From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai
Jufil and Shem helping at at our 2017 Christmas Lunch
LOW SERVICE AND POTLUCK THIS SUNDAY
Dear Friends,
One of the things I love about my Filipino friends is how they seem to delight in giving service with a smile. Thailand is called the land of smiles, and I love the friendly smiles I get in the street here when you catch someone’s eye, but people from the Philippines really seem to delight in service!
That is the call on all of us as Christians. In this week’s Gospel reading Jesus says: “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Our lives are called upon to be lives of service, and as I remember my dad, I cannot help but be inspired, for that is the life he led! How much more is the life of Jesus a life of service for us to follow?
Low Service
This Sunday we will be having a special “low service”. Many of our congregation come from non-Anglican or non-Catholic backgrounds. Some are Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, or Quaker.
This week we will worship without candles, bells, and vestments, but in simplicity before God. It will be a stately and reverent service, in the Anglican tradition, which I hope will be a sign of welcome to those in our congregation who are from a less liturgical tradition. It will not become our regular mode of worship, but possibly, once a month, we would have such a service.
I will not be wearing vestments for the service, but will be wearing black clericals and a stole. Our worship will continue to be led by the organ and we will sing our usual traditional hymns, but will be using a said liturgy from the Book of Common Prayer rather than a sung liturgy.
If this receives positive feedback, then we may have a similar service each third Sunday of the month, although not in November or December due to our Season of Remembrance and then Christmas! Normal service will be resumed the following week!
This week we will also have a Potluck to celebrate the 40th Wedding Anniversary of the Wards! Congratulations, Pat and Julia! Please all bring food to share!
Our scripture readings this week will be Hebrews 5:1-10 and Mark 10:35-45, and we will be singing the hymns Let Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah, There’s a Spirit in the Air, O Jesus I have Promised, Take My Life and Let it Be, and Born in Song!
The readings can be found via this link and past services and sermons can be viewed via the All Saints audio-visual page!
If you don’t know the way to All Saints, directions can be found on the Where and When page.
Season of Remembrance
November will again be our Season of Remembrance. Each Sunday will have a different emphasis.
Remembrance Day will mark the hundredth anniversary of the end of the First World War, and this year falls on a Sunday. All Saints’ regular Sunday service will begin at 9:30 a.m. to enable those who wish to attend the ceremony at the Foreign Cemetery to do so.
Sunday 4th November 11 a.m.
All Saints Day Service
– when we remember all those who have died
Sunday 11th November 9:30 a.m.
Remembrance Sunday Service
– at All Saints remembering all victims of war
Sunday 11th November 10:45 a.m.
Remembrance Sunday Ceremony
– at the Foreign Cemetery
Sunday 18th November 11 a.m.
Transgender Day of Remembrance
Sunday 25th November 11 a.m.
Thanksgiving – Remembering the Earth
Festival of Carols 2018
We now have a place and date for our 2018 Festival of Carols. (Renamed from Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols as there may not be nine, and people don’t know what lessons means, and also as we will vary a little from the exact format used previously!)
We will gather at 7 p.m. on Saturday 15th December in the Chiang Mai Christian School Chapel. This was the original First Church, and is the oldest church building in Chiang Mai! It sits on the banks of the Ping River just down from the Nawarat Bridge. The event will be in aid of the Youth Charity Foundation – the orphanage we hosted at our Harvest Festival on the farm.
Put the event in your diary now, and if you like singing why not join the Lannacapella Choir? They meet at All Saints at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, and have begun rehearsals for the Christmas event. Contact Chris on christinebaw@gmail.com if you would like to join!
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
All Saints' Chiang Mai 