Monthly Archives: February 2021

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Ash Wednesday 2021

Dear Friends,

This Sunday we will have our Annual General Meeting, ratify our new 2021 Constitution, and elect four Church Council members. These may not seem very exciting events, but they are!  They set the governance and way-forward for All Saints for the next number of years!

If you are a member you should have received your online voting form on Monday.  Please vote, even if you are 100% happy with the choices, 100% unhappy with the choices, or feel your view is not important and others can decide.  We need your vote to ensure we have a sufficient voting quorum!

Last Sunday’s “Town Hall” Meeting

Lent has just begun, but Easter is coming.  It will be an exciting time of celebrating the life of Jesus and his death and resurrection.  Don’t forget – last year we were confined to our homes and worshipping on Zoom! Plans are not completely finalized, but there should be four services over the Easter period on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday!  More details to follow!

We remain faithful to God, for God is faithful to all!

Our scripture readings for Sunday will be Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16,  Romans 4:13-25, and Mark 8:31-38, and our hymns will be The God of Abraham Praise, Men of Faith, Be Still for the Presence of the Lord, and Onward, Christian People.

Video of last week’s service can soon be viewed via the Audio-Visual page of the church website!

Ash Wednesday Service
Last Wednesday’s service was a moving time for all who attended!

Our congregational AGM is this Sunday, 28th February, where we will formally ratify out new constitution and elect Council members.

Copies of the constitution have been sent to people on the membership list of All Saints and were also available in church last Sunday. In addition, we had a “Town Hall” meeting following the service last Sunday so that people could ask questions about the new constitution before voting on it. 

The relevant documents are also available here:

Final revised 2021 Constitution
Notes on the formulation of All Saints 2021 Constitution
All Saints Mission, Values, and Vision Statements

Events Timeline:

Sunday 14^th February 
Distribution of documents

Sunday 21^st February 
Town Hall Meeting to answer questions on the 2021 constitution

22^nd – 27^th February                     
Online voting on Constitution and for Council Members

Sunday 28^th February                  
Annual General Meeting
Formal Ratification of 2021 Constitution
Church Reports
In person voting for Council Members
Adoption of budget for 2021

New Council Members

There were only four nominations for the four elected Church Council positions:

  Bill Moeller
  Helga Spring
  Chris Tananone
  Hannah Alexander-Herrick

Members are now voting whether to confirm these nominations.

Lent Groups –  Anglican 101

These are held on Tuesday evenings at Mark and Christa’s home, and Wednesday afternoons at the Gymkhana Club.

The theme is not designed to convert people to one particular Christian tradition, but it will be a time for all of us to share from our traditions and get to know where we all come from.  There will be time for sharing and prayer, too!  Last Tuesday, the best part was the general discussion after the “Anglican” part!  

Next week’s topic:  Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and authority. – Who does what and why?

The Youth Charity Foundation – Welcome Back!

Last Saturday, YCF hosted a Welcome Back event for me and one of their teachers.  It was good to see their smiling faces once again.  Bill Moeller and Mee, and Ratcha and I, attended from All Saints.

I am meeting with their Director, Khun Tasnee, on Friday to discuss maybe starting a children’s choir with the children of YCF to help lead our worship at All Saints.  Please pray about this venture.

Movie Time – Postcards from Babylon!

Next Sunday, there will be a showing of the movie Postcards from Babylon at 5 p.m. at the MCC office.

Postcards From Babylon is a documentary featuring author and pastor Brian Zahnd as he investigates possibly the most important question for the church in North America today, a church often characterized by Christian Nationalism: How does the church stay faithful to the beautiful way of Jesus while situated in one of the most divisive political climates in our nation’s history?  

Following the film, a discussion panel including Brian Zahnd, Shane Claiborne, Lisa Sharon Harper, Kristin Du Mez, Keith Giles, Peter Wehner, and filmmakers David & Kathi Peters will delve further into its themes and where we can go from here.

All are welcome – bring snacks to share!

Wednesday Lunch

Lunch – last Wednesday!
Our lunch will continue next Wednesday!  I am looking forward to being there again!  Why not come along?   (You don’t need to be a member of the Gymkhana Club to attend!) 

Weekly Offering to All Saints

You can still donate online, or place your money in the basket during the service.


Thank you for your support and love for All Saints and all we are trying to do together.

God bless,

Father Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

Lent is here once again.  When we began Lent 2020, Covid-19 was a little-known virus still mostly confined to China.  But I only made the first two Sundays of Lent before flying off to the UK, and All Saints had one more Lenten service before moving on to Zoom!

This year, at least in Thailand, Lent should be more normal and we should be able to celebrate Easter together in the church! This last year has seen people around the world give up so much in order to keep others safe.  In many parts of the world, people are still largely confined to their homes. In this context, it is interesting to ask what we should give up for Lent this year, or should we instead give thanks for all that we don’t have to give up?

Why not join one of the Lent Groups – we are lucky that we can!

At Worship Last Sunday!
Our scripture readings for Ash Wednesday will be Isaiah 58:1-12 and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21, and our hymns will be Abide with Me, O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go, and The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended.

And our scripture readings for Sunday will be Genesis 9:8-17, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Mark 1:9-15, and our hymns will be Before the Throne of God Above, Forty Days and Forty Nights, For the Bread Which You Have Broken, and At the Name of Jesus!

Video of last week’s service can soon be viewed via the Audio-Visual page of the church website!

Lent Groups –  Anglican 101

These will be on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday afternoons at Mark and Christa’s home and the Gymkhana Club.

The course is not designed to convert people to one particular Christian tradition, but it will be a time for all of us to share from our traditions and get to know where we all come from.  There will be time for sharing and prayer, too!  The five sessions are:

  Henry VIII, and all those wives. – How it all began?
  Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and authority. – Who does what and why?
  Liturgy and Sacraments. – How we worship and encounter God.
  Bells and Chasubles. – Symbols and Ceremony.
  Hidden Anglicanism. – The theology beneath it all.

Pancake Sunday – Last Sunday!

Thanks to all who made this such a great event – especially to Rebecca and Blaine, and Arthur and Phyliss, for hosting! 


Ash Wednesday

We had a special Ash Wednesday Service at 7 p.m. on 17th February.  This included the imposition of ashes. 

Our congregational AGM is on Sunday 28th February, where we will formally ratify out new constitution and elect Council members. Copies of the constitution have been sent to people on the membership list of All Saints and were also available in church last Sunday.

In addition, we will have a “Town Hall” meeting following the service this coming Sunday, 21st February, so that people can ask questions about the new constitution before voting on it the following week. Members will be able to vote by paper ballot or electronically.

The relevant documents are also available here:

All Saints Church Constitution 2021
Notes on the formulation of All Saints 2021 Constitution
All Saints Mission, Values, and Vision Statements

Events Timeline:

Sunday 14^th February: Distribution of documents

Sunday 21^st February: Town Hall Meeting to answer questions on the 2021 constitution

22^nd – 27^th February: Online voting on Constitution and for Council Members

Sunday 28^th February:  Annual General Meeting, Formal Ratification of 2021 Constitution, Church Reports, In person voting for Council Members, Adoption of budget for 2021

New Council Members

Assuming the new constitution is approved, we will need to elect four people to serve on the new Church Council.  Are you interested, or would you like to nominate someone?  Each candidate will need to be nominated by two other church members and be a member themself.

Nomination forms will be available in church this Sunday.  The timeline is tight, so you will need to fill them in and submit them this week, as online voting will begin the following day!

Wednesday Lunch

Lunch!
Our lunch will be on Wednesday!  I am looking forward to being there again!  Why not come along?   (You don’t need to be a member of the Gymkhana Club to attend!) 

Weekly Offering to All Saints

You can still donate online, or place your money in the basket during the service.


Thank you for your support and love for All Saints and all we are trying to do together.

God bless,

Father Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

It was wonderful to be back home at All Saints last Sunday.  Thanks for the warm welcome from so many people!

This week our New Testament passage recalls Paul’s words to the Corinthians where he talks of having become “all things, to all men”, not meaning that he has compromised his beliefs but that he is prepared to communicate in any culture for the sake of the Gospel.

At All Saints we define ourselves as a Christ-centred, inclusive liturgical community for all people, and that is who we are.   In Article 1 of our new draft constitution we state: 

Saints Church is a welcoming and inclusive worship community that accepts everyone no matter their age, gender, race, sexuality, or theology. Worship follows the Anglican liturgy – also drawing on the heritage of the Lutheran, Catholic, Orthodox and Presbyterian Churches amongst others.

We are a gathered people, drawn from many nations and many traditions, but we worship in the Anglican tradition, and I would like to unpack a little more of what it means to be Anglican in this week’s sermon.

In the footsteps of Paul, we wish to cross cultures as a church in order to communicate the Gospel, but also like Paul we need to come with a good idea of who we are!
 Our scripture readings for this Sunday will be Isaiah 40:27-31, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, and Mark 1:29-39, and our hymns will bePraise to the Lord the Almighty, Called as Partners in Christ’s Service, What shall I do my God to love?, and When in our Music God is Glorified.

Video of last week’s service can soon be viewed via the Audio-Visual page of the church website!

Father Iain’s Return

Lunch at The Nest last Friday in Chiang Dao
Thanks again for the great welcome back.  It was a busy week, but great to reconnect with so many good friends!

I feel very blessed!

First Hundred Days

It is really great to be back!  I have a list of ten things I want us to do in my first hundred days back – or from Candlemas to Pentecost!

Of course, some can be done relatively easily, and others can only just be started, and others may not get started at all in the next 100 days, but these are some of the things I would like us to do!  And some of them will definitely get done!

1    Complete New Constitution
2    Hold new Council Elections
3    Appoint New Treasurer
4    Open New Bank Account
5    Restart Foundation Application
6    Start Children’s Choir
7    Reform Lent Liturgy and
         Hold Lent Discussion Groups
8   Ordination to Supervising Pastor
9   Look for New Building Possibilities
10 Commission New Altar and Lectern

Pancake Sunday

On Sunday 14th February we will have a pancake potluck as we prepare for the beginning of Lent.  See Rebecca about what to bring!


Ash Wednesday

We will have a special Ash Wednesday Service at 7 p.m. on Wednesday 17th February.  This will include the imposition of ashes.

Congregational Annual General Meeting

The Trustees and others, have been working hard to produce a new constitution for All Saints which will include the election of a new Church Council.  This is nearly complete, and we hope to have a congregational AGM in February or early March to approve this document and elect Council members.

More information soon!

Wednesday Lunch

Lunch!
Our lunch will be on next week!  I am looking forward to being there again!  Why not come along?   (You don’t need to be a member of the Gymkhana Club to attend!) 

Weekly Offering to All Saints

You can still donate online, or place your money in the basket during the service.

God bless,

Father Iain