Temporary Church Building
In Ankorefo
I have written previously about my experience of the very good work being done by one of my young priests in a rural village called Ankorefo. In fact, he made a video about his work which I shared on Substack and social media. Yesterday I was invited to visit Ankorefo to bless a temporary church which is being built to house the growing number of newly converted Christians. It was an extraordinary experience.
Many people from this small village had gathered with several members of St Jakoba – the planting congregation. Everyone took part in carrying the wood from the road to the building site. As I helped out, I realized that each piece of wood had been chiselled by hand and was individually numbered so that the structure could be built quickly. Rather like putting together pieces of a puzzle.
This building will be used as a church only until the permanent church is built, at which point, this building will become a house for the Catechist or Evangelist, and hopefully in time, a parish priest. These new Christians are some of the poorest people in the world, but their joy in the Lord is infectious. Each week new members are being added to their number. Most, but not all, have been baptized, but none as yet have been confirmed, and because the pattern in Mahajanga is that one must be confirmed to receive Holy Communion, as yet the Eucharist has not been celebrated in this village. That will change very soon when I confirm many members of this congregation.
This exciting growth is happening because the youth group at St Jakoba set out to do evangelisation in Ankorefo. Adult leaders and their priest supported them, they used Samaritan’s Purse Shoe Boxes, and the catechetical resources from Samaritan’s Purse, to tell the children the stories of Jesus. One by one the numbers grew, the parents came, and as they heard about Jesus, they gave their lives to Him.
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Now we have a church building, albeit a temporary one. Soon we will have a concrete church…. that part of the story of Ankorefo I will write in another article. For now, I ask, as always, that you pray for this exciting movement of grace.