 'London-link' parish for the province. Our connection is also definitely an 'exchange': we have made three parish visits there and our Vicar has been on a solo journey. WHAT DO WE DO? We -
We also try and raise awareness about the country by updating a dedicated notice board, and displaying our Burma banners on the pillars in church on special occasions. Ud/05/08 UPDATE - June 2008 - Cyclone Nargis. THE NEED HAS NOT GONE AWAY. We have so far sent £500 from our PCC Disaster Fund to Holy Cross Theological College and £3,400 to Archbishop Stephen, for use as he thinks most needed. More support is coming in and we will shortly despatch a second contribution to Archbishop Stephen. Two fund-raising events will happen at the end of June, both arranged by members of our St. Stephen's Burma group. Mala Tu and her partner Rob Hooton, will walk 70 miles along Hadrian's Wall (23-28 June); Paul Daybell has organised a quarter-peal of St Stephen's bells (28 June). SUPPORTERS please contact m.tu@kew.org or pauldaybell@lycos.co.uk for further sponsorship details! The Revd. Saw Maung Doe, former Principal of Holy Cross Theological College, was in Oxford recently for the completion - successful - of his doctorate. This was the conclusion of many years of hard work and we were glad to have him in the parish during his last very brief visit. Election of Bishop of Pa'an. The election was postponed due to the cyclone. It took place instead at the end of May and Saw Stylo, from Toungoo was chosen. One of his enterprises in Toungoo has been the running of a very successful agricultural training programme, attended by Holy Cross students amongst others. Church of Myanmar (Burma) Association service will take place in our church on Saturday 5 July (11.30am); lunch and their AGM in Napier Hall follows. Lambeth Conference. The Lambeth Conference begins on 16 July. The bishops from Myanmar, together with their wives, are planning to attend, though probably without the newly-elected Bishop of Pa'an. We are hoping we shall see some of them when they are in London, though the Diocese of Winchester are chiefly in charge of their hospitality. The Conference continues until 4 August. UPDATE - May 2008 - Our Burma Sunday on April 20th was well attended and the speaker, Benedict Rogers (Christian Solidarity Worldwide) spoke forcefully about the current situation. The photographic display remained in place for two further Sundays. Cyclone Nargis. Everything else went on hold as a result of this. News of any kind was very slow coming. Many e-mail connections are still down though some Internet cafes are functioning in the centre. We have now had the Archbishop's report on the situation, and impressive account of the practical work he has put in hand at once. Damage to buildings has been considerable (including to the Holy Cross Theological College in Rangoon) but no loss of life in the immediate area. We have sent some funds to the Archbishop; and more are coming in from all sorts of unexpected quarters. Election of Bishop of Pa'an. The cyclone also delayed this. It now takes place at the end of this month. Whether the bishops will be in England for the Lambeth Conference is still not confirmed. People with an interest in Burma might be interested in joining the Britain-Burma Society. Their monthly talks are by well-informed speakers on a wide range of topics. Next meeting Tuesday 17 June. (Secretary: Derek Brooke-Wavell: e-mail D.Wavell@ntlworld.com) Church of Myanmar(Burma) Association service will take place in our church on Saturday 5 July (11.30am); lunch and AGM in Napier Hall follows. UPDATE - April 2008 - The election of the new Archbishop of the Province of Myanmar was postponed - due to political unrest and difficulties of travel at the time - and in the event only took place in February 2008. Bishop Stephen Than Myint Oo, then bishop of Pa'an was elected. We were invited to send someone to his Enthronement but alas could not take advantage of that kind offer. Since September there has been rather a lull in activity and news out of Burma, things somewhat is suspense with the delayed election of the new Archbishop. But we did have a brief visit from Daw Rhody (Archbiship Samuel's wife), who was here to attend the Lambeth Conference spouses' meetings last November. Our annual Church Fair in December again had a Burma Stall where the star items were a quantity of Father Christmases and Snowmen, hand-made by Mary, wife of Bishop of Myitkyina, which arrived in the luggage of Daw Rhody! The space might better have been taken with more warm clothes: poor Rhody hit a really cold patch and had to borrow woolly jumpers and stockings! Mary has since sent us a charming letter of acknowledgement for the money raised from the toys, part of which was spent on blankets for a local orphanage. She also sent a photograph of dancers on a Kachin National Day. At Christmas time there was a small and much appreciated fund-raising event when the children from the local Church school (Burdett-Coutts) saved coins in Smartie tubes: and they raised £270! We had arranged that Daw Rhody would call in on the school to thank them in person but sadly her arrival was delayed at the last minute and this was not possible. We were sad additionally about this as we had planned for her to have supper with the church Burma group. On April 20th we will celebrate our annual BURMA SUNDAY when our speaker at the morning Eucharist (10.00am) will be Benedict Rogers, Advocacy Officer for South East Asia. There will be a photographic display at the back of the church that day, charting the history of the St. Stephen's connection. Anyone in the area on that day would, of course, be welcome to join us. |
 |
|
| Kachin National Day in Myitkyina |