Bomberos Day
The united civil protection and firefighters of Chapala have invited the local community to join in their celebration of the feast day of the firefighters (bomberos) on Saturday, August 22.
Events begin with a 4:30 p.m. Mass at the Templo de San Francisco in Chapala. The firefighters’ fiesta starts at 7 p.m. at the Black Pearl restaurant on the Chapala malecon.
Tickets at 120 pesos are available from the fire chief at the Chapala Fire Station on the Libramiento.
Train station founder grandson
Christian Schjetnan Garduño (at center with plaque) was recognized as guest of honor at the national convention of model train enthusiasts held earlier this month at the Centro Cultural Gonzalez Gallo. He is the grandson and namesake of the Norwegian immigrant who bankrolled the construction of the Chapala railway line, its majestic station and other ambitious tourism enterprises in the early decades of the 1900s.
Building Balloons
Local residents can learn to build globos (tissue paper hot air balloons) for the annual Ajijic Regata de Globos on Saturday, September 12. The two-part class will be held at the Lakeside Presbyterian Church on Saturday, August 22 and Saturday, August 29 from 1-3 p.m.
Materials are 30 pesos per person to build a globo to launch at the Regata.
Learning Seminar
“A Tale of Two Americans and the Mini-Mart Where They Collide” is the title of the Tuesday, August 25 learning seminar for Lake Chapala Society (LCS) members from noon to 1:15 p.m. featuring Anand Giridharadas’
Fred Harland moderates this stunning TED talk by Giridharadas, author of “The True American.” A shocking attack at a Texas mini-mart in September 2001 shattered the lives of two men: the victim and the attacker. This seminar relates what happened next. It’s a parable about the two paths an American life can take, and a powerful call for reconciliation.
Birthday Club
Kenny, the new manager down at Posada Maria Isabel (the Old Posada), tells us that they’ve started a Birthday Club. All you have to do is stop in and register your name, birthdate (they probably don’t care about the year), and email address. Then 30 days before your next birthday you’ll have an invitation to come have a free birthday dinner with two drinks. Now is that a deal or what?
Bus Trips
The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) is hosting a pair of area excursions in September. The bus heads to the crafts shopping Meccas of Tonala and Tlaquepaque on Wednesday, September 9. The bus leaves from the sculpture in La Floresta at 9 a.m.
The monthly shopping trip to Costco, Sams and Galerias Mall in Guadalajara is scheduled for Thursday, September 24. This trip will leave from La Floresta at 9:30 a.m.
Tickets must be purchased in advance in the LCS business office.
Pick-A-Pooch
The Lakeside Spay and Neuter group is sponsoring a festive doggy adoption celebration on Sunday, September 6, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., at the American Legion Post 7 at Morelos 114 in Chapala.
The Spay and Neuter Group (The Ranch) is a non-profit dog sanctuary with a no-kill policy. If the dogs at the event aren’t the right match for prospective pet parents, rides to meet other dogs at the Ranch will be available. For more information call (33) 3176-9090 or (33) 1270-4447
LCS Spanish Classes
The new term of the Warren Hardy Spanish language course for LCS members begins on Monday, September 7 and continues through October 16. The 90-minutes classes are held two days a week at the Wilkes Education Center in Ajijic.
Several levels of instruction are available for students as they progress in the program. Registration for the upcoming classes is currently underway at the LCS office or on the society’s website. The program manager will be available daily to answer questions and take registrations on the blue umbrella patio of the LCS campus from Monday, August 31 until Friday September 4, between 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The main LCS gate is at the corner of Calle 6 de Septiembre and Calle Ramon Corona.
Salvajes Ajijic
The Salvajes Ajijic running club will hold its second annual mountain racing event, Carrera Campanaria-Copal Chino, Sunday, August 23. The competition is made of of two components: the 14-kilometer Campanaria track and the 9.1 kilometer Copal Chino track, both initiating near the town pier at the waterfront Malecón, 9.a.m. There will also be short footraces for kids going on while the event is in progress. Full details, including maps showing the two routes are posted on Campanaria 2015 Facebook page.
Silvestre Mexico
Rosalba Rodriguez at Tio Corp Insurance was afraid of all animals, even dogs and cats, until she began meeting some of the animals that Fauna Silvestre Mexico have rescued. Here she holds Bigotes (Whiskers) the chinchilla. Rodriguez relates that more than 1,000 of the gentle chinchillas are killed to make a single fur coat.
Centers for Spiritual Living
The Thursday discussion group meeting from 10:30 a.m. until noon at the Ajijic Centers for Spiritual Living is currently focusing attention on Pema Chodron’s book “The Things that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times.”
The Tuesday 1:30 to 3 p.m. discussion will begin on September 10 to address questions such as Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
The Centers for Spiritual Living is at Nicolas Bravo 17 in Ajijic. Contact Tim Schubert for details at (376) 766-0920 or email 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..
Christ Church
Fr. Danny Borkowski will preside during the Christ Church Lakeside Episcopal service on Sunday, August 23, 9:30 a.m. His message, “Spirit and Life,” is based on John 6: 56-69.
The congregations of Christ Church Lakeside Episcopal and the Little Chapel by the Lake share a common coffee fellowship from 10:35 until 11:10 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Little Chapel at Carretera 10.
The Tuesday Bible Study continues the in-depth study of the Gospel of John at 2 p.m. each week.
The congregation of Christ Church Lakeside Episcopal will take its “church-in-a-box” to La Sagrada Familia Mission in Mazamitla on Sunday, August 30. Members will meet at Farmacia Guadalajara in Ajijic at 9:15 a.m. to arrive in Mazamitla for the noon service. For information, contact Kay Borkowski at (376) 766-2495 or at 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..
Lakeside Presbyterian
“Christians are sometimes criticized for encouraging others also to believe in Jesus – what is properly called evangelism, but sometimes negatively referred to as proselytizing,” says Paster Ross Arnold. He adds, “Many people don’t understand that sharing Christianity with others is a basic foundation of the Christian faith. In fact, the very last words Jesus spoke on earth were instructions to his followers to travel the world and ‘make disciples.’”
Arnold will talk about how all this works during the morning worship service on Sunday, August 23, 10 .a.m. and will discuss how Christians can properly continue to evangelize – even when it’s unpopular – in his sermon, “If You Love Me – Tell Others.”
The Pastor’s Forum convenes in the church library at about 11:30 a.m. on Sundays. Attendees can ask questions about the sermon, the faith, or any other topic of interest.
Lakeside Presbyterian Church is at San Jorge 250 in Riberas del Pilar. Turn at Mom’s Deli and drive south for two blocks. The church is on the right.
San Andrés English
The English-speaking congregation of San Andrés Parish church in Ajijic will celebrate “The Holy One of God” during the Sunday, August 23, 9 a.m. Mass with Fr. Basil G. Royston, Min. D. presiding.
Royston says, “Today, we celebrate the marriage feast of Christ with his church, we consciously choose him who is the Holy One of God.”
Members of the congregation will hand out the school supplies and backpacks purchased for each of the children in the orphanage Villa Infantil de Guadalupe y San Jose.
St. Andrew’s Anglican
“Some events change us forever,” says Fr. Winston Welty of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church. “Sometimes called ‘threshold moments,’ they leave certain things behind in the interest of what lies ahead.”
One of the Bible readings for the Sunday, August 23, 10 a.m. worship service remembers such an event, the ancient Hebrew tribes entering into their land of promise. The significance of such moments for modern believers is the focus of Welty’s sermon, “Crossing the River.”
Sunday School begins at 9:45 a.m. Refreshments are shared in the garden after the worship service. Every Sunday, the feeding program supported by St. Andrew’s welcomes donations of non-perishable items which can be left in baskets by the church doors.
The men’s monthly luncheon will be held at El Ancla (The Anchor) Restaurant on Wednesday, August 26, noon.
St. Andrew’s is at Calle San Lucas 19, a block south of the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar.
New Hope
The newly formed congregation of the New Hope Christian Fellowship will hold its second service on Sunday, August 23. The congregation is non-denominational and seeks to model itself after the first century church described in the book of Acts. (Minus the conflicts with which Paul had to deal.) The group is currently meeting at a home in Chula Vista.
Pastor Gene Raymer will present a message titled, “What’s In A Name?” He’ll seek to encourage those attending to live up to the name of the group. “We will be new people as Jesus said we would be. We will have the hope promised in the New Testament. We will practice Christian living and enjoy the fellowship of each other’s presence,” says Raymer.
For more information about the group, or directions to the meeting place, call the pastor at (376) 766-3435.
Unitarian Universalists
Unitarian Universalists tend to be readers. The Sunday, August 23,10:30 a.m. participatory service led by Fred and Mardele Harland is an opportunity to share information about books which have touched or challenged those attending. Those who choose to participate will have up to four minutes to share book information including the title, author, a short description of the content and comments.
This is a caring, liberal, open-minded community that encourages others to seek their own spiritual path wherever it leads and which comes together as one faith without religious creed or dogma and regardless of age, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity or life challenges.
Since 2005, this lay-led fellowship group has explored their own potential as well as volunteer opportunities in the community. They meet in a wheelchair accessible site in Plaza de la Ribera, Rio Bravo 10S, in Ajijic.
Open Circle
Rev. Don Beaudreault, a Unitarian Universalist minister and professional jazz pianist, will present the Sunday, August 23, 10:30 a.m. program of Open Circle as he links jazz and theology.
Beaudreault’s Appalachian grandmother, attempting to define that which is divine, said of certain individuals: “You just know God when you see it in somebody.” He also quotes Louis Armstrong‘s response to those who want a definition of jazz: “Man, if you gotta ask you’ll never know.” The speaker’s point is clear -- the divine, and jazz can be experienced but not fully defined.
Beaudreault will begin playing the piano at 10 a.m. to help others begin their day with “all that jazz.”
The August 30 program, “The Canine Connection,” will be presented by dog trainer and student of dog behavior Sandy Britton as she explores the special bond between people and their dogs and how that relationship enriches lives.
Buddhist Group
When the Heart of Awareness Community meets on Wednesday, August 26, the Noble Silence begins at 4 p.m. and will be followed by a formal meditation, dharma teachings and discussion at 4:30 p.m. The video teaching will be, “Beyond Mindfulness,” from a presentation by Dr. Christine Caldwell on the topic “Bodyfulness.”
The sangha is at Guadalupe Victoria 101, suites A-B, in Ajijic. The Heart of Awareness is a non-sectarian community grounded in the teachings of the Buddha as preserved in the Theravada/Vipassana tradition. Prior experience or affiliation is not required. For further information on the community and scheduled activities, visit www.heartofawareness.org, or call Janet Reichert, (376) 766-6069.