Bilingual Toastmasters
The newest members of the Lake Chapala Bilingual Toastmasters, Juan Magallon Moreno and Oscar Garcia Marquez recently presented their premier speeches. Visitors, seasonal and full-time residents are boosting the weekly attendance.
The group’s next English session will be held Monday, January 26, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Sala of the Lake Chapala Society (LCS). The gate on Ramón Corona is open for participants. Contact Guy Jobidon at: (376)766-5181 for English information. Call Marissa Urrutia at (33)1600-5937 for help in Spanish.
Genealogy Forum
Jerry Berry will be the speaker at the Monday, January 26, 2 p.m. meeting of the Genealogy Forum in the LCS Sala. Orphaned as a child, Berry spent many years tracking down his parents. He was in his 60s when he discovered the identity of his birth mother. He searched another 20 years before finding out who his father was.
Marci Bowman will be on hand to answer questions about finding adoption records and other adoption family history resources.
LCS Lecture
“When Civilizations Collapsed Due to Climate Change: Can History Repeat?” is Dr. Robert Miller’s topic for the Tuesday, January 27, 2 pm lecture in the LCS Sala.
Miller says, “Most of the political entities of Western civilization collapsed in a wave of destruction over a generation, followed by a cultural and social Dark Age. We have a record of who was responsible. Recent research indicates that the major cause was climate change. Could it happen again?” Miller is an accomplished historian and archeologist who has delivered many lectures to lakeside audiences.
Noon LCS Lecture
Gary Thompson is the chair for the Tuesday, January 27 noon seminar for LCS members which will feature a video TED talk by policy advisor Simon Anholt. The lecture, “Which Country Does the Most Good,” is based on the Good Country Index (goodcountry.org) developed by Anholt to rank which of a country’s activities and policies are “good” for the world.
Ukulele Play-along
A casual ukulele play-along is scheduled for Tuesday, January 27 at about 4:30 p.m. in the bandstand of the Ajijic plaza. The 20 U.S. participants of the weeklong Semana de Uke-Culinary Fiesta will join forces with a dozen local players from the Club Ukulele de Laguna (CUL). The combined group will be lead by guest instructors in the impromptu music making of the sing-along variety. There is no charge for this unpolished event. The guest instructors include flamenco ukulele and guitarist Daniel Ward, actress and professional ukulele instructor Heidi Swedberg and group leader Elaine de Man. CUL meets every Monday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at Restaurant Maria Isabel.
Tree Planting
In a ceremony commemorating 70 years of diplomatic relations between Canada and Mexico, Canadian Ambassador to Mexico, Sara Hradecky, will plant a maple tree on the grounds of the LCS. The ambassador and her entourage, LCS President Ben White, LCS Board Member Keith Martin and LCS Executive Director Terry Vidal will welcome guests to the historic event on Wednesday, January 28 at 1 p.m. on the grounds.
Canadian Club
So that the members and guests of the Canadian Club of Lake Chapala can meet and greet a number of Canadian dignitaries including Canadian Ambassador to Mexico Sara Hradecky and Canadian Consul Francis Uy, the group’s meeting has been changed to Wednesday, January 28 at La Nueva Posada. Sign in and registration is slated for 2 p.m. The ambassador’s short presentation at 3 p.m. will be followed by the consulate staff assisting Canadians with a variety of consular services. There will be no charge for guests attending this event. 
Lunch Bunch
The newly formed Lunch Bunch is looking for volunteers to prepare, deliver and serve the mid-day meal to the 30 young orphans who reside at Villa Infantil southeast of Jocotepec on Tuesday, February 3 and on Tuesday, February 17.
Lunch Bunch volunteers are finding that the smiles of the children are great payment for the small amount of effort involved. Call Connie, the group’s coordinator at (376)765-3839 for details or to volunteer on another date.
Zoo Trip
The next Lake Chapala Society’s bus trip departs for the Guadalajara Zoo on Friday, February 6 at 9 a.m. from the La Floresta sculpture. The zoo houses more than 2,200 animals in 360 species including very rare Bengal tigers, jaguars, lions and a jelly fish display. Park features include the sky ride, Masa Masa Safari, an aquarius, Monkey Land, Rainforest and the popular train ride. (See related story, page 9.)
Participants must sign up in advance for the trip at the LCS office. The fees, 320 pesos for members and 370 for non-members includes the bus, admission to the zoo and all features except the sky ride.
Lakeside shoppers can board the LCS bus to Galerias Mall in Guadalajara on Tuesday, February 10, at 9:30 a.m. In addition to the mall which is anchored by Best Buy, Sears, Liverpool, H&M and Sandborns, shoppers can visit other adjacent stores including the Super Walmart, Sam’s Club, Costco, and the Super-Mega. A variety of U.S. and Mexican restaurants are located in and around the mall, including the Cheesecake Factory.
Advance sign up is required at the LCS office, with the fee for members set at 250 pesos. Non-members will pay 300.
Wildlife flea market
Fauna Silvestre de Mexico, also known as Lakeside Wildlife rescue is holding its monthly flea market to raise funds to continue its work helping and rescuing Lakeside fauna. The flea market will be Sunday, January 25, at Flora Exotica Vivero on the Libramiento across from Centro Laguna from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
School for Special Children
The 2015 Annual General Meeting for the School for Special Children in Jocotopec (AKA School for the Deaf) will will be held on Friday, January 30 at the Clubhouse at Puerto Arroyo, Carretera Poniente 525, near Vivero Paz, the Italian restaurant and the Oxxo.
All friends and supporters of the school are welcome to hear reports about the new leadership team’s successful year. Agenda items include the 2014 financial report, program reports and election of officers. The doors will open at 9:30 a.m. for coffee followed by the 10 a.m. meeting start.
Chapala Directory
The final deadline to submit new or revised listings (residential or commercial) and camera-ready display ads for the 2015 Chapala Directory, published annually in English by Imagen Publicidad is Saturday, January 31.
Free residential listings include the name, phone number and optional email address. Free basic business listings for the Yellow Page section include business name, address and phone number. Yellow Page listings with additional information are available for a small fee.
This 15th edition of the Chapala Directory will be produced in a larger format and will include an all new map section, new metric conversion tables and more. Distribution is scheduled for late February.
New or changed listings should be emailed to 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.. Information about display advertising is available by email or by calling 33 1296-7566.
Lakeside Presbyterian
Pastor Ross Arnold continues his sermon series with “Why We Believe in the Christian God” during the Sunday, January 25 service at 10 a.m. He asks, “With all the different religions in the world today, why do we believe in the Christian faith? What is it about Christianity that causes us to believe it is true in a way no other belief systems are true?” Arnold adds, “Along the way, we will look at the logical reasons for this belief, and how Christians are to be generous and compassionate to others who do not share our faith.”
The English and Spanish language congregations gather in the garden at 11 a.m. for fellowship and refreshments. The Spanish worship service follows at noon. Lakeside Presbyterian Church is on the mountain side of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar, beside S&S Auto.
Christ Church
Fr. Danny Borkowski will preside during the Holy Eucharist Rite 1 on Sunday, January 25 at 9:30 a.m. The message by Deacon Rob Wells is titled, “Gathering,” based on Mark 1: 14-20.
Christ Church meets at the Little Chapel by the Lake at the Carretera 10 in Chula Vista.
The congregations of Christ Church Lakeside and The Little Chapel by the Lake share a common coffee fellowship time between their two services from 10:35 until 11:10 a.m.
Deacon Rob Wells leads an hour-long Bible Study group on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. The study of the Gospel of Luke continues. Members of the congregation will meet for a luncheon at Min Wah on Tuesday, January 27 at noon followed by the Annual General Meeting of Christ Church Lakeside at 2 p.m. in the house of Kay and Danny Borkowski.
St. Andrew’s
The story this week from the Gospel of Mark says that four fishermen left everything behind to follow Jesus. Were they acting on their own, or was something else going on? That is focus of “A Lakeside Miracle,” Fr. Winston Welty’s sermon for the Sunday, January 15 10 a.m. worship service at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church. The children’s bilingual Sunday School is at 9:45 a.m.
The feeding program supported by St. Andrew’s welcomes donations of non-perishable food items including rice, beans, lentils and oil which can be placed in the baskets at the church doors.
A fundraising Italian Dinner will be held Friday, January 30, with the Happy Hour beginning at 4 p.m. and dinner at 5. The cost is 175 pesos; those attending must sign up by Sunday, January 25. St. Andrew’s is at Calle San Lucas 19, a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
San Andrés English
Fr. Basil G. Royston, D. Min., will preside at the celebration of the Mass for the English congregation of San Andrés parish church in Ajijic. “Like Jonah, Christ was sent to preach repentance,” says Royston. “He calls us to change our ways. We are not to become engrossed in the world, but to believe the good news and live for the Kingdom of God. Royston’s homily topic is “The Lord Who Teaches Us God’s Ways.”
Members of the congregation are at work on the final details for the organ concert which will be presented at San Andrés on Wednesday, February 11 by J. Neal Biggers of Henderson, Kentucky. Donations of non-perishable food and money will assist the children at La Villa.
Little Chapel
The worship service of the interdenominational congregation of the Little Chapel by the Lake will be held on Sunday, January 25 at 11:15 a.m. following the 10:45 a.m. coffee time. The sermon this week will be a message in opposition to apathy, according to Rev. Eugene Raymer. Following the service, members meet for food and fellowship at a local restaurant.
The church is searching for a dedicated individual to supervise the Children’s Church. Raymer says, “Our congregation is divided into three age groups. There are the children who come to church with their parents, those parents and the older members of the congregation. The children will learn in an age-appropriate setting while our older members and parents will gain more from the adult service.”
Anyone who feels called to this ministry can contact Raymer at (376)766-3435. The Little Chapel is located on the Carretera in Chula Vista just east of the golf course.
Open Circle
Open Circle will meet on Sunday, January 25 at Club Exotica on the plaza at 10 a.m. so that Dr. Donald Aitken can present a slide presentation during his ninth annual update on global warming, climate change and solar energy in Mexico.
Aitken was a professor of physics at Stanford University, professor and founder of the Department of Environmental Studies at San Jose State University, and director of the solar energy programs for the Western United States for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Most recently Aitken was senior staff scientist for renewable energy policy and economics for the 100,000-member Union of Concerned Scientists and served two terms as the president of the American Solar Energy Society. Aitken is widely published in these fields, and has received numerous awards for his pioneering architectural and policy contributions.
Aitken and his wife, Pia, moved to lakeside in 2007 and were the first to create an all-solar home. Their example helped initiate the lakeside solar movement. There are now over 1,000 solar-electric homes in the area.
Unitarian Universalist
Trudy Crippen will present “Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Despite The Man — Feminism in the Face of Neglect,” during the Sunday, January 25 service of the Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 10:30 a.m.
The lives of Louisa May Alcott and her mother, Abigail, are intimately interwoven with the first century of American Unitarianism. Nonetheless, Louisa May Alcott is overshadowed by the legends of the men in her life: Emerson, Thoreau, Bronson, Alcott and Samuel May. Crippen’s talk looks at the inspiration for Gloria Steinen’s words: “Louisa May Alcott was a lifeline because there were no living role models for a young woman, at least not if you wanted to be something other than a wife and mother with a job to ‘fall back on.’”
Lunch will be provided by the fellowship at Daniel’s Restaurant following the service and prior to the 2015 Annual General Meeting and election of the board. The group meets at Plaza de la Ribera, Rio Bravo 10A. For further information visit www.uuflc.org.
Buddhist Community
The Heart of Awareness Buddhist Community will meet on Wednesday, January 28 at 4:30 p.m. for meditation and a program, “End of Life,” by Loretta Downs at Paseo de los Velaros 60 in La Floresta.
Heart of Awareness is a non-sectarian Buddhist practice community grounded in the original teachings of the Buddha as preserved in the Theravada/Vipassana tradition. Membership in Heart of Awareness is open to those with Zen, Tibetan or Shambhala backgrounds, as well as those with no previous meditation experience. For further information, call Karin Miles at (376) 766-0020.
Anezeh Shriners Legion of Honor Unit
The officers of the new Anezeh Shriners Legion of Honor Unit were installed Friday, January 16 at Restaurant Los Telares. The Legion of Honor is composed of Shriners who are military veterans from the United States, Mexico and Canada. Shown from left are Noble Fritz Noltenius, assistant adjutant; Noble John Mistrik, finance officer; Noble Denis de Kergommeaux, commander; Noble Bob Glenn, first lieutenant commander and Illustrious Sir Denny Strole, adjutant.