Day 23 - Around Kimberley

Today's match:

Germany 0 v. Spain 1

There is a real dedication to the gospel within the Anglican churches in Kimberley.

St Barnabas has just held its Patronal Festival. The congregation model themselves on the generosity of their patron saint. They made it possible for the Bishop to host a gathering of the clergy and spouses on Easter Monday, they cater for the Diocesan Council and have recently given the diocese a financial gift to form a trust to assist in the training of Lay Ministers, named after one of their one long serving lay ministers.

St Augustine's is full of committed and able people, who contribute to the life of the diocese, and offer a ministry to the needy living on the outskirts of Kimberley. Behind St Augustine's Church is the St Monica's House of Prayer, a home offering hospitality and prayer to the diocese, run by Sister Camilla Mary, from the Sisters of the Precious Blood. These sisters have houses in Masite, Lesotho and at Burnham Abbey - another demonstration of the rich and diverse link we have as two dioceses. St Augustines is linked with the Parish of Owlsmoor

St Matthew's is linked with the Parish of Finchampstead, who support a pre-school set in the grounds of the church. Here's a recent report from there:

'We are all fine here in S.A. despite the cold weather we are beginning to experience. Well irrespective of the cold ,our spirits are high for the FIFA WORLD CUP. Yes there is a buzz of the SOCCER FEVA all over our country, not forgetting St Matthews Pre-School. Every Friday we celebrate soccer Friday by wearing our soccer T- shirts and blowing our VUVUZELAS.'

Members of the parish have visited Kimberley and recent donations have helped the pre-school to buy tracksuits and the school fees for 5 pupils for 3 months.

Barkly West is a town with 16,233 inhabitants on the north bank of the Vaal River west of Kimberley. It was the site of the first major diamond rush, in 1870, and was initially known as Klip Drift. This Dutch name means "stony ford". Briefly the Klipdrift Diggers' Republic was declared. It became, with Kimberley, one of the main towns in the Crown Colony and was renamed Barkly West. Like Barkly East, the town is named after Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of Cape Colony and High Commissioner for Southern Africa from 1870-1877.

Barkly West is sometimes erroneously spelled as "Barkley-West" (even in road signage). In Afrikaans the town is known as Barkly-Wes. The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin was the first Anglican Church to be built on the Diamond Fields. Sir Henry Barkly laid the foundation stone in February 1871.

We pray:

• For Father Arthur Gilbert, Parish Priest at St Barnabas
• For Father Russell Visser, Parish Priest at St Augustines
• For Sister Camilla and St Monica's House of Prayer
• The Finchampstead link with St Matthew's and the work of the pre-school
• For the life of the Anglican Church in Kimberley
• Giving thanks for the founders of the church and for our ongoing responsibility in the gospel for one another.