A final thought as I return to England



I said my goodbyes today to the parish as I make my way for England for the next few weeks. One of my parting gifts was of coffee beans grown in the home village of our pastoral assistant, Henry, seen here painted in the parish colour for the March for Peace! It was great to hear him speak of Café Direct which buys from his village - you may well see the Peruvian coffee with the photo of Machu Picchu in the supermarkets. Not only is it reassuring to hear that the price given there for the coffee enables people to live with dignity but also Café Direct ensures that the environment is respected and the production is sustainable. It seems a long way to the supermarket shelves for so many Fairtrade products and it was good to hear first hand that these products do change people’s lives and the world we live in.

March for Peace



Whilst many people long for peace and pray for peace, it’s not everyone who is willing to take to the streets to march for peace. But here it was great last weekend to join 3500 people from the local deanery including five bus loads from our parish marching for peace in every context, from the family to the world, from local community to international level. Peace based on justice and reconciliation. For the people of this area the memory of Peru’s terrorist era is still all too fresh. This was an area where people lived in fear and communities were divided and terrorised. The need for peace was all too obvious then and the realisation that peace is not brought about through apathy but through active participation and real action is very clear in people’s minds. The day was a great gathering with a festive spirit but also a clear message - peace will not just happen but will be brought about when people stand up for justice and create peace in their own families and neighbourhoods.

A Community 20 years young



The feast of St John the Baptist is popular in Peru for reasons yet undiscovered and as usual this means processions, bunting across the streets and, of course, all night parties. For the hillside barrio of Monterrey it is a particularly special feast as it marks the founding of their community 20 years ago. Photos from that time showed the arrival of people and their wicker houses on the barren hill including a community of sisters from the Little Sisters of Jesus congregation who have lived alongside the people here from its very beginning, sharing with them the slow progression from wicker walls to wood and finally to what is known as ‘noble material’ - to us bricks and mortar. Electricity was celebrated five years after the arrival, water and drainage is still a hope for the future although the government promised this a year ago.




We also celebrated First Holy Communion at mass that day in great festive style and although there is still a long way to go until this people can rejoice in what is taken for granted in so many places, there’s a great spirit here and a strong sense of community.