The Eight O’Clock
News November 2019 8 am Service, Christ Church Kenilworth 021-797-6332
Staying in the Way I have recently had occasion to revisit an article I wrote in
2013 and which bore the title, Thy darkness will be as the Noonday (Isaiah 58:10b KJV). I was actually writing about a recent time of being emotionally low, although I believe I borrowed the title from someone I knew; and who had lost her husband to an attack on their small holding somewhere in the Eastern Cape. There are many darknesses… That said, I think at the outset, courage can be taken from the knowledge that if we are facing some form of darkness in our lives and we see it through to its end, there are two positive outcomes. Firstly, it will pass, and secondly and more importantly, great growth can occur. I remember in my short autobiography (Enthralled 2011), part of which was about my recovery from the ravages of the car accident of 1999, I wrote about how utterly dependent on God I was when anyone moved me from point A to point B. I would cry out loud for GOD to literally carry me and take the pain on Himself and He did. Calling out to God was an early expression of ‘Staying in the Way’. Maybe you are struggling with THE loss of a beloved one; the wellbeing of those you love; anxiety; depression; unemployment; financial stress; or the need to downsize as age creeps up. Whatever darkness it is, the same principle applies—even if you think that in this God really can’t help me—the need is to ‘stay in the Way’: I being in the Way, the LORD led me—Genesis 24:27 KJV (own emphasis). But HOW to stay in The Way? Some thoughts: * At such points of pain, when we can feel as if we are wading through syrup in terms of just doing basic chores, why not ask God to give you some short word to hold onto for the day? In my experience, He has honoured this in some amazing ways. Some examples may illustrate this truth: On one occasion I woke up thinking about a bird in a protective hand and when I asked God to confirm this, my daily reading commentary on something else, led me to Matthew 10:29: What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your father knowing it. I hadn’t even been reading in Matthew on that day! Another example from the Psalms can be helpful on difficult days. It comes from Psalm 36 and most specifically as it is written in the November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
Contemporary English Version (CEV). The psalmist writes about God: Your love is a treasure (verse 7). Short and punchy, these few words are a quick hook on which we hang negative thoughts for the day—the psalms are full of similar examples of short and definite statements. * Another suggestion about how to stay in the Way: in whatever situations of weakness we may find ourselves, and sometimes this could be when we need to take a leadership position, we can ask God to ‘use us for His sake anyway;’ and remarkably He does! Perhaps not so ‘remarkably’ for we read in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 12:9): My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (NIV). On such occasions when His grace is the overriding factor, it is as if three kinds of visibility obtain—on the one hand i) we become completely invisible while ii) God becomes visible; and we can also be pretty certain that iii) our own struggles are invisible. Our weaknesses can be made perfect in God’s strength. * Daily reading is of vital importance in terms of ‘staying in the Way’; and—part of this is to read what others say about the reading. Again, I have found that the Psalms are the most helpful; i) Alec Motyer’s commentary on the Psalms of Ascent is masterful. In reading the ‘journey’ psalms, Ps 120-134, I have experienced a sense of positive ‘fullness’ each time I read what he wrote; ii) Nicky Gumbel’s daily commentary on The Bible in One Year is enjoyed by millions—he is so in touch with everyday life; iii) It is no secret that I am a great fan of Eugene Peterson and this is such a helpful poem for anyone in a dark tunnel. He writes the poem about this beatitude: Blessed are those who mourn *** Flash floods of tears, torrents of them, Erode cruel canyons, exposing Long forgotten strata of life Laid down in the peaceful decades: A Badlands beauty. The same sun That decorates each day with colours From arroyos and mesas, also shows Every old scar and cut of lament. Weeping washes the wounds clean And leaves them to heal, which always Takes an age or two. No pain Is ugly in past tense. Under the Mercy every hurt is a fossil Link in the great chain of becoming. Pick and shovel prayers often Turn them up in valleys of death. [> p2]
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L) Wedding attire—with parents Horst & Karen Sieg R) Evening attire—with bride, Caro
A German Wedding In 2004 Rod and I offered to host a young German Rotary
Exchange student. It turned out to be the start of a wonderful, lasting relationship, not only with her, but with her whole family. Carolin Sieg was just 16 when she came to South Africa, and I was nervous about taking on the responsibility of someone else’s teenage daughter. However, Caro turned out to be a delightful girl, and very soon became part of the Palmer family. While she was staying with us her parents and 14 year old brother came out to SA, and we all got on extremely well. They came with us to CCK for the Easter Sunday service and the Easter family lunch afterwards. By the time Caro left us she was calling us her South African mom and dad, and I told her that, one day, when she met the man of her dreams, she had to bring him to meet us for our approval. Over the years we have kept contact with the whole Sieg family, visiting them * A vital practice in terms of Staying in the Way is the very lifeblood of prayer—and prayer from others especially when it feels like we can’t trust and pray for ourselves. In my Pretoria parish a woman in her late fifties came for prayer at every single Sunday morning service. Eileen, who had been a vitally active person, had developed a mysterious brain disease which just cut her life in half but she kept on being prayed for—her faithful husband helping her to reach the healing pray-ers week after week even when there wasn’t any apparent change. These days, I still rejoice whenever I think of Eileen now walking and leaping and praising God in heaven. * And finally, here is another idea you could find helpful, just as I did in the darkness after the accident—setting a definite time of praying in Tongues (and I truly believe this gift is available to all believers). I now include it as an essential part of my everyday prayer routine. Sometimes it feels like ‘rubbish’ that I am uttering but I link it to a particular task of creative handwork and God has November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
in Germany in 2005. In 2018 Caro brought Julius, her ‘dream man’ to stay with us for a week, so we were thrilled to get an invitation to her wedding on 7th September this year. The Siegs invited us to stay with them in Remscheid, (near Cologne) over the wedding, and Caro gave us the use of her apartment in Berlin for a week afterwards, which was very exciting, as we had never been there before. The wedding was a very happy occasion, lasting the whole weekend. It started with a party at the Sieg’s house on the Friday evening, the wedding service at 11.00am on the Saturday morning (day dress and hat!) with a drinks and snacks reception afterwards. Then we rested before the formal dinner/dance that evening. It was all rounded off with breakfast in a restaurant on Sunday morning for family (and us). Caro and Julius were married in a very beautiful and ornate protestant church in Wuppertal, with a lady minister officiating. It was a very blessed time for all who were there, and we are so grateful that we were able to be among them. We have brought back a little of Caro with us from Germany in the form of her brand new sister-in-law, Charlotte, who is staying with us for 10 weeks in order to improve her English. She has attended CCK a few times with us and met some of the 8am congregation already. We are really hoping that she will have a great time here in South Africa. - Sally & RodPalmer honoured it. My last word is a wonderful comment from a dear person in our Thursday intercession group and which really summarises what I have been trying to say about ‘Staying in the Way’: When the train is in the tunnel, it is NOT the time to jump off! - Jessica McCarter
***(Peterson, Eugene H. Living The Message 1996 Harper Collins. London. Own emphasis)
*And call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, And you shall glorify me. [Psalm 50:15]
*Rejoice in hope, Be patient in tribulation, Be constant in prayer. [Romans 12:12]
A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break I am sharing my experience of depression in the hope that it will be
of help to fellow depressives and those who care for them. I would like to thank Lynn Beyer/Pedersen for her tireless effort and patience in the early days of my depression. My life as a teen was a big struggle—why I did not know. There was nothing wrong with me that I knew of and yet I struggled. In matric I stopped 'functioning' (I hate that term) and stopped going to school for a while. So I found myself in front of a psychologist for the first time. Unfortunately I clammed up, she told me I was naughty, and after two months she 'terminated' (I hate that term too), and I was left to my own devices and that meant my interminable struggle to live from day-to-day. I gave my life to the Lord formally when I was fourteen and with the label of 'being a Christian' I thought I should be happy, confident. My everyday struggle to live was to me a great failure and with it came guilt—often we think that faith should make us happy. After matric I spent months in two state psychiatric hospitals and finally when I was twenty I received a diagnosis of a depressive and anxiety disorder. Hope! For the first time! There was a reason for my struggles! It wasn't just a character weakness or personality trait! I was put on anti-depressant medication and I realised that it was an illness—physical interactions in my brain bio-chemistry causing and sustaining it—and with the anti-depressant medication the struggle would end. There are several kinds of depressive disorders. One would expect someone suffering from depression to be sad and cry a lot. These are probably the more common symptoms. However my depression manifests in a struggle to do basic everyday things. I walk through thick 'pea-soup' and need to force myself to do things. But now I had hope. Unfortunately things didn't go according to plan. My depression was treatment-resistant: when medication does not work. ‘No problem’, said my psychiatrist, ‘we'll do ECT. New hope! Electro-convulsive therapy carries great stigma. People don't know that it is done under general anaesthetic and these days it is highly specialised and effective. It wasn't effective for me in 1987. I admit that the anti-depressants, ECT and my psychiatrist helped me through a degree and post-graduate studies in library and information science. But day to day living was still a great struggle. I entered a period of many years which I call my ‘Wasteland years from T.S. Eliot's poem of that name. Interestingly, he wrote the first draft of this long poem following a 'nervous breakdown'. For me it was a period of despair and disillusionment. I was too depressed and anxious to hold down a job and guilt crept back in. God receded into the background as any thought about him filled me with guilt for letting him down. I was often hospitalised during this period and often had ECT but without profound effects. I battled anxiety that often accompanies depression which still restricts me, mainly socially, but also at night. I can't remember when I started volunteering in the CCK Resource Centre (after making CCK my home church a few years earlier). I felt accepted, as much as I was capable of feeling accepted, at the time. It was something to do that wasn't too demanding with what little energy I had. Christine Dickenson was kind and patient and I had a passionate love for books so it was manageable—it helped to have a reason to get up in the morning. During this time I struggled greatly with depression. John McPetrie once admitted to me that he did not know what it was like to feel depressed. Some people don't know what it's like. I have my times when I am so desperate with the struggle that I curl up on my bed with my Bible clasped in my hands. These days with my present November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
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understanding of God I say the words of Psalm 91:4, 'He shall cover thee with feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust', and find comfort in these words while curled up. He no longer finds me 'guilty' of depression. I think of Jesus' time in Gethsemane when he was desperate and I know that he knows what desperate feels like. There are still people who judge and condemn those with depression and who would judge me for comparing my despair with that of Jesus but God does not condemn it. I take comfort in the words of Gerard Manley Hopkins' sonnet as well. It begins with the words: 'No worst there is none!' I know other people know how it feels and so I am not alone. A few years ago I decided to try ECT again. This time the procedure was more refined and the effects staggering. I came out of a bleakness of many years and I felt as though I was on some sort of holiday. Things seemed possible to me. I had energy and most of all, hope. If I could feel this way all the time, I thought, my life would change. Although the profound effect wore off after a while, it gave me a new lease of life which to this day I have not lost. Life is still difficult. When I go through periods of deep depression which still creep up on me sometimes, it is often a major ordeal to go to work, but mostly I feel better. I am grateful to God for surrounding me with books in the Resource Centre because my love for books carries me through the day. I have reached a new peace with God and found a method of contemplation which brings me close to him. After years of struggling to relate to God this is an overwhelming grace. God has helped me make a life for myself and I am thankful for his grace. So I ask the question: what helps depressives cope when experiencing 'wastelands' and deep despair? What practical strategies can one use? 1. Seek professional help. Depression is an illness that needs a doctor's intervention and medication. Other treatments, in addition, like psychotherapy can go a long way in lessening suffering. A depressive needs to be able to talk to someone about their struggles on a regular basis, preferably a social worker or other professional in the field. 2. A meaningful occupation during the day or part of the day gives purpose. Recognise your capacity—that which you are capable of—and don't stretch yourself beyond it. 3. Work out a daily life you can cope with given your capacity. (I have found the need to live in a home for the psychiatrically disabled. The support I receive there enables me to function to the best of my capacity in the outside world.) 4. Don't compare yourself with others. God created you to be the special person you are. Remember that other people may achieve more than you but you are of no less value than them. God loves you just as you are. 5. If you need help, ask for it. In order to live a fulfilling life your needs must be met on an emotional and practical level. 6. To know that someone is praying for you is effective and also comforting. If you get desperate, ask someone to put you on the prayer shield. 7. Finally, when you are by yourself at home and struggling with acute depression, know that you are not alone. God knows: 'He shall cover thee with his feathers'. 'The Lord is near to the broken hearted' (Psalm 34:18). 'A bruised reed he will not break' (Matthew 12:20). 'He that cometh to me I shall in no wise cast out' (John 6:37). And we have the following promise: 'Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint' (Isaiah 40: 31). There IS hope, dear fellow depressive. - Theresa Keay
Resource Centre Librarian
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Bruce & Bridget Meier I am intrigued when people, in response to being
asked for an interview, say they lead very ordinary lives and others would not be interested in their stories. Everyone has a story to tell—how often I have read someone’s story and seen them in a new light, often discovering areas of common interest. And so it was with the Meiers... Bruce and Bridget have been part of CCK for many years. When we first met Bruce in the parish we discovered that we had known his family in the 1980s in King William’s Town (KWT) through the local Baptist Church. Later his aunt and uncle (a Baptist minister and General Secretary of the Baptist Union) were members of the church Jim pastored in Johannesburg. Our interview started with happy chat about family and mutual friends. Bruce and his three siblings had a happy childhood in KWT. His father ran a trading store/general dealers and later a furniture outlet as well. Bruce recalls working in the shop during holidays from an early age. The family was very involved in the local Baptist church, and in his teenage years he was part of the youth activities. As with so many of us, he can’t recall a specific date when he became a Christian, but knows that God was always part of his life. After matriculating at Dale College, he came to Cape Town to do a BSc at UCT. To this he added a teaching qualification when he realised he didn’t want to work as a scientist. During university years Bruce began to question a great deal about his Christian faith and life. He grew spiritually, reading widely, deepening his faith, and eventually realised he could not reconcile the gospel with taking up of arms and going to war. National service loomed and he had to make a decision. There was a spiral of violence in the country and things were not getting any better. He took a non-violent stance, and was eventually allowed to do community service instead. At one time conscientious objectors were sent to detention barracks, and sometimes to prison. The end conscription campaign had started and change was beginning. For Bruce, his community service took the form of being a teacher at Wynberg Senior Secondary School in lower Wynberg for four and a half years. Bridget and her two sisters were raised in Cape Town. She has good memories of their involvement as a family at St Thomas’s, Rondebosch. While at high school she met Tessa Ferrandi, and they have been friends ever since. She left school not really certain what career path was for her, and ended up at UCT studying occupational therapy. After a year she realised this was not for her. She also spent some time studying as a social worker, but certain experiences made her realise she wasn’t cut out for that either. Although she didn’t earn a degree at UCT, she did meet Bruce during that time. She went to live in a student flat where other friends lived, and Bruce lived there as well. So the years at UCT were definitely worthwhile ! I asked about Bridget’s first visit to meet the family in KWT knowing how different that small place was to this city we live in. Bruce said she arrived off the plane in East London with a tray of beautiful Cape peaches for his family. It had travelled with her in the plane. She thought they would appreciate some lovely Cape fruit—and they did. Bridget says she has no memory of this at all, but Bruce recalls the incident clearly. While still pondering what to study, a friend suggested she might enjoy horticulture as she herself was doing. Things began to fall into place, and Bridget enrolled at the Technicon in Cape Town. November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
At the same time she got a job at Kirstenbosch as her studies were parttime. She had found her niche, and loved both the studies and the work. During those years they went to St Thomas’s and were eventually married there in 1983 by Rev Christopher Gregorowsky, minster in charge. They also met John Atkinson who was an assistant minister. Brian and Barbara Richardson, also newly married, were worshipping there as well, as did a number of people now at CCK. Bridget qualified as a horticulturalist, eventually leaving K’bosch as they wanted to transfer her to the Lowveld—and Bruce was working in Cape Town! She went to do environmental project work for an engineering firm in the city. For a while it seemed as if they were not going to be parents but happily, after eight years of marriage, Benjamin and Christopher arrived. A double portion! Two years later Timothy was born, followed after another two years by Adam. Four children in four years—Bridget was kept very busy at home. There was no time for work outside of home. By this time Bruce had accepted a post at Bishops Prep School where he taught mathematics and was head of the computer centre. For a while they lived in Fish Hoek, but eventually bought a house in Plumstead and have lived there ever since. For some years they were involved at All Saints, Plumstead. Mike Keggie, who was the minister there at the time, baptised three of their children. They were happy years. In 1997, they moved to CCK because of children’s and young people’s activities—and have never left. Not people who like to be up front, over the years they have been involved in a variety of areas of life at CCK—small group leaders, singing in various choirs—and currently both assist with serving at the eucharist. Bridget has been involved with Stepping Stones, and for some years helped with making sandwiches for the Feeding the Hungry ministry. She also helped with setting up and managing the overhead projector for services. When their sons became involved in scouting Bruce got very involved in a variety of areas, including that of scout group leader— and is still involved in various ways now. Their home became too small once they had four growing boys, so they started extending it gradually, eventually adding on another storey. These two practical people did a lot of the work themselves. Living in a home where building is going on around you is not easy, especially when an upstairs area is being added. It is a spacious, attractive, peaceful place to be in. I came home wanting to immediately start the process of uncluttering my own space. The four boys who filled the house with energy for so many years are now adults living in their own spaces. Timothy and Adam live locally, Benjamin and Siobhan live in Bristol UK, and Christopher lives in Vietnam and a visit to that exotic country is on the cards. After several years in teaching Bruce moved into software development and is a director at Motornostix, based in Diep River. This is so close to home that he can walk there, but most of the time he cycles to work. Quite a change after years of commuting to Tyger Valley and then Rondebosch! Both are outdoors people, passionate about conservation and the natural environment. They’ve been part of the mountain club and enjoy walking. Bruce enjoys competitive running—trail running and orienteering. Bridget loves creating dresses and soft furnishings. Her days are full, and she’s looking forward to the time when her garden has fully recovered from the drought. Life will never be dull for these two busy people. - Jeanette Harris
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Dinaledi A question I often hear discussed in our social circles is this one:
How can we do something about the disaster that is SA’s education system? And not without reason. The reality is that a Global Competitiveness report by the World Economic Forum ranked SA’s primary education system as 126th in the world and our higher education as 134th out of 138 selected countries. This despite South Africa allocating 15% of the national budget to basic education, more than the US, UK and most of Europe. The situation, statistically, is bleak: 5% of our schools are world class, but … 20% are only ‘functional’ 75% are dysfunctional There are 12m (million) learners in schools—that’s about 25% of our population. The stated Matric pass rate is approx 70% - but each year about 500,000 of the 1.3m learners who entered grade R drop out along the way and don’t even reach Matric, thus the actual matric pass rate is about 43%. Youth unemployment (18 – 35 age group) is 54% in the Western Cape, which is the best in the country. Most matriculants leave school unemployable, able at best to do base manual labour at a low income. In Science and Maths, SA is in the bottom 2% world-wide. 36% of Grade 6s are functionally illiterate. Just this week, SA was ranked bottom out of 49 countries in literacy. There is 55% unemployment and SA imports welders. Some 10 years ago a few of us Christians decided to reframe the question into this: How can we transform SA’s most struggling schools into centres of academic excellence? We were a group of life Coaches and we decided to launch leadership coaching programmes into some of the schools at the bottom of the rung that were earmarked as ‘Maths & Science focus schools’ (the socalled Dinaledi schools). We approached the Dept of Education and found them surprisingly supportive and cooperative. Together with them and with funding from the DG Murray Trust and the Anglo American Chairman’s Fund, we designed and ran year-long programmes of individual and team coaching of the school’s leadership teams. The expensive, external year-long assessment of the programme in 2010 proved there was a compelling case for coaching as a way of bringing about sustained transformation in the most challenged schools. (This was the year of the widespread teachers’ strike, and the four schools being coached were in Crossroads, the epicentre of the strike—but even so, at the end of that year, they outperformed the non-coached schools by 18% in their Matric results). As a result, many other organizations have begun coaching programmes in schools, and even President Ramaphosa, in his State of the Nation address this year, stated that coaching programmes in schools were needed. Since then, we have run coaching programmes in over 30 schools. These schools are selected by the Dept of Education and are always the most challenged schools, typically in the townships and Cape Flats. Recently we ran programmes in the three High schools in Manenberg with positive results in this difficult environment. Last year, the three schools in which we were working were amongst the top five most improved schools in the Metro South Educational District, with Masiphumelele Senior Secondary the most improved. We have tweaked the programme continuously since then, with November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
the most significant change being to include the Educational Metro leadership in the programme, so as to leave behind a healthy relationship between the school and the District Management team. I have had—still have—the privilege of sitting with District Directors to think through their leadership responsibilities as well as their own personal issues on a regular basis. Often people in such key positions have few if any other safe opportunities to download and reconfigure their thinking. We are blessed with an excellent and experienced team of Coaches. My responsibilities include convening them monthly for supervision and coordination. I’m also responsible for the fundraising, a never-ending challenge. The good news is that there are many worthy programmes run by civil society organizations in schools all doing good work and achieving results sometimes against the odds—scholarship schemes, literacy and numeracy initiatives, tutorship. Research— and our experience—shows that Coaching stands out amongst them as being particularly effective in achieving sustained, longterm change. Please pray with us as we strive to do our bit to contribute to the cause of giving youth at risk a quality educational experience and a chance at working and making a positive contribution to society.
- Jeremy Clampett
Happy Birthday ! Joan Evans celebrated her 90th birthday In Port Elizabeth with daughter Karen (L) and long-time Swiss friend, Sylvie
Seniors’ Movie & Tea A Christmas Carol With George C Scott Will be shown In the church at 3 pm
Monday 25 November RSVP by 20 November [List in Welcome area]
I Give Up (2) I’d like to give up being a rich white South African.
South African? - No, I'll keep that. #I'm staying. White? - I have reconciled myself to that and now embrace it in God with its many South African discomforts and challenges. Rich? Give that up? What for? I see three reasons for this Christian to give up being rich. One—Jesus and Riches: Jesus' many words on the subject, from Beatitudes and wild flowers via Dives to the ‘have’ who found himself behind a camel on the wrong side of the needle's eye (Mark 10:17-22) are clear. ‘Faith without works is dead’, says James (James 2:14). Faith with riches is likely to be half-dead or worse (Mark 10:25): it is too easy to slip into unthinking comfort and ease; into ‘Safe Mode’ - Rob Taylor's term from his Jump Start sermon on 15th September. Riches and possessions can so easily rot the soul. Two—Inequality and Inequity: in the Kingdom of God, the vast inequalities and inequities of the world and in South Africa are unconscionable. That a high proportion of people do not have what anyone would require for Jesus’ definition of basic needs (as the bottom layer in the Triangle picture) (Luke 12:27-30, Matthew 25:35,36) is irreconcilable with the justice that God requires (Amos 6: 4-6 versus Acts 2:44,45). The Graph picture shows where my post-income tax earnings for two residents sit in relation to other South African households—in the top 1%. 50% of households in South Africa earn less than R1100 per capita per month (the ‘Median’ arrow in the graph. https://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/incomecomparison-tool/ if you want to do this comparison for your household). It is vertiginous up here! I see a desolate landscape from up here, rather like Ezekiel and the bones. So a question I have to ask myself is the following. In terms of the proportion of my income, time, and other resources that I spend on myself and my family, where is the need/greed pivot point? What do I and we really need? What of what I think I need is greed under God’s gaze? I have to learn where what I think of as normal and even as legitimate self-actualisation (top part of the Triangle picture) is really greed, redefining 'deny thyself' (Matthew 16:24) in the light of what I know. How is my living justly (Micah 6:8) to be
November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
weighed in this respect in God's scales in the church, in South Africa? Part of that calculation must be about how much of my riches (after Caesar's tax) goes to correcting the South African imbalances, of which the graph is one representation. Reason One is also a significant part of this calculation.
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Three—the Earth: ‘The Earth is the Lord's’ (Psalm 24:1) and I am messing it up. The Earth is choking on my beyond-need greed. As a rich person, my lifestyle (carbon dense, non-degradable rubbishgenerating, water and space demanding) cannot be seen as being in line with God's vision for the use of his creation (Genesis 1:2831). This wasteful lifestyle worsens the inequities of Reason Two as the lives of the poor are worsened by my excesses. Greed and ease (comfort) drive this, hard as it is to admit this to myself. Of the 'Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle' mantra, achieving the first R is the acid test for the rich. Yes, there are political and economic impediments in the way of a cleaner, safer environment, but that does not stop me doing my own reductions (and re-uses and recycling) and making my Christian voice heard in the societal and global debates and initiatives on the 'how to's' of environmental justice. I cannot wash my hands of this (even with non-waterbased hand sanitiser). So where to towards giving up being rich for these three inescapable reasons? The coward's voice in me (not an infrequent sound in my head) wants to equivocate and be casuistic by changing that to 'give up living like a rich person'. But giving up being rich goes deeper; it is more fundamental in its requirements. This is a journey that I am already undertaking. Riding a bicycle for most solo trips is one manifestation (less carbon, cheaper over time so more money can be disposed towards others, cleaning up air pollution with my lungs, healthier (pace the pollution!) and therefore more useful to others—unless a car knocks me over). But, as with so much in this Christian life, I cannot and should not undertake this endeavour alone (see ‘I Give up, 8 O 'Clock News, September, and listen to so many sermons in recent months at CCK). ‘Countercultural’ is a word that has come up repeatedly at CCK in the last few months. I lack sufficient fortitude and ideas for this countercultural path alone. I know that there are many CCKers who are already on this journey. What happens at 16 Summerley Road is, I'm sure, part of this journey. Let's talk—and walk the talk. And together, let's not give up giving up and giving. In essence, using a phonic apophthegm: we leave ease & greed; & relieve need—together. (See See-saw picture.) [Some of these ideas were first presented at the 6.30 service during The Lord’s Prayer sermon series (Give us our Daily Bread)] - Tony Westwood
Want to be more grateful ? Pray about the small things ! ‘Some of our closest friends invited us to join them in Croatia,
sailing a catamaran around the Adriatic. It was to be a holiday of a lifetime. By day we ploughed through sapphire seas under powder-blue skies, weaving in and out of the dramatic Kornati archipelago. At night we moored in perfect coves, diving, swimming and playing cards by lamplight under the brightest stars you ever saw. It was a magical week. One evening we dropped anchor in a particularly beautiful natural harbour, and the kids dived into the sea as usual. By the time we’d hauled them out, wrapped them in soft towels and settled down to supper, dusk was bathing the entire bay in a golden sheet. Everyone looked relaxed, tanned and happy. Everything was perfect until a dark, swirling cloud of mosquitoes materialised above our heads. I’m aware, as I recount this story, that you may not be entirely sympathetic to our plight. You may even be thinking ‘Good!’ and praising God for those mosquitoes, but back on that boat we most definitely were not. In fact, my friend James immediately began to pray against them. ‘Lord,’ he said, lifting one hand like Moses preparing to part the Red Sea, and using the other to swat his own face, ‘We ask you to just remove these wretched mozzies, right now, in the name of Jesus.’ Everyone else on the boat—two mums, five kids—heartily agreed with this prayer. Their eyes were closed, heads nodding, hands raised to rebuke Satan’s little air-born militia. But my eyes were not closed, my head did not nod, because it seemed such a silly prayer for three important reasons. My first objection was theological. God must surely be a bit too busy with Big World problems (like the Middle East and wars and
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famine and stuff) to worry about optimising the al fresco dining arrangements of posh people on yachts in the Adriatic. My second objection was environmental. Mosquitoes are presumably part of God’s finely tuned ecological order and Christians aren’t immune from the laws of nature. We don’t surrender our insect repellents at conversion. We don’t rise from the baptismal waters and keep rising, liberated from the law of gravity. My third objection was pastoral. Our kids were joining in with James’s prayer, and so when (not if) it didn’t work, tiny grains of doubt and disappointment would surely be sown in their impressionable minds and they would grow up to be Satanists. And so, as everyone else prayed, rebuking the spirit of midgeyness in the name of Jesus, I smiled stoically, swatting mosquitoes until they all said, ‘Amen’. But as they did so, the most annoying and unfortunate thing occurred. At that precise moment a gentle breeze arose and swept the mosquitoes away to some other, doubtless less prayerful yacht. A chorus of praise erupted from our boat. Everyone was suddenly grinning and thanking God for hearing their prayers, for caring about his kids and, yes, for making the night’s perfect al fresco dining arrangements just that little bit more perfect. To this day, I don’t know whether that was an actual, proper answer to prayer or just a well-timed meteorological fluke masquerading as one, but this I do know, and I know it for sure: when you pray about the small things in life, you get to live with greater gratitude... As Archbishop William Temple famously said, ‘When I pray, coincidences happen; when I stop praying, the coincidences stop happening.’ Extracted from: How to Pray – A simple Guide for Normal People by Pete Greig, 2019.
- Sent in by Sue Gibbings
Reading the Bible— When to begin? Joshua & Hannah Richardson (17 months here) decided to read the New Testament. While Hannah couldn’t decide where to start, Joshua dived into the Book of Revelation !
When asked when one should start reading the Bible, Pippa Gumbel replied: ‘It is so important to start reading and learning the Bible from as young an age as possible. It is never too early to start, even if at first, like our grandson did, they just eat the pages !’ November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
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Hanging up Children’s Church Shoes
With Apologies to Vegans !
After nearly 20 years of serving in the CCK Children’s Church
(CC), the time has come for me to hang up those particular shoes. With my mother’s death earlier this year, I need to be available to spend more time with my dad which I can only do over weekends working fulltime in town as I do. Apart from the fact that I am loving attending the 8 O’ Clock service, it also enables me to get to Cle du Cap in Kirstenhof mid-morning and have the rest of the day with my father. Serving in CC has been an enormous privilege and a joy. I have worked with the most amazing people—and have personally been very blessed by this ministry. I would particularly like to mention Barbara Richardson and Hilary Kerr who not only got me involved in CC, but mentored, guided, supported and encouraged me. My involvement has always been with the younger classes— initially Grade 1s and latterly Grades 1-3 (and any younger siblings who wanted to be with their brothers or sisters). I have loved the challenge of unpacking Bible truths and getting to the heart of the Bible stories for this age group and finding the crafts and activities that would reinforce the stories and lessons of God’s love for us. Over the past 20 years I have watched and listened to so many gifted people giving talks through a wide range of styles which has also blessed my own faith journey. The older grades are generally led by younger leaders—many of whom came through CC themselves—and to watch them grow and share their own faith has also been wonderful. CC worship will always have an extremely special place in my heart. Apart from the very good workout that some action songs require, I have loved the fact that doing actions involves the whole body and incorporating sign language into many of the songs added a further dimension. Songs have ranged from contemplative and repentant, to praise and thanksgiving to God for his great love for us, and on many occasions, these have been the songs that have comforted and guided me. CC has been very blessed with their worship leaders and although we have had many talented and gifted ones over the years, I am particularly grateful to Patrick Cordery, Jonathan Webb and Matthew Poulter for what they brought to this aspect of CC. Whilst there are many memorable and special moments I particularly call to mind the occasion when one of the leaders was trying to encourage one of the Grade 7 boys to join us at the front of the whole church in leading the actions. The boy’s response was along the lines that he still had a reputation to preserve—the implication being that the leaders didn’t!! But we held fast to David’s response to Michal when he danced in front of the ark: ‘I will become even more undignified than this’ (2 Samuel 6:22)! And so my prayer for CC worship is that they will continue to worship God as in the rest of the words of the song... ‘I will dance, I will sing, to be mad for my king, nothing, Lord, is hindering the passion in my soul.’ I didn’t have the opportunity to work with Alison Claassen, the new Children’s Ministry Leader, but know that under her care and guidance as well as that of Keenan for the Ambies, the children of CCK and their families, have great opportunities for growth and fellowship and community with God as the firm foundation. I thank God for Children’s Church—for the many joys and blessings that I have received through my involvement there and for all those whose lives have intersected with mine in this space. Thank you CCK for giving me the opportunity and privilege of serving in this very special ministry.
- Mary Lister
November 2019 Eight O’Clock News
HAPPY SPECIAL 96th BIRTHDAY Justine Hoare 21/11 ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ Psalm 27:1
To the Editor… A BRILLIANT EDITION (October) ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD! Well done indeed!!! Editorial Team Tel/e-mail Ev Els
021 696 0336 emichael@iafrica.com
Cheryl Anderson
083 272 1530 canderson@beckman.com
- Willie Hare