Tag Archives: jesus

From Father Iain, All Saints Chiang Mai

Ready for Transgender Day of Remembrance Sunday on 23rd November

.

Dear Friends,

 At All Saints, November is our Season of Remembrance!

It began with All Saints Day when we remembered and gave thanks for Christians who have gone before us.  This was followed by Remembrance Sunday on 9th November and Remembrance Day on 11th November, when we remembered all the victims of war.

We will hold a vigil for the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Thursday 20th November, and also mark the event on Sunday 23rd with a special service.

This is the twelfth year that All Saints has observed the Transgender Day of Remembrance, but this year it’s different.  Countries which were previously safe for trans people are becoming increasingly hostile.  This is particularly true of the United States where government officials have labeled trans people as both “mentally ill” and “domestic terrorists”.

In the US, access to trans-affirming healthcare, particularly for minors, is being severely curtailed, and the federal government is attempting to subpoena medical records of trans children.  It is possible that in the near future attempts may be made to prosecute parents of trans children for “child abuse” and take the children into care.  State by state, laws are being introduced to deny the use of appropriate bathrooms and even ban the discussion of transgender issues in educational institutions or the use of preferred names and pronouns.   Trans members of the US military have already lost their jobs, and employment may become increasingly difficult in other situations.  Attacks on transgender individuals are increasing. 

The UK is also becoming an increasingly hostile environment for trans people with a countrywide ban on trans people accessing single-sex spaces appropriate to their gender, including bathrooms, changing rooms, and refuges.  There is a total ban on gender-affirming care for minors and moves to ban the use of preferred names and pronouns in schools.  Other formerly safe countries are seeing similar restrictions imposed.  

Within this region, large numbers of Chinese trans people have also sought safety in Thailand. Thailand is quickly becoming a haven for trans and LGBTQ people. 

In response to all this, six months ago All Saints began the transACTIONrefuge program.  This is a project involving All Saints members and others which seeks to assist trans people and families to relocate to Thailand.  In addition to practical assistance we provide a welcoming and affirming community for those forced to flee. We have already helped several families and individuals to successfully relocate here and are in touch with many more who are considering moving.  We are expecting several more families and individuals to arrive soon.  We plan to provide practical but also psycho-social support.

That is why, in addition to our regular Sunday service, we are this year holding a candle-lit vigil at the vicarage on Thursday 20th November, the Transgender Day of Remembrance itself.  Please join us if you can to show your support and solidarity.  We are hoping to be joined by a number of Thai organisations also.  (See below for details!)

It is good to remember, and give thanks, but this must spur us on to create change so that war and injustice can cease, and finally these remembrances become remembrances of the distant past!

The bible readings for this Sunday will be Job 19:23-27, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17, and Luke 20:27-38, and we will be singing the hymns Praise my Soul the King of Heaven; Lord Jesus Christ (Living Lord); I am the Bread of Life; and Tell Out My Soul!

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 Service!

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

Remembrance Day

On Tuesday 11th, I lead the Remembrance Day Observance at the Foreign Cemetery.  A large crowd gathered including a record ten different schools.

Officiating the Ceremony

Mark Crawford and David Cartwright with All Saint’s Wreath

The wreaths from Consulates, Schools, and other Organisations

.

Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil and Service

This vigil will take place on the evening of Thursday 20th November.   In the Vicarage Garden at 7p.m.  Join us if you can!

Then on Sunday 23rd November, we will mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance in our morning worship at All Saints!

.

Events Coming Up – November / December

Thursday 20th November                 
Transgender Day of Remembrance
                     At the Vicarage at 7 p.m.

Sunday 23rd November                
Transgender Day of Remembrance Service

Wednesday 26th November                
Deck the Halls at the Vicarage  3 pm

Sunday 30th November
Advent Sunday (Followed by Potluck)

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 will return next week on Tuesday 18th November.

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

Last Week’s Harvest Offering

Dear Friends,

Last Sunday we had a wonderful celebration of harvest at All Saints when we gave thanks for God’s great provision, but those of us who are rich often forget to say thankyou, and it is the poor and marginalised – the people on the edge – who express their gratitude!  So it is in this week’s Gospel reading.

This Sunday we will read from Luke chapter seventeen where Jesus heals a group of ten lepers.  However, the only who returns to thank Jesus is a Samaritan.  He is the one who expresses his gratitude and Jesus commends him saying ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’  The story of the Syro-Phonecian woman and the Roman Centurion are similar stories where it is the foreigner who is commended for their faith!

How do we reach out to the people on the margins of our society?  Our work with the Youth Charity Foundation, refugees from Myanmar, and transACTIONrefuge are three of the ways we do this at All Saints.

Another way we can share our abundance, and give thanks to God, is by giving away the things which we do not need or no longer use!  Sarah Sensamaust has volunteered to run a virtual garage sale on behalf of All Saints!  We can turn our surplus possessions into money to build God’s kingdom and help those in need.  (See below for details!)

Whatever we do, we are called to serve those in need!

The scripture readings for this Sunday will be from 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15, 2 Timothy 2:8-15, and Luke 17:11-19, and we will be singing the hymns Immortal, Invisible, God only Wise; Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart; O Christ the Healer; and Great is Thy Faithfulness!

.
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 Service!

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

.

Virtual Garage Sale

A Garage Sale is a North American tradition where people empty-out their unwanted possessions (often stored in a garage) and put them for sale in their yard.  In England we have “car boot sales” for a similar purpose.

The disadvantage of a traditional garage sale is that you need somewhere to store all the stuff and people may have things to dispose of at different times!  Hence… a Virtual Garage Sale!

This is how it will work: 

1) Bring your item to church, or the MCC Office, or send Sarah a photo and description if that’s easier!
2) Sarah will advertise the item online.
3) People can buy the item online and then collect or have it sent by Grab delivery.

Hopefully, we will raise much needed money for church funds!

.

Hair Raising

Over the last few weeks some of you will have seen me sporting extra hair!  I haven’t gone mad, but after thirty years of the same non-hairstyle I am ready for a change.  Such is the prejudice about “wearing a wig” that it has taken a great deal of courage to do so!  (While Pastor Mark has happily had green hair and now a pony-tale or man-bun!)

I think it makes me look younger – and it certainly makes me look different – but whether or not it does or not, I like the change.  (And it’s my head!  Lol!)  All Saints likes to proclaim that “All are Welcome” and by being who we are and modeling the way we want to be seen, we open that door wider for those who are unsure of their welcome if they come as their true selves.

.

Behind the scenes at ASCMM and transACTIONrefuge

I have submitted the 2024 Annual Report for All Saints Chiang Mai Mission to the UK Charity Commission.  ASCMM is a UK register charity which handles funds from the UK for All Saints and the Youth Charity Foundation.  We have seven hardworking trustees who oversee the work and perform this valuable, though unseen, task!  Thank you for all your hard work!

Meanwhile, transACTIONrefuge continues to reach out with valuable information and assistance to hundreds of trans individuals and families who are considering fleeing their homes to find a place of greater safety.  We have recently found a possible source of grant funding and are beginning our application.  Please pray for this work!

.

Chili Night 

Chili Night continues this Tuesday!   Every week 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 THB 100 donation.
 

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

God’s rich provision!

Dear Friends,

For the last few years we have driven out to the Youth Charity Foundation to celebrate our Harvest Thanksgiving, but this year the kids are away so we are celebrating at All Saints before sharing in a potluck at the vicarage. 

For most of us the only harvesting we do is in the supermarket or at the restaurant salad bar, and in a land of plenty like Thailand it is easy to take food for granted. Yet our world still sees starvation due to war in places such as those in Gaza and Sudan.  As we give thanks, we must also remember those in need, and pray and work to make this world a safer place where all are fed and live in safety.

The readings for the Harvest Thanksgiving this Sunday will be from Deuteronomy 8:7-18, Philippians 1:21-30, and Matthew 20:1-16, and we will be singing the hymns Come, Ye Thankful People, Come; For the Fruit of all Creation; For the Beauty of the Earth; and We Plow the Fields and Scatter!

YouTube Live

We will again be using YouTube Live instead of Zoom 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 Service!

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

Theology on Tap – Last Night!

Beer, Pizza and … The Bible?

Join us the first Thursday of the month, to explore your questions—and problems—with the Bible over delicious food and stimulating conversation. We’ll watch a video exploring a spiritual theme, followed by group discussion. Bring a friend, or meet new ones. People of all faiths and no faith are welcome. 

6:00-8:00 pm at Bella Madre Pizza (next to Food4Thought East)
First Thursday of the month
The first gathering was last night, and a great time was had by all!

Harvest Festival—This Sunday, 5th October

This year’s Harvest Festival will be held at All Saints Church as many of the Youth Charity Foundation children will be away.  It will be followed by a potluck at the vicarage.

All Saints’ Book Club

Book Club meets 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 3:30-5:30. Location to be confirmed each week. We’re working our way through The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper.  Contact Christa or Gene for details.

Chili Night 

Chili Night continues this Tuesday!   Every week 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 THB 100 donation.
 

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)}}