News, October, 2007

News from the Churches

Mariano meet Mariano!

Spanish EA leader, Jaume Llenas, gets spokesman post in European EA. Madrid Churches's Social Ministry recruit students of all persuasions in Alcala University. José Cardona's widow dies. Centennial church opens new building. Church closed by authorities... and then gets licence. Evangelical Federation Secretary meets Minister. Countdown to Protestant Congress. Christian Motorcyclist Association starts in Spain. Open Doors day for churches' 'Integration' ministry in Madrid. Original Basque Bible republished. The new Abba bookshop in Barcelona opens. Vademecum goes online. This and more... Read on!

Jaume Llenas, general secretary of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance has been elected onto the European EA's executive board and appointed spokesman. The election took place at the EEA's annual assembly in Greece. lenas is the second Spaniard to be elected to the board, a privilege only previously enjoyed by José María Martínez, pastor and father of the current Spanish EA president, who held the EEA's presidency. Jaume was particularly pleased with the appointment because, as he said 'it is some time since southern Europe was represented on the board. In a sense it is a recognition of the work being done in the southern countries, which come from a strong Catholic background.'

Veteran Missionary couple, Jim and Caroline Fasold, are celebrating 40 years of service in Spain. Jim was for many years the director (and founder, in 1974) of the GEM inspired Bible School, IBSTE, in Castelldefels, Barcelona. A special act of recognition will take place on 9th November in Barcelona.

Madrid's churches have a social ministries branch called Diakonía. On 25th October Diakonía held a recruiting day for volunteers from among the students at Alcalá de Henares University. Volunteers are trained for an official diploma by Diakonía and then are able to join teams and activities at home and abroad. IFES group GBU supports the event. As far as we know, this is a first for the evangelical churches to be attempting to recruit volunteers on this scale from beyond their membership.

José Cardona

On 19th October Amparo Almiñana, widow of the late José Cardona, died in hospital in Denia. Amparo was the woman behind Spain's leading evangelical during the 57 years of their marriage (married in 1949). Without her support it is unlikely that José Cardona could have achieved what he did on behalf of the evangelicals. During the early years, evangelicals were a despised and forbidden minority, but through Caardona's leadership of the Evangelical Defence Commission and later FEREDE, evangelicals attained -at least in theory- equality of treatment with Catholics before the law and the state. José Cardona died in February this year.

On 27th October the Valdepeñas evangelical church will open their new building. The church, 90 years old, inaugurates the building which replaces the 'mission compound' based on a previous farm house, developed by Spanish Gospel Mission founder Percy Buffard. The mission was founded in 1913. Special events continue throughout October and November.

The evangelical church in Oleiros, Galicia, was closed by the authorities due to complaints from local residents, despite being located in an industrial estate. It appears the council believed that some kind of illegal show was going on on Sunday mornings, despite the noise level never exceeding the legal limits. The members took their right of legal assembly and worship out of doors and onto the street, showing they would not be hindered by issues of paperwork. In so doing, it could be appreciated what was actually going on - a simple church service. It seems that their determination -or perhaps just even more annoyance caused to neighbours and councillors alike- moved mountains. Within weeks they got a promise they will get their official licence to operate. This came at a meeting on 22nd October. They can now keep their noise to themselves!

A Christian Motorcyclist Association has opened in Spain. The objective is to attend major bikers' meetings and races and be a witness for Christ. Spain is the leading bikers' paradise, with 3 Grand Prix events each season, so it was only a matter of time before such a club was formed. It follows the likes of athletes in Action and individual witness of leading socer and basketball players and coaches. See their web.

FEREDE members and the minister

On 19th September, Mariano Blázquez, general secretary of the Evangelical Federation (FEREDE) met with Mariano Sanchez Bermejo, Minister of Justice and Religious Affairs, together with the Director of Religious Affairs, Mercedes Rico, in the ministry. Also present were members of the FEREDE's standing committee. The minister asked for the welfare of pastors who have not until now been able to make proper payments into the Social Security pension scheme and confirmed he will attend the opening of the 7th Evangelical Congress in Barcelona, to be held on 6th December. In all they spent some two hours discussing matters of common interest, such as the state of religious freedom and the development of the 1992 agreements between FEREDE and the state. More in Spanish. Photos from the Justice Ministry.

[Image 60???]The 7th Spanish Protestant Congress will take place in Barcelona in December, 6th to 9th. This great event will draw leaders from all the protestant groups in Spain, to meet together and discuss matters of importance and immediate relevance to the movement. It is called by the churches' federation, FEREDE and coordinated by the Evangelical Council of Catalonia.

In view of the imminent Congress, 18 key leaders in Spain have signed a 'Manifesto' calling for a renewal of the prophetic voice of the evangelical churches in the face of the decline in moral and spiritual values, including in law, in Spanish society. Read the pdf in Spanish.

Segura Water reserves April '07

On 29th and 30th September the churches of Madrid and province held 'Open Doors Days for Integration' in Madrid's Plaza de España, one of the main squares. The objective was to share the gospel and inform about the humanitarian and social work the churches are doing. Each church or organisation got a small tent in which to arrange its exhibition. In addition, there were programmes with artistic presentations with testimony 8 times each day. From the photo you can see it was a great success! 1500 rations were handed out by the 'Food Bank', while evidently thousands visited the event and the 35 stands. The organisers thank you for your prayer: 'Dozens of people responded to the appeals.' More photos soon!

The remains have been discovered of the first British Consul in Malaga, William Mark, together with those of his family, in the 'Protestant Cemetery' which he was fundamental in creating. Volunteer gardiner, John Hallybone, noticed a small hole one day as he swept a path and the folowing week it had grown alarmingly. On excavation it revealed the last resting place of the Mark family. Prior to the establishment of the cenetery,in the 1840s, the bodies of protestant 'heretics' were buried vertically on the cliffs, facing almost certain destruction over the years by the waves. Mark had previously served in the Royal Navy under Lord Nelson.

Caja Navarra, the regional Savings Bank, has republished the 'Protestant Bible' of Leizarraga (1571) -in the Basque language. This facsimile version is to be made available for about 30€. Juana de Albret, protestant queen of Navarre had the original version published.

A new evangelical bookshop, Abba, opened in Barcelona on 15th September. Abba includes an electronic store, so if you are looking for Spanish or Catalan language books, this could be your next click!

The Vademecum, Spain's oldest and most revered directory of churches has gone online. To find a church or other evangelical outfit near you click here!

For earlier news from the churches, click here!
For other news from the churches we remind you that Protestante Digital always has a selection of interesting news and opinion articles.