Dear missionary friends, We are completing by God’s grace 29 years of ministry on the black continent, the vast Africa. The clergy that the Lord has assigned to us is, as you know, Colosse and the whole province of Katanga. During all this time our eyes have seen a lot, we have faced many adverse situations, we have experienced moments of unprecedented sorrows, joys, but through them you can see how the grace of God works, which always covers us, whether we feel it or not. We sometimes start a project from scratch, and while we have no financial prospect of completing it, the Lord, in one way or another, comes to our aid, always finds a solution, and this project is completed, to His glory. For this is what our humble ministry here is aimed at: that everything be done to the glory of God. Whether we are building schools or churches, whether we are doing baptisms, ordinations, or charity, everything is done not for our praise, but for the glory of His holy name. Our needs, of course, are great and it is not possible to meet them all. But your love helps us to go on and to make our humble efforts prosperous.
This year it became imperative to build two new holy churches and this is because the congregation is growing and it is not possible for the Sacrament of the Eucharist to be celebrated in mud huts or brick churches. So far 45 churches have been built, while 65 brick churches are still in operation. Of course, even in these humble churches without a formal iconostasis, without a pulpit or hagiographies, which have a floor made of earth, where you can see the bare feet of small children treading on the damp earth throughout the Divine Liturgy without protest, where there are no door and window frames, the grace of the Lord is the same, and sometimes you even feel it more intensely. However, in the dry season, strong winds raise clouds of dust, which comes in during the time of the Divine Liturgy, while in the rainy season the bricks are wet with the risk of collapsing, as happened recently in St. Minas, during the time of the Divine Liturgy! It was indeed a tragic occasion, when just as the parish priest, a good Levite, came out at the time of communion to the Beautiful Gate to preach, the whole of the east wall behind the sanctuary collapsed with a terrifying crash. We therefore appeal to your love again and ask for your support for the building of the two aforementioned churches, the budget of which amounts to 50,000 € for each. We will be grateful to those friends of the mission who take them on and their names will always be remembered by our African priests in eternal remembrance. With best wishes and love in Christ
†O Katagas Meletios
