The Spiritual Center
Tired of the same old sermon and getting nowhere with your spiritual readings and practices?
Are you just intellectualizing the process without a joyous experience? Then join us at the non-denominational Spiritual Center of Ajijic where the focus is on meditation. Learn how to meditate and experience your own inner light. Why just talk about God when you can actually have the experience that transcends the talking. If you are not experiencing the inner light then your practice is in vain. Come and join us in the light.
A social gathering is held every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6:30 to 7 p.m. with an opportunity to learn how to meditate and the formal session is from 7 to 8 p.m. The Spiritual Center is located at Guadalupe Victoria 87 near the Bougainvillea shopping center in Ajijic. For more information, contact Rocky at 333-461-6017 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
St. Andrew’s Anglican
For the next two Sundays, Fr. Winston Welty, former Rector of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, will preach and preside at the Holy Eucharist, beginning at 10 a.m. This week the Gospel remembers an occasion when Jesus’ enemies challenged Him to make an either/or choice about whether or not to support the hated government of the conquering Romans. Fr. Winston’s sermon, “The Four R’s”, looks at three ways in which people, both believing and non-believing, typically respond to that cultural challenge, and then points to a fourth way demonstrated by Jesus.
Worship begins at 10 a.m., and the bilingual children’s Sunday School starts at 9:45 a.m. “Coffee Hour,” a time of fellowship and welcome, follows the service.
Every Sunday, the feeding programs supported by St. Andrew’s welcome donations of non-perishable food items. Boxed milk and empty cardboard egg cartons are especially welcome, in addition to rice, beans, pasta, oil and salt.
Every donation or consignment you make to St. Andrew’s resale shop, Todo Bueno, benefits the church’s outreach. St. Andrew’s supports a multitude of charities around Lakeside through the sale of second-hand items from Todo Bueno. The store is located on the Carretera next to S&S Auto in Riberas del Pilar, and is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day except Sunday.
St. Andrew’s is located at Calle San Lucas 19, just a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
Lake Chapala Baptist
Says Brother Bob Hendrick: “Years ago a neighbor had some calves stolen. That neighbor was a member of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA). When he reported the crime, a couple of special rangers came to visit. They pretty well guaranteed that they would catch the rustlers and they secured assurance that the owner would seek prosecution. Whether the thieves were ‘good old boys’ or off-springs of the same would have no influence. TSCRA agents are like Texas Rangers on steroids. They are resourceful and tenacious and successful. Imagine … if they were omniscient. There is an omniscient judge who knows every offence committed. But unlike the TSCRA, He does make allowance for whom offenders are sons of. Sons of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, are judged as having the penalty for their sin already paid by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. And, by the way, the cattle on a thousand hills are His. (Psalm 50:10).”
Sunday, October 22, 11 a.m., Brother Hendrick will give the sermon at the worship service of the Lake Chapala Baptist Church, located at Santa Margarita 147, Riberas del Pilar.
Abundant Life Church
Asks Pastor Gary Neighbor: “How does forgiving affect your life and the lives around you? Living in forgiveness is key in order for you to live the life that God wants you to live and as a believer it is necessary so that those who are touched by your life can live up their potential in God.” Sunday, October 22, Pastor Neighbor will help the congregation to discover some keys for living in the freedom of forgiveness and letting others live in that freedom. “Freely we have been forgiven and we, like Christ, can learn to freely forgive,” he says.
Abundant Life Church is affiliated with the Assemblies of God of Mexico and has services for everyone. An English-language worship service is held each Sunday, 10 a.m. and Bible Study Wednesday, 3 p.m. Spanish-language services are Sunday at noon. Spanish-language Bible studies are Wednesday, 6:45 p.m. A children’s ministry is held Saturday, noon, and youth meet Sunday, 6:30 p.m.
Abundant Life Church is located at Carretera Chapala-Jocotepec 140, San Antonio Tlayacapan, a block from Super Lake. For more information, call 331-417-7038 (cel).
Little Chapel by the Lake
“The priest and the prostitute,” says Pastor Ken Armstrong. “Sounds a little bit like a church scandal, doesn’t it?” he asks. “Well, I suppose it is, in a way, but probably not in the way you were thinking. Why was it that, when Jesus went to the house of a super-religious man named Simon, a ‘woman of sin’ ended up getting the blessing? And how does that relate to our view of people and of our own righteousness?”
Sunday, October 22, the conversation at Little Chapel is entitled “The Priest and The Prostitute,” and is drawn from Luke 7 and other passages.
Non-denominational Christian, English-language Sunday worship service is at 11 a.m. Everyone is invited to stay for a friendly comida (church meal) after the service.
Little Chapel is also open Wednesdays from 1 to 3 p.m. for silent prayer and worship in the sanctuary and memorial prayer garden. Everyone is welcome. Communion and anointing are available.
For more information, see the display ad in this section.
Christ Church Episcopal
Christ Church Episcopal, a mission of the Diocese of the West in the Anglican Church of Mexico, will observe the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, Sunday, October 22, with Holy Communion at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Chapel by the Lake. Vicar Danny Borkowski will preside, and Deacon Jim Powers will give a message called, “The Things That Are God’s” based on Matthew 22:15-22.
Refreshments and coffee will be available in the fellowship hall beginning 9 a.m.
The Lunch Bunch will meet at Sunrise Restaurant at 11:15 a.m.
The Bible Study will meet Tuesday, October 24, 2 p.m. at the Fellowship Hall of the Little Chapel and continue studying the epistles of Paul in chronological order.
Unitarian Universalists
The Reverend Matt Alspaugh will be leading the service at the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Sunday, October 22. The presentation, by video, is entitled “One with the Universe” by Rev. Ralph Krog, a minister at the First UU Church of Houston’s Copperfield Campus. There’ll be special music from the choir.
In this video presentation, Rev. Krog looks at how extreme Zen meditation can lead to sprained ego and brief flashes of addictive euphoria.
The Unitarians meet 10:30 a.m. at Hidalgo 261 in Riberas del Pilar, opposite the bell tower, on the north side of the Carretera. Questions? Call Fred at 766-1458.
Jewish Congregation
Shabbat Torah services are held the first and third Saturday of the month, 10 a.m., and Shabbat evening services and potluck every second and fourth Friday, 6 p.m. at the Lake Chapala Jewish Congregation.
The synagogue is located at Sta. Margarita 113, Riberas del Pilar (mountainside of the Carretera, diagonally across from Mom’s Restaurant). Call (376) 766-2668 or go to lakechapalajewishcongregation.com.
Lakeside Presbyterian
Lakeside Presbyterian is located at San Jorge 250 in Riberas del Pilar. Turn toward the lake at Mom’s Restaurant and the church is two blocks down on the right. English-language services begin each Sunday, 10 a.m. and Spanish-language services are 9 a.m. and noon. Everyone is welcome.
San Andres English
“God is king. Earthly rulers, political regimes, Cyrus or Caesar, are called by God to reveal something of His power and majesty and His plan for the human race. But they only hold their power for a day. Our concern is not with them, but with God whom we worship in this celebration.”
So says Fr. Basil G. Royston, D. Min., who will offer the homily “The Lord of History” at San Andres Catholic Church’s English-language service on Sunday, October 22, 9 a.m.
San Andres is located at the corner of Ramon Corona and Parroquia, one block from the Ajijic main plaza.
Home Church Int’l
Retired! Less schedules, demands, responsibilities. That is, normally. Let’s be honest enough to admit what our focus is. Is it limited to self and our selfish pleasures? No, there’s nothing wrong with finally enjoying the fruits of our labors. This is where we have to be honest and forthright enough to define life, especially as we live it. Does being retired really mean a shucking of all responsibility? Is there really anything to our beings besides ease and entertainment? Is our outlook on life shallow or deep? Does this one-time existence mean anything more than satisfying self? Have we sobered up enough about our existence here and beyond to see if we’ve had the right perspective and insight?
Pastors Paul and Susana Allen like to initiate their message by involving the audience to repeating, “It’s not about me; it’s all about Him.” This is our Creator’s design for us. Why? Because we are eternal creatures, our spirits winging past the grave. It’s like when Jesus addressed His Father, “But Father, not my will be done, but Thine.” God will lead, if you will follow. Learn more by contacting the pastors at (332) 242-8648, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
St. Mark’s AnglicanGuadalajara
Fr. Jim Priddy will give the sermon at St. Mark’s Anglican Church Sunday, October 22, 12:30 p.m. St. Mark’s is at Chichimecas 836 in Colonia Monraz.