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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,
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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

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Christmas and New Year is over and we have moved into a quiet time in the Church year.  There are no festivals of note until we mark Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent, on 18th February.  However, on 25th January our liturgy will contain the Methodist Covenant Prayer as we commit ourselves to God and to one another for another year.  But… it is still good to praise God together!

This Sunday our readings are taken from 1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20),      1 Corinthians 6:12-20, and John 1:43-51, and we will be singing the hymns Jesus Shall Reign Wher’er the Sun, Spirit of God Descend Upon my Heart, Will You Come and Follow Me?, and Amazing Grace.  You can find the readings via this link.  Our sermon will ask the question: “Can anything good come out of All Saints, Chiang Mai?”

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

All Saints at Christmas – over for another year!

Dear Friends,

What a wonderful Christmas season we have had! Today is the Feast of Epiphany and Twelfth Night, and we took down all the church Christmas decorations after the service last Sunday.  Thanks to everybody who made Christmas such a great celebration!

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Last Friday, Nancy, Harvey, and I, traveled up to Doi Saket and had a look at an organ that a friend of mine is building in his house.  It will be an exact electronic replica of the organ in Salisbury Cathedral – it already sounds amazing!  Hopefully we will be able to build something similar, but simpler, for All Saints!  It is good to worship God with music!  If anyone has an old MIDI compatible keyboard that they don’t want, please let me know.

 John’s Organ

Christmas is over, but we still have a Christ who we can worship!  This Sunday our readings are Genesis 1:1-5, Acts 19:1-7, and Mark 1:4-11, and we will be singing the hymns All People that on Earth do Dwell, Praise my Soul the King of Heaven, Immortal Invisible God only Wise, and Christ is made the Sure Foundation.  You can find the readings via this link.

The title of our sermon will be Don’t keep drinking Tequila!

God bless and Happy New Year!

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

 Christmas Eve Midnight Mass at All Saints

Dear Friends,

We had wonderful services over the Christmas period. The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, and highlights of the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass, can be seen on our website’s Audio-Visual Page.  We also had a great service on Christmas morning and again last Sunday. Thirteen of us stayed to share lunch together on Christmas day!

It has been great to celebrate together this Christmas season, and we have one more service.  This Sunday, 4th January, we will mark the Feast of Epiphany, and then it will be time to take down our Christmas decorations for another year.

This week’s readings are from Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, and Matthew 2:1-12, and we will be singing We Three Kings of Orient Are, The First Nowell, As With Gladness Men of Old, and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!  You can find the readings via this link.

Our sermon will look at the visit of the Wise Men to Jesus!

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 finish our celebration of the coming of Christ at Christmas!  We hope to see you soon and that you will enjoy worshiping with us,

God bless, and Happy New Year!

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

 Christmas Services at All Saints:

Sunday 21st December
11 am Morning Eucharist for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

5 pm Carols by Candlelight – A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

Wednesday 24th December – Christmas Eve 11:30 pm Midnight Mass
Thursday 25th December – Christmas Day  11 am Christmas Family Eucharist

Dear Friends,

Christmas is finally upon us.  This Sunday we have our, much anticipated, Carols by Candlelight, consisting of a traditional Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.  This form of service began at Kings College, Cambridge, in 1918, and has been broadcast by the BBC since 1928.

Our service is this Sunday at 5pm, while the Cambridge version can be heard in Thailand on Christmas Eve at 10pm via this link,  We may not be quite the standard of King’s College – they have had more practice – but you can join us live on Sunday as we celebrate the beginning of the Christmas Season.

The readings will tell the ancient story of Christmas, and we will be singing Once in Royal David’s City, Ding Dong Merrily on High, In the Bleak Midwinter, Away in a Manger, The First Nowell, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing!  The choir will also be singing Adam Lay Y Bounden, The Angel Gabriel from Heaven Came, andThe Coventry Carol.  Light refreshments will follow the service.

We will gather again for Midnight Mass at 11:30 pm on Christmas Eve and then again on Christmas Day at 11 am. The Christmas Day service will be followed by a pot-luck and fun activities in the afternoon – nobody needs to be alone this Christmas.  There will be games, music, and a Christmas movie!  Our time together will end around 5pm.

For this Fourth Sunday in Advent, our morning readings are 2 Samuel 7:1-11, Romans 16:25-27, and Luke 1:26-38, and we will be singing the hymns O Come All Ye Faithful, Let all Mortal Flesh keep Silent, O Little Town of Bethlehem, andJoy to the World!  You can find the readings via this link.

Our sermon will be reflecting on Jesus’ incarnation among us!
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 celebrate the Christ of Christmas!  We hope to see you soon and that you will enjoy worshiping with us,
Merry Christmas,
God bless,

Iain

From Rev Iain Baxter, All Saints Chiang Mai

Dear Friends,

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We are now in “Sweet December”, as many of my Burmese friends call it!  Christmas will soon be upon us.  Last Sunday we celebrated the First Sunday of Advent, with a congregation of twenty-six people, including nine children – our church is growing and changing.   After worship, we decorated the Church and put up our Christmas tree.  Mince pies and other delicious snacks were shared, as we hung swathes of greenery to the accompaniment of Christmas music.

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Please put our Carols by Candlelight service in your diaries: at 5pm on Sunday 21st December we will gather for a traditional Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.  We will also have a Midnight Mass beginning at 11:30 on Christmas Eve, and a Christmas Morning Service at 11am on Christmas Day.

We need people to distribute posters advertising our Christmas Events.  Do you know somewhere that a poster could be  displayed?  You can pick them up from church on Sunday, or copy them from the Where and When page on the All Saints website.  Right click on the posters and choose “save as…”

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Meanwhile, for the Second Sunday of Advent, our readings will be Isaiah 40:1-11, 2 Peter 3:8-15, and Mark 1:1-8, and we will be singing the hymns O Come O Come Emmanuel, Down by the Jordan, Jesus comes with Clouds Descending, and Come Thou  long expected Jesus. You can find the readings via this link.  Our sermon will be reflecting on the words of John the Baptist: Behold the Lamb of God!

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 and Happy Advent,

Iain