The Guadalajara Reporter

Laguna Chapalac - January 24, 2014

The volunteers of Upscale Resale Bazar celebrated with their new and old management teams at a Hand Off Party in the Clubhouse in El Parque on January 14.

The charity shop in Riberas opened its doors in May 2010 to help two homes for children – Hope House and La Ola. There are 23 boys in Hope House in Ixtlahuacan and La Ola has 16 girls and one little brother in Jocotepec.  Both homes supply all that growing children need – food, clothing, shelter, education medical care plus lots of love. Supplying all their needs takes a lot more  money than Upscale Resale can provide but the monthly support has helped considerably over the nearly four years that the shop has been open.

Now the Parkers, Betty and Jim, have handed over the management of Upscale Resale to Patricia Quinones and Bertha Milian and the great and loyal volunteer team already in place.

In addition to accepting community donations and consignments, volunteers make pillows, draft excluders, pet beds, quilts, cards  and other useful items unique to Upscale Resale. The shop is located on the south side of the Carretera in Riberas. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The phone number is 106-0882.  The Green Café is now open next door Tuesday through Saturday serving organic and healthy food.

Genealogy

The Genealogy Forum will hold its January meeting Monday January 27, 2 p.m. in the Sala at LCS. Everyone is invited. 

Marci Bowman will lead a discussion on Genetic Genealogy which has been called “the future of genealogy.” You’ve seen it in shows like “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Finding Your Roots” and probably seen the TV ads as well.

So what’s it all about? How much is hype and how much is real? This month the group will be talking about the so called Family Finder tests that use autosomal or atDNA. They will discuss the ethnic predictions and what they might show you, as well as the distant cousin matches and what they could mean. Can you really break down brick walls on your family tree? The answer is a resounding maybe!

They will also discuss how atDNA is used to help adoptees and others looking for biological family. Bowman has been studying genetic genealogy for a couple of years and is anxious to share what she has learned, so join us to learn more about this exciting new advancement.”

El Papaqui

El Papaqui — a light-hearted mock battle with confetti-filled eggshells employed as armament — was the high point of the colorful January 20 fiesta in honor of upper Ajijic’s patron saint San Sebastian.

Rotary Club update

Due to much interest, space is filling up quickly for the Tuesday, January 28 Rotary Club lunchtime meeting, where the speaker, Lori Vinh Sok Brown, will share her inspirational story of surviving the Cambodia genocide in the late 1970s.

Hotel Real de Chapala is providing a large room for this occasion and requires attendees to order lunch. The hotel will provide choices of soup and sandwich, plus ice tea or water for 70 pesos, including gratuity. Other drinks are extra.

Doors open at noon. The Hotel Real de Chapala is located at Paseo del Prado 20, Lower La Floresta, Ajijic. Reservations are essential. Contact Rotary Chairperson Anita at 766-2410, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For general Rotary information call 766-5025 or 331-158-5461 or visit www.rotaryajijic.org.

Christ Church Anglican

James (Jim) Arthur Powers, Jr.  (left) was commissioned as Warden of Christ Church Anglican Fellowship on January 12.   With him at the commissioning are (left to right) Christ Church Anglican Vicar Danny Borkowski and Deacon Rob Wells.   The Powers family has two generations as members of Christ Church – Jim, his wife Mina, his brother Richard, and his mother Marge.

Seminars

The Tuesday, January 28 seminar (noon-1:15 p.m.), available for Lake Chapala Society (LCS)  members, will be chaired by Fred Harland. It features (via TED Internet podcast) Dr. Atul Gawande, who asks: “How do we heal medicine?” A surgeon by day and public health journalist by night, Gawande argues that our medical systems are broken. That we need to take a step back and look at new ways to do medicine. He explores how doctors can dramatically improve their practice using something as simple as a checklist.

The 2 p.m. lecture is Phil Rylett on “How to Communicate with a Spanish Speaker.” The lecture will investigate how language works, how it is learned and how it is used.  Drawing on the latest research, Rylett will analyze the latest theories for learning a second language and how we can apply the latest knowledge to our own endeavors.

British Society

(Please note the correct starting time of 1 p.m. – not 2 p.m. as incorrectly stated in last week’s Reporter.)

The speaker at the meeting of the Lakeside British Society on Saturday, February 1, 1 p.m. will be Patricia González from DIM (Diaonostico, Imagenologia, Mopecular), who will talk about PET scans, which use radiation, or nuclear medicine imaging, to produce three-dimensional, color images of the functional processes within the human body.

The meal costs 120 pesos, including tip, and is a choice of stuffed pork chop with potatoes and vegetables, or sea bass with mushroom sauce and vegetables. Both selections include a small salad. A large salad is available for 80 pesos. Dessert is chocolate cake.

Contact Alicia McNiff at 765-4786 or Ceri Dando at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you plan to attend. Visitors are always welcome. Manix has parking available on an adjacent lot. Visitors are welcome.

Pat Taylor at Robbie Burns Night

Pat Taylor from London, Ontario will play the pipes at the Robbie Burns Night festivities on January 25, as well as at Christ Church’s 9:30 a.m. service on Sunday, January 26.

Luncheon & auction

Lakeside Friends of the Animals is sponsoring a Valentine’s Day luncheon and auction at Roberto’s Restaurant in Ajijic on February 14. This is something new for the group.

Longtime supporter Lila Kawananakoa has donated ten brand new Mary Francis bags to be auctioned off. Each bag is uniquely decorated with beads, sequins, crystals, pearls and semi-precious stones.

The proceeds from this luncheon will help Lakeside Friends of the Animals continue its work helping Mexicans with limited means spay and neuter their pets, and help with emergency medical care. The group also teaches children how to care for their house pets. This school year they have been to 21 schools.  A 50/50 raffle will also offered to help fund this worthy cause.

Chocolate and Tequila

The group Season for Nonviolence is gearing up to start helping us all be nonviolent. Everyone is invited to participate by focusing on a word a day, and actually thinking about what it means. There are 64 ways in 64 days to do this. People in nine hundred cities in 67 countries will be simultaneously focusing on the same 64 words.

The season starts on January 30 and continues to April fourth, commemorating the memorials of Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year Cesar Chavez and Nelson Mandela have been added to the program for their work in bringing peace through nonviolence. The program is supported by the Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, The United Nations and dignitaries around the world.

There will be a Chocolate and Tequila tasting fundraiser at El Jardin de Ninette on January 27 from 4 to 6 pm to help cover the costs of publishing the word lists. Tickets are 80 pesos in advance, or 100 pesos at the door, and are available at Mostly Chocolate, and Diane Pearl Colecciones. Water and soda will be available if you don’t drink tequila. Don’t lose the ticket, the Restaurant will be offering a 10 percent discount on meals the following day, January 28 only. El Jardin de Ninette is located at Javier Mina 7.

Have Hammer

Have Hammer ... Will Travel students, teachers and volunteers invite the public to join them for an evening of good food, great dancing music by The Tall Boys Band, expansive silent auction and student carving demonstrations, on Wednesday, February 12, from 6-10 p.m. 

This 5th annual fundraiser will happen at Club Exotica in Ajijic Plaza (enter through El Jardin Restaurant).  The ticket price of 350 pesos includes a choice of chicken or BBQ ribs and of seating on the main floor or in the mezzanine. 

This program teaches local children, teens, and adults valuable life skills through woodworking and carpentry.  Students will be on hand to share their skills, as well as finished products for sale or order.  For tickets, call the workshop at (376) 766-4830. For more information or to request delivery of tickets for a table of ten, contact Eloy Gonzalez at 766-4663 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Emergency kit workshops

Cruz Roja Chapala International Volunteers will be promoting the distribution and use of its new Emergency Medical Information Kit through a series of hands-on workshops that will take place over the next few months. Each of the kits, priced at 20 pesos, includes a bilingual form for your personal critical medical information, a plastic jar with exterior label for storage in your refrigerator and magnet to keep on the fridge door.

The next workshop is scheduled for Thursday, January 30, noon at the gazebo at Lake Chapala Society headquarters, 16 de Septiembre 16-A, Ajijic. Persons planning to attend should take a pen and lapboard to follow step-by-step instructions for filling out the emergency kit paperwork.

The program will also feature an LCS presentation on “Life & Death Lakeside” with information on the organization’s Post Life Registry program. The event is open to the general public.

The Red Cross workshop will be repeated Wednesday, February 12, 2 p.m., also at the LCS Gazebo.

Private groups interested in booking workshop sessions are welcome to contact Margy Kassier for details at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Progressives

At the meeting of the Lakeside Progressives on January 14, members considered the progress of the website being developed and discussed the most important issues facing the United States.  Because of the number of important issues that members identified, there was insufficient time to discuss them all and agree upon the three most important ones, so that discussion will continue at the next meeting.  The Progressives will next meet at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 11 in the meeting room at the Peacock Garden restaurant in Ajijic.  All progressives are encouraged to attend.

Open Circle

Victor Youcha shares his spiritual experiences and exercises at the Open Circle meeting on Sunday, January 26, 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Chapala Society.

Raised Jewish with “a deep spiritual but not religious connection,” Youcha says he had some “remarkable spiritual experiences when in high school that left a lasting impression.” He worked as a chiropractor and acupuncturist while practicing Taoist meditations and Qigong, and later became “deeply involved” with two Lakota medicine men. Youcha has participated in hundreds of sweat lodge ceremonies and other kinds of Lakota spiritual ceremonies. He then began practicing the spiritual exercises of Eckankar, as well as continuing with his energy work and healing practice.

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.

Presbyterians

On Sunday January 26 at Lakeside Presbyterian Church, Pastor Ross Arnold will speak of “Good News of the Kingdom,” based on the text from Matthew 4:12-23.  At this time, Jesus began his ministry on earth, and calls his first disciples in Galilee. “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew.  They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for men.’  At once, they left their nets and followed him.”

Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m.  Following the service, there will be fellowship and refreshments.  Lakeside Presbyterian Church is in Riberas del Pilar, on the mountain side of the Carretera, between S&S Auto and Vigolari.

Little Chapel

The Little Chapel by the Lake will maintain its regular schedule this week.  The 10:45 a.m. refreshment period will be followed by the regular worship service at 11:15 a.m. 

The message for the Sunday, January 26 service will be about Jonah.  “Although the book of Jonah is very short, it contains several powerful lessons,” says Rev. Gene Raymer. 

Following the service members of the congregation meet at a local restaurant for a fellowship meal.

The Little Chapel is an interdenominational congregation and warmly welcomes all Christian believers.  The church is located on the mountain side of the Carretera, just east of the golf course in Chula Vista.

Christ Church

Christ Church Lakeside will observe the Third Sunday after the Epiphany by celebrating the Holy Eucharist Rite II at 9:30 a.m. at the Little Chapel by the Lake.  Fr. Danny Borkowski’s sermon topic is “Good News?” based on Matthew 4:12-23. Christ Church and the Little Chapel by the Lake enjoy a common fellowship time between their two services (see above). 

Pat Taylor, the brother of Phyl Gaskell, is coming down from London, Ontario to play the pipes at the Robbie Burns Night festivities on January 25. This year, he has consented to play at Christ Church’s 9:30 a.m. Sunday service. 

Following the joint fellowship time, Christ Church’s Sunday Lunch Bunch will travel to San Juan Cosala to Viva Mexico Restaurant (about noon) to entertain our visiting piper.  All are welcome to join in the Sunday Lunch Bunch even if they don’t  attend the service.

Deacon Rob Wells is leading a Bible Study on Tuesday mornings from 10 to 11 a.m.  The current topic is the Gospel of Matthew.  Deacon Wells is using the Jerusalem Bible as his source text because of its copious notes and commentary.  It is not necessary to have attended previous sessions.

St. Andrew’s Anglican

“Jesus’ Mid-Life Crisis” is the title of Fr. Winston Welty’s sermon at St. Andrew’s this week.  But don’t be misled; it’s not about some crisis that Jesus experienced.  Instead it’s about the crisis He provokes in those who dare to respond to His invitation: “Come, follow me.” It’s entirely likely that many others may have turned Him down in favor of the ordinary, the routine, the way things had always been.  But James, John, Peter and Andrew decided to abandon their known, everyday lives in favor of responding to this Jesus-induced crisis.  It’s still the crisis to which Jesus challenges those who would be His disciples, the crisis to which true worship always invites us.  At St. Andrew’s, that invitation takes place every Sunday at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., with a time of fellowship and welcome in the garden between services, and children’s Sunday School at 10:45 a.m.  St. Andrew’s is located at Calle San Lucas 19, just a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.

Center for Spiritual Living

An evening of celebration is planned at the Center for Spiritual Living (Nicolas Bravo 17, Ajijic) on Friday, January 31. It begins at 4 p.m. with the Tibetan Sacred Bowls, followed at 5 p.m. by “The Mankind Project Ceremony - Living Life on Purpose, The Hero’s Journey” and ending with a potluck.    Wednesday classes (10:30-noon) continue with “This Thing Called You” by Ernest Holmes. The Thursday discussion group continues using the book, “A Thousand Names for Joy” by Byron Katie. The program begins with an optional meditation from 10 to 10:20 a.m., followed by the group from 10:30 a.m. to noon.

For information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , call 766-0920 or check the website at www.cslchapala.com.

Unitarians

The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship meets every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at the Plaza de la Ribera (Rio Bravo 10A, Ajijic).  On Sunday, January 26, Marion Blackmer will lead a discussion about justice and injustice.  There will be a potluck followed by the annual general meeting.  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. .