key to the photos is at the end of the text below
Impressions of Belize ~ Seeing the Diocese with Canadian eyes ~ part 2 of 2
Part 2 of 2…..
The people of Belize can be grateful for their schooling in the Anglican and other denominational churches which gives them a solid foundation in words and themes and messages that can be called upon for many of life’s changing situations, or as Matthew’s gospel puts it, can be used to bring things old and new from the treasure store (Mt. 13.52).
This is something we have largely lost in Canada, at least in BC. In Canada, we talk about the absence of Biblical memory. We are beginning to see people go through their lives with barely any knowledge of biblical stories, characters, or references, without any sacramental connection, and can barely recite the Lord’s prayer, let alone tell you of any purpose that the local parish may have in being there.
By contrast with the highly secular context of BC, it is my observation that nearly all schoolchildren in Corozal have a specifically Christian education, in the sense that almost all primary education is by denominational affiliation, both primary and secondary education includes weekly chapels, and includes the study of Scripture, the practice of Christian worship, and an acceptance of prayer and Christian faith as part of civic life. They may be RC, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, or Anglican, to name the most visible options, but that is the matrix for the delivery of government curriculum. I find it inspiring to reflect on the willing service and dedicated skill of the teachers and principal who go beyond the call of duty to make this possible.
Children in school have a good deal of healthy structure and clear purpose. Outside of school, young children seem to have a great deal of freedom to play, and they display a dexterity in handling social situations. At the same time, we have come across children who seem to grow up too soon, having clearly stopped attending school at an early age to help with earning family income or raising siblings.
I am also impressed by the level of memorization which young people have. I see how a regular exposure to liturgy and a frequency in the use of hymns and songs appears to give both a comfort with and sense of direction in using prayer books and hymn books, and yet also a sense of internalized freedom to go beyond the printed page. If we ask young people to read scripture, to lead a psalm, to participate in a hymn, there is often a clear cultural knowledge of what to do next.
At the same time, I can note that school worship does not necessarily convert into regular Sunday attendance. And so the challenge for this diocese is to keep and grow its living connections with the young people who grow up in its schools, and to reactivate the connections with lapsed members and former students.
My overall experience of the West Indian parishes of Belize and beyond (including Canada) is one of clear and uniform Anglo-Catholic roots, incense, sanctus bells, stations of the cross, reserve sacrament, and other features which were once unknown to me, but with which I have come to find myself at home and at peace. And this is carried in harmony with an evangelizing impulse and hymnody and corporate culture that sits well with ecumenical work with the Methodists, the Baptists, and other faith communities. And in that sense, if someone asks me if the culture here is catholic or evangelical, I would say “yes”, its both.
I enjoy the opportunity of being in diocese and a province that uses a single prayer book. My observation is that the books are well-thumbed and my instinct is that the liturgies are well-loved. Canada is still awaiting a new prayer book and relies on a mixture of a 1962 prayer book, a 1985 alternative service book, plus supplementary materials and local customs.
Having the use of a vehicle has been highly advantageous. (Even so, with four of us, we decided to purchase a bicycle to share, and I have just returned home with a freshly cut and bagged watermelon balanced on the handlebars, courtesy of one of the wardens). I have learned, once off the main highway, to keep a very firm grasp of the wheel, a fierce gaze for marked or unmarked speed bumps, unfilled potholes, and gained an understanding why vehicles need regular maintenance checks. I have also learned that pedestrians on the road display a great deal of faith in those who drive by them, and I have learned that cyclists have great poise and sometimes an equally great faith in the motorists who almost graze their pedals as they drive by.
From visits and conversations with parishioners I feel the poignancy of so many stories of the loss of family members, death at a young age, and the impact of hurricanes on the sense of impermanence of life. Grandparents tell of children leaving the country from economic necessity, and leaving children behind in search of a livelihood. Older members recall the devastating storms of 1931, 1955, and 1961, and the loved ones who died in them.
I would like to pay tribute to the strength and courage that I see in the face of adversity, and the unflappable acceptance of some of the sheer difficulties of daily living. I can sketch the outlines of large family trees, absent parents, and grandparents raising children, and everywhere I see evidences of grief and faith walking hand in hand. “How was is that you came to raise four of your sister’s children?” I ask. “She died at age 27, after the birth of her tenth child, and I took the girls, while her surviving husband took the boys and started a new family after that…” I have to pause in contemplation as I absorb memories like this. I find it hard to complete the sentence on my page without my imagination trailing off into a profound silence, punctuated by similar memories from some of the young children at school ~ …”my mammy gan died, she gan to heaven”, says a five year old. I am marked by the death of a 3-yr old in a traffic accident involving a bus just outside the school. Somehow for these dear people, death is simply woven into the fabric of life, and the veil between this life and the changed life beyond this life thins to a finer fabric of consciousness than I usually experience.
To say that I have seen evidences of the social problems facing the country is a remark that I need to modify. Not just because I can also see evidences of poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse in Canada, and acts of violence and evidence of gang activities in my home region too. But more importantly, I see the church here making its voice heard, and taking steps to address social challenges through advocacy, education, and prayer. The “AIDS awareness” mural on the parish school wall is a testimony to the church’s willingness to take the lead. A member of the committee tells me that the Anglican church was the first of the churches in the country to stand up and be counted in terms of naming the fact that AIDS is here and in articulating a public response. Likewise, the “Women’s equality” awareness banner on the highway in town seems to me to operate in tandem with that, and poses a question about reports I hear about absentee fatherhood in the culture in general, and the relatively low proportion of males to females participating in the overall life and leadership of the parish. With 33% of the population living below the poverty line, and the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in Central America, the task is huge.
I see the diocese aiming high in terms of evangelization, human resources, encouragement of lay leadership, in projects for building in schools and churches, and in social outreach through feeding programs, medical and dental work, and scholarships. I am moved by the breadth of the vision of the diocese here, when financial resources seem to be limited in comparison to many North American parishes and dioceses. I have been greatly enriched by meeting with the clergy in conference, and my heart goes out to those who willingly offer their retirements to give seasoned, thoughtful, and generous leadership in developing ministry in small or remote villages and towns.
It seems to me that the challenge for the diocese of Belize, as our new baptismal preparation booklet notes in the introduction, is not only to advocate for positive changes, but to model within our parishes, schools, and our homes the values which we wish to see. To become the change we pray for and work towards. And I thank God for the extraordinary privilege of having some small and brief part in receiving and giving in the ministry of the Gospel here. I know I am being changed by this experience, and I dare to say that is true for all my family! And so I give thanks for this sojourn with you and for the gift of being able to pray and work alongside so many gentle, joyous, and loving souls in the diocese of Belize in our common longing for renewal.
Andrew +
The Rev. Andrew Twiddy,
St. Paul’s-by-the-Sea, Corozal
Part 2 of 2…..
The people of Belize can be grateful for their schooling in the Anglican and other denominational churches which gives them a solid foundation in words and themes and messages that can be called upon for many of life’s changing situations, or as Matthew’s gospel puts it, can be used to bring things old and new from the treasure store (Mt. 13.52).
This is something we have largely lost in Canada, at least in BC. In Canada, we talk about the absence of Biblical memory. We are beginning to see people go through their lives with barely any knowledge of biblical stories, characters, or references, without any sacramental connection, and can barely recite the Lord’s prayer, let alone tell you of any purpose that the local parish may have in being there.
By contrast with the highly secular context of BC, it is my observation that nearly all schoolchildren in Corozal have a specifically Christian education, in the sense that almost all primary education is by denominational affiliation, both primary and secondary education includes weekly chapels, and includes the study of Scripture, the practice of Christian worship, and an acceptance of prayer and Christian faith as part of civic life. They may be RC, Methodist, Seventh-Day Adventist, or Anglican, to name the most visible options, but that is the matrix for the delivery of government curriculum. I find it inspiring to reflect on the willing service and dedicated skill of the teachers and principal who go beyond the call of duty to make this possible.
Children in school have a good deal of healthy structure and clear purpose. Outside of school, young children seem to have a great deal of freedom to play, and they display a dexterity in handling social situations. At the same time, we have come across children who seem to grow up too soon, having clearly stopped attending school at an early age to help with earning family income or raising siblings.
I am also impressed by the level of memorization which young people have. I see how a regular exposure to liturgy and a frequency in the use of hymns and songs appears to give both a comfort with and sense of direction in using prayer books and hymn books, and yet also a sense of internalized freedom to go beyond the printed page. If we ask young people to read scripture, to lead a psalm, to participate in a hymn, there is often a clear cultural knowledge of what to do next.
At the same time, I can note that school worship does not necessarily convert into regular Sunday attendance. And so the challenge for this diocese is to keep and grow its living connections with the young people who grow up in its schools, and to reactivate the connections with lapsed members and former students.
My overall experience of the West Indian parishes of Belize and beyond (including Canada) is one of clear and uniform Anglo-Catholic roots, incense, sanctus bells, stations of the cross, reserve sacrament, and other features which were once unknown to me, but with which I have come to find myself at home and at peace. And this is carried in harmony with an evangelizing impulse and hymnody and corporate culture that sits well with ecumenical work with the Methodists, the Baptists, and other faith communities. And in that sense, if someone asks me if the culture here is catholic or evangelical, I would say “yes”, its both.
I enjoy the opportunity of being in diocese and a province that uses a single prayer book. My observation is that the books are well-thumbed and my instinct is that the liturgies are well-loved. Canada is still awaiting a new prayer book and relies on a mixture of a 1962 prayer book, a 1985 alternative service book, plus supplementary materials and local customs.
Having the use of a vehicle has been highly advantageous. (Even so, with four of us, we decided to purchase a bicycle to share, and I have just returned home with a freshly cut and bagged watermelon balanced on the handlebars, courtesy of one of the wardens). I have learned, once off the main highway, to keep a very firm grasp of the wheel, a fierce gaze for marked or unmarked speed bumps, unfilled potholes, and gained an understanding why vehicles need regular maintenance checks. I have also learned that pedestrians on the road display a great deal of faith in those who drive by them, and I have learned that cyclists have great poise and sometimes an equally great faith in the motorists who almost graze their pedals as they drive by.
From visits and conversations with parishioners I feel the poignancy of so many stories of the loss of family members, death at a young age, and the impact of hurricanes on the sense of impermanence of life. Grandparents tell of children leaving the country from economic necessity, and leaving children behind in search of a livelihood. Older members recall the devastating storms of 1931, 1955, and 1961, and the loved ones who died in them.
I would like to pay tribute to the strength and courage that I see in the face of adversity, and the unflappable acceptance of some of the sheer difficulties of daily living. I can sketch the outlines of large family trees, absent parents, and grandparents raising children, and everywhere I see evidences of grief and faith walking hand in hand. “How was is that you came to raise four of your sister’s children?” I ask. “She died at age 27, after the birth of her tenth child, and I took the girls, while her surviving husband took the boys and started a new family after that…” I have to pause in contemplation as I absorb memories like this. I find it hard to complete the sentence on my page without my imagination trailing off into a profound silence, punctuated by similar memories from some of the young children at school ~ …”my mammy gan died, she gan to heaven”, says a five year old. I am marked by the death of a 3-yr old in a traffic accident involving a bus just outside the school. Somehow for these dear people, death is simply woven into the fabric of life, and the veil between this life and the changed life beyond this life thins to a finer fabric of consciousness than I usually experience.
To say that I have seen evidences of the social problems facing the country is a remark that I need to modify. Not just because I can also see evidences of poverty, homelessness, and substance abuse in Canada, and acts of violence and evidence of gang activities in my home region too. But more importantly, I see the church here making its voice heard, and taking steps to address social challenges through advocacy, education, and prayer. The “AIDS awareness” mural on the parish school wall is a testimony to the church’s willingness to take the lead. A member of the committee tells me that the Anglican church was the first of the churches in the country to stand up and be counted in terms of naming the fact that AIDS is here and in articulating a public response. Likewise, the “Women’s equality” awareness banner on the highway in town seems to me to operate in tandem with that, and poses a question about reports I hear about absentee fatherhood in the culture in general, and the relatively low proportion of males to females participating in the overall life and leadership of the parish. With 33% of the population living below the poverty line, and the highest rate of HIV/AIDS in Central America, the task is huge.
I see the diocese aiming high in terms of evangelization, human resources, encouragement of lay leadership, in projects for building in schools and churches, and in social outreach through feeding programs, medical and dental work, and scholarships. I am moved by the breadth of the vision of the diocese here, when financial resources seem to be limited in comparison to many North American parishes and dioceses. I have been greatly enriched by meeting with the clergy in conference, and my heart goes out to those who willingly offer their retirements to give seasoned, thoughtful, and generous leadership in developing ministry in small or remote villages and towns.
It seems to me that the challenge for the diocese of Belize, as our new baptismal preparation booklet notes in the introduction, is not only to advocate for positive changes, but to model within our parishes, schools, and our homes the values which we wish to see. To become the change we pray for and work towards. And I thank God for the extraordinary privilege of having some small and brief part in receiving and giving in the ministry of the Gospel here. I know I am being changed by this experience, and I dare to say that is true for all my family! And so I give thanks for this sojourn with you and for the gift of being able to pray and work alongside so many gentle, joyous, and loving souls in the diocese of Belize in our common longing for renewal.
Andrew +
The Rev. Andrew Twiddy,
St. Paul’s-by-the-Sea, Corozal
1 ~ In the cathedral sacristy, after I concelebrated at the cathedral school's midweek eucharist with Rev. Ilona Smiling, my predecessor at St. Paul's, Corozal, and now "retired" to assist at the cathedral.
2 ~ On our jungle boat tour to the Mayan ruins of Lamanai, we pass by the Mennonite community of Shipyard, where the Mennonites are branching out from their traditional agricultural into bulding barges for oil exploration. Mennonites from Mexico, Canada (the "progressive" ones, our guide tells us), and Pennsylvania make up 3% of the Belize population, and provide 35% of food production.
3 ~ The black orchid, in the wild under the jungle canopy ~ Belize's national flower
4 ~ Looking down the precipitous steps from 34 m height, on top of the ceremonial temple at Lamanai, the third highest Mayan structure known to us. There is no evidence of human sacrifice here, we are told, although there could have been injuries from falling on the steps.
5 ~ Our own St. Paul's school marching band practices after school with the police sergeant-cum-bandmaster for the national marching-band fest to be held this saturday, March 27, in the Corozal stadium. The parade starts right in front of our house.
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