The Guadalajara Reporter

Laguna Chapalac – November 16, 2013

Twenty-four teams competed in the 10th Cruz Roja Chapala Golf Classic held November 7 at the Chapala Country Club in Vista del Lago.

The winning team was made up of Bruce Barman, Mike Daniels, Janis Phair and Charles Temple.

An excellent barbecue buffet was prepared by the Country Club staff and enjoyed by more than 200 diners.

Tournament Chair Don Marie Fraser thanks the Country Club for hosting the tournament and the many generous sponsors, volunteers and participants for making the day so successful.

Eradicating polio

The Rotary Club of Ajijic thanks everyone who contributed to the success of their End Polio Now! fundraising dinner at Roberto’s Restaurant on November 8. The dinner was sold out and Rotary raised over 20,000 pesos. The proceeds will go directly to Rotary International’s End Polio Now! program.

Operation Feed

The November 7 Operation Feed clothing handout was the largest and most successful in the organization’s history.  Coordinators report that there were enough toddler clothes for every San Juan Cosala family to choose at least one outfit.  Donated blankets literally “flew out the door,” as did the warm sweaters and jackets and shoes.  

Donors were very creative in their support.  Jon Seaborg and Cheryl Kennedy brought toothbrushes down from the United States, while Steve Noll shopped the sales and brought down two large bins filled with children’s shoes and clothes. Arnold and Sheri Rossander filled their car up with shoes for the drive to lakeside. Nancy Brown and her friends in the Infant Care Jocotepec Group prepared packages for expectant mothers, and some women donated jewelry they no longer wear.

Special need items for Operation Feed’s next clothing drive include toothbrushes (all sizes, children and adult), shoes (all sizes), baby clothes and clothing for children ages 4–13 and blankets.

Behind the Walls tours

The Lakeside School for Children With Special Needs (formerly School for the Deaf) will hold the first of its annual series of Behind The Walls House Tours on Thursday, November 21.

One of the four homes on the tour will be decorated by Beth Cathcart, a professional Christmas decorator.  Cece Girling, vice president of fund raising, says it is the most incredibly decorated home she has ever seen and attendees will get great ideas for their own homes.

More homes done up for the holidays are on the bill for the Christmas Tour and Party on December 12. Home tour dates for 2014 are January 23, February 27 and March 27.

The tours run approximately two hours in length, beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the foot of Colon in Ajijic. Tickets are available at Charter Club Tours in Plaza Montana and Diane Pearl’s Gallery in Ajijic. For additional information, contact Shirley West at 766-4997 or Girling at 766-3964.

The organization will also benefit from the Rock and Reggae fiestas and an estate sale scheduled for Saturday, November 23, 9:30 a.m-4 p.m., at Santa Margarita 253 in Riberas del Pilar.

Open gaming

Want to learn and play new card/table/board games? Looking to share your favorite games with new players? You can do this at the Lake Chapala Gazebo on the first and third Sundays of each month, from 12:30-4:30 p.m. (after Open Circle), starting November 17.

No games are provided – participants will play only what is brought along (players without games are welcome). Nearly anything goes – Uno, Monopoly, Mah Jongg, Fluxx, Scrabble, Cribbage, Clue, Pandemic. Don’t bring “loud” or “party” games that are likely to distract or disrupt nearby games and gamers. All are welcome.

Town Topic

The Lake Chapala Society’s next Town Topic is “Icons of Mexico” and will be held on Friday, November 22,12:15 p.m. in the Sala.

Speaker Judy King has lived in the Lake Chapala area since 1990, and she enjoys sharing what she has learned about Mexican history, traditions and holidays.  She detailed many of her experiences living in Mexico in her book “Living at Lake Chapala.” 

The seminar is limited to LCS members.

LCS seminar

The Tuesday, November 19 seminar, from noon to 1:15 p.m., available for Lake Chapala Society members, will be chaired by Reba Mayo. It features (via TED Internet podcast) Neil Pasricha: “The 3 A’s of awesome.” Pasricha’s talk reminds us of the free, easy little joys that make life sweet.

Benefit luncheon

Enjoy a Christmas luncheon at the Jaltepec Centro Educativo on Wednesday, December 4, starting at noon with a no-host bar and complimentary hors d’eouvers, followed by a Taste of Los Cantantes under the musical direction of Timothy Welch at 1.15 p.m.   

The concert is followed at 2 p.m. by a full roast turkey luncheon with all the trimmings. The feast includes a smoked salmon mosaic starter and a festive pear and apple tart dessert, all for a donation of 500 pesos per person. The luncheon is to benefit the students of Jaltepec Centro Educativo the Tecnico Universario en Hoteleria.
For further information or to make reservations, contact Linda Buckthorp @766-1631 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Bus trips

The Lake Chapala Society (LCS) has planned three trips in December.  The trips on Tuesday, December  3 and Thursday, December 19 will be to Guadalajara’s Galerias Mall.  The bus leaves the sculpture area in La Floresta at 9:30 a.m. and returns from Costco at 4 p.m.  On December 11, the bus heads to the crafts centers of Tonala and Tlaquepaque.  Leaving at  9 a.m. and returning from Tlaquepaque at 4 p.m.   

Sign up at the Lake Chapala Society table from Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Support groups

The Loss and Moving Forward Support Group  is for people who have lost a life partner through death or divorce or a parent or child. Through a circle of support, the group focuses on the roller coaster of emotions experienced and ways to positively harness those emotions towards creating a new life.

The group will meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month from 2:30-4 p.m. The group is free and run by a professional counselor. To join contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or call 766-4522.

The Women’s Cancer and Life Threatening Disease Support Group meets the second and fourth Monday of each month from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s a place to get comfort and information from people who really understand what others are experiencing.

The group is free and run by a professional counselor. It is open to people in treatment and recent survivors. For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or at 766-4522.

Hope House

The Hope House orphanage in Ixtlahuacan is looking for help to get Christmas gifts for its 17 boys.  Staff will pick up gifts anytime from late November though December 15.  Those who would prefer not to have to shop for a gift can give a financial donation and the  “dorm mother” will make an appropriate purchase.

There will be a small party and giving of gifts at Hope House on December 15, from 2 to 4 p.m. If anyone would like attend they should call or email the shelter.

Gifts (wrapped or unwrapped) may be dropped off at any time at Melanie’s on the plaza or delivered to Judy Baehr (telephone 766-3244, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).  For further information about Hope House and sponsorships, contact Barry and Christine at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 762-1262.

Open Circle

Doug Buettner will talk on “the Higher Self” at the Open Circle on Sunday, November 17, 10:30 a.m. at the Lake Chapala Society.

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.

Freethinkers
The Lakeside Freethinkers, whose members reject religious beliefs and rely on science and reason to guide their lives, will hold their regular third-Wednesday-of-the-month meeting on November 20.  John de Waal will speak and lead a discussion on The Myth of Christian Persecution, referring to the article with that title by Amelia Thomson-Deveaux published in The American Prospect magazine on October 16.  In it the author notes that the currently alleged “global war on Christianity” reflects “a deep and lasting theme in Christian history … since the days of the early church” that Christians have used in their attempt to claim “the moral high ground.”

The more than 60 members of the Lakeside Freethinkers actively share by email articles and reports concerning religious belief and non-belief such as the one that will be addressed at the meeting.

Spiritual Living

Join Reverend Tim Schubert as he shares “Expanding the Good in Our Lives” at the Center for Spiritual Living (Nicolas Bravo 17, Ajijic) on Friday, November 22, 5-6 p.m.  A social hour will follow.

On Wednesdays, Schubert will lead the class “Conscious Living” from 10:30 a.m. to noon.  The “Unfettered Soul” continues on Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. to noon, with an optional meditation from 10-10:20 a.m.   The Thursday evening Spanish Group continues from 6:30-9 p.m. in the online course, “Fundamentals of Science of Mind.”

The Sacred Cinema on Sunday, November 24, 4 p.m. presents “Regarding Henry” with Harrison Ford and Annette Bening.

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 (formerly Sol y Luna), Rio Bravo 10A, west Ajijic.  On Sunday, November 17, Donna Burroughs will present “The Likeness to God” based on a sermon by Unitarian minister Rev. Dr. Jim Nelson, exploring the views of several great thinkers on the connections with our inner worlds and the actions we can take to grow our souls in the likeness to God.

There will be a coffee hour following the service. For more information call 766-1119 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Christ Church Anglican

Christ Church Anglican Fellowship will celebrate the 26th Sunday after Pentecost with the Holy Eucharist Rite Two on November 17, 9:30 a.m. at the Little Chapel by the Lake (Carretera 10, Chula Vista).  Fr. Danny Borkowski’s sermon topic is “The Time is Near!” based on Luke 21:5-19. 

Christ Church and the Little Chapel by the Lake enjoy a joint coffee fellowship between their two services, from about 10:30 a.m. until 11 a.m. 

Deacon Rob Wells is leading a Bible study on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Little Chapel by the Lake.  Each session lasts one hour.  The current subject is the Gospel of Matthew.  Wells is using the Jerusalem Bible as his principal study text and commentary.  It is not necessary to have attended any previous sessions to join in.

Little Chapel

The interdenominational congregation of the Little Chapel by the Lake will continue with its regular schedule on Sunday, November 17.

Members will share a refreshment period with the Christ Church Anglican Fellowship at 10:30 a.m. The worship service begins at 11:15 a.m. when  the Rev. Gene Raymer will expand on the message, “Is It Wrong to Do Right?”
Following the service, members of the congregation will meet for lunch at a local restaurant.
The Little Chapel is located just east of the Chula Vista Golf Club and welcomes all Christians to their services.