Pew News May – June 2024
Readings
April
7th Acts 4v32-5 1John 1v1-2v2 John 20v19-end
14th Acts 3v12-19 1John 3v1-7 Luke 24v36b-48
21st Acts 4v5-12 1John 3v16-end John 10v11-18
28th Acts 8v26-end 1John 4v7-end John 15v1-8
May
5th Acts 10v44-end 1John 5 v1-6 John 15v9-17
12th Acts 1v15-end 1John 5v9-13 John 17v6-18
19th Acts 2v1-21 Romans 8v22-27 John 15v26-27, 16v4b-15
26th Isaiah 6v1-8 Romans 8v12-17 John 3v1-17 (Trinity Sunday)
June
2nd Deuteronomy 5v12-15 2Corinthians 4v5-12 Mark2v23-3v6
9th Genesis 3v8-15 2Corinthians 4v13-5v1 Mark 3v20-end
16th Ezekiel 17vv22-end 2Corinthians 5v6-17 Mark 4v26-34
23rd Job38v1-11 2Corinthians 6v1-13 Mark 4v35-end
30th Lamentations 3v23-33 2Corinthians 8v 7-end Mark 5v21-end
July
7th Ezekiel 2v1-5 2Corinthians 12v2-10 Mark 6v1-13
14th Amos 7v7-15 Ephesians 1v3-14 Mark 6v14-29
21st Jeremiah 23v1-6 Ephesians 2v11-end Mark 6v30-34, 53-end
28th 2Kings 4v42-end Ephesians 3v14-end John 6v1-21
The Christian Institute
The Christian Institute will be holding a meeting in Zion on Wednesday 8th May at 7.30pm. The speakers are Rhys Curnow and Rhys Roberts. The topics that will be addressed are Conversion therapy, assisted suicide and the sanctity of life, and the Relationships curriculum in Schools, explaining how Christians can be a positive influence. All of these topics are highly relevant as they concern all the churches. Flyers advertising the meeting are available now, also booklets and other free literature and publications will be available for anyone to take.
Pembrokeshire prayer for the suffering church
The final Tuesday of the month is the time people gather in Zion from various churches to pray for those who are living under the threat of persecution for their Christian faith. The meeting commences at 7.30pm.
Dilys
It is with a great sense of loss that we learned that Dilys suffered a catastrophic brain haemorrhage and died a few days later. We have missed her for the last 14 months as she went to look after her ailing sister.
The funeral will take place at Zion at 11am on Saturday 11th, followed by burial in Honeyborough cemetery at 12 noon. Refreshments will be served at the church after the service. Our prayers follow her family in their loss, as we also grieve for one so dear to us.
Noah was a conspiracy theorist until it rained
We can be slowly lulled in to a stupor, thinking the way the world does, that things will just go on as they always have, but the apostle Peter says that mockers say “Where is the promise of His coming, for ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
He goes on to speak of facts that escape people’s notice. In times when history is being reinterpreted, old understandings are dismissed and ignored, a new enlightenment is desperately needed.
For those with eyes to see, there is evidence in the heavens, the sun and stars, that things will not just continue as it was from the beginning of creation. Those who will research the past will discover cataclysms recorded in rock art by extinct civilisations which overthrew the unprepared and unsuspecting.
But the day of the Lord will come, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
But according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. See 2 Peter 3 for all the information.
The dates
The date of Easter changes because it follows a lunar rather than a solar calendar. Easter Sunday is the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox. Some years the Passover coincides with Easter, but not always, as this year. Passover begins Monday 22nd April this year. Ascension day is 9th May, and Whit Sunday is 19th May. Spring bank holiday is Monday 27th May. The old holiday was Whit Monday.
Words of encouragement
Psalm 121
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
Pew News March-April 2024
Readings
February
4th Proverbs 8v22-31 Colossians 1v15-20 John 1v1-14
11th 2Kings 2v1-12 2Corinthians 4v3-6 Mark 9v2-9
18th Genesis 9v8-17 1Peter 3v18-end Mark 1v9-15 (Lent 1)
25th Genesis 17v1-7 Romans 4v13-end Mark 8v31-end (Lent 2)
March
3rd Exodus 20v1-17 1Corinthians 1v18-25 John 2v13-22
10th Numbers 21v4-9 Ephesians 2v1-10 John 3v14-21 (Mothering Sunday)
17th Jeremiah 31v31-34 Hebrews 5v5-10 John 12v20-33
24th Isaiah 50v4-9a Philippians 2v5-11 Mark 14v1-end of 15 (Palm Sunday)
31st Isaiah 25v6-9 1Corinthians 15v1-11 John 20v1-18 (Easter Day)
April
7th Acts 4v32-5 1John 1v1-2v2 John 20v19-end
14th Acts 3v12-19 1John 3v1-7 Luke 24v36b-48
21st Acts 4v5-12 1John 3v16-end John 10v11-18
28th Acts 8v26-end 1John 4v7-end John 15v1-8
The old certainties remain. God’s word is truth, the ancient statements of faith used by the churches for centuries are the old landmarks that our fathers have set. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Gospel truth stands secure.
Peter Trumper, remembered by some, said that at the end of time when the Books are opened, the sixty six books of Holy Writ will stand up and proclaim “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here”.
The Christian Institute
Gareth Edwards has retired from being the Wales representative of the Christian Institute. The new representative will be holding a meeting in Zion on Wednesday 8th May at 7.30pm.
The topics that will be addressed are Conversion therapy, the Sanctity of life and the Relationships curriculum in Schools. All of these topics are highly relevant as they concern all the churches. Flyers advertising the meeting will be available nearer the time, also booklets and other free literature and publications will be set out for anyone to take.
David Shanklin
Our heartfelt sympathies are with Janet and all of David’s family after his funeral here at Zion. The very large congregation that gathered spoke volumes of how highly David was respected within the community. We remember him and will miss his singing and cheery personality.
Pembrokeshire prayer for the persecuted church
The final Tuesday of the month is the time people gather from various churches to pray for those who are living under the threat of persecution for their Christian faith. The meeting commences at 7.30pm.
Preachers for Sunday Services
3rd March Paul 10th March Stephen 17th March Hugh
24th March Hugh 31st March (Easter Day) Paul 7th April Stephen
Verse of encouragement.
2 Chronicles15V7
Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
Pew News December – January 2023
Readings
December
3rd Isaiah 64v1-9 1Corinthians 1v3-9 Mark 13v24 -end (Advent)
10th Isaiah 40v1-11 2Peter 3v8-15a Mark 1v1-8
17th Isaiah 61v1-4, 8-end 1Thesalonians 5v16-24 Luke 1v39-56
24th 2Samuel7v1-11,16 Romans 16v25-end Luke 1v26-38
Followed by a Service of Nine lessons and carols at 6pm
25th 10.30am Christmas morning service with seasonal readings
31st Isaiah 61v10-62v3 Galatians 4v4-7 Luke 2v15-21
January
7th Genesis 1v1-5 Acts 19v1-7 Mark1 v1-4
14th 1Samuel 3v1-20 Revelation 5v1-10 John 1v43-end
21st Genesis 4v17-20 Revelation 19v6-10 John 2v1-11
28th Deuteronomy 18v15-20 Revelation 12v1-5a Mark 1v21-28
February
4th Proverbs 8v22-31 Colossians 1v15-20 John 1v1-14
11th 2Kings 2v1-12 2Corinthians 4v3-6 Mark 9v2-9
18th Genesis 9v8-17 1Peter 3v18-end Mark 1v9-15 (Lent 1)
25th Genesis 17v1-7 Romans 4v13-end Mark 8v31-end (Lent 2)
A Christmas Carol
Written by Charles Dickens, the book gives a peep into how the festival of how Christmas came to be observed in Britain and gives an insight into social inequalities that existed in Dickens’ day. The ghost of Christmas past may come to haunt us when our life passes before us in memory, Christmas present is fast approaching and the spectre of Christmas yet to come is not welcome.
We have seen changes in the world that we didn’t expect; crowds in America protesting the lighting of the nation’s iconic Christmas tree as an example. Who would have known it, that the observing of a festival about a Jewish couple, Mary and Joseph, from Nazareth, of the tribe of Judah , traveling to Bethlehem and there Mary giving birth to Jesus in Bethlehem would be a problem to any culture.
But this was 2000 years ago in the Holy Land , six hundred years before Islam and is a potent challenge to the narrative that the Jews only appeared in the area in 1948.
We have taken it for granted for so long that we never expected Christmas to suddenly be a flash point of tension in the west, but this is Christmas present.
When Scrooge was conversing with the ghost of Christmas yet to come, he asks poignantly at his tombstone if this is what must be, or what may be. Does he have time to change the future?
Should we also be making the most of these freedoms of worship that we neglect at our peril?
The book ends with the observation that from then on, if anyone knew how to celebrate Christmas well, it was Ebenezer Scrooge.
The Christmas calendar 2023
The Advent Crown
As in previous years we will mark the season of Advent with lighting the candles on the Advent Crown. Shirley introduced us to the idea and has provided the crown annually. This year she will be giving an introduction to each Sunday of Advent as we progress toward Christmas Day.
For some children the idea of an Advent calendar is more appealing. Each day of the month a door is opened revealing a chocolate treat. Some children (and adults) get through them all before Christmas. After all as one door shuts, another one opens!
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve is on a Sunday this year. Paul will be leading our worship at the 2pm service, followed by refreshments. This will give us an opportunity to enjoy a fellowship tea together to celebrate Christmas. As usual, it will be a faith tea with tables and chairs set out and if we all bring something there is always plenty to share.
After tea, at 6pm we will be holding the service of nine lessons and carols in the main church. Angela will be at the console of the pipe organ and various members of the congregation will be taking part to bring the scripture readings in between the carols. For some people in the town it will be the only service of the year they attend. One person from a congregation in Pembroke said “It would not be Christmas without this service”.
The long poster will be displayed on the railings outside the church in good time to advertise the event.
Christmas Day at 10.30am
There will be a service at 10.30am on Christmas Day led by Paul. It is a short service lasting half an hour or so, with opportunity for children to bring a present to show us all. We can also reflect on the shoeboxes that will be distributed from our fellowship and others on this special day to children around the world.
Christmas Week
There are no midweek services or events planned.
Sunday 31st December
Hugh will be taking the morning service for the congregation at Molleston.
The service at Zion is at 2pm and Stephen Scale will be our speaker.
Pew News October – November 2023
Readings
October
1st Ezekiel 18v1-4 Philippians 2v1-13 Matthew 21v23-32
8th Isaiah 5v1-7 Philippians 3v4b-14 Matthew 21v33-end
15th Isaiah 25v1-9 Philippians 4v1-9 Matthew 22v1-14
22nd Isaiah 45v1-7 1 Thessalonians 1v1-10 Matthew 22v15-22
29th Leviticus 19v1-2, 15-18 1 Thessalonians 2v1-8 Matthew 22v34-end
November
5th Micah 3v5-end 1 Thessalonians 2v9-13 Matthew 24v1-14
12th Amos 5v18-24 1 Thessalonians4v13-end Matthew 25v1-13
19th Zephaniah 1v7, 12-end 1 Thessalonians 5v1-11 Matthew 25v14-30
26th Ezekiel 34v11-16, 20-24 Ephesians 1v15-end Matthew 25v31-end
December
3rd Isaiah 64v1-9 1Corinthians 1v3-9 Mark 13v24 -end (Advent)
10th Isaiah 40v1-11 2Peter 3v8-15a Mark 1v1-8
17th Isaiah 61v1-4, 8-end 1Thesalonians 5v16-24 Luke 1v39-56
24th 2Samuel7v1-11,16 Romans 16v25-end Luke 1v26-38
Service of Nine lessons and carols at 6pm
25th 10.30am service with seasonal readings
31st Isaiah 61v10-62v3 Galatians 4v4-7 Luke 2v15-21
Operation Christmas Child
The time is coming soon when we will be sending the Christmas shoeboxes off to their destinations. It reminds us that the year is fast changing. The clocks go back on Sunday 29th October which means an hour longer in bed but darker evenings into November.
The closure of Wilko is a disappointment for Suzie, but for all of us too who used to buy affordable stuff, and even items for the shoeboxes. Poundland may replace Wilko in the same shop, and hopefully Suzie will be among the new staff hired there.
India
With Gareth having flown to India this week with his work, it is a timely reminder that Christians in India are facing hard times.
The Independent Church of India had 13 churches burned down together with 4 Pastors/Missionary quarters. The total number of other denominational churches and quarters burned down is 357. Also houses burned down in villages near the border front lines is 4550 with the number of destroyed villages being 257.
The churches in this area were planted by Welsh missionaries and so there is some link that persists between believers here and these churches. It is part of unrest and tribal conflict with Hindu factions that are governed or separated by government rules. The Christians have no confidence in regional government being able to resolve the issues and look to God alone.
Joelouis Songate said that there are 45,000 displaced persons in Churchandpur town alone. Volunteers are exhausted , yet they are bound to carry on with the responsibility and need God’s protection and prayer support.
This is an email received after being in contact with a pastor in the middle of the conflict:
Dear in Christ,
Rev. Hugh Michael,
Thank you so much for sending me your mail. May God continue to bless your family, your amazing Zion Free Church, Pembroke Dock in Wales. I am so thankful that you and your esteemed Church members will be upholding us in your prayers. May God great blessings and guidance be upon you all. Thank you so much for your loving care and much concern.
May God bind us together and keep in touch with you.
Rev. Dr. Joelouis Songate,
Please remember them in your prayers.
Lampeter Evangelical Church
The Mustard Seed cafe has been a successful outreach by the local evangelical church for a number of years. The church has been meeting in a public hall until recently holding an English 10.30 Sunday service in the morning and in Welsh at 5pm. When the house next door to the cafe came up for sale, in faith the church bought it and began making plans for a new church building. After many difficulties, changes forced by various authorities, escalating costs and unforeseen complications, the church was completed and has become a great blessing in the area to many people. Lampeter was long known to be devoid of true Gospel outreach and called “the Black Spot” after historic revivals passed it by. Widely held Unitarian beliefs in the area were considered to be the reason.
Last Sunday whilst on holiday we were part of a congregation
of about 100 for the morning communion service. The number surprised the leadership who had to manage without communion cups for themselves, as they had run out of them. If you happen to be in the area, call in at the Mustard Seed for something to eat, or a cup of coffee. They also have Christian books on sale, and some bargain second hand books too. It is a meeting place for local believers so there is always some fellowship to be had if you go.
Pew News September – October 2023
Readings
September
3rd Jeremiah 15v15-21 Romans 12v9-end Matthew 16v21-end
10th Ezekiel 33v7-11 Romans 13v8-end Matthew 18v15-20
17th Genesis 50v15-21 Romans 14v1-12 Matthew 18v21-35 (Harvest Sunday)
24th Jonah 3v10-end of 4 Philippians1v21-end Matthew 20v1-16
October
1st Ezekiel 18v1-4 Philippians 2v1-13 Matthew 21v23-32
8th Isaiah 5v1-7 Philippians 3v4b-14 Matthew 21v33-end
15th Isaiah 25v1-9 Philippians 4v1-9 Matthew 22v1-14
22nd Isaiah 45v1-7 1 Thessalonians 1v1-10 Matthew 22v15-22
29th Leviticus 19v1-2, 15-18 1 Thessalonians 2v1-8 Matthew 22v34-end
November
5th Micah 3v5-end 1 Thessalonians 2v9-13 Matthew 24v1-14
12th Amos 5v18-24 1 Thessalonians4v13-end Matthew 25v1-13
19th Zephaniah 1v7, 12-end 1 Thessalonians 5v1-11 Matthew 25v14-30
26th Ezekiel 34v11-16, 20-24 Ephesians 1v15-end Matthew 25v31-end
Harvest Sunday As mentioned in last month’s news, Harvest Sunday will be 17th September. The offering will be added to the fund reserved for supporting the work of Pavel and Vierca in Serbia with specific focus on helping the old, the infirm and the poor of the household of faith. We send help every two months throughout the year, and the letter of thanks is usually received and read out in the services following the receipt of the funds. Presently 500 Euros are sent each period.
There will be a table for any who wish to bring something for the display, but it is a “Token table” only, the focus being on sending what we can to Serbia.
Pembrokeshire prayer for the persecuted church
The meetings are held in Zion at 7.30pm on the last Tuesday of the month, unless otherwise advised. The contents of each meeting vary and the evening concludes with refreshments. Dilys has full details of the focus of each meeting.
Roberto, Anni and family
After quite some difficulty finding and securing a suitable home to rent, suddenly everything seemed to move swiftly and they were hiring a van to move their furnishings into the new home.
The mature oak tree in the back garden seems to suggest the name “Derwen Fawr” but it would mean nothing in Norwich! The new home is situated mid way between the church’s two sites, so meets the location need. There is some way to go to arrange schools, but until they had a post code, they couldn’t register for schools or doctor’s surgery etc. Their new home backs on to a golf course, and a park leading to a marsh which is a nature reserve.
St. Mary’s Pembroke, Monkton and Lamphey
Rev Peter Jones and his wife Carol will be leaving the area for Bangor in North Wales. Peter’s mother died recently and his father needs support from them. Peter is the chair of the Evangelical Fellowship in the church in Wales, and his presence locally has been appreciated and valued by many. He has no plans to take on another post, but praying to see what his future ministry will look like while he takes responsibility to look after his father. Their last Sunday will be 29th October.
Pew News July-August- September 2
023
Readings
July
2nd Jeremiah 28v5-9 Romans 6v12 – end Matthew 10v40 – end
9th Zechariah 9v9-12 Romans 7v15-25a Matthew 11v16-19, 25 – end
16th Isaiah 55v10-13 Romans 8v1-11 Matthew 13v1-9, 18 – 23
23rd Isaiah 44v6-8 Romans 8v12-25 Matthew 13v24-30, 36-43
30th 1Kings 3v5-12 Romans 8v12-17 Matthew 13v31-33, 44-52
August
6th Isaiah 55v1-5 Romans 9v1-5 Matthew14v13-21
13th 1KIngs 19v9-18 Romans 10v5-15 Matthew 14v22-33
20th Isaiah 56v6-8 Romans 11v1-2, 29-32 Matthew 15v21-28
27th Isaiah 51v1-6 Romans 12v1-8 Matthew 16v13-20
September
3rd Jeremiah 15v15-21 Romans 12v9-end Matthew 16v21-end
10th Ezekiel 33v7-11 Romans 13v8-end Matthew 18v15-20
17th Genesis 50v15-21 Romans 14v1-12 Matthew 18v21-35
24th Jonah 3v10-end of 4 Philippians1v21-end Matthew 20v1-16
Roberto, Anni and family have now left for their new ministry in Norwich. It has been a big upheaval for them and they are now looking for a suitable house to rent. They have arrived during the church camp and will be going under canvass for the next week or so. The Chinese water dragon and the rabbit made the six and a half hour road trip OK too.
Cleaning
Thanks to all who participated in the big clean up to prepare the church for summer mission and keeping up the exterior appearance. When it is all done, no one notices, but if the forecourt is overgrown with weeds and the paths get slippery with mould it soon looks like no one cares.
Harvest Sunday will be 17th September. The offering will be added to the fund reserved for supporting the work of Pavel and Vierca in Serbia with specific focus on helping the old, the infirm and the poor of the household of faith. We send help every two months throughout the year, and the letter of thanks are usually read out in the services following the receipt of the funds. Presently 500 Euros are sent every period.
This year’s Beach Mission
Change to published dates: the mission starts 29th July and continues until 12th August.
JP Ernest will be preaching on Sunday 30th July and Steve Cook on 6th August.
From the Open Air Mission archives 100 years ago, 1923.
The Half Cannot be Told
Tenby, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock, Carmarthen, Llandeilo, Llandovery, Bridgend,and many other centres of special interest and opportunity in South Wales have also been visited by missioners with No. 6 Wagon, and we are almost bewildered by the story of this wonderful tour, with many and varied tokens of great blessing. At Tenby, some delightful children’s services were held on the sands and the Gospel was preached in the town amid great crowds of listeners. The dinner-hour services held at the entrance to Pembroke Dockyard were wonderful opportunities of reaching the men thus employed. Quite a spiritual stir was created among them, and the meetings became the theme of earnest conversation in the Dockyard, many men confessing to a Christian fellow workman that they were wrong and he was right.
A friend at Pembroke writes:- I cannot find words to express my gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the visit of the Gospel motor wagon to our town, and all in answer to prayer. We, as a little band of mission workers have been praying for someone to come along and help us, and I feel certain that the visit of your mission workers to our district has made a lasting impression. At the meetings at the Dockyard and Market Place the word was listened to with rapt attention , and last night at the Mill Bridge, Pembroke , hundreds stood listening. As we watched their eager looks, drinking in the truth, we thanked God for such a Mission. We still will pray that if our Lord tarries, you will be led to pay us a return visit. This town is so remote that it is over 40 years since we had a visit from a ‘Gospel Van’.
Comment
For many years Zion has been glad to be associated with the work and workers of the Open Air Mission, most recently in providing accommodation for the Tenby mission. Edwin Baker once said there was a man working on the Irish Ferry as a manager of the on board shop who he thought would be a valuable addition to the work and may replace him in leadership of the Beach Mission, as he was feeling his age. Eventually Irish Ferries lost a good man and the mission gained one, known to us all as JP.
Local vintage and agricultural shows.
For those interested in going along to support the local shows, the 2023 Martletwy show is on Wednesday August 23rd at Carew Airfield in Sageston SA708SK.
Mr David Shanklin will be there as ever, and any further details can be obtained from him.
The 36th Camrose vintage working day will be held on Saturday 26th August at Folly Cross fields in Camrose SA62 6JG . Mr John Scanlon and Kathleen will be displaying the railway models again this year. Look in on the models tent and see them.
Isaiah 40v31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Pew News June – July – August 2023
Readings
June
4th Isaiah 40v12-17, 27-end 2Corinthians 13v11-end Matthew 28v16-end
11th Hosea 5v15-6v6 Romans 4v13-end Matthew 9v9-13, 18-26
18th Exodus 19v2-8 Romans 5v1-8 Matthew 9v35-10v8
25th Jeremiah 20v7-13 Romans 6v1-11 Matthew 10v24-39
July
2nd Jeremiah 28v5-9 Romans 6v12 – end Matthew 10v40 – end
9th Zechariah 9v9-12 Romans 7v15-25a Matthew 11v16-19, 25 – end
16th Isaiah 55v10-13 Romans 8v1-11 Matthew 13v1-9, 18 – 23
23rd Isaiah 44v6-8 Romans 8v12-25 Matthew 13v24-30, 36-43
30th 1Kings 3v5-12 Romans 8v12-17 Matthew 13v31-33, 44-52
August
6th Isaiah 55v1-5 Romans 9v1-5 Matthew14v13-21
13th 1KIngs 19v9-18 Romans 10v5-15 Matthew 14v22-33
20th Isaiah 56v6-8 Romans 11v1-2, 29-32 Matthew 15v21-28
27th Isaiah 51v1-6 Romans 12v1-8 Matthew 16v13-20
This year’s Beach Mission
JP Ernest plans to arrive on Friday 21st July and get the rooms organised ready for the team to arrive on Saturday 22nd. The teams will be with us until Saturday 5th August working on Tenby South Beach and in the town centre. The Sunday services will be taken by members of the Beach Mission on Sundays 23rd and 30th of July.
It will be a joy to see some old friends back here again and to welcome some new team members. One of the great benefits of being on a team is to get on the job training and get experience in mission and outreach. At one time there were three of the ministers in Pembroke and Pembroke Dock churches that were converted through Beach missions. Young team members of today could well be the preachers and teachers in the churches of tomorrow.
Roberto, Anni and family are leaving on Wednesday 1st June to fly to Mexico until 24th to visit family there, particularly to support Roberto’s mother and brother after his brother’s ordeal being kidnapped by a gang for a week before being released. Kidnapped people usually disappear never to be found alive again in that part of the world, so it is miracle and a great deliverance.
Let us pray for their security and safety while they are away.
Dilys is still fully engaged in looking after her sister Margaret and missing her Zion family. Margaret is seriously ill and as well as an untreatable UTI she also has a chest infection to add to her ailments.
Coffee, Craft and Company continues to be enjoyed and appreciated by all who come. The group is running just below the maximum that can be taken, and has been a spiritual help to some who haven’t been able to get much fellowship in other ways. The group runs until Monday 17th July before the summer recess, and the Beach Mission teams starts to arrive on the Friday.
Ascension Day morning service was a joy just to be present. The readings, prayers and hymns focussed everyone’s attention on our Lord’s completion of His incarnate presence on earth and His glorious ascension into heaven, from whence He came.
Though it was our first celebration of the day, it will certainly not be the last.
Acts 1v9 “While they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. “
Trinity Sunday follows Whit Sunday in the church calendar, reminding us of the settled doctrine of the church relating to the way God chooses to reveal himself: one God having three personal self-distictions of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Some of the cults around today want to perpetuate the old heresy that would rob Christ of his glory, and demean the Holy Spirit to mere “power”.
St. Athanatius was one of the church fathers who effectively and decisively defeated the contrary Arian heresy showing from the Scriptures the deity of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. In 325 AD he attended the council of Nicaea which condemned Arianism. The Nicene creed is said in many churches regularly.
Below is not the full text of the creed of St Athanatius which is said in place of the Apostles’ Creed on Trinity Sunday in many churches, but excerpts serve to illustrate his teaching:
We worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
Neither confounding the Persons: nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son: and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one: the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son: and such is the Holy Ghost. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated: and the Holy Ghost uncreated. And yet they are not three eternals: but one eternal.
St.Athanatius was also credited to be the first to publish the agreed canon of the 27 books of the New Testament, which is also settled for the churches down to this present day.
Summer approaches and with it warmer days and the possibility of using the main chapel. Over the winter the accumulation of dead flies on the window sills, blown in dust and grit from outside settling on the pews calls out for some action. No day and time has been arranged yet, but expect a call to get together with dustpans, brushes and the usual tools for a freshen up of the pews and gallery. The time that the beach mission are here is when we need to use the chapel to save disrupting their arrangements downstairs.