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The Holy Land Pilgrimage 04-14 November 2019 I would be grateful if you could ask if there is anyone in your congregation who might be interested in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in November. Please contact me (details below) for more information about this pilgrimage as we really need another couple of people to make it viable, My wife Kay and I have taken a number of pilgrimages right across the Middle East, including Turkey (where we also lived for some years), Jordan and Egypt, plus five to Israel & Palestine – the last, four years ago when I was priest-in-charge of St Nicolas of Myra, Ankara, Turkey. On that occasion it was a joint Roman Catholic/Anglican pilgrimage led by me, and drawn from the respective congregations in Ankara, though previous pilgrimages have included people from a variety of traditions. Obviously, we will happily explain everything about the pilgrimage without obligation, so an expression of interest does not mean they are obligated! Regards Canon John Higgins [email protected] Tel: 01576 300796 To All Clergy, Vestry Secretaries and Lay Representatives This year’s Lent Appeal was proposed to Bishop Gregor before he retired, and has since been commended by our Interim Bishop, the Primus, as our Lent Appeal for 2019. It is in aid of MACS, the Malawi Association for Christian Support, a group which has many links with the churches in our Diocese; I attach a copy of their latest newsletter. You can find out more on their website, www.malawimacs.org, but, in short, MACS has done tremendous work alleviating poverty and need in Malawi over the years, not least in their projects for St Luke’s Hospital there. At the moment, they are trying to raise £175,000 for a new operating theatre. So far, as you will see on their attached newsletter, they have just over £100,000, so it’s hoped we can lend as much support as possible. 8