Category Archives: Uncategorized

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Do you have faith to step out of the boat?

Dear Friends,

This week’s Gospel reading sees Jesus walking on the water and Peter leaping out of the boat only to lose faith and start sinking.  What about us?  Are we comfortable cruise passengers or are we prepared to abandon ship without a lifeboat?  Sometimes God calls upon us to step out in faith!  Find out more this Sunday.

Our bible readings for this Sunday are Genesis 37:2-28, Romans 10:9-15, and Matthew 14:22-33, and we will be singing the hymns Holy, Holy, Holy, Jesus calls us o’er the tumult, Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart, and Christ is made the Sure Foundation!

Last Sunday we welcomed the Rev. Deacon Gene Bourquin as our new deacon at All Saints.  It will be a joy to have him ministering with us!

And last Sunday we also had the great delight to welcome Yotin Tiewtrakul as our guest organist.  He is director of Music at the Anglican Church of Hamburg, Germany.  It was wonderful to have such a gifted musician help lead our worship!

And then at the end of the service we were joined by Alan Tsang, Assistant Director of Music at St. John’s Cathedral, Hong Kong!  We are getting famous friends!

Yotin’s view of All Saints, posted on Facebook!

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Our next Theology on Tap meeting will be on Friday 25th August.  (NOT 19th!!!!)

We will again meet at 7 p.m. at the UN Irish Pub!  Topic to be decided!

The readings can be found via this link!

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Fighting with God.  Is it Biblical?

Dear Friends,

It was wonderful to be back yesterday and see old and familiar faces, along with some new ones!  If you haven’t been for a while, why not come along? Life can sometimes seem a bit of a battle.  This week I have been fighting with Thai immigration, cancelled bank cards, and deflating car tires, not to mention a collapsing office chair!  But should we be fighting with God?

On the face of it fighting with God does not appear to be a very Christian action, yet Jacob did it, so perhaps we should too?  Find out more this week!

Our bible readings for this Sunday are Genesis 32:22-31, Romans 9:1-5, and Matthew 14:13-21, and we will be singing the hymns Praise with Joy the world’s Creator, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, Take My Life and Let it Be, and Will you come and Follow Me?  The readings can be found via this link!

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Rachel and Leah

Dear Friends,

We can continue our journey through the lives of the Patriarchs with the story of Rachel and Leah.  Jacob is tricked into marrying the wrong sister so marries the right one as well.

Rivalry and jealousy are again central to the developing story.  What does this mean for us?

I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday as I return from my summer break.  Many thanks to Mark, Ann-Christin, and Jacob, for their hard work over the last four weeks.

Our bible readings for this Sunday are Genesis 29:15-28, Romans 8:26-39, and Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52, and we will be singing the hymns O Worship the King, Let Us Build a House, One Bread One Body, and All My Hope on God Is Founded!

The readings can be found via this link!

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Jacob’s Ladder: the way to heaven?

Dear Friends,

How can we contact God?  How can we reach out to the divine, the beyond?  Jacob had a vision of a ladder between heaven and earth with angels ascending and descending upon it.

How can we know God in our lives?  Find out at All Saints this week.

Our service this week will be led by the Rev. Mark Crawford, as I am in the UK.  Please attend if you can, to give Mark your support during this season when many people are travelling!  I shall be back next week!

Our bible readings for this Sunday are Genesis 28:10-19, Romans 8:12-25, and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, and we will be singing the hymns All People that on Earth do Dwell, For the Bread Which You Have Broken, and Amazing Grace!

The readings can be found via this link!

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

As we continue our way through the stories of the Patriarchs of Genesis, we reach the story of Jacob and Esau.  More fighting, more conflict, more sibling rivalry!

In the Gospel reading, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower: not all seed will grow and be successful!  What can we do to prepare the ground and bring more peace into our world?

Find out this Sunday as Rev. Mark Crawford again leads our worship.

Our service this week will be led by the Rev. Mark Crawford, as I am in the UK.  Please attend if you can, to give Mark your support during this season when many people are travelling!

Our bible readings for this Sunday are Genesis 25:19-34, Romans 8:1-11, and Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, and we will be singing the hymns All Creatures of our God and King, Give me Jesus, and How Great Thou Art!

The readings can be found via this link!

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

This week’s Old Testament story is that of Isaac and Rebekah.  This is perhaps one of the few “good marriages” in the Bible, although next week we will see how each parent favoured a different one of their twin sons.

What is love really all about?  What does God really demand of us?  How does God want us to respond to him?

These are some of the questions we will be looking at in this week’s sermon at All Saints.

Our service this week will be led by the Rev. Mark Crawford, as I am in the UK.  Please attend if you can, to give Mark your support during this season when many people are travelling!

Our bible readings for this Sunday are Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67, Romans 7:15-25a, and Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30, and we will be singing the hymns Immortal Invisible God only Wise, Be Thou My Vision, and Open My Eyes That I May See!

The readings can be found via this link!

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Abraham and Isaac

Dear Friends,

I had trouble finding a picture for this week’s email, not because there is a lack of images of Abraham preparing to sacrifice his son, but because of the shocking reality of even the most simple depictions.  Human sacrifice is simply wrong, and the barbarity of somebody believing that killing a child would please God is hopefully beyond our comprehension.

Happily, the bible as a whole condemns human sacrifice, and we see Abraham constrained from actually killing Isaac, yet the text has God telling Abraham to prepare to do it.  This is why we have to be very careful in how we understand and interpret scripture.  Although Jesus is often also pictured as a sacrifice, this is self-sacrifice, which is an altogether different thing.

However, although it is good that we understand that God will never tell us to slaughter our first born, we still need to ask ourselves what we would be prepared to give up for God or for a better world for all.

Our service this week will be led by Ann-Christin Salomonsson and our preacher will be Jacob Hale, as I am in the UK.  Please attend if you can, to give them your support during this season when many people are travelling!

Our bible readings for this Sunday are Genesis 22:1-14, Romans 6:12-23, and Matthew 10:40-42, and we will be singing the hymns Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, Let us Break Bread Together, and Love Divine all Loves Excelling!  The readings can be found via this link!

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

We worship a triune God – three-in-one – one-in-three. We cannot really explain it, why would we expect to? But we know the God revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer!  God is revealed not as an alone or lonely God, but as a being in constant fellowship who reaches out to us in love.  This is at the centre of our faith and is why we remember this unity in diversity on Trinity Sunday!

Our bible readings for Trinity Sunday are Genesis 1:1-5, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13, and Matthew 28:16-20, and we will be singing the hymns Holy Holy Holy, We All Believe in One True God, For the Bread Which You Have Broken, and Christ is made the Sure Foundation!

The readings can be found via this link!

Connie’s Ordination

A few of us gathered at All Saints on Monday night to take part in Connie’s ordination service by live-link to London.  It was a great service and wonderful to see Connie, Nat, and also Pat, present in the UK.  Chiang Mai people were also able to see Bishop Jonathan for the first time.  Please continue to hold Connie in your prayers!

Bishops Jonathan and Sheila laying hands on Connie

Inter-Continental Eucharist!

Greetings from newly-ordained Connie

And from Pat!

Potluck

Our next potluck will be on Sunday 25th June. This will be at the home of Anders and Ann-Christin who will shortly be leaving us to return to Sweden.  Their house is a five minute drive from church and we will travel there together after the morning service.

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

This Thursday is Ascension Day, and we will be marking Jesus ascent into heaven this Sunday.  What does it mean to us?  Why did Jesus need to ascend?  And how does it affect our understanding of the world today?

Theology on Tap

Our next Theology on Tap meeting will be this Friday, 26th May.  We will again gather at 7 p.m. at the UN Irish Pub. This month’s topic is the meaning of liturgy and the sacraments!

Our bible readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter are Acts 1:6-14, 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11, and John 17:1-11, and we will be singing the hymns Awake My Soul and with the Sun, Christ is Alive, Christ Whose Glory Fills The Skies, and All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name!

The readings can be found via this link!

Connie’s Ordination

Connie Mudore will be ordained as a priest of the Open Episcopal Church on Monday 5th June.  The ordination will be in London, but we will be gathering here at All Saints to take part by live video link.  The service will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thailand time.  Please come!

Church Governance

After much discussion, we have decided to appoint five trustees to oversee the life and work of All Saints.  I will be accountable to the trustees and they will be making the major decisions in the church’s future.  The treasurer and I will attend the Trustees Meeting, but will not have vote.

There will also be a larger Advisory Group which will be consulted by email before major decisions are made, or whenever I or the trustees would like wider input.

This structure will be reviewed in the future, but we are not implementing an elected council at this time, due to the relatively small congregation whose composition varies widely throughout the year.

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 worshiping with us,

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Gene and other new deacons last Saturday

Dear Friends,

In our first Bible reading this week we read of Paul speaking about the “unknown God” in Athens.  Is God still unknown, or at least unrecognised amongst us, and how can we share that God with the world?  This is our calling for a world that needs love!

Gene’s Ordination

Last Saturday evening Gene Bourquin was ordained as deacon at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York.  More pictures can be seen on the All Saints Facebook page.  The video of the ordination is now available on the Audio-Visual page of AllSaintsChiangMai.com.

Pool Party Potluck

Thanks to David and Shem for a great pool party potluck!  We all enjoyed it!

Our bible readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter are Acts 17:22-31, 1 Peter 3:13-21, and John 14:15-21, and we will be singing the hymns Holy Holy Holy, Spirit of God Unseen as The Wind, Spirit of the Living God, and All My Hope on God Is Founded!  The readings can be found via this link!

Theology on Tap

Our next Theology on Tap meeting will be on Friday 26th May.  We will again gather at 7 p.m. at the UN Irish Pub. This month’s topic is the meaning of liturgy and the sacraments!

God bless,

Iain