News, December 2006

News from the Churches

TVE broadcast a Christmas service for the 2nd time. The ship, Logos 2 is visiting the Canaries, Ceuta, Melilla and Gibraltar. Evangelical organisations celebrate anniversaries. Rockfall hits Bible School. Read on!

[Image 51???]TVE has again broadcast a Christmas service. Last year was the first time an evangelical service was broadcast live on a national station. It went out on 22nd December at 19.30 local time. The service was relayed from a church in Madrid and included the Madrid Gospel Choir. at a leater date a concert given by the Choir after the broadcast may be put on air.

The OM ship Logos 2 is visiting Spain! The ship is making final, farewell visits to Grand Canary, Ceuta and Melilla,, the latter its home port in its earlier life as the Antonio Lazaro, part of the state owned Trasmediterranea fleet of ferries. After 17 years of service, the ship will be replaced next year by the Logos Hope, currently being rebuilt for OM service.

From the Logos 2 web site: Returning To The Roots, 6 Dec, 2006: Melilla, Spain
In her present role, Logos II has never been to Melilla, Spain. However, during the 1970’s and '80s, when the vessel was called Antonio Lazaro, her main role was carrying passengers between Melilla and the Spanish mainland. Those coming on board Logos II today will find the ship has a very different purpose – bringing knowledge, help and hope to the people of the world. After opening to the public, the onboard book fair is already welcoming curious visitors and several cultural programmes are also planned over the coming days for the town’s citizens to meet and interact with the international crew.

Dates of the visits:
15th to th November: technical stop in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, now with open house.
28th November to 4th December: Ceuta
5th to 13th December: Melilla
14th to 28th: Gibraltar (Spanish peninsular territory ruled by Britain)

Anniversary Time! The evangelical churches' federation, FEREDE, is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formation of its forerunner the Commission for the Defence of the Evangelical Churches, back in times of religious intolerance during the Franco regime. And the Catalan churches' council is also celebrating, this time 25 years of existence. During these years the two organisations of churches have achieved much for their member churches in terms of recognition. Not all agreements with the authorities have been quite to the liking of all, but almost noone would have us return to the times of persecution and intolerance which live on in the memory of older church members.

Autumn is conference time! A number of significant conferences are taking place this autumn. Perhaps the most significant, internationally, was one for Latin Americans working in or interested in missions, organised by COMIBAM in Granada in mid-November.
December 6th and 8th are holidays and a time for major national conferences. This year the main one was the 1st Protestant Congress of Andalusia, in Seville.
More on the calendar of events.

A rock fall in early December has badly damaged the buildings of IBSTE, the Bible School in Barcelona, founded by the Greater European Mission. We are glad to announce that the Lord kept all personnel safe and unhurt. Parts of the main building and three family homes have been temporarily closed, the families being lodged on other parts of the site. The school occupies an old hotel close to the beach at Castelldefels south of Barcelona. It was founded in 1972 by GEM missionary Jim Fasold.

Pastors in Palma, Mallorca are meeting together with a view to establishing some kind of working relationship, which will probably end in a regional 'Evangelical Council'. The churches in the Balearic islands have for several reasons been unable so far to work so closely. Not least is the problem of insularity.