St George's Anglican Church, Malaga, Spain

Welcome to Saint George's Malaga!

The Anglican Chaplaincy of Saint George, Malaga, covers the area from Torremolinos in the west to the outskirts of Nerja in the east and to the northern edge of Malaga province.

We hold weekly services at St George’s Church in Malaga city and in our chapel in Velez-Malaga. Our Clergy also provide pastoral care to the English-speaking community in the city of Malaga and the surrounding area.

The Chaplaincy is a part of the Diocese in Europe of the Church of England. We welcome into our fellowship not only those within the Anglican Communion but all who wish to share in our life and worship, whether permanent residents, regular visitors or holidaymakers.

For more information, please contact the Chaplaincy Secretary at

info@stgeorgemalaga.org

WAYMARKS – JOTTING’S FROM A PRIEST’S NOTEBOOK

Fr. Louis Darrant, Chaplain of St. George Malaga

‘I’m feeling so lost’ said someone to me recently. It’s not uncommon and there’s no shame in sharing it. To recognise the feeling in oneself is the beginning of taking responsibility for what can be chosen and not allow ourselves to be solely at the mercy of events. To name as best we can that which we sense in our hearts will never ultimately fail us. We can’t be certain about how any situation will work out, but we can give the Holy Spirit something to work with: some silence, some prayer, some conversation, some reading; indeed anything which plants seeds of good hope in our hearts to alleviate anxiety and fear. What is the opposite of faith? Not doubt, but control. Can trying to control a situation ever lead to peace in our hearts? An Orthodox monk once wrote, ‘Find peace in your own heart and a thousand others will be saved.’

I’m calling this modest little column ‘Waymarks’ because it suggests that something of what is going on each time we meet to offer our worship. We renew our trust in the One who provides not with visible certainties (how boring would that be?) but promises us that, whatever we are going through, we do not go through it alone. In the company of each other, yes, but even in the moments of necessary solitude (even aloneness) there is a mystical presence of companionship and friendship. I read recently that the Christian Gospel (the good news given to us in Christ) is not about explaining everything that happens in the world, but helping us to live peacefully and with good humour in all of life’s absurdities. Those brands of religion that try to package everything into a neat system leave me cold and uninspired. God is more likely to be found and known in the paradoxes and the contradictions of life.

Waymarks are found on ancient paths. They are a reminder that many others have walked the paths we are on, and the pointers on the way keep us going to the next crossroads at least. Sometimes God calls us to forge new paths to make life a little easier for those who come after us. Feeling lost? That well may be, but you are exactly where you are and even though it may feel like it, God has no intention of leaving you to fend for yourself. Look for the next waymark as your path unfolds.