Lunch with the church founders

On Wednesday we were invited to lunch with Alberto and Filomena, the founders of the Igreja Anglicana Epifania. After lunch they told us their story. They moved to Tete in 1991, and found there was no Anglican church there. They went to other churches but never felt completely at home. In the process they met other Anglicans who felt the same, and eventually they started to meet to pray together, under a tree in Alberto and Filomena's yard. They got in touch with the Bishop who encouraged them to continue to meet and to consider setting up a new congregation. Their first meeting as a church was on 6th January, Epiphany, and so the group named the church "Epifania". Eventually they acquired some land for the church. The Bishop advised them that they should first build a house for a priest, which they did - after this the Bishop sent Fr Rogerio to them. At that stage they met for worship in a tent attached to the side of the priest's house. Now the congregation has grown to the point where they could build their own church building, with support from St Mary's. However they are not stopping there, and have a vision for the future, aiming to establish other congregations in the area and even a school, amongst other projects. It was moving and inspiring to hear their story.