Monthly Archives: August 2021

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Rev. Dr. Gene Bourquin will preach this week!

CHURCH BEGINS AT 10:30 THIS SUNDAY!
Dear Friends,

This week our service will again begin at the new time of 10:30 a.m.  Those who don’t wish to gather in person can join us on Zoom.

Use this link to join this Sunday on Zoom at 10:30 a.m.
Meeting ID: 548 801 501

This Sunday, Gene will be preaching on the topic of the Action not Words. We have a hope in Christ, not just for ourselves but for the whole world, but this should prompt us into action!  In this time which sees such darkness in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, and so many other places, we have a hope for the world to share, and we must act when we can!

Our scripture readings for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity will be from Song of Solomon 2:8-13, James 1:17-27, and Mark 7:1-23, and we will be singing the hymns Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun, Be Doers of the Word of God, Called as Partners in Christ’s Service, and Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah!

Last week’s Full Worship Service can be viewed here!  This was a Zoom recording and so the sound and picture is not of the usual quality.

Our hope in the Lord!

Covid-19 in Chiang Mai

The recorded infection level in Chiang Mai has dropped as low as 16 for the last two days.  Pray that this trend continues and that things may soon be able to fully open up again. Also, please pray for the continuing vaccination programme in the city.  Most of the older people at All Saints have now been able to receive at least one vaccination, but there is still some way to go before all are vaccinated.

Pray for Afghanistan!

As people continue to flee to the airport in Kabul, please hold the whole nation in your prayers.  Remembering especially those known to us and those who were working as partners with MCC. The situation is dire now, and many people just want to get out!  Let us pray as we can and do what we can to help!

Baptisms – last Sunday

 My friend, Pastor Nut, who is only eighteen, performed two baptisms last Sunday in Samut Prakan.  He has a ministry to LGBT people and others. Please hold him, and the mother and son he baptised, in your prayers.

Tuesday Morning Prayer Meeting

We had our fourth Tuesday Morning Prayer Meeting this week via Zoom.  This will be a weekly event at 9 a.m. each Tuesday.  Put it on your calendar so you don’t forget!

Use this link to join us!

If you would like us to pray for something or would like your prayer request shared with the email prayer group, please email helgaspring9@gmail.com If you would like to join the group but can’t make 9 a.m. on Tuesdays, let me know!

Wednesday Lunch 

Some of last week’s lunch group

The lunch at the Gymkhana Club continues.  Please join us at midday on Wednesday.  All are welcome – you don’t have to be a club member!


Masks are Biblical!



Some people have tried to object to mask-wearing on religious grounds!  For Christians we only have to read Leviticus 13:45-46 to know that if we are sick, or may be a risk to others, we should wear a mask!

Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face and cry out, “Unclean! Unclean!” As long as they have the disease they remain unclean.
                                               Leviticus 13:45-46

Of course, we shouldn’t take verses out of context – but sometimes we can!!!!  🙂

Weekly Offering to All Saints

You can still donate in person or online.  Thank you for your support and love for All Saints and all we are trying to do together.  God has shown that he is mighty and we are in his hands!

God bless,

Father Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

CHURCH BEGINS AT 10:30 THIS SUNDAY!
Dear Friends,

This week our service will again begin at the new time of 10:30 a.m.  Those who don’t wish to gather in person can join us on Zoom.

Use this link to join this Sunday on Zoom at 10:30 a.m.
Meeting ID: 548 801 501

This Sunday, Mark will be preaching on the topic of the Hope of God. We have a hope in Christ, not just for ourselves but for the whole world.  In this time which sees such darkness in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, and so many other places, we have a hope for the world to share.

Our scripture readings for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity will be from 1 Kings 8, Ephesians 6:10-20, and John 6:56-69, and we will be singing the hymns Awake My Soul and with the Sun, Blessed Assurance, Be Still for the Presence of the Lord, and All My Hope on God Is Founded!

Last week’s Full Worship Service can be viewed here!  This was a Zoom recording and so the sound and picture is not of the usual quality.

The Wisdom of God!

Trip to Bangkok

I successfully picked my mum up from quarantine in Bangkok last Sunday.  Thank you for all your prayers. She is now with me in Chiang Mai and should be at church on Sunday.  Meanwhile, I have to self-isolate for two weeks, and so am working from home. I will be back at church on the 29th August.

10:30 a.m. start – this Sunday!

From August 1st our morning worship has begun at 10:30 a.m.  (Don’t worry if you forget – you’ll just be there early!)

Pray for Afghanistan!

We have many people at All Saints working with the Mennonite Central Committee aid agency.  MCC has been working in Afghanistan for many years.

Blaine writes:

We continue to monitor the situation very closely, and are keeping in contact with our expat staff and our Afghan staff.  We are somewhat relieved because our expat staff have been able to leave Afghanistan and now are in Uzbekistan. 
 
We are very concerned about our Afghan staff that have worked with us and remain in Afghanistan.  There is real anxiety among some of our partners which we are in contact with concerning their safety and future.  We have one partner that has done a lot of Peacebuilding training activities, and another three partners that have worked with Women’s literacy and vocational skills – All of these are in Kabul.  We have another partner in Herat that works with mental health.

Please hold all these people and situations in your prayers!

Pray for Myanmar

Karenni people fleeing their homes

We have sent another THB10,000 to help with the situation in Myanmar.  This is being used to purchase medical supplies for Karenni people.  It is estimated that 50% of the Karenni population have been internally displaced to camps along the Thai-Burmese border. There are reports of random shootings and the targeted shelling of churches by the Burmese military.

Please hold them, and all of Myanmar in your prayers.

Baptisms – this Sunday

My friend, Pastor Nut, who is only eighteen, will be performing three baptisms this Sunday in Samut Prakan.  He has a ministry to LGBT people and others. Please hold them in your prayers.

Email Prayer Group

“The prayer of a righteous one is powerful and effective.”

Would you like us to pray for you or something or someone you are concerned about?

We have started an email prayer group.  Simply email your request to Helga at helgaspring9@gmail.com and it will be shared with the people on our praying list. If you would like to be one of the pray-ers.  Then also email the same address to be added to the list.  You will then be forwarded prayer requests as they arrive.

Tuesday Morning Prayer Meeting

We had our third Tuesday Morning Prayer Meeting this week via Zoom.  This will be a weekly event at 9 a.m. each Tuesday.  Put it on your calendar so you don’t forget! Use this link to join us! If you would like us to pray for something or would like your prayer request shared with the email prayer group, please email helgaspring9@gmail.com

Wednesday Lunch – Restarts!

Although the pandemic is far from over, the number of cases in Chiang Mai seems fairly static and people are still allowed to eat in restaurants, both inside and outside.  It is therefore relatively safe to eat outside at the Gymkhana Club. We will therefore be meeting again at midday next Wednesday.

Weekly Offering to All Saints
You can still donate in person or online.  Thank you for your support and love for All Saints and all we are trying to do together.  God has shown that he is mighty and we are in his hands!

God bless,

Father Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

CHURCH BEGINS AT 10:30 THIS SUNDAY!
Dear Friends,

This week our service will again begin at the new time of 10:30 a.m.  Those who don’t wish to gather in person can join us on Zoom.

Use this link to join this Sunday on Zoom at 10:30 a.m.
Meeting ID: 548 801 501

This Sunday, Christa will be preaching on the topic of the Wisdom of God.  We have a wise and loving God and we know that we, and ultimately the whole world, are safe in God’s hands.   But the wisdom of God is not the wisdom of the World!

Our scripture readings for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity will be from 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14, Ephesians 5:15-20, and John 6:51-58, and we will be singing the hymns Immortal Invisible God only Wise, When we walk with the Lord, Let us Break Bread Together, and Christ Be Our Light!

Last week’s Full Worship Service can be viewed here!  This was a Zoom recording and so the sound and picture is not of the usual quality.

Jesus is the Bread of Life!

Trip to Bangkok

My mum will finish her two week quarantine this Sunday.  As there are currently no domestic flights, on Saturday I will drive down to Bangkok to pick her up, and on Sunday we will return to Chiang Mai. Please pray for safe journeying and that there will be no problems. Thanks to Pat and Julia Ward for letting me stay in their Bangkok apartment on Saturday night!

I will then have to self-isolate and work from home for two weeks, so I will only be able to join on Zoom for the next Sunday.   (My mum will be free to go out though!)

10:30 a.m. start – this Sunday!

From August 1st our morning worship has begun at 10:30 a.m.  (Don’t worry if you forget – you’ll just be there early!)

Email Prayer Group

“The prayer of a righteous one is powerful and effective.”

Would you like us to pray for you or something or someone you are concerned about?

We have started an email prayer group.  Simply email your request to Helga at helgaspring9@gmail.com and it will be shared with the people on our praying list. If you would like to be one of the pray-ers.  Then also email the same address to be added to the list.  You will then be forwarded prayer requests as they arrive.

Tuesday Morning Prayer Meeting

We had our second Tuesday Morning Prayer Meeting this week via Zoom.  This will be a weekly event at 9 a.m. each Tuesday. Use this link to join us!

If you would like us to pray for something or would like your prayer request shared with the email prayer group, please email helgaspring9@gmail.com

Wednesday Lunch – Restarts!

Although the pandemic is far from over, the number of cases in Chiang Mai seems fairly static and people are still allowed to eat in restaurants, both inside and outside.  It is therefore relatively safe to eat outside at the Gymkhana Club. We will therefore be meeting again at midday next Wednesday.

Weekly Offering to All Saints
You can still donate in person or online.  Thank you for your support and love for All Saints and all we are trying to do together.  God has shown that he is mighty and we are in his hands!

God bless,

Father Iain

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

CHURCH BEGINS AT 10:30 THIS SUNDAY!
Dear Friends,

This week our service will again begin at the new time of 10:30 a.m.  Those who don’t wish to gather in person can join us on Zoom.

Use this link to join this Sunday on Zoom at 10:30 a.m.
Meeting ID: 548 801 501

In this week’s reading, Jesus proclaims himself the Bread of Life.  That’s OK, we are familiar with it and we like metaphors.  But Jesus took it further.  He said:

‘Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.  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.

These are challenging words, and they were for his first listeners for the text says “Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him.”

This is part of where the church gets the idea of sacraments from.  It is more than just a memorial – it is God in action commanding us to “take, eat”! Metaphors are good, but sacraments are more powerful, for God is with us and Christ is risen!

Our scripture readings for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity will be from 2 Samuel 18:5-33, Ephesians 4:25-5:2, and John 6:35, 41-51, and we will be singing the hymns For All the Saints, I am the Bread of Life, Thou Who at Thy First Eucharist, and King of Kings Majesty!

Last Sunday’s Sermon and Readings
Or the Full Worship Service can be viewed here!

Forgiveness for All!

10:30 a.m. start – this Sunday!

From August 1st our morning worship has begun at 10:30 a.m.  (Don’t worry if you forget – you’ll just be there early!)

Email Prayer Group

“The prayer of a righteous one is powerful and effective.”

Would you like us to pray for you or something or someone you are concerned about? We are starting an email prayer group.  Simply email your request to Helga at helgaspring9@gmail.com and it will be shared with the people on our praying list.

If you would like to be one of the pray-ers.  Then also email the same address to be added to the list.  You will then be forwarded prayer requests as they arrive.

Tuesday Morning Prayer Meeting

We had our first Tuesday Morning Prayer Meeting this week via Zoom.  This will be a weekly event at 9 a.m. each Tuesday.

Use this link to join us!

If you would like us to pray for something or would like your prayer request shared with the email prayer group, please email helgaspring9@gmail.com

Church Council Meeting

The Church Council met for three hours on Wednesday.

We discussed restarting the Gymkhana Club lunches, and other activities, and beginning the new prayer meeting. We then had a report from Mark and Hannah about the situation in Burma and voted to allocate another THB10,000 to relief there. We then had a good discussion about producing a new child protection policy and also about how we can further support the Youth Charity Foundation.

The meeting ended with a discussion about the idea of episcopal oversight and we agreed to invite Bishop Ron Langham to preach on All Saints Sunday, and then to give an explanation of the concept. We hope that the planned-for homegroups will start soon, but this depends on the Covid situation.

Wednesday Lunch – Restarts!

Although the pandemic is far from over, the number of cases in Chiang Mai seems fairly static and people are still allowed to eat in restaurants, both inside and outside.  It is therefore relatively safe to eat outside at the Gymkhana Club. We will therefore be meeting again at midday next Wednesday.

Weekly Offering to All Saints
You can still donate in person or online.  Thank you for your support and love for All Saints and all we are trying to do together.  God has shown that he is mighty and we are in his hands!

God bless,

Father Iain