Thank Evans!

When the Vicar of Ruislip became the first priest to promise me a pastoral visit - although the Curate of Hampstead actually got here first - I didn't realize at the time how much I would appreciate his ministry.

A bad stomach bug had left me low for a month and 6kg lighter but from the moment Fr. Simon and Cheryl Evans got off the plane life was all anti-bacterial hand hygiene gels and pots of yogurt and I was soon on the mend!

When you've stood around an altar in Ruislip with people who then gather around an altar with you on the other side of the world in Rio de Janeiro you appreciate all the more what it means to belong to the Body of Christ and how the celebration of the Eucharist, in the words of William Cavanaugh, "transgresses national boundaries and redefines who our fellow citizens are".

It wasn't just me who wanted to say thank Evans! The people of Christ the King laid on a lunch featuring Brazil's favourite rice and beans dish - Feijoada - to thank the pair for their commitment to provide a Priest Missioner in Cidade de Deus. St. Martin's, Ruislip is one of 30 parishes in the UK and Cheryl Evans one of 60 individuals (including the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London) who have pledged through USPG: Anglicans in World Mission to support the project.

During their 10-day stay, Fr. Simon and Cheryl toured Cidade de Deus and saw places that just months back before the police occupation were no-go areas, visited church families in their homes, attended the launch of the new community website and took part in a St. George's Day Procession and Mass at the Roman Catholic Church where the hand-launched fireworks threatened to create more martyrs than the one we were commemorating! They also squeezed in visits to Corcovado, Sugar Loaf Mountain, Iguassu Falls and the odd Caipirinha, the Brazilian cocktail that literally means 'little country girl' but packs a punch more akin to a 'large urban terrorist'.

Fr. Simon and Cheryl went to the airport and back to London in a torrential downpour which appeared to do nothing to dampen their determination to return to Rio at the earliest opportunity. I hope the Churchwardens of St. Martin's will oblige!