LOCAL NEWS we congratulate ourselves on gaining knowledge and information which was already known. The role of science, broadly speaking, is to explain how things work. The role of religion, in equally broad terms, is to try to understand why. A good example to illustrate this might be the way we understand the word ‘myth.’ Nowadays, we tend to treat ‘myth’ in the same way as ‘legend:’ fanciful ideas or stories that don’t necessarily have any grounding in truth. But there is truth in the mythology of humanity: the truth of a myth is in its meaning. We make sense of the world in which we live by telling stories about it. Most cultures have some sort of creation story or myth. The Judeo-Christian creation story does not have to be taken literally to unearth the truth that there is order and purpose in the created universe, that there is a spiritual dimension within it, that there is divine inspiration in creation, that humanity has a responsibility to exercise good stewardship of our world, and so on. If human beings are intrinsically spiritual, which I believe they are, then the darker aspects of the age in which we live can be lightened by tending to that spirituality. And doing so can provide a framework with some guiding principles about how to live in the face of rampant anger, fear and superstition. Practices that feed us spiritually, such as prayer and meditation can offer inner peace. And guidance for living? When Kate was about to be discharged from hospital in California recently after an appendectomy, the nurse who was caring for her asked me about my favourite verse from the Bible. That might be a moving target, depending upon context and mood! But most commonly I return to a verse from the prophet Micah. ‘What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’ How might our world be different if those were prevailing principles that we all followed? Would darkness be lifted?
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JULY 2023
CANCER SUPPORT CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS Due to a massive increase in new patients since the beginning of the year, we are launching an appeal for new volunteers. Volunteering for CSG can be a very rewarding experience, we don’t ask for a commitment of many hours, if you are able to just offer a few hours a month that would be a great help. While speaking Spanish can help, it is not essential. Many tasks do not involve translation. Likewise, for those who feel hesitant to offer their help directly to patients, there are many other admin and fundraising tasks. We offer ongoing training and preparation so that volunteers feel comfortable and equipped for any task to which they are assigned. Presently there is a pressing need for German speaking volunteers on Mallorca, having said that we welcome anyone, whatever language they speak and wherever they live, Mallorca or Menorca. There is a place for everyone at CSG! If you can help or would like to find out more, please email info@cancersupportmallorca.com
WALK AGAINST CANCER CHALLENGE We would like to give a massive thanks to all those who contributed to the Walk Against Cancer Challenge. Anita and her team have been doing a walk every year now (apart from during COVID) either in the Sierra Tramuntana in Mallorca or the Cami de Cavalls in Menorca. This year she came up with a challenge for those who couldn’t join her team, so that they could do the walk virtually. The idea was that during the month of April people registered to walk the same amount of steps (about 200.000) but at their own pace and time during the whole month. This was the first time arranging such an event and we had no idea how it would go. We were amazed that 84 people registered to take part in the challenge, many of them children taking part with their parents. As well as those taking part, we would like to thank the many local businesses that donated prizes for the final event. It was a glorious day, and a lot of extra money was raised thanks to these amazing prizes. Thanks too go to The Olive Tree and Sa Vinya for their generosity in hosting the opening and closing events. And of course we can’t forget all the volunteers that worked so hard behind the scenes to make the whole challenge a success. Thanks to all of you we raised over €9000 that will go a long way in helping cancer patients on the islands. So now we are ready to start planning next year’s challenge!
CHURCH NEWS Worship in the church of Santa Margarita takes place on Sunday mornings at 9am and 11am, as well as at 11am every Wednesday and morning prayer with a focus on healing at 11am on Friday (also on Zoom). Santa Margarita continues to offer worship online, to respect the needs of those unable to worship in person at the church. During the weekend of 22/23 July, our Bishop, David Hamid, will be visiting Menorca, to celebrate the mini-fiesta of Santa Margarita on the evening of 22 July, and to worship with us and preach on 23 July. The church web site will continue to be the place to seek up-to-date news and information about online worship: anglicanchurchmenorca.com.
The phone number for the chaplain, Paul, is +34 617222382 and his e-mail is chaplain@anglicanchurchmenorca.com ROQ U E TA M AGA ZI N E . N E T
