From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai
Saints come in all shapes and sizes!
POTLUCK THIS SUNDAY
Dear Friends,
This Sunday we will celebrate All Saints Day with a special service and a potluck at the vicarage to follow. We are all saints. But are saints and sinners two mutually exclusive groups? Perhaps, but not really. For one reason yesterday’s saint could be tomorrow’s sinner and vice versa.
Dom Hélder Câmara, a Brazilian Roman Catholic Archbishop, famously said “When I feed the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist!” The Kadesh were gender-diverse people serving in the temple in Jerusalem. They were called holy ones or saints, but later were defamed and called shrine prostitutes when they fell out of favour with those in power.
In Luke’s account of the Beatitudes, Jesus says
“Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.”
Being holy, being a saint, is the opposite of being holier than thou. It’s not about looking good or looking holy but it’s about reaching out in love to all those around us. It’s not quite about being our true selves. Our true selves may need a little bit of work doing on them, but it’s about being the best self, the best person that God created us to be: being who we are, but the better version.
If someone is truly holy people won’t say, “What a holy person,” but they may say, “What a kind person,” “What a caring person,” “What a good person.” We will be somebody people want to spend time with.
So let’s be holy. Let’s be All Saints and then we can share God’s love with the world around us.
We have a busy month ahead, with All Saints Day, Remembrance Sunday, and Transgender Day of Remembrance Sunday. And then we will be into Advent! But God is good, and we can give thanks and pray for our world together!
The readings for this Sunday will be from Revelation 7:9-17, 1 John 3:1-3, and Matthew 5:1-12, and we will be singing the hymns For All the Saints; For all the Saints who’ve Shown your Love; Bless the Lord oh my soul; Sing with all the Saints in Glory; and O when the Saints go Marching in!
We now use YouTube Live to livestream our service.
To watch our service live this Sunday please follow these steps:
1) Click on the link below, and this will take you to the All Saints Chiang Mai YouTube channel.
2) Then click on “All Saints Chiang Mai is Live” to watch the service
Use this link to join our Sunday service on YouTube Live!
Video of Last Week’s Service
Video highlights of last week’s service are available on the All Saints YouTube channel.
Pizza Potluck Night at MCC, Wednesday, the 4th of November.
Bring pizza toppings and food and drinks to go with pizza.
Chili Night Returns on Wednesday 11th November!
Chili night is now fortnightly (every two weeks) so the next one will be on WEDNESDAY 11th November!
All Saints’ Day
On Sunday, the 1st of November, we will celebrate All Saints’ Day. This will be followed by a potluck at the vicarage.
Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday
On Sunday 8th and Wednesday 11th November we will remember victims of war and together declare “never again!”
Sunday 8th November is Remembrance Sunday. We will gather at All Saints at 10:30 a.m. to remember victims of war and armed conflict around the world. The service will include two minutes silence at 11 a.m. and hymns will include The Day Thou Gavest Lord is Ended, and Abide with Me.
On Wednesday 11th, I will lead the Remembrance Day Observance at the Foreign Cemetery. Please assemble at 10:30 a.m. Directions to the Foreign Cemetery can be found here!
Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil and Service
A vigil will take place at the vicarage on the evening of Friday 20th November beginning at 7 p.m.
Then on Sunday 22nd November, we will mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance in our morning worship at All Saints!
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday to me! On Friday November 27, 2026, I will be 60 years old!
Everyone is invited to a party at my house to celebrate. It will be a costume party with a buffet and soft drinks provided. Everyone is welcome but please let me know if you are coming so we can ensure there is enough food for everyone. Costume (UK: fancy dress) is optional.
Weekly Offering to All Saints
You can still donate in person or online – and now you can use our QR code!. Thank you for your support and love for All Saints and all we are trying to do together. God has shown that God is mighty and we are in God’s hands!
God bless you,
Father Iain
