From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

This Sunday is Palm Sunday.  We will begin our worship with the parading of the palms, as we enter the church singing Hosanna and waving palm branches.   It is good for us to remember that although Jesus entered Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds, that popularity did not last.  We all like to be liked, but sometimes we have to do what is right, especially in support of those who cannot protect themselves.  I hope we can all remember this as we seek to live godly and useful lives of service to all!

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week and we will have the following special services:

Maundy Thursday Service. 
7:30 pm Thursday 24th March.   This will be a time for quiet, candle-lit, contemplation

including Taizé chants and the washing of one another’s feet.

Good Friday Service
11 a.m.  Friday 25th March.  Marking the crucifixion of our Lord.

Easter Sunday Eucharist 
11 a.m. Sunday 27th March.  A joyous Eucharist to proclaim Christ’s resurrection.

This will be followed by an Easter Potluck Lunch and Easter Egg hunt!

Harvey has also asked me to announce a concert which will take place next Wednesday, 23rd March.  It is by the Whitworth Wind Symphony and will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Chiang Mai International School.  It should be a good evening!  The poster is attached below.

The Palm Sunday readings will be Matthew 21:1-11 and Philippians 2:5-11, and we will be singing the hymns Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna in the Highest, All Glory Laud and Honour, Hosanna Loud Hosanna, You are the King of Glory, and Ride on Ride on in Majesty.  The reading can be found via this link!

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

This week our Gospel reading is Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, and this will be the focus of our sermon and worship.  The parable is a beautiful illustration of God’s love and forgiveness – we all have much to be thankful for!

This Saturday, 5th May, Lillian Wong, who attends All Saints with her husband Cary, will be performing in a special dance performance called Deliverance.  The two shows will be at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at Chiang Mai University Arts Theater and are in aid of the School of Promise in Hang Dong.

Then next Wednesday at 3 p.m., a Great Decisionsmeeting at All Saints will discuss the subject of migration.  This is lead by All Saints regular, Gayle Avant.

Finally, here again is advanced notice of our Easter Services for your diary:

Sunday 20th March.
11 a.m. Palm Sunday.

Thursday 24th March.
7:30 pm  Maundy Thursday Service.  This will be a time for quiet, candle-lit,

contemplation including Taizé chants and the washing of one another’s feet.

Friday 25th March.
11 a.m. Good Friday Service marking the crucifixion of our Lord.

Sunday 27th March.
11 a.m. Easter Sunday – A joyous Eucharist to proclaim Christ’s resurrection.

This will be followed by an Easter Potluck Lunch and Easter Egg hunt!

This Sunday’s readings are Joshua 5:9-12, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, and Luke 15:1-32, and we will be singing the hymns The King of Love My Shepherd Is, What shall I do my God to love, For the Bread Which You Have Broken, and Go forth and tell!  The readings can be found via this link!  Nancy will be playing the organ at our 9:15 service, and Anders at our 11 a.m. service.  Thanks to them both!

If you don’t know the way to All Saints, directions can be found on the Where and When page.

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God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

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Dear Friends,

On Monday we took delivery of our newly assembled organ keyboards – they won’t make the organ sound any different, but they will help our organists to play – especially making it easier to hold the music in place. Nancy will be playing at the 9:15 a.m. service this week, and Anders will be playing at the 11 a.m. services in future weeks. Let us make a joyful sound to the Lord!

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We also had our first virtual prayer meeting yesterday.  This was a very moving time of prayer for those involved.  If you’d like to join us at 6 a.m. next Wednesday for half an hour, please let me know!

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Finally, here is advanced notice of our Easter Services for your diary:

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Sunday 20th March.
11 a.m. Palm Sunday.

Thursday 24th March.
7:30 pm  Maundy Thursday Service.  This will be a time for quiet, candle-lit, contemplation including Taizé chants and the washing of one another’s feet.

Friday 25th March.
11 a.m. Good Friday Service marking the crucifixion of our Lord.

Sunday 27th March.
11 a.m. Easter Sunday – A joyous Eucharist to proclaim Christ’s resurrection.   This will be followed by an Easter Potluck Lunch and Easter Egg hunt!

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This Sunday’s readings are Isaiah 55:1-9, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, and Luke 13:1-9, and we will be singing the hymns The Lord’s My Shepherd, I heard the Voice of Jesus say, My Song is Love Unknown, and Tell Out My Soul!  The readings can be found via this link!

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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,

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God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

(No 9:15 a.m. service this week)

Dear Friends,

Some descriptions of God stick in the mind and enter into the popular imagination.  The Lord’s my shepherd is one such name.  But in Luke 13:34, Jesus laments over Jerusalem and says “How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

This is part of our Gospel reading this week and, as well as being one of the instances where Jesus uses female imagery, it emphasises how much God cares for us!  So the LORD is our chicken and we are God’s chicks, his children!  Perhaps it reminds us too of the eggs of approaching Easter – that symbol of new life!  It is God’s warmth that enables us to hatch spiritually!

Meanwhile, we are thinking of starting a Wednesday Night virtual discussion group or prayer meeting. This will be an online video meeting via Skype beginning at 7pm and lasting maybe half an hour.  It means people with young children, or those who live out at Doi Saket or Hang Dong can also be involved.  If you are interested, send me an email.

There will be no 9:15 a.m. service this week, but at our 11 a.m. service, the readings will be Genesis 15:1-18, Philippians 3:17-4:1, and Luke 13:31-55, and we will be singing the hymns The God of Abraham Praise, Be Still My Soul, I will offer up my life, and In Christ alone my hope is Found!  The readings can be found via this link!

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

We had a very peaceful and moving service yesterday, as we marked Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent at All Saints.  Thanks to all who made it such a good time together.

This week will be the first Sunday in Lent and we will be looking at Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness.  Mark Crawford will be preaching. This Sunday’s readings are Deuteronomy 26:1-11, Romans 10:8-13, and Luke 4:1-13, and we will be singing the hymns O Worship the King, Forty Days and Forty Nights, Take My Life and Let it Be, and What a Friend We Have in Jesus!  The readings can be found via this link!

There will be a church council meeting at 2pm this Sunday.

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Just a few of the pancakes at Sunday’s potluck

Ash Wednesday Service – 7 p.m. Wednesday 10th February

Dear Friends,

Today is Shrove Tuesday – the day when we ask for our sins to be shriven – forgiven and absolved – before Lent begins.  It is also known as Pancake Day in the UK, and Mardi Gras in much of the rest of the world.  On Sunday, twenty-four of us shared in pancakes and lots of sweet toppings to mark this putting away of luxury before the traditional season of fasting.

Tomorrow we will have our Ash Wednesday service, beginning at 7 p.m.  The service will last around 45 minutes and will include the imposition of ashes.  I hope you can join us as we draw near to God in the knowledge of God’s love and care!

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,

Next week we will enter the season of Lent, and at All Saints we will mark this with our Ash Wednesday Service.  The service will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday 10th February. However, the British tradition is to have pancakes the day before – Shrove Tuesday is known as “Pancake Day!”  All Saints will mark this with a special pancake potluckfollowing the 11 a.m. service this Sunday.  Bring toppings or ready-made pancakes to microwave – see Caitlin for more details on camacongo@gmail.com or call 0873 750 317, or just come along with your food!

Also, for council members, advance notice that we will have our next church council meeting at 2 p.m. on Sunday 14th February.

This week our readings are Exodus 34:29-35, 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2, and Luke 9:28-43, and we will be singing the hymns All Creatures of our God and King, Swiftly Pass the Clouds of Glory, For the Bread Which You Have Broken, and Christ is made the Sure Foundation.  The readings can be found via this link!  Our sermon is entitled What is that?

Meanwhile, Gayle Avent, an American man who has recently started attending All Saints, along with his wife Kay, is hoping to start a discussion group.  He writes:

NEW GREAT DECISIONS GROUP IN CHIANG MAI
Great Decisions is an adult discussion series focused on challenges to America and produced each year by the US Foreign Policy Association. Each session includes a brief reading, a video & discussion.  Session 1 video is “The Middle East”.  I have led GD groups at Baylor and elsewhere.  If you are potentially interest in participating, send me an e-mail (Gayle_Avant@Baylor.edu) quickly.  No obligation.  A group may meet at All Saints.

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,

The words of 1 Corinthians 12:17 always remind me of this joke.

1 Corinthians 12 talks about us all being part of the body of Christ and verse 17 says:

If the whole body were an eye, how would we hear?
If the whole body were an ear, how would we smell?

Of course, its meaning is clear and we all have our parts to play: some to speak, some to listen, some to see, and perhaps even some to smell!

Our theme for 2016 at All Saints seems to be developing into “Being Lazy for Jesus”!  Not meaning that we do nothing, but that we stop rushing around “doing things” and take time to “be”.  But 1 Corinthians 12 reminds us that we all have our part to play.  If you have ever tried to walk when your leg has “gone to sleep” you will realise how difficult it is to function when one part of the body is not working properly.

“Being lazy” doesn’t work when one part does nothing, leaving others to rush around trying to do jobs that don’t rightly belong to them.  It may be possible to walk on your hands, but nobody can see with their ears!  As we seek to put God first this year, and to give time to simply “be”, we must seek out what our function, our calling, is as part of the body of Christ, and that is what we should be doing and fulfilling.

This  week  our  readings  are  from  Nehemiah 8:1-10,  1 Corinthians 12:12-31, and Luke 4:14-21, and we will be singing the hymns Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, There are Many Ways of Sharing, Called as Partners in Christ’s Service, and All my Hope on God is Founded.   The readings can be found via this link!  Our sermon is entitled What are you?

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

In last week’s sermon I shared my New Year’s resolution for 2016 – to try to be more lazy.  As I said then, it is not as easy as it sounds.  In our busy connected world we always seek to fill each moment with some activity, some useful task.  My phone has nine ways to get in touch with me: phone calls, Skype calls, Messenger calls, texts, school emails, private emails, Facebook messages, Facebook posts, and BBC News alerts!  No wonder we have no time to listen to God!

Through the noise God says to us Be still and know that I am God!  We are created as human beings, not humandoings, but so often we define ourselves by what we do, by what we achieve.  Perhaps that’s why we find heaven so difficult to imagine: what will we do there?

Our two services this week will include the Methodist Covenant Prayer where we commit ourselves to God for the coming year.  Let us remember that God cares much more about who we are than what we do!  Let us stop rushing around, and find time to listen to God!  This week our additional 9:15 a.m. service recommences after the Christmas break, and our readings for both services are Isaiah 62:1-5, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, and John 2:1-11.  We will be singing the hymns All People that on Earth do Dwell, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind, Be Thou my Vision, and Guide me O Thou great Jehovah.   The readings can be found via this link!  Our sermon is entitled Be Still!

God bless,

Iain