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From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

We had a wonderful Palm Sunday service with over fifty people in attendance!  Thanks to all involved, especially to Harvey and the musicians from Chiang Mai International School, and our special choir!  Also thank you to Anders for playing the organ. Video of highlights from the service can be found on the website Audio-Visual Page.

Don’t forget we have a special service this week for Maundy Thursday, beginning at 7:30pm. This will be a time for quiet, candle-lit, contemplation including Taize chants and the washing of one another’s feet.

Then on Good Friday we will have a solemn service at 11am to remember Jesus’ death on the cross.

Finally, on Easter Sunday we will celebrate with a joyous Eucharist, proclaiming Christ’s resurrection. This will be at our usual time of 11am and will be followed by a potluck lunch and an Easter Egg hunt!

This week’s readings can be found via this link!  On Good Friday we will be singing the hymns When I survey the Wondrous Cross, O Scared Head Now Wounded, My Song is Love Unknown, Were you there when they crucified my Lord?, and O Love that will not let me go.  Then on Easter Sunday we shall be singing Jesus Christ is Risen Today, The Day of Resurrection, Christ is Alive, and Thine be the Glory!

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

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

 Welcome to All Saints!

Dear Friends,

Hopefully we will have air-conditioning by next Sunday and will be the cool people of All Saints!  We are initially installing one large unit and, if that is insufficient, will install another later on.  Yesterday I went with William and Tarntip to buy the machine and it should be installed on Saturday!  Last Sunday our new chairs met with all-round approval, and our organ should be playing in a couple of weeks.

However, these are all ways and means.  They are not our goal.  As I said on Sunday, we could all be cool and comfortable staying in our own homes!  Our goal is to build the Kingdom of God, as our response to the love of the God who has given everything for us.  The world is transformed as people turn to God and see their lives turned upside down!

This week our readings will be Numbers 21:4-9, Ephesians 2:1-10, and John 3:14-21, and we will be singing the hymns Alleluia Sing to Jesus, Come Down O Love Divine, Break thou the Bread of Life, and Lift High the Cross.  The reading can be found via this link!  Our sermon will be entitled Watch out for them snakes!

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Lillian Juniper – our youngest member!

Dear Friends,

Our latest exciting news at All Saints, is the arrival of Lillian Juniper to Kelly and Jacob Hale.  There daughter was born last Friday!  Hopefully, they will all be with us on Sunday.

Meanwhile, things are moving at All Saints!  We have purchased the computer to run the church organ, so by Easter our worship should be accompanied by live music, and rehearsals for our Palm Sunday choir have started!  We have also received delivery of fourteen new chairs – sixteen more are on the way!  We already have eighteen other “safe chairs” so we should be sitting comfortably on Sunday.  Things may be moving on the air-conditioning front too, which is great as it is starting to get hot!

                                                                                                                                                           No sleeping in boring sermons please!

This Sunday our bible readings are Exodus 20:1-17, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, and John 2:13-22, and we will be singing the hymns Praise my Soul the King of Heaven,Will you come and follow me, What a friend we have in Jesus, and Tell out My Soul. You can find the readings via this link.

Our sermon will be reflecting on God’s foolishness!

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

Welcome to All Saints!

Dear Friends,

Our latest exciting news is that we are planning a choir for Palm Sunday to sing Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus. Rehearsals will start on 5th March.  See the bottom of this email for details.

Meanwhile, this Friday the Chiang Mai LGBT Group will be screening the movie Pride in our building.  The event starts at 7pm.  Details of the film can be found via this link to the BBC website.  All are welcome!  (Donation THB100.)

As many of you will know, we have had a problem with some of the chairs at church.  We need to replace them urgently.  We will have examples of possible chairs and prices on Sunday so that everyone can contribute to the discussion.

This Sunday our readings are Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16, Romans 4:13-25, and Mark 8:31-38, and we will be singing the hymns The God of Abraham Praise, All for Jesus, O Breath of Life, and Christ is made the Sure Foundation.  You can find the readings via this link.   Our sermon will be reflecting on Jesus’ call to trust him with our lives.

Iain

Palm Sunday Choir Information

Many people in church this morning expressed an interest in singing for Palm Sunday instead of Easter as some will be gone by then.
ALL ARE WELCOME TO COME AND SING!
Performance Date: Palm Sunday-March 29^th 2015

Rehearsal Dates:
Thursday March 5^th 7:00 CMIS Secondary Music Room**
Thursday March 12^th 7:00 CMIS Secondary Music Room
Thursday March 19^th 7:00 CMIS Secondary Music Room
Tuesday March 23^rd 2:35 CMIS Secondary Music Room with strings (If you can’t make it, that is OK)
Thursday March 26^th 7:00 CMIS Secondary Music Room
Saturday March 28^th TBA but in the Afternoon – at All Saints Chiang Mai

**Copy paste this number: 18.799589, 99.005317 into the google and google maps will come up with the rehearsal location, Chiang Mai International school.

Please email me(hnnich@gmail.com)  and let me know:

Your name, Part you sing, and which of these rehearsals you can attend ( I’ll need this to help the guards at CMIS let you in to the school).

Thanks,

Harvey Nicholson

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

 Ash Wednesday at All Saints!

Dear Friends,

We had a very moving and thought-provoking Ash Wednesday service yesterday.  A time to reflect as we enter this season of Lent.  Our lenten thoughts will continue this Sunday when our readings will be Genesis 9:8-17, 1 Peter 3:18-22, and Mark 1:9-15, and we will be singing the hymns Awake me Soul, O Love that will not let me go, Dear Lord and Father of mankind, and Joyful Joyful we adore Thee.  You can find the readings via this link. Our sermon will look at God’s promise marked by the rainbow.

Meanwhile, this Friday, the Chiang Mai LGBT Group will be using our building to show the highly acclaimed 2014 movie Pride, on Friday 27th February at 7pm.  This is a popular British film set in the Miners’ Strike of the early 1980s.  A group of activists travel to a small South Wales village to offer their help.  It is a funny and thought-provoking film which had a 15 certificate when first released.  You will be asked for a THB100 donation which includes one free drink and snacks. Everyone is welcome to attend, you do not have to be a group member.

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,
 .

It does not seem a minute since we were wishing each other “Happy New Year”, but Lent is almost upon us and this Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Transfiguration.  We will also have a pancake-potluck in anticipation of Shrove Tuesday.  In England, this is marked by eating pancakes, tossing pancakes, and competitions such as pancake races, where competitors run round a course while tossing a pancake!  This Sunday, we will provide the pancakes and you can bring your choice of toppings to share!

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Ash Wednesday

Then on Ash Wednesday we will have a special service to mark the beginning of Lent.  This will be on 18th February, beginning at 7pm.  The liturgy will include the imposition of ashes as we come before God in repentance and thanksgiving.

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Further ahead comes Easter.  And we would like our Easter music to include the inauguration of our new organ!  Over the last few weeks, Harvey and I have been experimenting with building a church organ using the Hauptwerk computer software.  It will allow us to play a replica of the organ of St. Anne’s, Moseley, in England.

Testing the Prototype!

This week the Salomonssons had a go on our prototype, one playing the manuals, and the other the pedals via a third keyboard!  To build the basic organ will cost us about THB30,000, including about THB23,000 to buy a computer to run the software. This will include a touch screen to control the organ stops. However, the computer will also do double service for the church office.

 Two handed – the Great and the Swell manuals!

The remainder of the money will be used to build the organ box, and later the foot pedals!  You can hear our test with Praise ye The Lord here!  We are opening a special “organ fund” for anyone who would like to give towards this project.  We also need organists!  We should hopefully have three or four people who would be happy to play at least once a month.

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Meanwhile, this Sunday our readings for the Feast of the Transfiguration are 2 Kings 2:1-12, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, and Mark 9:2-9, and we will be singing the hymns All People that on Earth do Dwell, Transfiguration Hymn, Break Thou the Bread of Life, and Love Divine all Loves Excelling.  You can find the readings via this link.  Our sermon will be entitled Amazing Jesus!

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

 Dear Friends,

In Chiang Mai we are a long way from the deep blue sea, but what about the Devil?  Our current series of Gospel readings repeatable talk of Jesus “casting out demons.”  How can we understand this, and what does it mean for us today?  I will be attempting to answer these questions in my sermon this week!

Meanwhile, we have a new blue sign outside All Saints. Now any one who is passing will know who we are, how to contact us, and when we worship.  There is a rainbow in the bottom corner to remind us that all are welcome!

This Sunday our readings are taken from Isaiah 40:21-31, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, and Mark 1:29-39, and we will be singing the hymns All Creatures of Our God and King, Christ Whose Glory Fills the Skies, Let Us Break Bread Together, and All My Hope on God is Founded.You can find the readings via this link. Our sermon will be entitled “What the devil is that?”

Video and audio of our major services can be found on the Audio-Visual page of the All Saints website and as always, 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

Ash Wednesday – 18th February 2015

Dear Friends,

New Year is behind us and we will soon be entering the season of Lent.  We still have three weeks before Lent begins on Wednesday 18th February when we will be having a special Ash Wednesday service at All Saints beginning at 7 pm.  This is a solemn service when we come before God and confess our sins.  The liturgy will include the imposition of ashes.

The day before Ash Wednesday is Shrove Tuesday, orMardi Gras. In the British tradition it is known as Pancake Tuesday, and many people enjoy pancakes on this day.  At All Saints we will have a pancake potluck following the service on Sunday 15th February. More details to follow.  Meanwhile our worship continues in this season of Epiphany as we remember our call to discipleship.

This Sunday our readings are Deuteronomy 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, and Mark 1:21-28, and we will be singing the hymns Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, In Christ Alone My Hope is Found, For the Bread Which We have Broken, and Tell Out My Soul the Greatness of the Lord.  You can find the readings via this link.  Our sermon will challenge us to live prophetic lives.

God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

We are now well in to the new year of 2015, and this Sunday we will hold our Covenant Service.  This is a Methodist tradition where the congregation recommit themselves to God, and his purposes for their lives, at the beginning of each year.  We will say together the words of the Covenant Prayer:

I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you, or laid aside for you,
exalted for you, or brought low for you;
let me be full, let me be empty,
let me have all things, let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. 

So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.’

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Further ahead, we are thinking about starting a Confirmation Class. Confirmation is the traditional way for publicly declaring your Christian faith and membership of the church. In doing so you confirm your baptism. If you have not already been baptised, then you can be baptised and then confirmed. It also signifies your receiving of the Holy Spirit.  If anyone, of any age, is interested in being confirmed please see let me know.

This Sunday our readings are Jonah 3:1-5,10, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, and Mark 1:14-20, and we will be singing the hymns Jesus Comes with Clouds Descending, Come let us use the grace divine, Wonder of wonders here revealed, and Let All the World in Every Corner Sing.  You can find the readings via this link.  Our sermon will be reflecting on our commitment to God.

God bless,

Iain