If you scroll in and search a Google map of San Miguel de Allende, you’ll see a, “Capilla Sin Nombre” which is to say, “Chapel with No Name.” And I think if you were in a small town in Mexico, looking for a traditional Anglican priest, it would be a similar task. Who really knows we’re here? But about a year ago someone did look for an Anglican priest who could come and minister to a group of expats in a beautiful tourist town in Guanajuato, Mexico. They didn’t know where to start, so they contacted GAFCON offices in Africa, where their request was forwarded to ACNA offices in the U.S. and, after a series of hand-offs and holy serendipity, a business card was placed into our care. Matt and Rosy found us!
Considering we came to Mexico with a desire to minister to Mexicans, it was with some admitted reluctance on our part that we agreed, over the course of a Zoom call, to “come and see” what God might be doing with some expats in a little town four hours away. In the mean time, Rosy found the owner of the No-Name Chapel, Don Pablo, and talked him into renting his family’s historic chapel to the group for a Wednesday evening service.
A curious group of about twenty persons attended that first service in English. Among them, Don Pablo came with his sister and her husband. They were deeply moved to be worshiping in their family chapel, to the point that Don Pablo asked us to also offer a service in Spanish for his many employees. Oh yes! What joy!
Two weeks later we had an English service with about twelve, and a Spanish service with almost thirty! Every month since May, we have returned to celebrate the Eucharist and bring the Gospel to both beautiful groups.
But is it a “church” yet? It takes a lot of commitment from everyone to start a church. We knew we needed to have weekly Sunday services, but even the once-a-month rent for the chapel was more than the group could support. And where would we have Bible Study, or children’s church? San Miguel is expensive! How will God do this? Nonetheless, we saw that God had given Roger favor among both groups, and we love the community they are forming. But where, how, could things go forward? Was there no room at the Inns of San Miguel?
“God, what are you doing?” was our daily prayer while we continued the supply and support work, now working in three different states in Mexico every month.
By November we were perplexed and tired. We stepped back from all other services, thinking to get quiet. Instead, we decided to seek that quiet in San Miguel for a couple of weeks– long enough to really know the people involved. We needed clarity. We were exploring ways to overcome the practical hurdles and expenses of a full-time church, knowing it would change our lives radically to uproot from Aguascalientes, to serve in one place after seven years of circuit-riding.
While there, Roger arranged a meeting with Don Pablo, ready to negotiate the possibility of weekly rental of the chapel. That was the first hurdle for the group. But Don Pablo surprised him with the generous suggestion that the group should consider his family chapel their home. For free. Any days or times. Extra garden space for the kids. Whatever. Free.
We were stunned into a quiet ride back to our AirBnB, our hearts full of wonder. The next day we procured a rental contract on a little casa for us in San Miguel starting in January. The adventure begins!
We’re home now, downsizing for the move while staring at the higher cost of living, the cost of the interstate move, the unknowns, and—none of it matters! We see that God was already providing for what is obviously a church being born, by His will, in the fullness of time. We are merely His little donkey carrying the Light.
Like some anxious midwife, I immediately bought liturgical fabrics for the altar. Others had already stepped up and donated candlesticks, a podium, and a small sound system. My keyboard will now fill the little chapel with praise. Someone always brings flowers. Everyone brings something for the coffee/snack time between services so that expats and locals have time to meet each other. It’s beautiful to watch, and really, we had little to do with it except a plodding obedience. I think we got our answer: Yes. It’s a church!