letter from Spain
Fiestas and faith: a clash of cultures
Trevor Ramsey
In the middle of November each year, the streets of Benidorm on Spain’s Costa Blanca are transformed by two very different fiestas. Benidorm loves a good fiesta.
Firstly, the Spanish enjoy a five day fiesta which is a strange mixture of the weird, wacky and wonderful. Each morning at 8am fireworks are set off in order ‘to awaken the sleeping spirits’. There are various cultural events but also rather sombre parades of statues of the Virgin Mary, accompanied by throngs of elegantly dressed young people and myriads of flowers. It is hard not to be moved by the solemnity of it all yet to feel, as Paul did in Athens, that this is nothing short of religious ignorance – certainly far removed from the liberating gospel of Christ.
Evangelicals help after deadly Spanish flood
Luke Randall
Members of Iglesia de Jesuscristo (which essentially means Christchurch) have been contributing to the relief effort in Valencia, following the disastrous flooding recently seen in the city.
Over 200 people have died after the Eastern Spanish city and its surrounding area was hammered with a year’s worth of rain fall in just eight hours. Julian Milson (pictured with his wife Nicky), who works with Crosslinks, revealed that church members from the Spanish Reformed episcopal congregation have gone with thousands of others into affected areas by bus to assist with the humanitarian effort and cleanup. Milson said that volunteers have been ‘put to good use’, but that the organisation of assistance on the ground has been ‘patchy’.
The battle in Benidorm
Trevor Ramsey
In the first week of October, the bars and restaurants of Benidorm’s busy beachfront and area known as 'The Strip' were bustling and alive with many UK holidaymakers, enjoying some autumnal sunshine before returning to the harsh rigours of a British winter.
There was noise and colour, raucous laughter and angry exchanges on the streets and the walkways. The bouncers and security personnel were earning their money! Groups of Stag Dos and Hen Parties roamed the streets in packs searching out the next place of entertainment.
