NNNNeeeewwwwssss The Eight O’Clock

June 2013 8 am Service, Christ Church Richmond Road Kenilworth Telephone 021-797-6332

Rejoice

In the Lord

Always...

my face to God and say, What now? Let me do Your will and not another’s; let me hear Your still small voice of calm. Then, in answer to my prayer, my priorities shift and my ‘To Do List’ changes. This poem by Joanna Fuchs entitled ‘To Do List From God’ says it all:

I ran my life in search of worldly things;

My time and will were firmly in control.

I thought I had no need for what God brings;

I gave no heed to murmurs from my soul.

“You’re planning, doing all the time,” it said,

“But something else is missing deep inside.

Your mind is whirling, but your heart is dead,

So turn to God and let go of your pride.”

I did, and God said, “Here’s My plan for you:

Give your life to Me, and just let go.

Have faith and pray, and read the Bible through,

And you’ll have blessings more than you can know.”

So simple, yet it brings me perfect peace,

Living life for God the way I should.

Direction, purpose, fullness and release—

Life with God is very, very good.

And… as I was writing this, I received an email message from ‘Alive to God’: This is the promise that I will make to them, says the Lord: I will put My teachings in their hearts and write them in their minds. Hebrews 10:16

* What a joy it is for us to be able to do what God wants us to do. * Let Him touch your heart and mind. * Let His words fill you and fill your heart. * Let your mind and heart be consumed with His goodness and grace.

PRAYER: Lord, I pray that Your words will fill my heart and

mind. Help me not to allow the 'things of the world'

to dominate my thinking, but may Your presence

invade my being. Amen.

- Cheryl Anderson

God’s to-do List We are nearly halfway

through the year, yet sometimes I feel that 2013 is only just beginning! The weeks rush by in a maze of doing but my ‘to do list’ seems to get longer. The corporate beast is insatiable in its quest for

more and little respite is offered. I can’t wait for the weekends to chill out and clear my head of the clutter. While tidying cupboards on a rainy day I reflected on life’s priorities and what indeed keeps my ‘to do list’ full. I don’t want to be seen as ‘busy doing’ but would rather be known to be in touch with ‘being’. Life may be demanding—rather that, than ‘busy’. But how to cope with the demands…? In between the cupboard tidying and the discarding of things not used in a while, I finished reading a novel which also made me reflect on the different perspectives with which we see things. The story took place during the Great War when an artist found himself on the front in Ypres, driving ambulances and caring for the war-wounded. Despite his attempts to engage his girlfriend in his accounts of what he had been witness to, she was unable to understand fully. For her, there was another life taking place in parallel to the ongoing war: her life of becoming an established artist, expanding her circle of influence within the Bloomsbury group and winning accolades, without conscience that a war was being fought just across the channel. I have to confess that is similar to what I experience in my working life sometimes—the only objective seems to be to win at all costs; climb the mountain, be the best and achieve more and more. Yet, I’ll share my secret with you; despite the corporate battle being fought, I try to live another life in parallel. Although aware of what needs to be done, I let go of the control. I tear up my ‘To Do List’ created from the worldly pressure and I turn

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When God and Cancer Meet (True stories of hope and healing by Lynn Eib)

This book is real in that it does not hide cancer

and it's problems/difficulties but brings hope both to the sufferer and those standing on the sidelines.

"Cancer is a very deep pit but God's touch is deeper still."

Lynn Eib, herself a cancer survivor (her oncologist is a Messianic Jew and what a story he has to share) founded the cancer support in 1991. When first diagnosed she said, God, You are making a really big mistake here.

You may be facing surgery and hoping the doctor will get it all; You’re trying to be strong while you hold the hand of a loved one; Perhaps you’re plodding through chemotherapy and radiation hoping that they will work; Perhaps you’re undergoing tests and longing for them to work and longing for good news. This is a book of eternal hope and encouragement and stresses the importance of having others alongside to help when going through this difficult valley.

“When God and Cancer Meet* is a harbour of hope and a bounty of blessings for those devastated by a dreadful diagnosis. Patient advocate and cancer survivor Lynn Eib offers encouraging evidence and passionate testimony of the power of prayer and faith to overcome despair and disease.”

It will shortly be available in the Resource Centre.

- Judy Jenkins. (*Tyndale House Publishers, R80 at

Scripture Union Bookshop in Rondebosch.)

Building Hope for the Hopeless

The Feeding the Hungry ministry took steps some

years back to include a little hand-up with the big daily hand-out by employing General Malepe as Advice Officer, based at St Philips Church. This year we have taken another step in the right direction of hand-up. On the second Wednesday of the month, General and/or Father Marcus lead a church service at St Philips for our men and women from the Feeding the Hungry lines. The one-hour service begins at 11.30 am when they are unlikely to get work for the day. The aim is that our men (and women) grow both spiritually and personally; so that each person grows in relationship with God. As this starts s/he begins to believe in her/himself and hope is re-ignited. Can you imagine waiting day in and day out at the side of the road, and going home every day empty handed to a hungry family? How can hope stay alive without a strong faith in God? Secondly, surely the positive effect of a growing faith and love for God and self will touch the family, neighbours and in time, the community? As the men form a relationship with General, so he collates information regarding their previous work and abilities in the hope that he can help them in their constant, desperate search for work. If any of the above speaks to your heart, here is how you can help:

* If you need a worker, phone General on 083 403 2890 or 021 801 2645 at the Advice Office (Monday and Wednesdays ± 11.00–15 00). Your call may well be an answer to prayer!

* Show that you care by coming to a service.

* Pray for the men—for their families, their safety and for work. Telephone General if you would prefer to have a name to pray for.

- Jean Swan

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Intimacy and Transcendence

Eugene Petersen in Living the Message, a daily

devotional book states:

There are two essentials of human fullness—

Intimacy and Transcendence.

In Intimacy we want to experience human love,

trust and joy.

We long for a human touch, for someone who

knows our name.

In Transcendence we want to experience divine

love and trust and joy.

We hunger for divine meaning and someone who

Marion and

Roger

Thompson

We both thoroughly

enjoyed our recent trip to the Kruger; Rog had his ups and downs but coped extremely well and overall our very late decision to go on this wonderful trip, organised by Carol (Roger’s sister, in middle of photograph) some 11 months ago, was a good one. Carol and her husband Les could not have done more to accommodate Rog and his problems and the trip proved to be 'soup for the soul' and a good boost for us both. The bush was luscious after all the rains and floods that the Kruger had experienced so unfortunately there was a distinct lack of animal and bird life though this did not distract from the beauty of the surrounding bush and countryside. Since getting home a week or so ago Rog had a follow up appointment with his doctor. He suddenly had to face undergoing a procedure to insert a stent into the top of each of his legs in an attempt to counteract the effects of the growth which has been doing its best to strangulate various veins and arteries in his lower body. I am thrilled to say he is now safely back home so here's hoping he will go from strength to strength in the forthcoming weeks.

We are overjoyed to share with you all the news we received late yesterday advising us that new medication available from America, which we and so many others have been praying for over the last six months, could be approved as a trial in this country has almost come true. We have been told that the application is now with the Medical Council in the final stages before hopeful approval and we sincerely pray the treatment will come to fruition within the next few weeks. This new drug is apparently a form of chemotherapy specifically for Rog's rare type of cancer so our hopes and dreams are marching onwards. We have been blessed and will go forward knowing that miracles can and do happen. Our sincere thanks once more to all who have prayed, shared our grief as well as our happy moments, and given us overwhelming support.

- Marion and Roger Thompson

will bless us.

We are after

intimacy and

trust—

relationship with

personal friends

and a personal

God; love

through prayer

and worship together.

- Part of Barrie Jack’s introduction to the service on 26 May 2013

(Barrie & Joy in photograph)

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Tygerbear Alison Lester (below)knitted 31 Teddy Bears for the Tygerbear Centre for Abused Children. A few weeks ago, I drove her to Tygerberg Hospital to deliver the bears in what she termed my BearMobile. (In fact Alison has become known as Miss Daisy to our Beulah Group as often we take turns in driving her somewhere!)

At the Tygerbear Centre we were both extremely saddened by the captions under the

photographss of children cuddling their teddies—atrocities committed on these young ones too horrific to contemplate. The poem also displayed at the Centre refers to the comfort that a lovingly knitted teddy can bring to an abused child but doesn’t however, detail the extent of the different types of abuse encountered. Alison not only decorated her bears with beautiful motifs of flowers and butterflies but knitted the shape of the Cross into them and prayed over each bear. She prayed for the frightened and bewildered recipients and also for those who would hand out the bears, those counselling broken hearts and ministering love.

- Cheryl Anderson

Listen to the Words of a Child Teddy, I’ve been bad again, My Mommy told me so;

I’m not sure what I did wrong,

But I thought that you might know.

When I woke up this morning,

I knew that she was mad;

Cause she was crying awful hard,

And yelling at my Dad.

I tried my best to be real good,

And do just what she said;

I cleaned my room all by myself,

I even made my bed.

But I spilled my milk on my good shirt,

When she yelled at me to hurry;

And I guess she didn’t hear me,

When I told her I was sorry.

Cause she hit me awful hard you, you see,

And called me funny names;

And told me I was really bad,

And I should be ashamed.

When I said, “I love you Mommy,”

I guess she didn’t understand;

Cause she yelled at me to shut my mouth,

Or I’d get smacked again.

So I came up here to talk to you,

Please tell me what to do;

Cause I really love my Mommy,

And I know she loves me, too.

And I don’t think my Mommy means,

To hit me quite so hard;

I guess sometimes grown-ups forget,

How really big they are.

So Teddy, I wish you were real,

And you weren’t just a bear;

Then you could help me find a way,

To tell Mommies everywhere.

To please try hard to understand

How sad it makes us feel;

Cause the outside pain soon goes away,

But the inside never heals.

And if we could make them listen,

Maybe then they’d understand;

So other children just like me,

Wouldn’t have to hurt again.

But for now, I guess I’ll hold you tight,

And pretend the pain’s not there;

I know you’ll never hurt me,

So Goodnight, Teddy Bear... - Author Unknown

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The Good

Neighbour

A few Sundays ago

we were walking back from Stepping Stones when we stopped to admire a bunch of beautiful blue balloons attached to a wall. A vehicle arrived driven by a man who said, We had a party here last night for someone who had reached a big age—my daughter turned 21 yesterday. Would you like to come in and have a piece of birthday cake? We went into the garden where there was a large open tent and lovely sunflowers. The gentleman went inside and came out carrying two beautiful cup cakes decorated with the most beautiful icing. He also brought a jar of yellow and white flowers for us to take home. He said, Let me carry the cakes for you, and walked with us to our gate. I told him that my granddaughter turned 4 yesterday, and would you believe it—both birthday girls are called Laura! What a kind and generous neighbour who had so enjoyed celebrating a very special milestone with his family. You may know him—his name is Alan Barnard.

- Diana Hoffa (photograph taken on holiday in KZN)

Mother’s Day Roses I want to thank the Connect

group for the lovely thought of giving us mothers, grannies and older women each a rose last Sunday. Mine is still thriving in the vase and looking beautiful. It is such a pleasure to be able to look at it whenever we sit at the dining and living room table. God has made it quite wonderfully. Please let the group know from us that we do appreciate what they have done.

- Merle Price

The Story of MK One of the speakers at the recent Rotary District

Conference in Cape Town was Donovan, a late 20+ Church-worker in Du Noon, near Milnerton. He told delegates the inspiring story about a nine-year-old, severely physically handicapped boy from the squatter camp, who is known only as MK, because his name contains those initials in abundance—and no-one can pronounce it… It took Donovan and his colleagues a month to realize that, in order for MK to attend church, which he did faithfully, he had to literally crawl along the dusty streets from the house he shared with his depressed and alcoholic mother and dead-beat father—and when he got there someone had to help him onto a chair. MK had never received assistance from anyone, including his own family, to move around so by this time his flesh had been seriously calloused by crawling, yet he continued to be drawn to attend Church. A chance contact with a Rotarian from a nearby club resulted in the donation of a customized wheelchair for MK—and this gift has had a miraculous effect on not just MK but his family. MK is now able to move about in a dignified manner, while his mother and father have been transformed by the changes in his condition with which they had been unable to cope. As a result, MK’s parents have become powerful instruments for change in the community—and MK’s faith is moving mountains. Frequently we are challenged by the enormity of

needs in our country, but MK’s story shows that by helping one person at a time we can make a difference. The Church doesn’t always have all the answers or resources, while service organisations don’t always know where the needs are—but together the Church and

NGOs (such as Rotary) can, and do, make a difference to lives in the communities around us.

- Rod Palmer

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inmates of the condemned section. The inmates obviously receive much spiritual input as the majority appeared to be Christians. They sang beautifully—worship choruses—and Benjamin then gave a talk. He clearly interacted well with them as he had them laughing and engaging with him. Unfortunately he spoke in Swahili so I didn't have a clue what he was

saying which was a bit challenging for me. Ben then asked Paul to introduce us which he did very nicely, referring to Madiba as an ex-inmate of our local Pollsmoor prison. I am currently writing up the story of John Palm, reformed thief, and my prison mentor. When it was my turn, with Ben translating, I basically shared John Palm's story which was appropriate as he'd always believed himself to be condemned until he discovered that ‘there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1) and this set him free, even when he was in prison. Afterwards I prayed with about six of the inmates individually: their main concerns were their children in difficult circumstances and their desire for their applications for pardon to be successful. We were later taken around the well-equipped child day-care centre for children of inmates (up to four or five years old) sponsored by churches and NGOs, and run by a lovely dedicated officer. We were most impressed. Generally, conditions in the prison were good. There was a maximum of five women per cell (they prefer uneven numbers to avoid conflict). Inmates are offered a variety of activities including aerobics and courses teaching parenting, computer and business skills. Ben, who travels to prisons around the country, said the Langata Women’s Prison was the best. It was a rewarding and inspiring morning.

- Janet Mills

A Visit to

Langata

Prison

In early April my

husband Paul and I went on an exciting trip to Kenya to visit our daughter, Jessica and her fiancée. Several years ago, Jonathan Clayton and Luke Baker of Hope Prison Ministry had visited prisons in Nairobi. I took the opportunity to do a follow-up visit to Langata Women’s Prison, accompanied by Paul. Ben Nyamburi of the Philemon Foundation organised our visit. We are very grateful to him and impressed with what he does. I couldn't help chuckling at the different systems operating for visitors to Pollsmoor and South African prisons generally compared with the Kenyan system. In South Africa, one is required to submit certified copies of one's i.d. or passport plus references well in advance. In Kenya it is customary for visitors to bring in supplies for the prisoners and guards, and these supplies were our passport into the prison. No one asked us for identification. We were required to bring in a toilet roll, sanitary towels and soap for each prisoner, a loaf of bread and carton of milk for the two prisoners who had children in the prison, a big box of biscuits for the women as well as a crate of cooldrinks for the prison guards. We could choose between the condemned section (about 32 prisoners) as opposed to a general section (well over 100 women). Our budget made that choice easy! I feel sorry for the women in the general sections as I'm sure they miss out on visitors as a result of this prison policy. Nevertheless, the Kenyan system certainly avoided a lot of red tape, and we were glad we could bring in some goodies that would be appreciated. When we arrived at the prison with Ben (+ goodies), we were briefly introduced to the prison commissioner. Ben and a lovely prison social worker then accompanied us to the condemned section. We learned from Ben that although the condemned sentence (what used to be the death sentence) is handed down to those who've committed crimes such as aggravated robbery with violence, and murder, the death sentence has not been applied since 1982. My understanding is that condemned prisoners are obliged to sit in prison forevermore unless they receive a pardon from the President. After a while prisoners who have good records in prison apply for a pardon but unfortunately there is no system in place to deal with these pardons so they often get lost and the inmate has to apply all over again. We received a warm reception from the warden and the

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Pre-Evangelical England and

Post-Apartheid South Africa Last year I read a book on the early medical

history of Cape Town, when Dr Louis Liesching had to cope with a smallpox epidemic in the early 1800s, when Cape Town was a very unhealthy city. At Summer School this year, Professor Howard Philips, a historian at UCT, lectured from his succinct new book on South African epidemics of smallpox, plague, “Spanish” flu, polio and HIV/AIDS, which is very readable for a medical layperson (Plague, Pox and Pandemics). Phil and I were privileged to hear a summary lecture by him, shortly after Summer School. By chance, I was recently lent a book, A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe, which belongs to Land and Kari Middelkoop, leader of our small group. The topic is the Great Plague of London of 1665 and Defoe describes his experiences as one of the 80% of Londoners, of a population of about 500 000, who survived the plague, while staying in the city. He writes from a deeply Christian point of view and describes the terrible situation of the populace at a time when the medical profession knew much less than they do now about this awful disease. I read it while visiting our children and grandchildren near the Kruger Park and then borrowed Boswell’s London Journal of 1762-1763, which caught my eye in the Lending Library of the Hoedspruit church, which we attended before Easter. Most of the book is a moral roller-coaster until the Scot, Boswell, steadied on meeting his future mentor, Dr Samuel Johnson. To crown it all, our son-in-law, Cleve McIntosh, then gave me a book, which I am currently reading, entitled England, Before and After Wesley, which confirms the sad state of England in the early 1700s and how it benefited enormously from the ministry of the Evangelical Anglican John Wesley, his brother Charles and many others. The book spells out, in fine detail, how the social fabric of England was in total disrepair. Returning to Defoe’s plague-ridden London of 1665, he noted that people reacted in vastly different ways to this calamity, where the churchwardens and sextons of each parish had to seek the dead, in the dead of night, and to bury them, at the height of the plague, in mass graves. Defoe had hoped that after the Great Plague of 1665 and the ensuing Great Fire of 1666, that the populace would mend their ways, like the citizens of Nineveh. Sadly, many Londoners returned to their old ways and, in the early 1700s, sank to even lower levels than in the pre-plague years. By God’s grace, John Wesley and his followers, often

bitterly reviled at the time by fellow Anglican priests, succeeded in turning England around spiritually. As our bad news in South Africa becomes worse and worse in the post-apartheid years, as our Archbishop talks of the country losing its moral compass, perhaps a study of 18th Century England would concentrate all our minds, at the same time helping us to gain perspective, because 21st century South Africa has, not yet, sunk to such low levels.

- John (and Phil) Rogers

Get Out of the Car An elderly Florida lady did her shopping and,

upon returning to her car, found four males in the act of leaving with her vehicle. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at the top of her lungs, I have a gun and I know how to use it! Get out of the car! The four men didn’t wait for a second threat. They got out and ran like mad. The lady, somewhat shaken, then proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and got into the driver’s seat. She was so shaken that she could not get her key into the ignition. She tried and tried, and then she realised why. It was for the same reason she had wondered why there was a football, a Frisbee and two 12-packs of beer in the front seat. A few minutes later she found her own car parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into the car and drove to the police station to report her mistake. The sergeant to whom she told the story couldn’t stop laughing. He pointed to the other end of the counter where four pale men were reporting a car-jacking by a mad, elderly woman described as white, less than five feet tall, glasses, curly white hair and carrying a large handgun. No charges were filed. Moral of the story? If you’re going to have a senior moment, make it memorable!

- Sent in by Jim de Necker (This is supposedly a true account recorded in the Police Log of Sarasota, Florida, USA

Editorial Team

Tel. e-mail**

Ev Els 021 6960336

emichael@iafrica.com

Cheryl Anderson 021 7154233

canderson@beckman.com

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A Point to Ponder... “You move us to delight in praising You, for

You have formed us for Yourself; and our

hearts are restless until they find rest in You.”

(St. Augustine)

God’s Generous

Provision When I woke up this

morning the day was white and chilly with a promise of rain, so it was with a sense of what I shall call cosy pleasure that I took my mug of hot coffee and got back into bed—after all it was Saturday—and looked out of my window. I found myself thanking God for all the gifts He has given me... another day of life, living with one of my sons in a nice house, having a pleasant room with a great view of the mountain, a comfortable bed and a cosy duvet, light that comes on at the flick of a switch, hot water on tap, clean towels, bedding and clothing, books to read, to name but a few. Then there is the outside: trees, grass, colourful plants and a variety of birds which frequent our garden. How do I adequately—if that’s possible— thank God for all this and so much more? I can’t. I can only praise and worship Him as I am able even though it falls far, far too short. But I believe He understands. Have you noticed how many shades of green there are in nature? I think God wanted us to be surrounded by these tranquil colours in order for us to be encouraged to lead tranquil lives. In these days after Pentecost have you felt the touch of the Holy Spirit in your life a little, or a lot? Such another special gift Abba gives us to know how much He loves us, to hear and see what He is wanting of us at any particular time. I do pray you will see Him at work in your ministry guiding and giving you the gifts you need for your task.

God our Creator, Father and Friend,

we give thanks for the wonderful gift of life,

with all its joys and responsibilities,

its experiences and opportunities.

We praise you for good health and daily food,

for the shelter and care of our homes,

and the love and loyalty of our friends…

Help us to express our thanks not only

in our praises and prayers,

but also through the lives we lead;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (excerpt from Patterns and Prayers

for Christian Worship)

Go well and love whatever you are doing for Him. Look after yourself with good care, you are precious to Him and us. May you feel His great love for you every day.

- Wendy Gunn