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Presbyterian Moderator Dr John Dixon left last Monday (22-03-99) for a four week visit to Brazil and Jamaica. Accompanied by his wife, Claire, Dr Dixon will be meeting Irish Presbyterian Overseas personnel together with representatives of Presbyterian Church in Ireland partner churches in both countries.
Dr Dixon flies first to Brazil where the Presbyterian Church has been involved for about ten years and at present has three staff working there, Mabel Colson from Whitehead and Lynn and Heather Cochrane from Ballyrashane . The Moderator begins his official engagements on Wednesday and Thursday 24-25 March at Dourados, a four hour flight east of Rio. He will meet staff and conduct worship at the Caiua Missao, a mission working among local Indians and run jointly by the the Presbyterian Church's partners in Brazil, the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil and the Presbyterian Church in Brazil. Mabel Colson has spent the last 4 years working in Dourados but unfortunately while the Moderator will see her work he won't meet Mabel who is at present home on leave.
Dr Dixon then returns to Rio where on Sunday 28 March, he will preach at Rio de Janerio Cathedral to an expected congregation of 2000 in the oldest protestant church in South America.
The day before, Saturday 27 March the Moderator will carry out a personal engagement when he visits the grave of Pamela Craig. She was a member of Dr Dixon's congregation of First Antrim, who came to work in Brazil during the eighties and was murdered there on 17-01-87 during a robbery on her home.
Pamela worked with Latin Link, an evangelical outreach organisation, and on April 1 Dr Dixon will fly to Recife, 6 hours north of Rio to meet up with Randlestown Presbyterian, Mrs Winifred Every-Clayton who along with her husband Glenn works for Latin Link. The Moderator will spend several days there finishing his Brazilian engagements when he preaches in the local church on Sunday 4 April.
The Moderator then flies on to Jamaica where the Presbyterian Church has had close links for over 50 years and at present has 8 overseas personnel working as administrators and teachers in partnership with the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.
During 6-17 April the Moderator will travel extensively around Jamaica, an island he knows well have ministered there for a short time in 1994, to see at first hand what is happening in the projects supported by the Presbyterian Church.
Among those who the Moderator will meet are James and Pat Cameron from Crossgar, Co Londonderry who assist the Jamaican Church by administering part of its Social Outreach Programme involving homes for children, elderly and a training centre. These centres are at various locations around the island and are the Church's response to the high rates of crime, violence and corruption which are in part due to the island's poor economy.
Also receiving Moderatorial visits will be Leonara Wasson from Garnerville and Warrenpoint's Diana Winfield who are associate regional directors of the United Church's Institute for Theological and Leadership Development which provides training mainly for church members who want to be better equipped for service in their church and community.
The Moderator will preach in Kingston on Sunday 18 April before his final engagement to officially represent the Presbyterian Church at the Synod of the United Church in Jamaica and Cayman which meets on Monday and Tuesday 19-20 April.
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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