Tag Archives: christmas

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

The Choir on Advent Sunday

Dear Friends,

This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Advent!  Christmas is almost here!  Our Festival of Christmas Carols is only just over a week away and then it will soon be Christmas Day!  Please volunteer to help on Saturday 20th and sign-up for the lunch on Thursday 25th saying what can bring!!!!

Christmas is a time of hope – hope for a better world – even Christmas movies envision a kinder, gentler, way of being human – and the message of the gospel is Peace on Earth and goodwill to all!

In this week’s Gospel Reading we will hear of the visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary.  Her response to God’s unusual plan is “yes!”  How will we respond to God’s call on our lives this Christmas?

The bible readings for the Third Sunday of Advent will be Micah 5:2-5, Romans 16:25-27, and Luke 1:26-37, and we will be singing the Advent hymns O Come, O come Emmanuel; Song of Mary; Sing We the King Who is Coming to Reign; and Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending!

YouTube Live
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!

Last Week’s Sunday Service!

Video of last Sunday’s service is available on the All Saints YouTube channel! 

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Download our Christmas Posters to Print or Share

Click here to Download this Poster

Click here to Download this Poster

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Barbara’s Gingerbread Tea Party

Barbara’s house is next to Jungo Pilates. It’s an open house:  1 to 6. Come when you can, stay as long as you like!

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The 2025 All Saints Festival of Christmas Carols

Saturday 20th December.  7:00 p.m.
Thammapratheep Church, Thanuspong Road (Next to Expat Auto)

Please invite your friends!  Volunteers are needed for setting up, ushering, catering, etc.  Please speak to Christa on Sunday.

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Christmas Lunch – 25th December

Every year we share Christmas lunch together at the vicarage!  Please sign up THIS WEEK to indicate how many people are coming and also to say what you can bring.

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Events Coming Up – Advent & Christmas!

Sunday 7th December
Second Sunday of Advent

Sunday 14th December
Third Sunday of Advent

Saturday 20th December
Festival of Christmas Carols

Sunday 21st December
Fourth Sunday of Advent

Wednesday 24th December
Midnight Mass

Thursday 25th December
Christmas Day

Sunday 28th December

transACTIONefuge “Holiday Euphoria” @ the Vicarage

Tuesday 30th December
Christmas at the Youth Charity Foundation

Wednesday 31st December
New Year’s Eve at the Vicarage

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Chili Night 

Chili Night is on holiday!  We will be taking a break until Tuesday 6th January 2026!  See you then!

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,

Vicar Iain _{^{(he/they/she)}}

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

The Choir on Advent Sunday

Dear Friends,

What do you think of angels? Do you believe in them? Have you ever seen one?  At All Saints over the first three weeks of Advent we will be looking at the angels that appeared in the stories of Jesus’ birth.

So what, in the Bible, is the job of angels? They are messengers from God. They often come to tell people what will happen, in fact often to prophesy the birth of children. The first appearance was way back in the Old Testament when the Angel of the Lord appears to Abraham and prophesied that he will have a son.

And then last week we looked at the angel appearing to Zachariah saying that he will have a son, this week we will see the angel appearing to Joseph, saying that he will have a son, and then next week we will see the angel appear to Mary, telling her of the birth of Jesus. And then of course, we will hear of the angels appearing to the Shepherds, telling them that a baby has been born in Bethlehem.

Angels play a big part in the Christmas story, but they all carry the same message: Good News to all!

The bible readings for the Second Sunday of Advent will be Zephaniah 3:14-20, Philippians 4:4-7, and Matthew 1:18-25, and we will be singing the carols The Angel Gabriel; Of the Father’s Love Begotten; Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus; and Angels we have heard on high!

YouTube Live
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!

Last Week’s Advent Sunday Service!

Video of last Sunday’s is available on the All Saints YouTube channel! 

Last Sunday – Potluck & Gingerbread Decorating

Sunday 30th November was Advent Sunday and the All Saints Choir led our worship.  The service was followed by decorating the church and a potluck at the vicarage, where we finished decorating the Christmas trees and decorated ginger cookies.

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The 2025 All Saints Festival of Christmas Carols

Saturday 20th December.  7:00 p.m.
Thammapratheep Church, Thanuspong Road (Next to Expat Auto)

Please put this on your calendar.  Volunteers are needed for setting up, ushering, catering, etc.

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Christmas Lunch – 25th December

Every year we share Christmas lunch together at the vicarage!  Please sign up to indicate how many people are coming and also to say what you can bring.

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Events Coming Up – Advent & Christmas!

Sunday 7th December
Second Sunday of Advent

Sunday 14th December
Third Sunday of Advent

Saturday 20th December
Festival of Christmas Carols

Sunday 21st December
Fourth Sunday of Advent

Wednesday 24th December
Midnight Mass

Thursday 25th December
Christmas Day

Tuesday 30th December
Christmas at the Youth Charity Foundation

Wednesday 31st December
New Year’s Eve at the Vicarage

Chili Night 

Chili Night is on holiday!  We will be taking a break until Tuesday 6th January 2026!  See you then!

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,

Vicar Iain ^{_{(he/they/she)}}

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Join us as we celebrate Advent Sunday!

 CHRISTMAS SNACKS POTLUCK THIS SUNDAY
Dear Friends,

This Sunday is Advent Sunday – the first day of the Church year!  It is a day when we anticipate the coming of Jesus at Christmas and begin to prepare our hearts for the Christ-Child!  Christmas is about then and it is about now: the coming of Christ in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, and the coming of Christ into our hearts, and into our world, today.

The most famous Advent hymn is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, it is a prayer for the coming of Jesus.  The coming of Jesus is needed even more in this world of growing conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere!

Last year I added a verse to the Advent hymn which is a prayer for Palestine:

O come, O come, O Saviour of mine
And ransom captive Palestine
O bring thy peace, set all men free
Who dwell betwixt the River and the Sea.

This year I have adapted the first verse as a prayer for Israel:

O come, O come, Emmanuel             
Bring peace to warring Israel
That fights in righteous anger and fear
Until the Son of God appear.

The chorus is a prayer also:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, And set all people free.
 
As we approach Christmas, we pray for peace and reconciliation between all people.

The scripture readings for this Sunday will be Jeremiah 33:14-16, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13, and Luke 21:25-36, and we will be singing the hymns O Come, O come Emmanuel; Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus; and Joy to the World!

Use this link to join on Zoom on Sunday at 10:30 a.m.
Meeting ID: 548 801 501

Video of Last Sunday’s Service!

Video of last Sunday’s service for the Transgender Day of Remembrance is available on the All Saints YouTube channel!

Events Coming Up

Saturday 30th November:        Vicarage Christmas Tree Decorating
Sunday 1st December:             Advent Sunday & Gingerbread Tea Party
Saturday 14th December:        Festival of Christmas Carols
Tuesday 24th December:         Midnight Mass
Wednesday 25th December:    Christmas Morning Eucharist
                                                  Christmas Lunch at the Vicarage
Saturday 28th December:        Christmas at the Youth Charity Foundation

Vicarage Decoration – This Saturday!

Eleven people joined the decorating party on Tuesday and we put up the five Christmas trees.  Pizza was provided!  

You are now invited this Saturday, 30th November, at 6 p.m. to join the Youth Charity Foundation children in decorating the vicarage Christmas trees.


This Sunday – Advent Sunday – Barbara’s Gingerbread Tea Party

Making gingerbreads at Barbara’s

This Sunday, 1st December, our service will be followed by decorating the church and then a Christmas snack potluck lunch and Gingerbread Tea Party at Barbara’s home.  Bring savory snacks to share!


The Hangman



Barbara writes:

Father Iain I forgot to tell the church about the reprise of our Gate Theater thrilling courtroom drama where the audience decides the verdict. It’s this week weds to sat. Nov 27-30.  Can you help me spread the word to the All Saints gang? Hope you can make it!

It’s a story of a woman who fought for her life and safety by breaking the law. Very relevant to today!

Please mention that Erin, a new All Saints friend who came to church Sunday and who read the US and Mexico transgender names, is also in the play. She and I are jury members!!! I hope church members can come to support her too!


The All Saints Festival of Christmas Carols
 

Saturday 14th December.  7:00 p.m.
Thammapratheep Church, Thanuspong Road (Next to Expat Auto)
 
Volunteers are needed for setting up, ushering, catering, etc.
 

Christmas Lunch – 25th December
 


Every year we share Christmas lunch together at the vicarage – nobody need be alone!  Please sign up to indicate  how many people are coming and also to say what you can bring.


All Saints Book Group

Book Group is back from hiatus! We meet on Tuesday afternoons. Time and location TBD. Contact Christa if you would like to join us as we continue our journey together through the book, Living Resistance.

Chili Night returns next Week!

Every Tuesday everyone in Chiang Mai is invited to Chili Night in the Vicarage. Chili con Carne, rice, chips, ice-cream, and drinks are provided.  Just come along! (But let me know in advance if you can!)   All are welcome.  Food is served at 6 p.m.

Please make a donation on THB 100 per person!


Weekly Offering to All Saints

You can still donate in person or online – and now you can us 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 he is mighty and we are in his hands!
God bless you,

Father Iain