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Christ Church, Rio de Janeiro

The Mission of Christ Church is summed up by these words on the Church’s website:

A Chaplain for our Mission

To help us to continue this mission we seek a Chaplain, with all-round gifts of ministry(prayer, pastoral care and preaching) who will:

- develop our spiritual growth for wider mission and service;- exercise pastoral care within a diverse community, not limited to those who are part of thechurch and its activities;- continue and develop work with children, young people and their families; and- help us to extend our vision for the future.

This person will be an ordained Priest in a Church that is a member of the AnglicanCommunion, with prior missionary chaplaincy or parish experience of (ideally) at least 8years, and will be:

• a person of prayer and spirituality;• someone who can relate well to people of all ages and backgrounds;• warm and approachable;• adaptable, enthusiastic, affirming and encouraging;• an enabler with vision; and• a team player willing to serve as an ex-officio member of Community organizations.

Prior Chaplains have typically been married with children, having international experienceand/or knowledge of Portuguese or another Romance language.

History, Ecclesiastical Authority and Clergy Colleagues

The history of Christ Church may be found on its website: http://christchurch.no-ip.org/.Briefly, it was organized as a British Chaplaincy almost 200 years ago and has continued inthat role ever since.

“Christ Church, Botafogo is the onlyEnglish-speaking Anglican Church in Rio.Our mission is to serve the English speakingcommunity of the city and beyond, whetherthey be permanent residents, here on shortcontract or simply passing through this partof the world. In 2010, as in every year sinceour building was consecrated, we seek toexpress our faith in God by our words, deedsand actions”

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The Church relates through informal structures to the Rio de Janeiro Diocese of theAnglican Episcopal Church of Brazil (IEAB), although it is not part of the Diocese. TheChurch recognizes the Bishop of that Diocese as its Ecclesiastical Authority and heconducts confirmation services. There are ongoing discussions to ensure that in the futureChrist Church will have Episcopal oversight.

There is a long-serving Assistant Chaplain, ordained by IEAB, who also ministers to anIEAB parish in an outlying area of Rio de Janeiro. The Chaplaincy is a full-time positionand it is expected that the Assistant will only act sporadically. The English-speaking clergyof the IEAB diocese, of which there are currently three, can be called upon occasionally totake services during the Chaplain's absences.

São Lucas, an IEAB parish, holds regular Sunday Services in Portuguese at Christ Church,at 8:45 am, and occupies several offices in the cloisters.

Church Structure

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has two Wardens (a People's Warden and aChaplain's Warden), a Treasurer and 6 lay members elected by the congregation, one ofwhom serves as Secretary. The PCC meets monthly and does most of the business of theChurch. There is also a small finance committee and an advisory board.

Church life: worship, social events and finance

Christ Church does not fit any particular liturgical ‘label’ because it values the variedtraditions which are reflected within the congregation. Broadly speaking, it may bedescribed as middle-to-low church, moderately evangelical.

Sunday Worship is at 8 am and 10:30 am each week at Christ Church and once a month at6 pm in All Saints Niteroi.All 8 am services are Holy Communion. Three out of four 10:30 am services are HolyCommunion, with one being a Family service. If there is a fifth Sunday in the month, thatis a Morning Prayer service. All services use the Common Worship liturgy. There are noofficial Lay Readers, but at Sunday services, members of the congregation read lessons andlead the prayers of Intercession.

Numbers vary enormously due to the nature of life in Rio, but on average there are 40 to 60adults at the Sunday morning services.

On all Sundays except for the Family Service the children have Sunday School, rejoiningthe congregation towards the end of the service.

There is a small choir who lead the singing and perform anthems; we currently have a paidorganist and a paid choirmaster. We have a lovely organ recently donated by a parishioner.We also have guitar lead worship to complement the formal worship. Occasionally we useother instruments, typically played by members of the congregation. We are considering theinstallation of a digital projector which could expand our range of music offerings.

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Most of the worshippers reside within Rio, although we attract a decent number of visitors.A friendly congregation is made up of people of all ages, but at the moment Christ Churchis lacking teenagers.

Church Finances

The Church is largely dependent upon rentals from the property used by the British Schoolfor its continued survival. The British & Commonwealth Society (BCS) also receive ashare of the rental income and the Church is negotiating a larger share.

Income is also received from the congregation and weekly giving, as well as fromOccasional Offices and the rent received from the use of the church building by visitingchoirs. Very occasionally the Church is also used as a location to film “novellas” (soapoperas) when the script calls for a wedding.

The Church tithes 10% of its income to several local charities having connections with theAnglican Communion and members of Christ Church.

Social events

Those events where food is included are very popular and anyone from the community iswelcomed. Such events include potluck lunches (best curries in Rio, guaranteed),occasional “churrasco” (BBQ) at the grill in the vicarage garden, and the occasionalevening event.

The Church Building

The Church proper has seating for over 300 people. There is a side chapel used for midweek services and another, housing the font, that is carpeted for the care of young children.

The facilities are used most days by the School and evenings by a variety of groups.

The church office is equipped with a computer, scanner and printer, a small photocopierand telephone. An excellent church secretary is employed five days a week. Adjoining theoffice is the vestry.

The BCS are responsible for the care, upkeep and maintenance of the buildings and financeall major repairs.

Behind the church are the cloisters with a delightfulgarden and office rooms, some of which are occupiedby the BCS and the British School, a large kitchen andseveral toilets.Behind the cloisters is the Church (or Jubilee) Hall,suitable for events such as parish luncheons, weddingreceptions, theatre events, school events etc.

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The Church Grounds

The church building is surrounded by gardens with benches and lights, tended by gardenersfrom the British Cemetery. Behind the Hall is a tarmac area suitable for up to 100 carparking for large events, which doubles as the School playground during the week.

The Vicarage

This is a very comfortable two story detached house with 4 bedrooms (one ensuite) – 2bathrooms and 2 studies. It is situated on the same site as the School and Church. It is fullyfurnished and very well equipped. From the garden and upstairs balcony the world famousstatue of Christ the Redeemer can be seen.

The vicarage has a large fenced in side garden with barbecue grill. Gardening is done bycaretaker João who has lived on the site for many years. It is not unusual to see hummingbirds, toucans and “micos” (marmosets) in the trees of the garden.

The Parish and surrounding area

The Church has no parish as such, being here to serve the English-speaking community ofRio, wherever they live. Most of the parish come from the "South Zone" of Rio de Janeiro,which stretches over a wide area but Botafogo (see below) is reasonably accessible to most.

Christ Church lies in the "bairro" of Botafogo, a predominantly middle-class, saferesidential, professional and commercial neighbourhood. Public transportation is readilyavailable and plentiful.

Education

The grounds are home to one of the three sites of The British School of Rio, where some800 students have classes. The British School follows the British curriculum and offers theIB programme following IGSE. Tuition is in English, and the School aims to have 30% ex-pats on its staff. The School has always offered free tuition to children of the Chaplain andit is fully expected that this will continue. Its website is http://www.britishschool.g12.br/

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Leisure

Rio de Janeiro and the surrounding countryside have more leisure opportunities than almostanywhere in the world. Rio is quite simply one of the world’s most stunning locations tolive and work in. The beaches, the forests, the mountains, the parks, the gardens, thefootball stadia and the museums are all fascinating. Copacabana and Ipanema beaches arewithin very easy travelling distance, and just a little further is the fabulous Tijuca Forest.

Health and local facilities

Rio has excellent medical facilities. The Church currently uses BUPA, the health plan forthe British School expatriate teachers, and care can be obtained in most private hospitalsand clinics, many of which are nearby. A list of recommended medical services will bemade available for the new Chaplain.

There are shops, stores, boutiques, restaurants, pizzerias, juice bars, chemists, beautyparlours, museums, community centres and much more all within walking distance.

Christ Church presence at the centre of the community

Christ Church is at the very hub of the English speaking community, located on the samesite as the British School, the British & Commonwealth Society, the British Burial Fund,the Masons (currently looking to move from the site), the Royal British Legion, the SCM (alocal sacred music choir) and various other community organisations. The Chaplain’sministry includes acting as an ex-officio board or committee member of many of these.

Other Information

All Saints’ Niteroi

The Chaplaincy also encompasses another parish, All Saints’ Niteroi. Niteroi lies acrossGuanabara Bay from Rio de Janeiro and since the 1920’s has had its own Anglican Church,which at one time was the hub of the community; unfortunately, the English speakingcommunity has dwindled to just a handful of faithful souls who meet once a month for anevening BCP Communion service. The Church itself is a simple but delightful buildingand is rented out for weekly services to Betania – a Brazilian Pentecostal Church who areresponsible for its care and maintenance. The current Chaplain enjoys traveling by ferryacross the Bay to conduct the monthly service, just as the sun is setting over Rio.

British Cemetery at Gamboa/British Burial Fund (BBF)

The British Cemetery at Gamboa is one of the oldest British institutions in Rio. In 1810Emperor Dom João VI ceded to the British a small piece of farmland along the shore of thebay; the first burial took place in 1811. Still a beautiful place, the cemetery is listed underthe city’s Cultural Heritage as an historic site. The BBF have run the Cemetery for manyyears and the Chaplain is an ex-officio member of the BBF Board.

Prepared by Christ Church, Rio de Janeiro