COST OF LIVING KILLING US!

With the cost of living going up and the Belizean dollar losing more value as we convert our dollars to the Mexican pesos, it seems that this year will be a hectic one for those of us who have to stretch our dollars.

Is there anything we can do to alleviate the tight budgets we will have to deal with?

YeS!
1. STOP BUYING THINGS WE DON'T NEED.

2. STOP BUYING THINGS FOR OUR CHILDREN WE KNOW WE CAN'T AFFORD.

3. STOP HAVING BIG SOCIALS WE HAVE TO GO TO THE BANK TO BORROW FOR, SUCH S WEDDINGS,
AND BIRTHDAYS.

WAKE UP, PEOPLE. THESE ARE CRUCIAL TIMES AND THEY CALL FOR CRUCIAL METHODS. LEARN TO SAY NO TO YOURSELVES AND YOUR CHILDREN.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK.

SENIOR BANDS IN BELIZE DO THEIR THING

Thursday night was part two of the Mas Camp Nights and the four remaining senior bands were more than ready to show us what they had to offer for carnival day. As we approached the first camp, we were curious to find out if this second group of senior bands would have as much energy as the first. Black Pearl did not disappoint. The revelers and their on lookers blocked off an entire block of Dean street with their pre-carnival jump-up.

Kendra Buller, Leader Black pearl
“Black Pearl senior band will be will presenting this year the three concepts of peace, love and, harmony. As you can see, we have a lovely array of colours. The red section with the heart symbolizes the love. The colourful section, a togetherness of colours, with the harmony sign represents the harmony. The white section with the dove represents the peace section. Black Pearl senior band has seventy-five strong masqueraders ready to go out there and do their thing carnival day so we’re looking forward to it”

King, Black Pearl
“Well this year my costume is representing freedom and basically I just di come out fi rock di street dis year and di thousand ah people weh I have as my fans. Everybody look forward fi si mi inna carnival every year. Every year I usually seh dah mi last year but this year will be my last year so I just come out fi rock and enjoy myself with the colorful colors this year” “Well, fi all di kings dehn weh di compete, I just want seh unnu bring it hard because all like me, come out fi enjoyment dis year but I wah bring it as well.”

Saffiyah Mohammed, Reporting
Over at the Mas Camp of Eternity Mas Band the soca music was blasting. They told us all about the reason behind their root and culture theme.

Misty Williams, Eternity Mas Band
“I di represent Eternity Mas Band and this year we di portray roots and culture the dread represents roots; weh yoh come from with black being the people, gold and different colors. Di pink dah di Maya temple as in culture—di pink and di purple represent culture—and di purple is a leaf. It’s from a, you could seh wah tree. You know di tree grow and we think dat culture di fade inna Belize and we want bring it out inna wah costume that ih could actually grow and ih could actually continue and be something weh grow inna Belize.”

Member, Eternity Mas Band
“This year I decided to join carnival because I wanted to enjoy my September because my birthday is September. But most of all, I joined Eternity because dis year we come fi mash up Belize, we come fi enjoy. You done know.”

Member, Eternity Mas Band
“Tell dehn tighten up cause we di come hard. We wah run over anybody. We noh business, we di come fi dehn”

The erotic Mas Band's camp was filled with costumes of many colors and shapes. The designer, David Matus, explained the meaning of each.

David Matus, Designer, Erotic Mas Band
“This year erotic is doing journey where we are depicting the land, people and sea. Alright our land section, we’re depicting come flora and fauna and we’re depicting some butterflies. In the people section we decided to pick the slaves who came through the British settle and under the sea, well that speaks for itself. The only message that I have is that we line up at number five in the senior band line-up but at the end ah di day we'll be in front”

Queen, Erotic Mas Band
“I am representing Queen of the Land, amorphous, representing the land. The sections are land, people, sea, hence I lead the land. Well I've always been participating. This is like twelve years of carnival. I think I’ve done about three or four queens, won about three and surely I must win this year we’ve been working very hard.”

Our final stop was Mother Nature's creation. They may have been last but they definitely not least.

Leader, Mother Natures Creation
“The theme for the costumes is the myth of fire and water, death and reincarnation. The first section—we’re looking at all different colours—the first section will be aqua, blue, white and green. The second section will be red, yellow, orange. The third group will be the rainbow and the last group will be pink and black”

Member, Mother Nature’s Creation
“I really hype up fi dis parade dis year. I come all di way from L.A. fi jump inna carnival and I wah still come. Belize dah my home, when carnival dah my queen. So dis dah weh I love. On carnival, I do mi natural energy and I get on bad so unnu wah si wah good, good show this year”

Queen, Mother Nature’s Creation
“I'm queen Myra. I’m a mermaid and I’m going to be beautiful, seductive, lure all the men of Belize to love me. Belize makes me want to be in carnival because I see it makes a lot of people happy. It’s a day when we can come out, enjoy ourselves, without all the killing and everything that’s going on in Belize this year. It’s one day that I would like people to come out and enjoy one another. It’s not a day for hurt or anything. It’s a day for us to enjoy and to be proud of our country.”

IF GRANDMA CAN DO IT, SO CAN WE

A robber was reportedly stopped smack in his tracks minutes after he stole a knapsack this morning. The incident occurred just after eleven on Cemetery Road when the thief followed a woman who had just made a withdrawal from an A.T.M. at Shell One Stop Gas Station at the corner of Central American Boulevard and Cemetery Road and demanded her cash. Police, who were right on his tail when the incident occurred, pursued the culprit all the way to the corner of Logwood Street and Magazine Road where they eventually nabbed him. But in his attempt to escape police, the thief almost knocked a girl off a bicycle and was intercepted by a brave senior citizen who said she has known him for a long time.

Maud Conorquie, Stopped Robber
“Me and di young lady di talk yah soh. So I tell ah noh move, stay noh move. Den di young man di come direct to we so I tell ah noh run, stay right close me, if yoh run I wah hold yoh and soh ih look fi run soh.”

Marion Ali
“You tell di man this?”

Maud Conorqiue
“Yes, I tell ah noh run. I tell ah stay right yah and ih di look fi run soh I seh stay, I wah kick yoh up, soh stay right yah because yoh done do wrong den yoh wah look fi run from police. Ih seh but lady I get shot soh I seh well dat dah your problem cause weh yoh wah run fah? Soh wen I look di police di come from soh and dah soh dehn tek ah and put ah inna di vehicle and I tell dehn hey unnu owe me wah award because dah me ketch di man fi unu.”

Marion Ali
“You feel if you neva deh hold ah, ih mi wah…”

Maud Conorquie
“ih mi gwein, ih mi gwein fi true and den ih mi wah get shot because dehn mi wah hurt ah because ih di run. Why ih di run?”

Stunned by Blood-dripping Robber
“I see di police dehn by my house but I really pay it no mind. Two ah di police pick up dehn gone by Cemetery and den I see di young man wid di school bag by di shop. And den when I si di police dehn gone more up by Roger’s Stadium, di young man come out through di alley by health centre and den he come and jump over di old bus terminal fence. And den one ah di police wid gun come out by di bus terminal gate and den ih di ask di security guard fi mek ih open di gate because somebody jump through yah. And den she mi want other information but di policeman gone in and we heard wah shot back deh and den we just si di young man di come running through here and I just see di shot eena ih hand. And then he run up into me but instead of I move outta his way he run right up into me and then I run left my bike weh mi deh down deh and dah wah lady weh mi deh beside me stop ah.”

Maud Conorquie
“He all time eena problem and soh with police and soh cause he noh work and thing, you know. And if ih do wah job ih still do ih lee act between. Miss I got my son dem and I tell you, if I ketch dehn di du anything outta di way I noh di joke wid dem. Yoh noh fi rob nobody out yah.”

Marion Ali
“You noh think by telling him that yoh put yourself in danger?”

Maud Conorqui
“No, dah no danger, he dah no kinda danger. God deh wid me man. I save fi he life too because if he mi run go anywhere dehn mi wah shot ah.”

The jacker, Vanzie Lamb, has received treatment at the K.H.M.H. for his injured hand and now faces a charge of Robbery. While police did not find the money on him, they believe he might have hidden it in an unoccupied bus.

LAST YEAR THIS WAS HURRICANE DEAN

ON AUGUST 22 LAST YEAR E SAW THE FURY FO HURRICANE DEAN.
MAY WE NOT FORGET TO PREPARE FOR THES TERRIBLE DISASTERS.

A BELIZEAN IN A CAN

A HERMIT CRAB

BELIZE'S OWN

Have you tried a Belizean beer yet? Come to Belize

WHEN THINGS BEGIN TO GO WRONG... WHO DO WE CALL?

While we get ready to go back to the classrooms and teach the children of Belize right from wrong, something very terrible seems to be happening in this country of ours. Sorry, people, but the truth hurts sometimes.

There is a rise in crime all over the nation.
Please, Mr. Prime Minister, it is time for you to do something about all the killings, stealing and maiming going on in Belize before we become black-listed completely by tourists.

Last week saw the killing of a person in the Free Zone at Santa Elena in the Corozal District. It seems that there needs to be a better security system in letting people into the free zone and there is need for a small Police Station there, too. Let us stop feeling we are the Belize of old where life goes smoothly. We are living in Hell's world today and we have got to do the right thing to prevent the wrong things from happening. Let's all work towrads a better Belize and a crime free one.

COROZAL JUNIOR COLLEGE ACE OFFERS FIRST AID CLASSES FOR IT PED STUDENTS

As a requirement for grduation, all PED students countrywide MUSTR take a course in First Aid. The photo above shows some of the students in the programme at the CJC ACE (Evening Division)tking the course. It was held on Saturdays in June and July.

Congrats on doing well at all your workshops and in all your classes this summere students.
Love, The Director

TWENTY YEAR OLD GETS 15 YEARS FO MANSLAUGHTER

After hearing mitigation pleas from two character witnesses, Justice Herbert Lord sentenced, twenty year old Guatemalan, Yanira Escobar, to fifteen years imprisonment. Escobar, who also goes by Dominga Hernandez, was found guilty of Manslaughter two weeks ago in connection with the 2005 stabbing death of twenty-two year old Yesenia Jessica Salguero. In court today Escobar’s childhood friend, Ana Trujillo, took the stand and told the court that she has known Escobar since she was eight years old and that as a child Escobar used to deliver tortillas for her for a living. She said Escobar has always been an honest, respectful and humble person. The other person to take the stand was Carla Casimiro, a Principal Officer at Hattieville Prison, who testified that since Escobar has been on remand awaiting trial, she has engaged in positive programmes at the facility, such as Arts and Craft, literacy, and catering. Lindberth Willis also asked Justice Lord to consider the dock statement that Escobar gave and that she was only seventeen at the time of the incident and she was provoked and that she had already spent three years in remand. In closing, Willis asked (quote) “that the court tempers justice with mercy”.

For her part, Director of Public Prosecutions, Sheryl-Lynn Branker-Tait, said that while Escobar is able to take part in prison programmes, there is a dead victim and four orphaned children. When Escobar was asked if she had anything to say before sentencing, she broke down in tears and begged the court for leniency saying that she knows she made a mistake, has asked for forgiveness and wishes she could be able to help her younger sister and niece. In delivering the sentence, Justice Lord said he felt he had no choice but to go with the minimum of fifteen years jail time, which took effect as of July eighteenth when the case started. The incident occurred outside King’s Club in the Cayo district around eleven p.m. on July third 2005 when Salguero was injured, and later died in the hospital. Escobar has been in custody since July fifth, 2005 when the incident occurred.

A FLOWER FOUND IN BELIZE

This flower was found at the maya Mountain area in Belize, Central America

DIVING IN BELIZE WITH THE STING RAYS AT HOL CHAN

Marie Chestnut (Mobunny) diving with the Rays at Hol Chan

Photograph by Irmin Wehmeier

CONCH REVEALED

We eat it in fried conch fritters, conch ceviche, and conch soup but do we know what they look like before they are served to us?

The pictures below are courtesy of Cullen Walker and they help us see what a conch looks like. Thanks Cullen.

SUPA G GETS READY FOR THE SEPTEMBER CELEBRATIONS

The September celebrations are just around the corner, and you will know this from the musical explosion that is coming our way... On Tuesday, Reckless stopped by the studio with his latest offering and tonight, Supa G is back in Belize from a successful tour in Chicago to promote his new CD before heading out for Belize Day at the UWI Campos in Barbados.

Jose Sanchez, Reporting
Lensford Martinez was born in Georgetown in the Stann Creek district and grew up in Corozal Town. But while you may not recognize that name you absolutely know Supa G. In his career, he has made dour albums with Punta Rebels and seven solo albums. His popularity has grown so much that the airwaves have become saturated with his jingles. One of his most popular songs, Lay the Pipe, is also one of the most controversial because of the racial male stereotyping.

Lensford “Supa G” Martinez, Musician
“It is a lady that I met, that’s what she told me and I just decided to put it in a song. So it wasn’t just from Supa G, that is from a woman’s point of view. It was a controversial song because even in the U.S., a lot of people approach me, Hispanic people, and say how come dah only we wah build di house and dehn only di black man wah do di plumbing. And I tell dehn if yoh listen to di entire song then yoh wah si dat both di Spanish person and di black person does di plumbing. But to me it’s just a song about having fun.”

This week Supa has released a new album called Di Scandal.

Lensford “Supa G” Martinez
“With this album it has more positive music; meaning it has more songs that is talking about reality. It is talking about changes that we need to make to make things better in this community. I have tracks like Fuego that is talking about too much gun violence in the city and the country.”

Supa’s style has changed. His lyrics aren’t about sexual intimacy, but are more formed to inspire listeners to dialogue about many of society’s ills.

Lensford “Supa G” Martinez
“So I’m more conscious, I’ve matured. And my music also has matured with me turning to that positivity. One of the most famous bad thing happening in our society with a lot of men molesting the young ones. And I believe it is really, really wrong and it is terrible and it is wrong. Kids are not supposed to be hurt any at all; we are supposed to protect the young ones. For men to be doing that I think they are really getting out of hand. So I wanted to touch that topic and write a song about that also.”

“And also about things going up, everything the cost of living going up. We can’t buy rice fi mek we bubble up now. You know things getting really hard. “Pressure”.”

While there is a notable difference in lyrics, Supa is struggling between making sexual songs that sell versus lending a social consciousness to music.

Lensford “Supa G” Martinez
“The songs that bring money to me are the songs that people would say don’t make much sense, are the songs that get more airtime in the clubs; songs that people want to party with. I get phone calls because of which song? Bwai, because of Lay the Pipe. I get tons of phone calls. Now what should I do as an artist? Concentrate on more of that type of music because that’s the music that brings in the money? But then I want to show a different light. I want to change the game and hope it works.”

And conscious lyrics should bring success because Supa G’s first musical inspiration was Andy Palacio. And Andy’s music transitioned from Punta to planetary. Di Scandal is now available in music stores. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.

Supa G will be performing in a concert this Thursday night at the Princess Royal Park in Dangriga to promote the album.

MISS FIDO'S BIKINI COMPETITION 2008

Miss Costa Rica Maria Quesada wins Miss Fido’s Bikini Competition 2008!
A full house turned up at Fido’s Courtyard on Tuesday night to take part in the La Reina Fido’s Bikini Competition 2008. The eight gorgeous Costa Maya delegates put on a run way show like no other with four segments of bikini changes.
After four rounds of stiff competition, the judge’s score were tied amongst two contestants and the top five were called out once more for another round of modeling. Based on the audiences’ reaction and the individual majority vote of the judges, Miss Costa Rica Maria Quesada ultimately was crowned as Miss Fido’s Bikini model!
Photo from the San Pedro Sun

HANDMADE CHOCOLATE IN BELIZE

0

Juan Cho and his wife handmaking chocolate in San Felipe Village (near Punta Gorda).

Photograph by Cullen Walker

THE COSTA MAYA PAGEANT IS OVER

AND THE WINNER IS MISS GUATEMALA - Jennifer Chiong! La Reina de la Costa Maya Internacional 2008

PEACE AND BEAUTY - ALL IN BELIZE

Just north of the pier at the shrimp farm, on Ambergris Caye

Photograph by Ed Buck

FISHING IN SAN PEDRO, AMBERGRIS CAYE IS FUN

Captain G (Abel Guerrero) with a great catch.
If you go o San Pedro and want to go out fishig with someone who knows where the best fish are ask for Captain G.

Have a great day, Don Abel Guerrero, and send us some fish here in Corozal!!
Love, Brenda

BUTTERFLIES OF BELIZE

ST. JOHN'S ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL OF BELIZE

The Diocese of Belize serves as the Anglican Church home for the people of Belize, the new Central American nation in the heart of the Caribbean.



Established in 1883 as a member of the Church of the Province of the West Indies, today the Diocese is comprised of 31 churches spread throughout the country, and is engaged in missionary outreach on a national and international scale. In partnership with the government, we also operate 20 schools across the country.




MISSION STATEMENT:



To help all our members seek Jesus as the Christ and discover the authority within us so as to:

Be faithful stewards of the church and of God's creation.
To be in fellowship and partnership with all other Christian denominations, bodies, governments and states in creating a nation to love God, and love our neighbors as ourselves.
To be an open, growing, nurturing and worshiping community of faith for all of our multi-racial and multi-ethnic society.
To proclaim the Gospel of Christ through meaningful programs, to seek the root causes and address crime, violence and other social challenges of the nation.
History of the Anglican Diocese of Belize



In some sense, to understand the history of the Anglican Church in Belize, one has to look back to the Indian tribes of the Moskito (or Mosquito) Shore in the mid-eighteenth century. After repeated appeals by the Rev. Mr. Peat, Rector of Jamestown, Jamaica, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG) sent a succession of missionaries to work among the Indians. Thsi started sometime after 1747 with the Rev. Nathan Prince. Many of these missionaries did not fair well, succumbing to the harsh conditions and dying shortly after arrival in the region.



The Early Chaplains to the Belize Settlement
The Moskito Coast Mission received the Rev. Robert Shaw in 1774. However, in 1776, due to illness and inability to bear the climate there, Shaw was forced to return to England--being replaced by the Rev. William Standord. On his way from the Moskito Coast, Shaw made a stop in the Belize settlement (the 'Bay Settlement') which then comprised of British buccaneers living on St George's Caye, located a few miles offshore the mainland. Shaw stayed on to become the first chaplain of the Belize settlement.



Shaw's chaplaincy was interrupted by a Spanish invastion in 1779 from which Shaw escaped to the Moskito Shore. The public records make no mention of a permanent chaplain between the late 1780s and 1794. Ecclesiastical functions were carried out by the magistrates during this period.



In March 1794, Rev. William Stanford was appointed as chaplain. By this time the settlement had moved to the mainland, developing into what became known as Belize Town (today's Belize City). Despite early confrontations with the settlers and Superintendent, Stanford later became a Police Magistrate. This was a full-time administrative and judicial office in the local government and a most influential position. In 1803, by resolution of the magistrates, and through the efforts of Stanford, public funds were used to support the chaplaincy.



Between 1776 and 1810, the two chaplains (Shaw and Stanford) were more involved in the affairs concerning the government of the settlements than to that of the Church. They were more social stabilizers than evangelists. Yet partly due to their efforts and a growing sense of permanence among the settlers, the settlement was preparing to build a church building, call a rector and establish a school by 1810. on the twentieth of July, 1812, that the foundation stone of what was to become St John's Cathedral was laid by the then Superintendent, Lt. Colonel John Nugent Smyth. By 1817 the magistrates were petitioning for assistance for the completion of the building. in 1818 the SPG approved $200 for the project.



The Evangelical Influence
Around this time the Rev. John Armstrong arrived to replace Standford as the third chaplain of the settlement. His arrival was to produce remarkable changes in the relationship between the Church and the community at large. Armstrong was the product of the Wesleyan-initiated Evangelical Awakening that was taking place in England. Armstrong thus marked the start of the evangelical influence in Belize.



Two years later, in 1814, when the settlement received its new Superintendent in the person of George Arthur, the evangelical influence intensified. Arthur was also an Evangelical Anglican with very strong Calvinist views. He and Armstrong embarked upon a program to reform the society much to the disgust of many of the settlers. He condemned their drunkenness, immorality, cruelty to the slaves and the injustice of their courts.



Armstrong and Arthur did not always agree on certain issues of government, however. Arthur's constant meddling in Armstrong's work often created tensions between them. Yet both men were driven by similar religious convictions. They did their best to advance the work of the Church in the settlement by erecting chapels and opening schools. Armstrong periodically expressed his desire to extend his ministry to the Indians near the settlement and at the Moskito Shore, but was never able to pursue this goal.



By 1825 the evangelical influence had all but come to an end following the departure of Arthur and Armstrong, and thanks to the efforts of the majority of the settlers. Arthur was replaced by General Edward Codd, and Armstrong by the Rev. Dr. Matthew Newport in 1824. Newport was 'a high Churchman of the old eighteenth century type' who believed in the historic orthodoxy of the Church. His determination to return to traditional Anglicanism characterized the approach to his chaplaincy. He was to make the settlement his home for the next thirty six years.



Under the Jurisdiction of the Diocese of Jamaica
On the thirteenth of April, 1826, St. John's Cathedral was consecrated by the Rt. Rev. Christopher Lipscombe, Bishop of Jamaica. He had earlier, in July 1824, been consecrated and appointed to the Jamaican See with jurisdiction over the Church in the Belize settlement, with state-supplied stipends for two clergymen. His visit marked the first such visit of a bishop to the Belize settlement.



This relationship with the Diocese of Jamaica proved beneficial for the Church in the Bay Settlement. A grant from the SPG's Negro Instruction Fund was secured for the erection of a school at Belize Town as part of the effort to provide education for the slaves who were now legally free. SPG missionaries could now also be sent from Jamaica to Belize, such as the Rev. Charles Mortlock in 1844--the first in over forty years.



The expansion of Belize Town to the north in the mid-1800s necessitated the construction of a second church building. A small wooden building was erected on the north side of the town dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin. It was consecrated by Bishop Aubrey George Spencer of Jamaica in 1852.



The Bishop of Jamaica in 1862 sought the support of the SPG in a scheme for the establishment of a mission in Northern British Honduras. By 1868 the bishop was able to send the Rev. A. T. Giolme to Corozal.



Disestablishment


On the second of August, 1872, the Anglican Church in British Honduras was disestablished following that of Jamaica in 1870. Some have suggested that by this time the prominence of the Anglican Church was already on the wane due to internal differences within the Church concerning 'High' and 'Low' church forms of worship; the growing strenth of the non-conformists (primarily Methodist and Baptist); and the arrival of the Roman Catholic Church within the influx of the Yucatan refugees. These developments changed the status of the Church in the settlement which then had to become more self-supporting.



The disestablishment of the Churches in Jamaica and British Honduras also placed both Churches under separate jurisdictions. When the Bishop of Jamaica, the Rt. Rev. R. Courtenay, resigned in 1879, his successor, the Rt. Rev. W. G. Tozer, was separately appointed as Bishop of Honduras, holding the title even after he had resigned the Jamaica See. Tozer's replacement, the Rt. Rev. Enos Nuttal, was then requested by the Archbishop of Canterbury to reorganize the Church in British Honduras. Nuttall succeeded in getting the Colonial Office to make some amendments to the Disestablishment Law thereby securing the property of the Church. During a visit to the colony in 1883, Nuttal was able to supervise the reorganization process.



A Separate Diocese
On the tenth of August, 1883, through Instrument by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Edward White, the Church in Belize was duly constituted into a separate bishopric and diocese. Nuttall of Jamaica continued to exercise jurisdiction over the diocese until 1891.



An Extended Diocese
The Venerable Archdeacon Henry Redmayne Holme was consecrated first bishop of British Honduras in St. Michael's Cathedral, Barbados, on the first of March 1891. This was the first such consecration in the West Indies. Holme arrived in the colony on the fourth of April but died shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by George Albert Ormsby whose appointment took place in 1983 with the SPG contributing to his stipend.



A year later, on the tenth of January, 1894, Bishop Ormsby's jurisdiction was extended to include Guatemala, Spanish Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. By 1895 it was further extended to include Panama, Bolivia, Magdalena, Isthmus of Panama, and the City of Panama. Ormsby divided the colony of British Honduras itself into eight large mission districts and had eighteen clergy at work throughout his extended diocese. Grants from the SPG were a great support for these expansions.



Ormsby was succeeded in 1908 by Herbery Bury. At this time the diocese was reduced by transferring the Isthmus of Panama and all areas south of it to the jurisdiction of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the USA. Bishops to follow Bury included the Rt. Rev. Walter Farrar in 1912, and the Most Rev. Edward Dunn in 1917.



By 1927, Bishop Dunn had ten clergy to serve six countries. Much work was maintained among the Moskito Indians who gave generously to the Church, longing to live under the rule of the Britsh flag, as their ancestors had so done.



The shortage of priests remained, however. In 1930 the Diocese of Derby in England sought to assist by sending priests to work in the Diocese of British Honduras. The Rev. Steven L. Caiger was among the first to go. He first served in British Honduras itself and later in Guatemala. He was followed by the Rev. R. A. Pratt, who later became Archdeacon of Belize.



The 1931 hurricane that devestated the colony caused tremendous damage to church property. The Cathedral, St. Mary's Church, and their respective rectories were seriously damaged. Again the SPG came to the rescue making a grant from the Marriot Bequest. Further depression set in when the United Fruit Company began to suffer serious losses in the 1930s.



Between 1947 and 1957 the diocese was reduced by transferring Panama, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala to the jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church of the USA. The diocese was now back to its original geographical area of British Honduras.



The Church in its Wider Context
In 1973, when the name British Honduras was changed to Belize, the diocese became known as the Anglican Diocese of Belize. It is one of eight dioceses that constitute the Church in the Province of the West Indies (CPWI) which was formed in 1883. The Anglican Church in Belize is a member of both the Belize Council of Churches (BCC) and the Caribbean Council of Churches (CCC). The Church is also seeking to establish relations with a newly formed Province consisting of Episcopal Diocese of Central American countries.



Starting in 1975, the Belize Diocese established a 'companion relationship' with the Diocese of New York. This was to be followed with similar relationships with the Dioceses of North Carolina (1984-1993), Georgia (1990-1996), and Los Angeles (1996). Today the diocese maintains a relationship with the Diocese of Southern Virginia. These relationships have consisted primarily of exchange programs involving youth groups and other church organizations. There has also been tremendous financial support for the Diocese of Belize as a result of these companion relationships.



The USPG is also active in the diocese.

SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST - RELIGIONS IN BELIZE

As a Christian church, Seventh-day Adventists are a faith community rooted in the beliefs described by the Holy Scriptures. Adventists describe these beliefs in the following ways:

God's greatest desire is for you to see a clear picture of His character. When you see Him clearly, you will find His love irresistible.

For many, "seeing God clearly" requires that they see God's face. However, how He looks is not the issue. Seeing and understanding His character is what's most important. The more clearly we understand Him, the more we will find His love irresistible. As we begin to experience His love, our own lives will begin to make more sense.

God most clearly reveals His character in three great events. The first is His creation of man and woman--and His giving them the freedom of choice. He created humans with the ability to choose to love Him or to hate Him! The death of Jesus Christ, God's only Son, on the cross as our substitute is the second great event. In that act He paid the penalty we deserve for our hateful choices toward God and His ways. Jesus' death guarantees forgiveness for those choices and allows us to spend eternity with Him. The third event confirms the first two and fills every heart with hope: Christ's tomb is empty! He is alive, living to fill us with His love!

Jesus' disciple John wrote that if everyone wrote all the stories they knew about Jesus, the whole world could not contain them. Our knowledge of God helps us understand His love, character, and grace. Experiencing that love begins a lifelong adventure in growth and service. This knowledge and experience powers our mission to tell the world about His love and His offer of salvation.

Scripture is a road map. The Bible is God's voice, speaking His love personally to you today.

The Bible speaks the Creator's directions to us, like a detailed road map that clearly shows the exit ramp directly into heaven. It is also much like an owner's manual for a life ready to be lived on the cutting edge of liberty.

Sometimes His voice speaks through stories, such as those of David and Goliath, Ruth and Boaz, Naaman's little servant girl, Christ on the cross, and fisherman Peter learning how to tend sheep. Some of these stories teach us how to handle the troubles we face each day. Others fill us with hope and peace. Each of them is like a personal letter from God to you.

Portions of Scripture are direct instructions and laws from God such as the Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20. These tell us more about God and His expectations for us. When people asked Jesus to summarize these commands, He focused on the way God's love affects the way we live. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul," He said. "And love your neighbor as you love yourself."

On other pages the Bible gives God's practical advice and encouragement through parables, lists, promises, and warnings. Amazingly, though many different writers throughout thousands of years wrote the Bible, each page describes the same God in ways we can understand and apply in our lives today. This book is always His voice talking personally to anyone who is willing to read and hear.

God loves us even when we choose to reject His love. In those times He allows us to walk away into the life of our own choices. Yet He is still there, always ready to redeem us from the results of our decisions.

Jesus is the one who never changes in a universe that always does. Jesus is Creator, Sustainer, Saviour, Friend, God's Son, and God Himself!

Everything in this world is always changing, even our desires, interests, skills, and body shapes. But Jesus? He's consistent. He's always the same. Sure, He's always surprising us and touching our lives in thousands of new and different ways, but His character is unchanging. He's God's Son, the Creator, our Saviour, and Friend.

Jesus has promised to be all of that, and more, for each of us. We can trust His promises because He is God. When the words of Colossians say "in Him all things hold together" (1:17, NIV) that includes everything in our lives. He keeps us whole when the enemy is trying to make us fall apart.

Seventh-day Adventists believe that Jesus is one of the three persons, called the Trinity, who make up our one God. The Bible describes Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit as each being committed to our growth as Christians and to our salvation as their children. They made this salvation possible when Jesus came to Bethlehem as a human baby. He lived a life perfectly in accord with God's will and then died innocently for all of our sins. He was placed in a borrowed tomb, but He came back to life three days later. Now he is in heaven interceding with the Father for us, preparing for our deliverance from sin and death.

When everything may be falling apart, when you feel totally alone in the universe, Jesus is right there in the center of it all, offering personal peace and hope. Allow Him into your life. He immediately begins "remodeling" who you are and how you live. Jesus, in fact, is busily transforming His followers into accurate representatives of God's character.

Look to Jesus, and you'll be looking into the understanding and loving face of God.

God's vision for you is life as He lives it! God loves you, and wants to give you the highest quality of life imaginable.

No, not a second-rate existence somewhere on earth, but the highest quality of life imaginable, here and in eternity with Him! That's what God wants us to have. The best!

This is why He provides church families where we can belong. This is why He gives each of us special gifts and talents, so we can live life fully. Amazingly, this is why He's concerned about what you're doing, when you're doing it, and how you relate to Him. God doesn't want anything to get in the way of our friendship. He especially doesn't want us to get involved in anything damaging or hurtful. He's like a loving father or a good big brother. He's someone who loves you so much that He's always looking out for you.

When God designed you, He included special talents and skills that will help you become a uniquely valuable individual. These may be your ability to teach, your love for others, or your leadership skills. Still, whatever special gifts you have received, God has also provided all of the energy and wisdom necessary for you to use them well.

By the way, how God feels about death is part of the quality life He offers. For followers of Christ, death holds no fear. Remember, Jesus defeated death on Calvary and has given us freedom from death. Cemeteries, then, are filled with followers of God who are in the "peaceful pause before the resurrection." Yes, they are dead, but that death holds no power over their future. Jesus is coming to take them (and those of us who are still living) HOME! Death is almost like a wintery promise of spring.

The Seventh-day Adventist faith in today and in the future comes from seeing this life "overflowing" with hope!

Because love is the key aspect of His character, God is also deeply into gratitude. Before we even finish saying thank you, He's already busy sending more blessings.

In the heart of God is a place you can experience as home. God loves you, and wants to spend time with you personally, one on one, as two close friends.

Because you and God are friends, you will spend time together as friends do. Each morning you'll share a hello and a hug and discuss how you can face the day's events together. Throughout the day you'll talk with Him about how you feel. You'll laugh with Him at funny things and ache with Him over sadness and hurts. It's pleasant being God's friend, able to snuggle comfortably into the safety of your relationship. You can always trust Him to treat you well, because He loves you.

The seventh day (Saturday) is an extra-special part of the relationship. The Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, describes the seventh day as the one day God has set aside for focused fellowship with His people. God has named that day "Sabbath" and asked us to spend it with Him. "Remember the sabbath day," He says, "to keep it holy." The Sabbath is a whole day to deepen our friendship with the Creator of the universe! A day when we're together, Jesus with us and us with Jesus.

There's another great truth about friendship with God. It doesn't end in a cemetery, for God is planning a homecoming better than anything we can dream. A homecoming filled with angels, trumpets, Jesus, and resurrections! He's promised to bring His followers, those who have accepted the offer of His life-changing love, from this earth to His home, a place He calls heaven. A place where our friendship can go on growing forever, endlessly, joyfully!

God keeps a family album-and your picture is in it. God loves you and has a plan for your life.
God's love is about you. Personally.

God made you and has a very special plan for your life. It's a plan that will fill you with hope, love, peace, and activity. In fact, when Christ paid the penalty for sin on the cross, that gave Him the right to claim you as His own. As a result, you can experience His love and priceless salvation freely and fully without limit.

By the way, pictures of everyone fill that album: Nepalese, Brazilians, Nigerians, Yupiks, Germans, people of every nation, culture, background, gender, hair color, and foot size. In God's eyes all are equally "children of the King"!

Salvation? God cleans away all our sins and replaces them with His goodness. We don't have to be "good" for Him to accept us. Nevertheless, we must accept His promise and allow Him to clean out everything the enemy has left in us. Then we begin to experience the transforming power of His love. It's like a giant war: one side pulling us toward empty pleasure and destruction, and God urging us to accept His offer of peace and purpose.

Remember, Jesus has already won the war. He is victorious! We celebrate His victory in our lives when we participate in the Lord's Supper. This meal includes three symbols:

Foot washing (which symbolizes our commitment to love others as Jesus loves us),
bread ("This bread is my flesh," Jesus said, "which I will give for the life of the world," John 6:51, NIV), and
wine or grape juice ("Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." John 6:54, NIV)
To help us understand how God can transform us into His children, Jesus modeled the process of baptism for us. Baptism symbolized dying to self and coming alive in Jesus. Seventh-day Adventists practice full immersion baptism because by being fully buried beneath the water we symbolize that God's grace fully fills us with His new life for the future. Through baptism we are truly born again in Jesus.

Eternal life, peace, purpose, forgiveness, transforming grace, hope: Everything He promises is ours, because He's offering it and He's shown we can trust Him to do exactly as He promises. Accept His gifts, and you immediately become an active part of His family, and He joyfully becomes part of yours.

SCENES OF BELIZE CITY, BELIZE

BABOON SANTUARY OF BELIZE

Well known educator releases “Education in Belize; A historical Perspective

He is no stranger in the field of education with experiences that span forty years and now J Alexander Bennett, has put together a well researched book of the many challenges and advances in our education system. It is a book that is a good source of reference that documents the evolution of the educational system from the days of colonial rule to the present. Jose Sanchez has more on this new publication.

Jose Sanchez, Reporting
The education of Belizeans is one of the most paramount factors in determining and shaping the course of the country’s future. A good education also helps to keep families out of poverty. So it is significant that J. Alexander Bennett, an experienced educator, has chronicled two hundred years of development of academic education in his book Education in Belize: A Historical Perspective.

Jose Sanchez
“What inspired you to write this text?”

J. Alexander Bennett, Author
“Well, I have been a lifelong educator and I have worked with teachers and the training of teachers for many years and along the way, because I have done a great bit of research on the history of education in Belize, I decided that I would draw all the information I had together and put it into book form.”

Herman Byrd, Director of Archives
“Well, first of all, I think its an excellent overview of the entire system of education in Belize; from the founding of the first primary school in 1816 up to like the last decade of the twentieth century. and its good to have that kind of a comprehensive book, especially one single volume with that very comprehensive overview, should be very excellent for teachers, for students, for policy makers, to have that kind of thing close at hand.”

Jose Sanchez
“Is there any significant or particular changes that you were drawn to read about?”

Herman Byrd
“I was very interesting in the treatment of educational reform in the 1930s. I think the summary of what was contemplated rings a very contemporary note. There was hardly an issue that was considered in the 1930s in the so called B.H. Eastern report that we haven’t’ struggled with in education since. So it’s good to go back and see what was the assessment, what was recommended and what were the attempts to act on those recommendations.”

And though Bennett has written about the past, he also has some suggestions on the direction that education should take us tomorrow.

J. Alexander Bennett
“Well for one thing, we should seek to develop an educational system that will provide for a reasonably good level of education for all primary school children as well as for secondary school students. But I do understand that the economy has not been that well developed and so we may have some time to go but we should be working with all our strength at improving our primary school system so that children from there all can move on to secondary school. But it will take some reform because in every country where all children go to primary and secondary education there has to be a differentiation among the children as to who goes where so that there would be some who go to academic schools, some to IT-Vet or to other types of schools, depending on their intellectual ability, their personalities and so on.”

Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.

THIS IS MY BELIZE!

BIG ROCK FALLS IN THE COUNTRY OF BELIZE



Need I write anything? The picture speaks for itself!! IT'S A BELIZEAN BEAUTY!

BELIZE GETS READY FOR ANNUAL COSTA MAYA PAGEANT

It's that time again when all the Costa Maya region of Central America send all their beauties to San Pedro, Ambregis Caye for the Annual Miss Costa Maya Pageant.

Welcome to all the queens and good luck also.

EL DERECHO DEL CANERO DE BELICE

FARMERS WANT A PIECE OF BELCOGEN PIE
A group of cane farmers, recently returned from a regional conference in Barbados, say that caneros should receive a piece of the action when the sugar company begins to sell electricity made from bagasse. According to a release from the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, when they and their Jamaican counterparts were invited to attend a meeting of the board directors of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean, the refining group agreed that the principal of equity should guide the payment system for a multi-product industry. That means more money per ton of cane once the Belcogen project kicks in during 2009. And while that’s what the farmers are saying, that has never been the understanding of Belize Sugar Industries, which has maintained from the outset that returns are derived from investment—which B.S.I. has made and farmers have not.

And while that controversy is reserved for the future, the present state of the industry is pretty dismal. B.S.I. estimates that this year’s projected production of eighty-three thousand tons, compared to last year’s ninety-seven thousand, will be the lowest in recent memory. The cane to sugar ratio is also the poorest ever and growing worse due to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Arthur. On the bright side, farmers will benefit from new fair trade status in Europe as well as the high value of the Euro as the vast majority of Belize’s sugar production is going to Europe.