From Our Friend Luiz In Rio

I received this email from Luiz, which I quote in full. Luiz has been accepted as a candidate for the priesthood by the bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janiero. He spent nearly a year working with Fr. Eduardo Costa in one of the poorest and most dangerous slums in Rio.

Dear friends,
For those of you who have facebook, please visit [here].

As you might know, I did a placement at Christ the King Anglican Church for almost a year, in Cidade de Deus - Rio de Janeiro. Cidade de Deus (City of God) is one of
Brazil's most disadvantaged communities. Built in the sixties to provide a new start for Rio de Janeiro's urban poor, it has become a notorious shanty town, far from being a new hope for the oppressed.

- Only 3% of local people have completed secondary education;
- 22% of residents are unemployed;
- Life expectancy is just 66 (the Brazilian average is above 70);
- 14% of teenage girls are pregnant;
- Average income is just US$ 100.00 per month.

We have started some months ago, a ministry with children of that community, providing them Christian Education, activities, and meals. The parish was experiencing a rebirth (it almost closed), and already had some social projects... so, I sent an appeal to several people, for help.

A couple months ago, two individuals, plus our friends of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Atlanta, have sent about 850.00 US Dollars, which are already being used for buying toys, food for meals we prepare for the children and parishioners and some vestments for our new children choir.

It happens that some sisters and brothers in Christ have started a wonderful Christmas initiative too, in order to raise funds for Christ the King. I do kindly ask you to take a look at the following options:

- PayPal
Currently, some of our OCICBW friends have set up a PayPal account which can be accessed here:

They have graciously started a Christmas appeal. Do find out about it!

- Cheques
In the U.K. cheques (made payable to "St. Francis Church") can be sent to:
CITY OF GOD APPEAL,
St. Francis House
18 Cotswold Gardens
High Heaton
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE7 7AE

(Please write "City Of God Appeal" on the reverse of the cheque.)
In the United States, cheques (made payable to "The Episcopal Church of St. Paul") can be sent to:
CITY OF GOD APPEAL
c/o The Reverend Elizabeth Kaeton
The Episcopal Church of St. Paul
200 Main Street
Chatham, NJ 07928

- ERD
You can also donate to Episcopal Relief and Development. They have been doing a wonderful job helping sponsor one of our projects and surely deserve your help, so, in the future, more and more projects can be funded by them.

If you have questions on Christ the King's projects or on how we intend to use the money, please, feel free to ask.

We are also proud to present Fr. Nicholas Wheeler, a wonderful friend of ours who is coming work at Christ the King as a USPG missionary. Fr. Wheeler is currently the team rector of Old St. Pancras' in London. You can find out more about him here:

Blessings in Christ
Luiz Coelho

"No to hate and yes to love,
No to death and yes to life,
No to falsehood and yes to truth,
No to oppression and yes to justice,
No to cruelty and yes to mercy,
No to violence and yes to the path of peace,
No, no matter what it may cost, and yes, no matter what it may cost.
For you are the source of love leading to reconciliation and forgiveness."
(a Sabeel prayer)
--
"Não ao ódio e sim ao amor,
Não à morte e sim à vida,
Não à falsidade e sim à verdade,
Não à opressão e sim à justiça,
Não à crueldade e sim à misericórdia,
Não à violência e sim ao caminho da paz,
Não, não importa o que custe, e sim, não importa o que custe.
Pois és a fonte de amor que leva à reconciliação e perdão."
(uma prece de Sabeel)