Monthly Archives: August 2018

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Harvest Festival on the farm – October 2015

Dear Friends,

How did you read this week’s title?  Live now, meaning we should live in the present, or live now, meaning it is happening now, at this very minute: live on TV?  Sometimes we are so taken up with watching live events – sports, concerts, politics, disasters and crisis – that we fail to live in the now ourselves.

Our 2018 Harvest Festival is coming up in two weeks, and the picture above shows some of the younger people of All Saints at the harvest festival in 2015.  They have all grown, almost beyond recognition, and two are now back in the States.  Children have the blessing of living in the moment.  They want things now, because now is the only time they know.  That can be good and bad, but most of us adults have the opposite problem.  So often we are so much longing for that future event, that new job opportunity, that holiday, that new relationship, that retirement, that we fail to live in the moment.  In doing so we can fail to live at all.

Living in the Now!

I am excited about the new possibilities at All Saints: a new building, a registered foundation, new opportunities for work and service, but I have realised that it has been leading me away from the joy of living in what God has given now.

Counting the congregation is useful, as it gives us an indication of how we are growing, but it can lead us into the false idea that things will be so much better in the future when we have more people.  Likewise, the desire for a new building can remove our focus from worshipping God where we are now, and it is God we worship not the building, or even the people.

We will never get to the future, for when we do get there, it will no longer be the future, but simply more now.  Now is that time that God has given us.  Let us be thankful now, and really live each day that God has given us.

Our scripture readings this Sunday will be Song of Solomon 2:8-13, James 1:17-27, and Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, and we will be singing the hymns All Creatures of our God and King, O Thou Who Camest from Above, Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent, and Oh for a thousand Tongues to Sing!  The readings can be found via this link and the sermons from Sunday 12th and Sunday 18th August can now be viewed via the All Saints audio-visual page!

Harvest Festival

As mentioned above, our Harvest Festival will be on Sunday 16th September!   We will again have the great blessing of meeting amongst the animals and nature at Thung Dong Farm.

September is early for Americans, who celebrate Thanksgiving at the end of November, and quite early for Canadians, who celebrate at the end of October, but it is the normal time for English harvest festivals.  In any case, our date has been chosen as it is the only time the farm is available in the next three months!

We hope once again to be joined by children from the Youth Charity Foundation orphanage.

Cars will leave All Saints at 9:30 a.m., arriving on the farm around 10:45 a.m.   The service will begin around 11:30 a.m., and we will share in a potluck lunch at around 12:45 p.m.  (Please bring lots of food to share!)

In the afternoon we will have a chance to tour the farm, play games, or just relax.

There will be tea and refreshments around 3:30 p.m. and then we plan to leave the farm at around 4 p.m.

We should arrive back at the church by about 5 p.m.

All are welcome, but please sign-up or email me to say you are coming!

All Saints Hymnal

The draft of the All Saints Hymnal is now complete including most of the hymns we have sung regularly over the last five years.  I have now to add in the new suggestions you have submitted!

Please let me have any other ideas as soon as possible, or you will miss this chance to help develop our worship at All Saints!

All Saints’ Trustees Meeting

The next meeting of the All Saints Trustees will be on Monday 3rd September at 6 p.m.

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 worshipping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Who is Jesus?

Dear Friends,

In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’

Jesus had lost many supporters and followers after he spoke of eating his flesh and drinking his blood.  (See my sermon from last week.)  He then questions his disciples: will they leave too?  Suddenly, it’s about more than following a good teacher, it’s about knowing and acknowledging the Holy One of God!

Who do you think Jesus was?  Who do you think Jesus is?  That is what we will be considering this week at All Saints.

Our scripture readings this Sunday will be Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18, Ephesians 6:10-20, and John 6:56-69, and we will be singing the hymns Awake My Soul and with the Sun, In Christ alone my hope is Found, Be Thou My Vision, and Onward Christian People!  The readings can be found via this link and the sermons from Sunday 12th and Sunday 18th August can now be viewed via the All Saints audio-visual page!

Funeral of Father Ian Cragg

Some of you will remember Father Ian Cragg, who attended All Saints from 2014-16.  He died earlier this week, and his funeral will be tomorrow (Thursday) at 10 am at the Chiang Mai Foreign Cemetery.  Please join us if you can.  May he rest in peace!

Harvest Festival

We are planning our annual harvest festival, hopefully for Sunday 16th September!  Watch this space for confirmation and more details.

All Saints Hymnal

The draft of the All Saints Hymnal is now complete including most of the hymns we have sung regularly over the last five years.  I have now to add in the new suggestions you have submitted! Please let me have any other ideas as soon as possible, or you will miss this chance to help develop our worship at All Saints!

All Saints’ Trustees Meeting

The next meeting of the All Saints Trustees will be on Monday 3rd September at 6 p.m.

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 worshipping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus says “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”  What did he mean?  Why did so many of his contemporaries misunderstand his meaning, and what does it mean to us?

Our scripture readings this week will be Proverbs 9:1-6, Ephesians 5:15-20, John 6:51-58, and we will be singing the hymns Alleluia SIng to Jesus, I have decided to follow Jesus, Jesus calls us o’er the tumult, and All my hope on God is founded!  The readings can be found via this link and past services can be viewed via the All Saints audio-visual page!

Theology on Tap – Tomorrow Night

Theology on Tap will restart this week!  We will meet on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the UN Irish Pub.  This is a great opportunity to have a drink, or a meal, and have an open conversation about some aspect of Christian theology.

This week we will talk about salvation.  What is it, and what does it mean to you?  No previous knowledge is required, just come with your eyes open and your brain engaged!  No view is too strange or too simple!  All are very welcome!

All Saints Hymnal

The draft of the All Saints Hymnal is now complete including most of the hymns we have sung regularly over the last five years.  I have now to add in the new suggestions you have submitted!  Please let me have any other ideas as soon as possible, or you will miss this chance to help develop our worship at All Saints!

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 worshipping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

Anger is a very natural and human emotion.  Jesus was angry at times when faced with hypocrisy and injustice, and anger isn’t necessarily always wrong.  But in this week’s epistle, Paul writes “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger…”  What does this mean to us?  How should we handle anger and how do we keep loving, even in the midst of anger and injustice?

Our scripture readings this week will be 1 Kings 19:4-8, Ephesians 4:25-5:2, and John 6:35, 41-51, and we will be singing the hymns When Morning Gilds the Skies, I am the Bread of Life, One Bread One Body, and When in our Music God is Glorified!

The readings can be found via this link and past services can be viewed via the All Saints audio-visual page!

Theology on Tap

Theology on Tap will restart next week!  We will meet on Friday 17th August at 7 p.m. at the UN Irish Pub.  This is a great opportunity to have a drink, or a meal, and have an open conversation about some aspect of Christian theology.  No previous knowledge is required, just come with your eyes open and your brain engaged!  No view is too strange or too simple!  All are very welcome!

All Saints Hymnal

The draft of the All Saints Hymnal is now complete including most of the hymns we have sung regularly over the last five years.  I have now to add in the new suggestions you have submitted!

Please let me have any other ideas as soon as possible, or you will miss this chance to help develop our worship at All Saints!

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 worshipping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

The essentials for life?

Dear Friends,

It’s great to be back in Chiang Mai.  After a much-needed break, I am back in the saddle and raring to go!  Lots of things are happening, and this should be an exciting year at All Saints!  Many thanks to Mark, Nate, Herb, Gene, and many others, for making everything run so smoothly in my absence!

In Philippians 4:19 Paul writes: My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory.  But what does that mean?  What are our needs?  And will God really supply them?

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, at the most basic level we all need air, water, food, sleep, clothing, and shelter.  He defines these as Physiological Needs.  Other needs, less basic but still necessary, are arranged in a pyramid.  At the top he places self-actualization, that feeling of being who we were meant to be, as Christians we would say being the person God created us to be.

Which ones of these will God provide?

Well, Paul says that God will supply all your need!  We will look at how this can be, this Sunday!

Our scripture readings this week will be Exodus 16:9-15, Ephesians 4:1-16, and John 6:24-35, and we will be singing the hymns All for Jesus, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Take My Life and Let it Be, and Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah!  The readings can be found via this link and past services can be viewed via the All Saints audio-visual page!

All Saints Chiang Mai Mission

Last Friday the documents were submitted to register All Saints Chiang Mai Mission as a UK charity.  This will enable All Saints to recover tax paid by UK donors and provide further accountability and oversight for the work of All Saints.

Work on registering All Saints as a Thai Foundation will begin soon!

Theology on Tap

Theology on Tap will restart this month!  We will meet on Friday 17th August at 7 p.m. at the UN Irish Pub.  This is a great opportunity to have a drink, or a meal, and have an open conversation about some aspect of Christian theology.  No previous knowledge is required, just come with your eyes open and your brain engaged!  No view is too strange or too simple!  All are very welcome!

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 worshipping with us,

God bless,

Iain