Earlier this week Relay Trust had the pleasure of welcoming Archbishop Miguel Uchôa from Brazil for a short but encouraging visit. It was a time of conversation, prayer and shared vision. Though much of our work focuses on Africa, this meeting reminded us that God is raising up faithful Anglican witness in many different places around the world.
Archbishop Miguel leads the Anglican Church in Brazil, a young but growing church that was formed in 2005. Today it consists of three dioceses spread across the country. Alongside his role as Archbishop he also serves as the Bishop of Recife in north eastern Brazil.
One of the most fascinating features of this church is its commitment to what you could call indigenous Anglicanism, shaping the church to meet the congregation in its own context. The aim is simple to be both truly Anglican and authentically Brazilian. The church holds firmly to historic Anglican distinctives while expressing its life and worship within the culture and language of Brazil.
A striking example of this vision is the Archbishop’s own cathedral, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Recife. The building once served as a nightclub. Today it has been transformed into a place of worship and teaching. What once hosted nightlife now hosts prayer, preaching, and the gathering of God’s people. In many ways the building reflects the church’s wider mission to see lives renewed by the gospel.
Archbishop Miguel was accompanied on his visit by his wife, Pastor Juliane, and by Pastor Gabriel. Their time with us was marked by warmth, encouragement, and a shared desire to see the Church equipped for faithful mission in the modern world.
Much of the conversation centred on the growing partnership connected to the Estímulo project in Brazil.
This initiative brings together three different strands. Estímulo provides proven entrepreneurship training that has already supported thousands of small business owners across Brazil through short practical lessons and mentoring. Alongside this, the Anglican Church in Brazil contributes biblical teaching on stewardship, vocation, and Christian discipleship. Relay Trust helps connect and support these streams so that the programme remains transparent, sustainable, and rooted in the life of the Church.
The vision is to equip entrepreneurs who often struggle to access credit or training elsewhere. Participants receive practical business tools while also exploring what it means to follow Christ in everyday work and financial life. By combining best practice from the business world with faithful biblical teaching, the programme seeks to raise up leaders marked not only by skill but also by integrity and generosity.
This work also forms part of the Relay Trust’s wider effort to strengthen the developing Anglican church in Africa and beyond. Healthy churches need well trained clergy, but they also need confident lay leaders, workers, and entrepreneurs who live out their faith in the marketplace. When churches help equip people for everyday life, the whole community can flourish.
Brazil is becoming an important testing ground for this approach. If successful, the model may in time be shared with partner churches in Africa, with Angola a likely next step.
Though still early, the signs are encouraging. We give thanks for Archbishop Miguel’s leadership and for the growing collaboration between church and community development partners.
Please pray for the Anglican Church in Brazil and for Archbishop Miguel, Pastor Juliane, and Pastor Gabriel. Pray also for the entrepreneurs preparing to take part in the training, many of whom face significant economic challenges. And please pray that the lessons being learnt in Brazil may one day help strengthen churches and communities in Angola and across Africa.
