Letter from Fr Timothy
My Dear People
Our God is a God who comes to us.
By the time you read
this we will be well into the season of Advent. The word means “coming” from the Latin ADVENTUS, and during the
season of Advent we look forward to the coming of God in Christ in a very
special way. What this means for us as
a people of faith, is that Advent ought to be a time of preparation as
we not only look forward to God’s coming, but prepare to welcome God into our
lives.
I would like us to focus on this process of PREPARATION, for it has huge
implications for who we are in Christ and where God wants us to be. In other words, how do we become an “advent
people”?
Firstly, it is not so much a question of us preparing to meet the Lord,
but rather a matter of Being Prepared i.e. “being” is a passive verb and
highlights the fact that God prepares us. For you see, God is not only preparing Bethlehem for the birth of
His Son … He is also preparing us for His presence in our lives. God is preparing the way … in YOU. All we can do is to be open to His “Coming
Presence”.
Secondly, we prepare, we become an ‘advent people’ by Receiving God’s
Love. Too many people (in spite of
professing a Christian faith) are incapable of fully receiving God’s love for
themselves. It’s an elusive thing that
somehow is beyond their reach – though definitely something others can freely
receive. “I am undeserving” or “I am
unworthy”, seems to be the battle-cry of so many Christians. According to Isaiah this is true, for he
says “all we like sheep have gone astray…”, but the fact is God’s very Own
Presence in the Babe of Bethlehem tells a different story. It tells of a God who wants His people to
know that they are loved with a love that is both indescribable and
unfathomable.
The Advent story tells of an unconditional love that has conquered evil
and separation. It shouts of
reconciliation and restitution. Bernard
of Clairvaux (1090-11530 puts it all in perspective for us:
Jesus,
what made you so small?
Love!
Embrace that love this advent.
It is for YOU! Know beyond a
shadow of a doubt this season that you are the special object of God’s love and
grace. It will set you free to become
an “advent person”, to live as “advent people”.
Closely linked to this is my third point. We become “advent people” by becoming a Forgiving People. None of us can live without
forgiveness. Often, however, the very
first step to believing in the forgiveness of God (and the acceptance of this
overwhelming Well of Love) – or one another – is to forgive OURSELVES (warts
and all). This is the hardest bit, for
it represents a form of confession from self-blame to forgiving and accepting
oneself. Forgiving yourself is a grace,
which comes from believing that you are forgiven by God. Jesus spoke repeatedly about the forgiveness
of God and Himself offered the gift of that forgiveness and unconditional love.
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“What the world needs first of all, and most of all, from the Church,
is comfort, help in lifting and understanding its pain, its wounds, its
anxieties, its raging restlessness, its temptations, its infidelities and its
sin. Like the prodigal son, it needs
first of all to be surprised by unconditional love. Some time later, and there will be a time for that, it will
want some challenge. And our comfort
must be offered not on the basis of human optimism, human forgiveness, and
human potential; in some respects,
the world already understands more deeply than we do. No, the comfort we offer is that which we
ourselves will first feel when we begin to realise how wide, all-embracing
and all-forgiving is the heart of God.”
Ronald Rolheiser, Give
Comfort to My People
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This is the truth I would encourage us all to claim for ourselves at
this Advent season. That we are God’s
beloved. Life, says Henri Nouwen, is
most of all about saying “YES” to the One who call us the Beloved. You see, once we can believe and trust unreservedly
that we are loved, we are free to abandon every false way of obtaining love,
e.g. people’s opinions, human glory, material security, great notoriety, or any
of those false ‘gods’ that ultimately are never satisfied or never satisfy.
With Jesus a new humanity was born.
God became a child so that we may know He is not far away. The Word became flesh. God entered human history.
I wonder, do we understand the awesome depth of
it all – I fear not?
May you receive the reality of the God’s unconditional love for you this
Advent Season. May you live with the
‘advent awareness” that God is always ready to forgive and has come to us with
His saving grace that we might be free, and as we are freed we will reflect the
HOPE that Advent always proclaims.
May we receive this Wonderful God, this Saviour, this Prince of Peace
with open hearts and minds – i.e. may we truly be an “advent people” as we
profess Jesus as Saviour.
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Christmas means:
He has come.
He has made the
night clear.
He has made the night
of our darkness,
the night of our
lack of understanding,
the cruel night
of our fears
and our
hopelessness
into Christmas,
the holy night
In the Word made
flesh,
God has sent his
last Word,
his most profound
Word,
his most beautiful
Word,
into the world.
And that Word
means:
I love you,
world and
humanity.
Light the Candles!
They have more
right here
than darkness.
Karl Rahner
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I can say it no more profoundly than this. May you all have a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Words from Mother Teresa
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway…
If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway...
If you are successful, You will win some false friends and some true
enemies;
Succeed anyway...
If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway...
What you spend years building, Someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway...
If you find serenity and happiness, Others may be jealous;
Be happy anyway...
The good you do today, People will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway...
Give the world the best you have, And it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway...
You see, in the final analysis, It is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway...
Sent in by Heather Napier from a sermon by Fr Timothy
The Meaning of
Christmas
By Helge Peterson
‘Twas the Beginning of
Advent
by Todd Jenkins
'Twas the beginning of Advent and all through the Church
Our hope was all dying
– we'd given up on the search.
It wasn't so much that
Christ wasn't invited,
But after 2,000 plus
years we were no longer excited.
Oh, we knew what was
coming-- no doubt about that.
And that was the
trouble-- it was all "old hat."
November brought the
first of an unending series of pains
With carefully
orchestrated advertising campaigns.
There were gadgets and
dolls and all sorts of toys.
Enough to seduce even
the most devout girls and boys.
Unfortunately, it
seemed, no one was completely exempt
From this seasonal
virus that did all of us tempt.
The priests and prophets and certainly the kings
Were all so consumed
with the desire for "things!"
It was rare, if at
all, that you'd hear of the reason
For the origin of this
whole holy-day season.
A baby, it seems, once had been born
In the mid-east
somewhere on that first holy-day morn.
But what does that
mean for folks like us,
Who've lost ourselves
in the hoopla and fuss?
Can we re-learn the
art of wondering and waiting,
Of hoping and praying,
and anticipating?
Can we let go of all
the things and the stuff?
Can we open our hands
and our hearts long enough?
Can we open our eyes and open our ears?
Can we find him again
after all of these years?
Will this year be
different from all the rest?
Will we be able to
offer him all of our best?
So many questions,
unanswered thus far,
As wisemen seeking the
home of the star.
Where do we begin –
how do we start
To make for the child
a place in our heart?
Perhaps we begin by letting go
Of our limits on hope,
and of the stuff that we know.
Let go of the
shopping, of the chaos and fuss,
Let go of the
searching, let Christmas find us.
We open our hearts,
our hands and our eyes,
To see the king coming
in our own neighbours' cries.
We look without
seeking what we think we've earned,
But rather we're
looking for relationships spurned.
With him he brings wholeness and newness of life
For brother and
sister, for husband and wife.
The Christ-child comes
not by our skill,
But rather he comes by
his own Father's will.
We can't make him come
with parties and bright trees,
But only by getting
down on our knees.
He'll come if we wait amidst
our affliction,
Coming in spite of,
not by our restriction.
His coming will happen
– of this there's no doubt.
The question is
whether we'll be in or out.
"Behold, I stand
at the door and knock."
Do you have the
courage to peer through the lock?
A basket on your
porch, a child in your reach.
A baby to love, to
feed and to teach.
He'll grow in wisdom
as God's only Son.
How far will we follow
this radical one?
He'll lead us to
challenge the way that things are.
He'll lead us to
follow a single bright star.
But that will come
later if we're still around.
The question for now:
Is the child to be found?
Can we block out commercials, the hype and the malls?
Can we find solitude
in our holy halls?
Can we keep alert,
keep hope, stay awake?
Can we receive the
child for ours and God's sake?
From on high with the
caroling host as he sees us,
He yearns to read on
our lips the prayer: Come Lord Jesus!
As Advent begins all
these questions make plea.
The only true answer:
We will see, we will see.
FINDING GOD IN A GARDEN
Those of us who have been privileged to experience the flowers of
Namaqua-land, in one of those seasons of overwhelming beauty, can never again
doubt the wonder of our God and His Creation;
the intricacy, perfection and variety of the myriads of unique flowers,
and the miracle of life bursting out from a dormant desert; the effect of sun
and cloud cover and the activity of birds and bees in response to bursting
blossoms. If one is not already an
unquestioning believer – instant conversion!
The wisdom of the architect of St Francis Church is apparent in the
situation of the Garden of Remembrance so that a wall of glass enables us to be
aware of this same glory of Creation while we worship Him.
It is with great appreciation that we pay tribute to and give thanks for
the contribution of Stella Butler, who through her love of our LORD tends this
beautiful garden with tireless devotion;
we are truly lifted up by what she, and others, contribute to our
awareness of the beauty of our surroundings.
It will come as no surprise then, that Stella’s maiden name is GODDEN; GOD is truly in this garDEN!
60
Conway Road
Sunnyridge
EAST LONDON 5201
22 November 2001
Fr Timothy Lowes and St Franciscans
Dear Tim and friends at St Francis
We are overwhelmed by the kindness of the people at St Francis in
providing us with such a splendid farewell gift. Thank you so much – we do appreciate your love. We are going to order new chalbs from
Birches in Grahamstown with part of your gift, so St Francis will play an
ongoing role in our ministry. The
remainder of the gift will be used to buy something special that will remind us
of your generosity and the rich experience we had over the years at St
Francis. We shall advise you as soon
and we have found something suitable.
Sunday 11 November was very special to us as it gave us the opportunity
to celebrate and preach at our final service and greet many of you for the last
time in our official capacity as clergy serving at St Francis.
The people of All Saints East London have been very kind and considerate. One of the ladies who had come to stock our
pantry greeted us with “welcome home”.
We are getting there – there are now more empty boxes than packed ones
and most of the rooms are relatively uncluttered. We were hoping to lie low on the first Sunday – our furniture had
been delivered on the previous Friday – but this wasn’t to be! The Bishop of Grahamstown was visiting the
parish, and we felt we should attend the service. He was extremely gracious and called us up to the front and, in
introducing us, said, “do you see these people, well they are here but they are
not here – please give them a chance to settle in.”
Once again, friends, thank you for your practical thoughtfulness. We pray that God will continue to use St
Francis in the extension of His kingdom, and that He will bless you all richly.
Sincere regards
Ed & Gloria
HI AND BYE
FROM THE
CHILDREN’S CHURCH
I cannot believe how
quickly this year has come to an end.
It feels like just the other day that we were welcoming everybody back
at the beginning of the new year.
I wish that I could
highlight just one or two really great moments, but that is impossible. We have done so much this year. I’m sure that anyone who went into the hall
during the year noticed some of our children’s amazing hand work, or saw the
train of photos. Our moms and dads all
got to something to take home on their “Special days”, and now during November
we have had great fun making Christmas cards for our Policemen and women and
decorations for the Princess Christian Home.
One of the many
special moments this year was listening to (and watching) the prayers that the
children say during our “service” on a Sunday morning.
We have also had the
privilege of raising over R2000.00 for the Avril Elizabeth Home, who we chose
to be the recipient of our collections this year. A HUGE thank you to all the children for breaking our target not once
but twice.
But none of this could
have happened if it wasn’t for some of the most dedicated people I know, my
team of Children’s Church teachers and assistants and they are (in no specific
order): Leeanne v/d Walt, Pam Smith, Bronwyn Smith, Monica Smith, Annemarie
Smith, Toine v/d Oever, Tania Ferreira, Wesley Hill, John Evans, Linda Lewis,
Tlhabi Tlailane, Evodia Tlailane, and Lois and Luke Winter. To each and everyone of you I want to say
THANK YOU a thousand times. You have
made this year the success that I think it has been. All your hard work and time spent in planning and preparing your
lessons to make them interesting and fun has paid off. To those of you are taking some time off to
refill and refresh yourselves, we will miss you and know that there will always
be a space for you with us. (And to
anyone who is interested in becoming involved in this ministry please contact
me.)
To all the children, I
hope that this year was as much fun for you as it was for me and that I’ll see
you all back at children’s church next year.
Enjoy your holidays, and remember that Christmas is not just about all
the extra goodies that we get, but that it is about remembering when Jesus came
to earth as a baby, to be with us and teach us about how much God loves us and
how much we should love Him.
See you all next year.
Loads of love
Liz
Who says Christians aren’t
funny?
1. Church parking lot sign .... FOR MEMBERS
ONLY ! TRESPASSERS WILL BE BAPTISED !!
2. “FREE TRIP TO HEAVEN" Details inside
3. "Searching for a new look ?" Have
your faith lifted here
4. A singing group called "The
Resurrection" was scheduled to sing at a church. When a big snowstorm postponed the performance, the pastor fixed
the outside sign to read, "Resurrection Postponed"
5. God so loved the world that he did not send
a Committee
6. Come in and pray
today, beat the Christmas Rush !!!
7. "Sign broken.
Message inside this Sunday"
8. "FIGHT TRUTH
DECAY - STUDY THE BIBLE DAILY"
9. "How will you spend
eternity - Smoking or Non-Smoking?"
10. "Come work
for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long and the pay is low. But the
retirement benefits are out of this world"
11. "It is
unlikely that there will be a reduction in the wages of sin"
12. "If you are
headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-Turns"
13. "If you don't
like the way you were born, try being born again"
14. "Looking at
the way some people live, they ought to obtain eternal fire insurance
soon"
15. "Forbidden
fruit creates many jams"
16. "IN THE DARK?
FOLLOW THE SON"
17. "If you can't
sleep don't count sheep, talk to the Shepherd"
Thoughts and ideas about Advent
from the King of Peace Episcopal Church,
Kingsland, Georgia
Christmas has
increasingly become a holiday cut off from its purpose of celebrating the birth
of Jesus Christ. It is, therefore, important for Christians to recapture the
season of Advent as a time for preparing for Christmas.
Advent begins the
church year, starting four Sundays before Christmas. The season of Advent has
been set aside as a time of preparation for Christmas since at least the last
half of the 6th century. Advent is a time for self-examination and asking for
forgiveness as the church is preparing for Christ’s Second Coming even as it prepares
for Christmas. This is why the colour of the season is purple (or sometimes
blue), which is used for marking Lent, the season of self-examination preceding
Easter. The third week in Advent is set aside as more celebratory than the
others. Rose is the colour of this week rather than purple to mark the week,
which is why a rose candle is used in Advent wreaths.
An Advent Calendar
Another way to mark
the days in Advent is to use an Advent calendar. These calendars usually have a
door to open each night to reveal a picture or an object (such as a small toy
or candy). The days of Advent vary each year, so store-bought Advent calendars
usually have 24 doors, one for each day in December leading up to Christmas.
Opening an Advent calendar may follow the Advent Wreath service to more closely
tie the service itself to the countdown of days.
The Advent Wreath
The circle of the
wreath and the evergreens that make it up both signify God’s endless mercy and
undying love. Three purple candles and one rose-colored (pink) candle are
evenly spaced around the wreath. There is one larger white candle in the center
of the wreath. The wreath can be as simple as four candle holders with greenery
laid around them to form a circle. However, some traditions attach meanings to
using different greens, each signifying another aspect of the season. These
include:
Ivy—to remind us of the human spirit clinging to
God’s strength.
Cedar—to remind us of eternal life available to all
through Christ.
Holly—to remind us of Jesus’ crown of thorns.
Bay—to remind us of victory over sin and death.
Each week, an
additional candle is lit. As the light grows brighter, we are reminded that the
Light of the World will soon arrive in glory. The central white candle is to be
larger (often thicker) than the four in the wreath. This relatively recent
addition to the Advent wreath signifies the Light of Christ and is first lit on
Christmas Eve and relit burned on Christmas Day.
A Nativity Scene
A nativity scene
(sometimes called a crèche), is yet another way to highlight the season of
Advent. Instead of putting out the whole set at once, try building the scene
slowly. Begin with the manger the first week. Add a few animals the second
week. Then add Mary and Joseph on the third week. On Christmas Eve add the baby
Jesus and any additional figures. The wise men and camels don’t arrive until
Epiphany (January 6). This increases the feeling of anticipation that is
Advent.
