A Brief
History of our Parish
The Anglican Parish of
Nerja and Almuñecar started as an offshoot of St George’s Malaga, some 44 years
ago, when a group of Anglicans met in the home of Eleanor Payne. The venue moved
to the Pepe Rico Restaurant, then to the apartment of Robert and Kathy Holder.
In 1992 the congregation in Nerja began to use the Roman Catholic church of San
Miguel. (St Michael’s).
In 1982 the Revd Horace
Bedlow, the Chaplain of Malaga, conducted 14 services during the year, as well
as undertaking some pastoral visiting. Local arrangements were made by Tony
Palmer.
The Revd David Cherry took
over at Malaga the following year, 1983, and from then two Holy Communion
services were held each month in Nerja. He bought a house in Nerja, and the
congregations grew much larger than those in Malaga as there were more English
speaking residents here.
It was not until 1992 that
we became an independent Parish within the Archdeaconry of Gibraltar, when David
retired. After a couple of false starts, the Revd John Vellacott arrived in
October 1993. At Easter 1994, the Almuñecar congregation was formed, largely due
to the effort of churchwarden Col Alan Holifield; sadly, he died shortly after
the first service at the Fishermen’s Chapel, where services are now held each
Sunday.
John Vellacott received a
diocesan grant of £6,000 towards a half-stipend. This reduced annually and
disappeared after four years. By this time the Parish was self-supporting,
despite suffering the trauma of the death, after a year, of John Vellacott’s
successor, the Revd Peter Letford and another year with locums. The Parish was
established under Spanish law during Peter’s tenure, in 1997, with the Parish
Priest officially being given the title of Rector, which remains so when dealing
with Spanish law. In the Diocese in Europe the title Priest-in-Charge is used.
The Revd Osmond Aisbitt, a
retired priest who was on holiday in Spain, offered to help out without any
payment after Peter’s sudden death, and this arrangement continued for two
years, enabling the Parish to re-establish itself financially, after bearing the
huge costs for repatriating its sick priest. “Ossy” and his wife, Margaret,
organised trips for members of the congregation and visitors which helped to
raise some funds.
Church Shop, in Calle
Malaga was purchased by James Moorhead and Alan Butt who then sold it on to the
Parish in instalments. Win Purkiss and Ada Dyde had started the church’s
business venture in second-hand goods, using various short-term available
premises for some time, and this was a great leap forward. It was now also
possible to hold a weekly Holy Communion service on Wednesdays at 9.30am in
Church Shop before start of business.
In June 2003, the Revd
Kenneth Reeves succeeded “Ossy”, and was instrumental in producing a booklet of
the Eucharist to be used in the parish, with various alternatives following the
introduction of “Common Worship” in 2000. (This has just been updated (2011) and
reproduced in a new format.)
He was also responsible
for building our first website. The Parish obtained a mortgage and bought its
own house for use of the clergy and their families instead of renting a
property, and furnished it to a high standard.
Sadly Ken retired due to
ill health after eighteen months and almost a year was spent with locums, who
varied their service from 9 days to three months, and the Parish were most
grateful that the Bishop managed to find so many wonderful priests!
In November 2005 the Revd
Dr Ronald Saunders took over as Priest-in-Charge and he served for two years.
In June 2008, the Revd
Geoff Johnston was Licensed as Priest-in-Charge and in January 2009 he married
Carol, celebrating a blessing in St Michael’s Church, conducted by the
Archdeacon, the Venerable David Sutch.
The Lent Course in 2010 on
the “Five Marks of Mission” challenged the Parish to make more effort to reach
out into the English-speaking community. The outcome of this was the launching
of a “Fresh Expression of Church” called “Messy Church” in October 2010 which
now attracts up to 22 children each month together with their parents.
Along with many fund
raising events the Parish has steadily increased its income and along the way
has been able to contribute to various charities, including the Roman Catholic
Sisters of the Good Samaritan who help the poor of Nerja, and Caritas, a Roman
Catholic charity working among those who are unemployed, the aged, and homeless
in Almuñecar and Nerja. We also support Water Aid, Christian Aid and The
Anglican Diocese of Peru. |