Mojácar Anglican - Spain
About Us
IN THE BEGINNING... How did a small, somewhat delapidated Spanish pueblo, with its roots dating back to the Moorish occupation and beyond, decide that it needed an Anglican chaplaincy? It could only be because in the sixties and seventies of the last century, a steady influx of "extranjeros" or foreigners had infiltrated the area, many of whom were seeking a tranquil retirement in a pleasant climate. A good number of them had a Christian background, and eventually a few resolute members of this faith decided to do something to meet the need. Among them was Judith Penrose who was Australian and during the second world war served as a military ambulance driver. She qualified as a history teacher at an Anglican Girls' public school in England. On retirement in the seventies, she emigrated to Spain and finally ended up in Mojácar.
She bought an old Cortijo, and worked diligently to learn Spanish. She was a great admirer of the British Royal family, and she felt that many of the Queen's ex-patriates living in the area should have the facility of an Anglican church, bearing in mind that the Queen was head of that body. In the late eighties she made contact with the Spanish Episcopal Church and obtained their cooperation in the supply of ordained priests to officiate with the local Anglican services. This lead to her making an approach to the Bishop of Gibraltar with a suggestion that a chaplaincy should be established. At Easter 1988 a priest, from Pusey House in Oxford, was sent out to conduct a feasibility study of the possibility of establishing a chaplaincy. Eventually the Bishop approved the plan and arranged for the Rev'd Herbert Floate to be appointed in January '89.
With the permission of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Almería, weekly services were held in the local parish church in Mojácar. Herbert remained until '91 and then the Rev'd Derek Cordell was appointed. By then we were able to house the chaplain in local rented accommodation, and eventually, with the help of one of the parishioners who had been an original supporter of Judith Penrose, negotiations were concluded on the extended rental of a villa which became the official chaplaincy residence. Derek Cordell resigned the post in '94 and then the Rev'd Brian Craddock was appointed in '95. He remained until mid '99 when he had to resign on medical grounds. Again, the chaplaincy survived with a mixture of "self-help" laymen, and eventually a locum, Canon John Davies, who was later relieved by retired Bishop John Duggan who had helped out on previous occasions, but sadly died in mid-2000. A true, great man of God.
During the period after the resignation of Brian Craddock, the residence was put on the local market and sold by the original owner. As a result of this, a fund was set up and an appeal made for contributions from members to buy a permanent home for our chaplains. This was successful in a matter of weeks and an apartment is now available. Meanwhile there were problems in finding a suitable place of worship. We had the exclusive use of a small, partly open air, chapel for the majority of the year. Nevertheless permanent premises were urgently needed. Our next chaplain was the Rev'd James Tarr who was here until mid 2002 when sadly he also had to retire due to ill health. His eventual successor, in 2003, was the Rev'd Canon Hugh Broad who remains here with his family to the present day.
During 2001 we were offered the use of the small disused Roman Catholic Church of San Pascual de Baylon (see photograph on Welcome page) within our own parish. This was in a very poor state of repair but the local Town Council came to the rescue and renovated it both inside and out. We added electricity and our own furniture, and they have since also provided a water supply and toilet facilities. We now have regular congregations in the region of 70 to 80. Our thanks go to the Bishop of Almería for the use of this church. In 19 short years, although Judith Penrose died some
years ago and as a result did not see the culmination of her original ideas, much has been achieved. It is appropriate that the Chaplaincy residence is named "Casa Penrose".
As remembered by Phillip Face, a founder member of our church.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Revelation 22:21
Office Address:
Apartado de Correos 617
Mojácar
Almería - Spain
04638