Members of Weight Watchers in Ajijic have raised enough money to feed two marginalized local families for one year.
The donation was made through Weight Watchers’ annual “Lose for Good” campaign, which combines the inspiration of weight loss with the opportunity to help the community.
While Weight Watchers Mexico made a charitable donation based on total weight loss at all their nationwide meetings, Ajijic members decided to make an additional donation to Operation Feed to support local families.
They could either donate an amount in honor of their goal weight, how many pounds they lost during the campaign, how many pounds they had lost to date or how many more pounds they planned to lose – whatever was more meaningful to them.
Operation Feed is run by a group of people dedicated to providing food and improving the lives of very poor and marginalized people living in the lakeside village of San Juan Cosala.
Any local organization that can think of a synergistic way to support Operation Feed should call Weezie Burgess at (376) 766-2830 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also visit the Operation Feed website to find out more about their important work and how to get involved: https://operationfeedsjc.squarespace.com.
English-speaking Ajijic Weight Watchers celebrates six years at lakeside next month. Meetings are held each Thursday, from 10 a.m., at La Bodega Restaurant on 16 de Septiembre in Ajijic. New members are welcome and encouraged to arrive no later than 9:45 a.m. on the day of their first meeting. To find out more about Weight Watchers visit www.weightwatchers.com.mx.
Rally to save native corn
Lakeside activists took part in the October 12 worldwide March against Monsanto movement, gathering at the Chapala waterfront to rally in favor of saving Mexico’s native corn species. The event came on the heels of a ruling by a federal district court judge that temporarily placed a cautionary ban on planting of transgenic corn in the country and prohibits Mexican government agencies from granting permission for experimental and pilot commercial plantings.
Ambasssdor time change
There has been a time change for the reception for Duncan Taylor, the British ambassador to Mexico, scheduled at the Chapala Inn on Sunday, October 20.
The reception will now take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
During the event, local British resident Ceri Dando will receive the British Empire Medal (BEM), awarded to him by Queen Elizabeth II in her birthday honors list earlier this year.
The Chapala Inn is located on the lakefront, at Paseo Ramon Corona 23 in Chapala.
Open Circle talk
“Riding off the Edge of the Map” is the title of the talk to be given by David Bryen at the Open Circle meeting on Sunday, October 20 at the Lake Chapala Society.
The retired psychotherapist, motorcycle safety instructor, woodcrafter and poet will draw on his perilous Copper Canyon motorcycle adventure to explore the theme of how we use the “maps” that guide us, understand where they come from, and how to leave them when the “right” path becomes the wrong one.
Weekly Open Circle gatherings start with coffee, tea and sandwich bites for socializing at 10 a.m., followed by the program at 10:30 a.m. sharp.
Dine with the Shrine
A Dine with the Shrine fundraising event will be held on Tuesday, October 22 at the Hotel Nueva Posada in Ajijic. Special lunches/dinners will be served from noon to 6 p.m. Two entrees – fried chicken breast steak with mashed potato and vegetables, or Veracruz style fish fillet with rice and vegetables – are planned at a cost of only 130 pesos. Both include a small house salad with vinaigrette dressing and a bolillo (bread roll) with butter.
Reservations may be made by calling (376) 766-1444 or at the restaurant. Indicate that you will be coming for the Special Shriner Dinner.
The restaurant will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from special lunch/dinner sales to the Lake Chapala Shrine Club to benefit their activities.
Fashion Show
Lois Cugini’s Opus Boutique is hosting a “Textile Art in Clothing” fashion show on Wednesday, October 30, featuring Lynn Gilbank’s one-of-a-kind clothing, including versatile tops, jackets, skirts and accessories.
The show will be held at Aldama 31 in Ajijic. Shaded seating will be available but only for 150 people. Gates open at 2:30 p.m. and the show will start at 3:30 p.m. There will be a cash bar, and all proceeds will go to benefit the children in the Niños Incapacitados program.
Tickets cost 150 pesos and can be picked up at Cugini’s Opus Boutique, Diane Pearl Colecciones, Mostly Chocolate, or by calling 766-3651. For information on Niños Incapacitados, go to www.programaninos.org.
LCS Spanish classes
The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) has announced the start of its next term of Spanish-language classes, beginning on Monday, November 4 and covering seven weeks of study, ending on December 21.
The LCS Spanish program uses the Warren Hardy Spanish-language course designed for the adult student. Several levels of learning are available as students progress in the program.
Registration for these classes is currently under way at the LCS office, weekdays on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sign-up for classes will also by held the week of October 28 to November 1, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the LCS campus located under on the blue umbrella patio.
Introduction to Spanish
This is a casual class offered for the beginner that covers the Spanish alphabet, simple vocabulary and phrases to use about town for shopping, and other useful information on the area and the Mexican culture.
Classes are held each month starting the first Tuesday of the month and continue for three weeks. Next month’s classes start on November 5, and are held at the LCS campus from noon until 1:30 p.m. Learning materials are provided to the student and the tuition is 150 pesos.
Sign up is currently available at the LCS office from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
LCS is located at 16 de Septiembre 16A, Ajijic. Call (376) 766-1140 or visit www.lakechapalasociety.com for more information
Blood pressure
The Lake Chapala Society Blood Pressure Group is looking for volunteers with medical/nursing training and experience to take blood pressure readings twice a week.
If you have had training and practice taking blood pressures, consider joining this group and sharing your expertise. The schedule is flexible – you can sign up on a regular basis or just once a month, whatever suits you.
The sessions are held at the Lake Chapala Society on Fridays (Mondays will be added if there are enough volunteers) from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact Lindy White at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Mary Anne Molinari at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information.
LCS bus trip
The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) bus trip to the Galerias Mall in Guadalajara on Tuesday, October 29 leaves from the sculpture area in La Floresta at 9:30 a.m. and returns from the Costco area at 4 p.m. Department stores located in the mall include Liverpool, Sanborns, Sears, Best Buy, the Home Store, and many more. Adjacent are Sams, Walmart, Costco and Mega.
A trip to the upscale Andares Mall is planned for Wednesday, November 13.
Presbyterians
The Rev. John Whitener III will deliver a sermon titled “Victors, Defectors, and Diseased Feet” at Lakeside Presbyterian Church on Sunday, October 20. He takes as his text Chronicles II, 14-16.
Says Whitener: “We start well and often end poorly. Such was the case of Asa. The young king believed in YHWH and constituted great reforms in Israel. When threatened by a million man army, he relied on God and the nation was delivered. But success brings challenges. In Asa’s case, his reliance in YHWH as a young man slowly turned to reliance on himself. His behavior changed, and he became a bitter man who died with diseased feet. Yet, this is not the scenario that has to be.”
Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m. Following the service, there is a time of fellowship and refreshments. Lakeside Presbyterian Church is in Riberas del Pilar, on the mountain side of the Carretera, just west of S&S Auto and Bubba’s Restaurant.
Unitarians have moved
On Sunday, October 20 the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (LCUUF) will celebrate the first service in their new home on the west side of Ajijic – at the Plaza de la Ribera (formerly Sol y Luna), Rio Bravo 10A. The service begins at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday and everyone is welcome.
This Sunday Reverend Don Beaudreault will deliver the sermon “Unitarian Universalism From Top to Bottom.” A cold potluck will be held after the service. For more information call 766-1119 or 765-7231, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Christ Church Anglican
Christ Church Anglican Fellowship will celebrate the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost on October 20, by celebrating the holy Eucharist right 11 at 9:30 a.m. in the Little Chapel by the Lake (Carretera 10, Chula Vista). The Right Rev. Sandy Olson’s sermon topic is “Pray and Pray Again” based on Luke 18, versus 1 through 8. Christ Church and the Little Chapel by the Lake hold a joint fellowship time between their two services from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Deacon Rob Wells is leading a Bible study on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Little Chapel. Each session last about one hour. This week’s session is a continuation of a look at the gospel of St. Matthew. Deacon Wells is using the Jerusalem Bible as his principal study text and commentary. It is not necessary to have attended and a session in order to participate.
Little Chapel
“Shalom” will be the title of Rev. Gene Raymer’s Sunday sermon at the Little Chapel by the Lake on October 20. “There are conflicts between nations, conflicts within nations, conflicts within families and internal conflicts abounding. We need to find peace in this time of turmoil,” he says.
Following the service, members of the congregation will join together for a fellowship lunch at a local restaurant.
The Little Chapel by the Lake is an interdenominational congregation located at immediately east of the Chula Vista Golf Club at Carretera 10.
St. Andrew’s Anglican
“Disrespectful Prayer” is the title of Fr. Winston Welty’s sermon this week at St. Andrew’s Anglican and suggests that the most important aspect of prayer is honesty, even when that honesty is unpleasant or uncomfortable. Week after week, that kind of honesty is also the goal of authentic worship.
At St. Andrew’s it begins for children at 9:45 a.m., followed by worship at 10 a.m., and a post-worship time of fellowship and welcome in the garden. St. Andrew’s is located at Calle San Lucas 19, just a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
Buddhist Community
The Heart of Awareness (HOA) Buddhist Community meets for meditation and dharma teachings on Wednesdays from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Center for Creative Being (16 de Septiembre 53, Ajijic).
HOA is a Vipassana focused group with members from several Buddhist traditions. For more information, call Karin Miles at 766-0020.
Center for Spiritual Living
The Reverend Tim Schubert presents “Planting Seeds of Love” at the regular celebration at the Center for Spiritual Living (Nicolas Bravo 17, Ajijic) on Friday, October 25, from 5-6 p.m. A social hour will follow.
“Transitions: Death in the Mexican Culture” is the new class on Wednesdays from 10:30 a.m. to noon. The “Unfettered Soul” continues on Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to noon, with an optional meditation from 10-10:20 a.m.
The Sacred Cinema on Sunday, October 20, 4 p.m. presents “Defending Your Life” with Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks A lively discussion will follow. Popcorn is provided but bring your own drinks.
For more information check out the website www.cslchapala.com, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 766-0920.