Monthly Archives: October 2017

From the Rev. Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Pray for Thailand!

Dear Friends,

Our Season of Remembrance begins this Sunday at the end of the week of the funeral of his late Majesty, King Rama IX.  We will pray for Thailand and give thanks for the life of the king, who guided Thailand with such wisdom for so many years.

Our readings for this Sunday are Deuteronomy 34:1-12, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, and Matthew 22:34-46, and we will be singing the hymns The Day Thou Gavest Lord is Ended, Be Still My Soul, Let us Break Bread Together, and Oh Thailand Fair!

These are the words of Oh Thailand Fair:

Words:  Katherine Lee Bates, 1893
/Rev. Iain Baxter, 2017
Tune:    Samuel Augustus Ward, 1882

O beautiful for deep blue skies,
For deep green fields of rice,
For wooded mountain forests fair,
untouched by snow or ice!
Oh Thailand, fair! Oh Thailand, fair!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From Lanna to the sea!

O beautiful for temples, gold,
Brown rivers, wide and slow,
For golden beaches, green-clad isles,
and history’s timeless flow.
Oh Thailand, fair! Oh Thailand, fair!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And every gain divine!

O beautiful for wise royal rule
that gave stability
We pray for just continuing laws,
that Thailand may stay free.
Oh Thailand, fair! Oh Thailand, fair!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for all our dreams
that see beyond the years
When all men shall God’s Kingdom know,
Undimmed by human tears!
Oh Thailand, fair! Oh Thailand, fair!
God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From Lanna to the sea!

Season of Remembrance

On 29th October we will begin our Season of Remembrance at All Saints.  This will include:

Sunday 29th October         11 a.m.
Remembrance of Thailand – in the week of the King’s Funeral

Sunday 5th November      11 a.m.
All Saints Day Service – when we remember all who have died

Saturday 11th November 10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Foreign Cemetery –
Remembering all victims of war

Sunday 12th November    10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Sunday Service at All Saints –
Remembering all victims of war

Sunday 19th November     11 a.m.
Service for Transgender Day of Remembrance

All Saints’ Day

Next week we will celebrate All Saints’ Day.  Our service remembering our loved ones, and the saints who have gone before, will be followed by a potluck lunch!

Remembrance Day

Saturday November 11th is Remembrance Day. I, will be taking the ceremony at the Foreign Cemetery.  This will begin at 10:30 a.m.  Please attend if you can.  The ceremony will be followed by lunch at the Gymkhana Club provided by the British Embassy.

Remembrance Sunday

Our service on Sunday November 12th will begin at 10:30 a.m. to allow us to mark a two minutes silence at 11 a.m.
Please note the earlier time and do not be late!!!!

Pledge Cards

Three weeks ago our treasurer, Richard Murray, introduced the idea of pledge cards to All Saints.  Those who wish to, can fill in a pledge card, pledging how much they wish to give each week or month.  They can choose to give by bank transfer, PayPal via the church website, or through dated envelopes in the weekly offering.

We hope this will help us all to prayerfully consider our giving, and will both increase and stabilise the weekly offering at All Saints, so we can do even more in service of God’s world!

If you don’t know the way to All Saints, directions can be found on the Where and When page.

Most people get to hear about us via the internet or by word of mouth, so please feel free to pass on this email to others.

All are welcome to join us as we share the presence of the risen Jesus in our lives!  We hope to see you soon and that you will enjoy worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From the Rev. Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

What do we owe?

Dear Friends,

This week’s Gospel reading contains the line: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus had just been asked about paying taxes.  The Pharisees wanted to trap him into either telling people not to pay taxes to Rome, therefore leading to his arrest, or telling them that they must pay, and therefore losing credibility as a prophet.   Money is always a tricky issue, both for politicians and the Church.  At All Saints we are introducing pledge cards so that each one of us can be intentional with our giving.  How much do we want to give?  What do we owe to Caesar, and what to God?  See below for more details.

Our readings for this Sunday are Exodus 33:12-23, 1 Thessalonians 1:1-7, and Matthew 22:15-22, and we will be singing the hymns All People that on Earth do Dwell, For the Fruit of All Creation, Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart, and Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken!

The readings can be found via this link !

Pledge Cards

Two weeks ago our treasurer, Richard Murray, introduced the idea of pledge cards to All Saints.  Those who wish to, can fill in a pledge card, pledging how much they wish to give each week or month.  They can choose to give by bank transfer, PayPal via the church website, or through dated envelopes in the weekly offering.

We hope this will help us all to prayerfully consider our giving, and will both increase and stabilise the weekly offering at All Saints, so we can do even more in service of God’s world!

Harvest Festival 

Many thanks to Warren for a wonderful harvest festival at Thung Dong Farm last Sunday.  All went very well, and the weather was variable but good enough!  Thanks too, to Bill for inviting the children from the orphanage where he volunteers.  They helped to make it a special day!

Season of Remembrance

On 29th October we will begin our Season of Remembrance at All Saints.  This will include:

Sunday 29th October         11 a.m.
Remembrance of Thailand – in the week of the King’s Funeral

Sunday 5th November      11 a.m.
All Saints Day Service – when we remember all who have died

Saturday 11th November 10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Foreign Cemetery –
Remembering all victims of war

Sunday 12th November    10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Sunday Service at All Saints –
Remembering all victims of war

Sunday 19th November     11 a.m.
Service for Transgender Day of Remembrance

The 2017 Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

The Prince Royal’s College have confirmed the use of their chapel for our service on Saturday 9th December.  Look forward to a great event to begin the celebration of Christmas!

If you don’t know the way to All Saints, directions can be found on the Where and When page.

Most people get to hear about us via the internet or by word of mouth, so please feel free to pass on this email to others.

All are welcome to join us as we share the presence of the risen Jesus in our lives!  We hope to see you soon and that you will enjoy worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From the Rev. Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

The stunning Thung Dong Farm

NO 11am SERVICE THIS SUNDAY!!!!!

Dear Friends,

This week we will finally celebrate our Harvest Festival of 2017.

This Sunday, 15th October, we will journey together to Thung Dong Farm to celebrate our Harvest Festival Eucharist in the midst of nature. We will leave church at 9:30 a.m.  Do not be late!  There will be two minibuses to transport people and others may also follow in their own cars.

Our Harvest Festival service will be followed by a barbecue.  Please bring salads and desserts to share.  Also, please bring umbrellas and wellington boots in case of rain!  This will be a wonderful opportunity to spend time together in a stunning location and give thanks for God’s provision of nature!

Our readings for this Harvest Sunday are Deuteronomy 8:7-18, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, and Matthew 6:25-33, and we will be singing the hymns Come, Ye Thankful People, Come, For the Fruit of All Creation, Now thank we all our God, and We Plow the Fields and Scatter!

Our Harvest service in 2017

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Theology on Tap

Our next Theology on Tap meeting will be this Friday, 13th October. We will again meet at 7 p.m. at the UN Irish Pub! This week’s topic is “God provides?”  From October we have begun meeting every two weeks. The schedule is on the Theology on Tap page of the AllSaints website.

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Pledge Cards

Last Sunday our treasurer, Richard Murray, introduced the idea of pledge cards to All Saints.  Those who wish to, can fill in a pledge card, pledging how much they wish to give each week or month.  They can choose to give by bank transfer, PayPal via the church website, or through dated envelopes in the weekly offering.

We hope this will help us all to prayerfully consider our giving, and will both increase and stabilise the weekly offering at All Saints, so we can do even more in service of God’s world!

.

Season of Remembrance

On 29th October we will begin our Season of Remembrance at All Saints.  This will include:

Sunday 29th October         11 a.m.
Remembrance of Thailand – in the week of the King’s Funeral

Sunday 5th November      11 a.m.
All Saints Day Service – when we remember all who have died

Saturday 11th November 10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Foreign Cemetery –
Remembering all victims of war

Sunday 12th November    10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Sunday Service at All Saints –
Remembering all victims of war

Sunday 21st November     11 a.m.
Service for Transgender Day of Remembrance

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Join the Choir

Our service of Nine Lessons and Carols will be held on Saturday 9th December.  Lannacapella Choir will be leading the worship.  They would love more singers.  If you would like to join to sing at this event, please see Chris or email her on christinebaw@gmail.com.

If you don’t know the way to All Saints, directions can be found on the Where and When page.

Most people get to hear about us via the internet or by word of mouth, so please feel free to pass on this email to others.

All are welcome to join us as we share the presence of the risen Jesus in our lives!  We hope to see you soon and that you will enjoy worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From the Rev. Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

What can we do?

Dear Friends,

Having seen the terrible carnage wreaked by one man in Las Vegas this week, the most frightening thing is the lack of reaction.  We would expect the reaction “something must be done”, but instead reactions range from “nothing needs to be done” from the gun lobby, to “nothing can be done” from those who advocate gun control but have given up on any political progress.

By coincidence, our Old Testament reading for this Sunday includes the Ten Commandments, including “Thou shalt not kill”, and in our Gospel reading Jesus tells the parable of the wicked tenants, who first kill the owner’s servants and then his son.  As Christians, we believe that only God can make the world a perfect place, but that we are called to work alongside God to change our world, to build God’s kingdom on earth.  Join us this Sunday as we ask the question: what can we do?

Our readings for this Sunday are Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20, Philippians 3:4-14, and Matthew 21:33-46, and we will be singing the hymns Fairest Lord Jesus, To a Place of Celebration, From Heaven You Came, and Let Us Build a House.

The readings can be found via this link !

The Bengali Humanitarian Relief Fund

Last week’s special collection for Rohingya Refugees raised the incredible sum of THB 21,150.  Thank you for all who contributed so generously.  It has been sent to the Mother Child Concern Foundation who are working on the ground in Bangladesh.

Pledge Cards

This Sunday our treasurer, Richard Murray, will be introducing the idea of pledge cards to All Saints.  Those who wish to, can fill in a pledge card, pledging how much they wish to give each week or month.  They can choose to give by bank transfer, PayPal via the church website, or through dated envelopes in the weekly offering.

We hope this will help us all to prayerfully consider our giving, and will both increase and stabilise the weekly offering at All Saints, so we can do even more in service of God’s world!

Harvest Festival – Next Week!

On Sunday 15th October, next week, we will journey together to Thung Dong Farm to celebrate our Harvest Festival Eucharist in the midst of nature. We will leave church at 9:30 a.m.  This will be followed by a barbecue, please bring salads and deserts to share. There will be a sign-up sheet at the back of the church. Please sign-up this week if you intend to come!

Season of Remembrance

On 29th October we will begin our Season of Remembrance at All Saints.  This will include:

Sunday 29th October         11 a.m.
Remembrance of Thailand – in the week of the King’s Funeral

Sunday 5th November      11 a.m.
All Saints Day Service – when we remember all who have died

Saturday 11th November 10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Foreign Cemetery –
Remembering all victims of war

Sunday 12th November    10:30 a.m.
Remembrance Sunday Service at All Saints –
Remembering all victims of war

Sunday 19th November     11 a.m.
Service for Transgender Day of Remembrance

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Join the Choir

Our service of Nine Lessons and Carols will be held on Saturday 9th December.  Lannacapella Choir will be leading the worship.  They would love more singers.  If you would like to join to sing at this event, please see Chris or email her on christinebaw@gmail.com.

If you don’t know the way to All Saints, directions can be found on the Where and When page.

Most people get to hear about us via the internet or by word of mouth, so please feel free to pass on this email to others.

All are welcome to join us as we share the presence of the risen Jesus in our lives!  We hope to see you soon and that you will enjoy worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain