CCK 8 O'Clock News May 2015

A Hedgehog Yawn !

The Eight O’Clock

News Read this in COLOUR at www.cck.org.za

May 2015

8 am Service, Christ Church, Kenilworth

The Word of God In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God [John 1:1]

‘In Genesis, God is presented as speaking the creation into existence. God speaks the word and it happens: heaven and earth, ocean and stream, tree and grass, birds and fish, animals and humans.

Everything, seen and unseen, called into being by God’s spoken word.

In deliberate parallel to the opening words of Genesis, John in his gospel presents God as speaking salvation into existence. This time God’s word takes on human form and enters history in the person of Jesus. Jesus speaks the word and it happens: forgiveness and judgement, healing and illumination, mercy and grace, joy and love, freedom and resurrection. Everything broken and fallen, sinful and diseased, called into salvation by God’s spoken word.

For somewhere along the line things went wrong (Genesis tells that story, too) and are in desperate need of fixing. The fixing is all accomplished by speaking—God speaking salvation into being in the person of Jesus. Jesus, in this account, not only speaks the word of God; He is the Word of God. Keeping company with these words, we begin to realise that our words are more important than we ever supposed. Saying I believe, for instance, marks the difference between life and death. Our words accrue dignity and gravity in conversation with Jesus. For Jesus doesn’t impose salvation as a solution; He narrates salvation into being through leisurely conversation, intimate personal relationships, compassionate responses, passionate prayer, and—putting it all together—a sacrificial death. We don’t casually walk away from words like that.’

- Eugene Peterson: Introduction to John, The Message May 2015 Eight O’Clock News

021-797-6332

The Living Word ‘On the first page of his Gospel, John says four absolutely vital things about the Logos (Word): 1) His eternity: In the beginning the Logos was already there. We cannot go further back in our imagination than the beginning of the universe. He was not created, but has equal status with God as creator of the world.

2) His personality: ‘The Logos was face to face with God’. That is the literal translation. It is the word used of two people looking into each other’s eyes and loving one another. Christians are the only people on earth who can say that God is love, because they are the only people who believe that God is three in one—love is impossible for just one person. God is more than one person, and if He is Father and Son loving each other, you can say that He is love and always was love.

3) His deity: In the beginning the Logos was already there, face to face with God in a personal relationship, and He ‘was God’. The Logos was not created, nor was He any less than God: He was totally equal to God. When Thomas exclaimed, ‘My Lord and my God!’ he stated the truth about Jesus.

He was there at the beginning involved in creation.

Scientists today speak of the earth’s crust as being made up of tectonic plates. The word relates to the Greek word, tecton, which means carpenter! Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, made our planet. He is the source of light and life. Everything exists for His pleasure.

4) His humanity: A little later in the first chapter we read the amazing words: ‘The Logos became flesh and pitched His tent among us, and we beheld His glory, glory such as you would only see in the begotten Son of the Father.’ (1:14) It is possible to know God personally.

Jesus is God with a face.

God is Jesus everywhere.’

- David Pawson: Unlocking the Bible, John

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We have expanded from 40 children to being able to accommodate 70 children—many of them from refugee families I believe I have been gifted to teach and have done so in various or the townships. capacities throughout my working life—eventually finding my real It is a place with happy passion at the early childhood level (birth-6 years). children because they Development at this stage is foundational for so much of what can still enjoy follows. It is a period not to be wasted, but filled with stimulation, childhood while we both mental and physical. ensure they are ready

Blessing a Ministry...

not only for school, but really to become responsible, competent, self-confident adults.

Finances are always tight as we strive to fulfil the mission: quality education and care for those not able often to afford that.

Out of the blue came a ’phone call from Denny Bunn a while ago. Someone from CCK had made a large but anonymous donation toward school

I currently work with both the children at Harfield Early Learning Centre and with teachers from community schools and Grade R classrooms to ensure others understand the responsibility and acquire the skills.

In August 2000 I bought (with some borrowed money and some gifted by a friend) a centre for young children in Third Avenue, Claremont. I felt a real call—push?—to provide high quality care and education to persons who could not necessarily afford that for their children. We kept fees as low as possible without compromising quality. We receive no funds from government departments and rely only on parent fees, fund raising and donations. The first five years were financially challenging and I came close to closing down, but felt God saying ‘hang in there’.

The turnaround came in April 2005 when we moved to premises owned by St Matthew’s Church in Second Avenue, Harfield Village and let to us at a reasonable rental.

May 2015 Eight O’Clock News

funds!

She had warned me at the start that I should be sitting down before she gave me the news, but it still blew me away! I had to ask again who was speaking—fearing it to be a scam or that I had heard wrongly!

We are talking as a staff of how best to use the money. Topping up the bark under the outdoor equipment that helps the children stay cleaner in the winter with part of the money? Buy a new music centre ( the old one had stopped working) so the children can again dance and sing and enjoy music? Pay fees for one more child from a distressed family to share this early learning experience? What did the donor have in mind, we wonder?

How does one thank an ‘anonymous donor’—someone who cares so much for us? I hope the caring, generous person will read this and know how much we appreciate the gift. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

These three photographs show something of our life together: our Christmas tableaux which we enact every year so children can learn the true meaning of Christmas; one from an outing in Arderne Gardens which we visit at least twice a year and one taken at our centre.

If any one would like to visit us, please feel welcome to do so.

Contact me on 083 645 2468.

- Wilma Tindall

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Off to Oxford...

My first ever Latin lecture fell on Valentine’s Day. Little did I know then that it was to be the beginning of the love affair which seems to be dictating the course of my life.

It started as a flirtation: Latin caught my eye as it roved down the options for electives in my first and only year as a music student. It fitted into my schedule, and I mistakenly fancied myself something of a linguist. I registered for it, and so I found myself spending an hour of Valentine’s Day 2011 learning, as was appropriate, how to conjugate amare, (to love) in the present tense.

Small, but significant, beginnings.

Next came infidelity: I found myself longing for my hours on Upper Campus, and dreading the eternities trapped in the dungeons of Music School with my flute. At my sixth month anniversary with music I admitted the truth to myself and decided that as soon as I could, I would pursue my true passion with all my strength.

It has been an interesting journey. As a student of Latin and Greek at UCT, I have had more one-onone time with my professors than most master’s students, which was regularly fairly intimidating.

Two months ago I received an email. The subject line was ‘your application to Oxford’, and in the (interminable) seconds between my seeing this and my actually opening said email, I had managed to convince myself that it was in fact a message to let me know that I had left something fundamental out of this application and would therefore not be considered. But God’s goodness is truly astounding: it turned out that I had got into the programme I had applied for in January, and a few weeks later my delight (which until that point had been tempered by the fact that without funding the offer was merely a bonus to my self-esteem) was sent sky-high by another email informing me that I was being offered a full scholarship for the period of my studies. Truly, God is good.

From October this year, then, I will be heading off to Oxford to do an MPhil in Roman History, which will last two years. I am going by virtue of an Ertegun scholarship in the Humanities, which is really exciting. Beyond paying fees and living expenses, the scholarship aims to create a community of scholars in the humanities, with regular seminars and interdisciplinary discussions—I am really excited to be a part of such a community.

What’s more, though it is admittedly scary to think of heading off into the unknown, I’m not actually going alone. My cousin, Sarah, is also going to do her Master’s in Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar. We’re in very different fields (she will be doing an MPhil in ‘evidence based social intervention and policy evaluation’), and no doubt will have a very different May 2015 Eight O’Clock News

experience, but the fact that we are going together is an incomparable blessing.

I’m very grateful to my parents who have allowed me to pursue my interests even though those interests are not sensible, and have no guaranteed career as an endpoint. They have always supported me, even though I’m sure it must have been a little disappointing when I opted out of my Bachelor of Music!

- Ursula Westwood (with parents Tony & Jean)

Nonsense! Wireless communication is nothing new—I’ve been praying for 75 years!

- Origin unknown, sent in by Geka Flegg

Let Light Shine !

Jim and I always enjoy the 'Book of Matthew in the light of Torah' class on a Tuesday evening, but last night's class (22 April) was exceptional. We started in candlelight because there was a power outage. Somehow the changed atmosphere led to lots of humour as we were led in our study by Edith Sher. Edith's humour is always delightful but the comments from the floor had us in stitches. One gentleman said it was because people feel free to make comments when their faces can't be clearly seen. Added to this humour was the fact that one of the verses read in Matthew was, 'What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops.’

[Matthew 10:27.]

- Jeanette Harris

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Lent Meditations 2015

A Grace Disguised: Jerry Sittser

‘He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me’ (Psalm 18:19)

The sub-title of this book, How the soul grows through loss, fascinated me a little. What was there that was so positive about the loss of a loved one, I wondered? Especially the triple tragedy which the writer suffered in a car accident when he lost his mother, wife and daughter. I was humbled by his response to this catastrophe when he dedicated himself to caring for his three remaining children, and in the process achieved a maturity he may not have achieved otherwise. With this in mind I read the book during my father's illness and death in March. And I was so very glad to read about another's experience of the devastating inevitability of the death experience. I identified with the reeling immediate state of shock into which I was flung, walked around in a frozen stupor, and plummeted when the shock gave way.

I was personally not enthralled when, in the second half of the book, the author's theme dwelt more on the Christian doctrine of accepting Christ and thus being saved at death. This is an integral part of the Christian faith and cannot be denied, and I do not deny it. At the same time I do think God deals with people in different ways. My father was a good man—his morals were exemplary—and my family is not hypocritical (my immediate family is not Christian) so they chose to have a celebratory wake in memory of him and not a funeral. (Charlotte Browne graciously agreed to attend the wake, so that I was personally represented by the church. I was indebted to her for wearing her clerical collar at my request and it meant so much to me.)

Some people disagreed with me when, out of a deep respect for my father, I did not seek to convert him on his deathbed (he had displayed his own attitude to this many times previously) but still, as a Christian, I ached for the reassurance of a church funeral, and yes, I felt the sting of shame at telling people from the church community that there would be no church funeral.

However, a refreshing conversation with Yvonne Kane provided an awesome stepping-stone in my dilemma and restored my faith in my Christian family. It went something like this: How do we know what happens in the innermost soul the half-hour before death? Who are we to judge the departed? My father was in a coma for several hours before his death, but he could hear us and to a subtle degree, respond to us. There was pure love in the room as we sat with him at home, the death was peaceful and gentle, even reassuring for it was clear that, despite dogmatic doctrine, it was not his end. Nature has her own secrets, and so does God. There is profound mystery, parts of which we can only wonder at—we do not know it all.

It was with this in mind that I led the family at the private cremation in a meditation on mystery and goodness.

And the book—I seem to have got very sidetracked—yes, the book is good and worthy of reading for it is very insightful, and one can only marvel at the writer's capacity to overcome his obstacles. I would like to add that anyone can read it for it applies to the nature of all losses.

Lent 2015 was a very special time: full of excellent teaching, material for contemplation including thinking about opportunities for service. The hour of meditation on Tuesdays during Lent became a spacious place for me where I could be free from what often hems me in and absorbs my thinking in the normal course of life. We were led in silence through Imaginative Contemplations or times of Lectio Divina—to consider in a deeper way what we had been taught on Sundays about the way of the cross through Philippians 2:5-8. In this spacious place we thought about the servant-heart of God, the humility of Jesus, how He came to serve with compassion and forgiveness and how He longs for us to have compassion, humility and obedience as key characteristics of our beings in the same way as He has them.

Additional readings from Henri Nouwens writings encouraged us to ‘descend’, as Nouwen puts it, intentionally out of our normal way of living into the glorious, loving relationship that exists between God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We could perhaps say that we were invited into the Trinitarian Dance of Love where challenges and difficulties were softened by appreciating again the depth of God’s love for us. The quiet music and meaningful centerpieces added to the beauty of the ‘spacious place’, making us aware of God’s holy presence. The Dance of Love was, of course, a different dance for each of us but I think a common feature was that we each experienced the grace of God touching us in some way. Altogether, our souls were fed.

Maundy Thursday dinner together was a time of ministry, fellowship and contemplation—a great preparation for Good Friday when we considered the immensity of ‘what died with Jesus on the Cross’. And then, 40 days of intentionally journeying with Jesus was celebrated at the worship service on Easter Sunday morning when with raised voices, glorious music, Holy Communion (and Easter Eggs) we rejoiced again in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

- Denise Wood May 2015 Eight O’Clock News

Penguin Cat !

- Theresa Keay (Resource Centre Librarian)

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Daniel Holgate & The Cricket World Cup !

the way in which Daniel spoke during the film made before the start of the final match at Melbourne!]

- David, Sharon, Daniel & Ethan Holgate

We had a super time and built so many good, happy family memories.

The SA-NZ semi-final was the highlight from a cricket watching point of view. The experience of watching the final from the ICC box was very special too. Apart from that we spent some very good time with friends and simply together as a family.

The short feature which the ICC did on Daniel's CWC trip was shown on DSTV recently.

[Grandparents Mary and Peter: We are particularly proud at

From Andrew White in Baghdad In Iraq many miracles happen—One day a man named Ahmed turned up in the clinic. He said: ‘Doctor, can you make my daughter better?’ The doctor said: ‘No, I can no longer treat her, she’s now in the hospital. Go to the priest.’ So he came and asked me: ‘Can you heal my daughter?’ I said: ‘No, I can’t, but God can.’ That moment I said it I heard God say to me: ‘You're right, you can’t, but I can and will.’ I told him: ‘God is going the make your daughter better.' After I

prayed with him I said, 'Go to the hospital and just keep saying Jesus' name over her. When he got there the doctor met him and said: ‘Ahmed, I’m so sorry. Your daughter has just died.’

He cried and cried and cried. He went to his daughter, lying dead on the bed. He grabbed her and just said: ‘Eashoa, Eashoa, Eashoa.’ (Jesus in Aramaic). Then she sat up! And she said: ‘Daddy, I’m hungry, can you give me some food?’

So he came and told me that. I said: ‘Don’t worry, it has happened like that before.’

- Sent in by Alison Bourne (John Hewitson)

May 2015 Eight O’Clock News

Peter Houston writes…

I love reading historical novels. I grew up reading Rosemary Sutcliff stories of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire in Britain like The Eagle of the Ninth. More recently I’ve enjoyed similarly themed books by Simon Scarrow and Conn Iggulden. I’ve walked on parts of Hadrian’s Wall in modern day Northern England—all that is left of Rome’s attempt to safeguard its expansion into Britain.

Empires rise and fall and have done so for thousands of years.

With each successive shift in historical power, the signs of the previous power are usually displaced. Temples to the former gods are torn down and new ones to the gods of the winning side are built. Statues are toppled and ones to new leaders are raised up. In modern history we have had iconic moments like the pulling down of the Berlin Wall or the toppling of statues of Saddam Hussein and Joseph Stalin.

In South Africa there has been a move away from using old colonial or Apartheid-era government buildings to erecting brand new provincial government complexes and treasuries. Oh, and yes, the statue of Cecil John Rhodes has just fallen. Statues of President Paul Kruger, Prime Minister Louis Botha, King George V and Queen Victoria have all been targeted along with a nameless white volunteer soldier in Uitenhage and somebody caring for a horse in Port Elizabeth. Somewhat ironically, with the Horse Memorial, the inscription on its base reads, ‘The greatness of a nation consists not so much upon the number of its people or the extent of its territory as in the extent and justice of its compassion.’

The problem with history is that it is relative. One person’s freedom fighter is another person’s terrorist. One person’s great leader is another person’s ruthless dictator. One person’s victory is another person’s loss. Paul Kruger and Louis Botha fought British imperialism and military might, yet they also are part of the Apartheid story of our nation. King Shaka is considered the great leader, strategist and empire builder/unifier of the Zulu nation. But his rise to power was problematic for the Ngoni people as well as the amaHlubi, the amaBhaca and the Mpondo people.

History is about winners and losers and is mostly defined by the winners, those presently in power. National power, economic power, political power, religious power, tribal power—there are those that have it and those who don’t. And in our broken humanity we are powerless to ever produce a different form of empire or system of power. In fighting dictators we become dictators. In defeating our enemies we make new enemies. In fighting the dragon, we become the dragon.

There is one exception. The Way of the Cross. Jesus transforms a powerful symbol of Roman oppression into one of hope. He doesn’t rail against the powers or seek to topple them by establishing a similar counter-power. ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’, He says from the cross. He makes himself nothing on the cross, reconciling people to God and opening the way for all people, even enemies, to be reconciled. He establishes a new family from His place of powerlessness, while suffering the oppression of Rome: ‘Mary, behold your son… John, behold your mother’, He says from the cross. His mothers and brothers and sisters become those who do the will of God—a God who has taught us through Jesus to love one another, forgive one another, build up one another and be reconciled to one another. As Paul says to the church in Corinth, we have been reconciled with God through Christ and May 2015 Eight O’Clock News

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have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18).

Many blogs, twitter comments and articles about the toppling and defacing of statues have exposed how far we are from being truly reconciled with each other in South African society. The rhetoric of division, polarisation and racism is growing in the public space. But it is in the private places we must look for our hope. In my heart am I reconciled to God in Christ? And if so, have I committed myself to the ministry of reconciliation, inviting others to be reconciled with God and seeking to be reconciled with my fellow human being?

- Part of an article written for The Natal Courier

What did the Romans do for England?

Reg: They’ve bled us white. They’ve taken everything we had, and not just from us, from our fathers, and from our fathers’ fathers.

Loretta: And from our fathers’ fathers’ fathers.

Reg: Yeah.

Loretta: And from our fathers’ fathers’ fathers’ fathers.

Reg: Yeah. All right, Stan. Don’t labour the point. And what have they ever given us in return?!

Xerxes: The aqueduct?

Reg: What?

Xerxes: The aqueduct.

Reg: Yeah, yeah. They did give us that. Uh, that’s true. Yeah.

Commando#3: And the sanitation.

Loretta: Oh, yeah, the sanitation, Reg. Remember what the city used to be like?

Reg: Yeah. All right. I’ll grant you the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans have done.

Mattias: And the roads.

Reg: Well, yeah. Obviously the roads. I mean, the roads go without saying, don’t they? But apart from the sanitation, the aqueduct, and the roads— Commando: Irrigation.

Xerxes: Medicine.

Commandos: Huh? Hey? Huh...

Commando #2: Education Commandos: Ohh...

Reg: Yeah, yeah. All right. Fair enough.

Commando #1: And the wine.

Commandos: Oh, yes. Yeah.

Francis: Yeah. Yeah, that’s something we’d really miss, Reg, if the Romans left. Huh. Commando: Public baths.

Loretta: And it’s safe to walk in the streets at night now, Reg. Francis: Yeah, they certainly know how to keep order. Let’s face it. They’re the only ones who could in a place like this.

Commandos: Hehh, heh. Heh heh heh heh heh heh.

Reg: All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?

Xerxes: Brought peace. Stopped us fighting amongst ourselves.

There are no Roman statues in England The proletariat had their say And did their best to delete a history That made the civilised England today.

- Monty Python: Life of Brian, sent in by John D’Arcy Evans

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Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim‘s Tale If someone asks me what kind of church I belong to, I want to say, A come-and-see-church.

Come and see how we love the poor; Come and see how we give dignity back to those who've lost it or given it away; Come and see how we encounter God through every practice at our disposal; Come and see how we love one another in community; Come and see how we stand for peace and justice; Come and see how we've been freed from consumerism and have become radically generous; Come and see our passion for beauty; Come and see how we defend the earth; Come and see how we preach the gospel at all times and when necessary, use words; Come and see—perhaps after a while you'll join us in the story we‘re living.

- Ian Morgan Cron, sent in by Barrie Jack

How to Call the Police When You’re Old and Don’t Move Fast Anymore George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi was going up to bed when his wife told him that he had left a light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go and turn off the light, but saw there were people in the shed stealing things. He phoned the police who asked, ‘Is someone in your house?’ George replied, ‘No’. The police person said that all the patrols were busy and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be along when available.

George said, ‘Okay’, hung up, counted to 30 then phoned the police again. ‘Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well you don’t have to worry about them now because I just shot them.’ Then he hung up.

Within five minutes, six police cars, a SWAT team, a helicopter, two fire trucks, a paramedic and an ambulance showed up at the Phillips’ residence and caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the policemen said to George, ‘I thought you said that you’d shot them!’ George replied, ‘I thought you said there was nobody available!’

Moral of this true story—Don’t mess with old people!

- Sent in by Belinda Henwood

Sue Lambrecht, Daphne Burger, Sally Palmer & Di Hoffa enjoying a group breakfast together.

Police Work at its Best Two policemen (Constables Ken and Bob) call the station on the radio.

‘Hello. Is this the Sarge?’ Sarge: ‘Yes?’ ‘We have a case here. A woman has shot her husband dead for stepping on the floor she had mopped.’

‘Have you arrested the woman?’

‘No sir. The floor is still wet.’

Disorder in the Court Attorney: She had three children, right?

Witness: Yes. Attorney: How many were boys?

Witness: None.

Attorney: Were there any girls?

Witness: Your Honour, I think I need a different attorney.

Can I get a new attorney?

- Origin unknown, sent in by Rose Clack May 2015 Eight O’Clock News

- Origin unknown; sent in by Esther Marais

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Everyone Prays I have for many years used a little book by Eugene Peterson called Praying with the Psalms, which gives a daily psalm reading, a brief comment and a short prayer.

In the introduction Eugene Peterson writes: ‘Everyone prays—kind of. It’s our most human action. At the deep centre of our lives, we are connected somehow or other with God. That deep centre often gets buried under the everyday debris of routine and distraction and chatter, while we shuffle about out of touch and unaware of our true selves.

Then a sudden jolt opens a crevasse, exposing for a moment our bedrock self: spontaneously we pray.

We do that because we’re made by and for the voice of God— listening to and answering that voice is our most characteristic act. We are most ourselves when we pray.

The jolt comes variously—a stab of pain, a rush of beauty, an encore of joy; we exclaim, ‘God!’ The cry can be complaint or curse or praise, no matter, it’s prayer. When that deep centre of our lives is exposed,—our core humanity, which biblical writers designate as ‘heart’—we unthinkingly revert to our first language: we pray.’

- Ascencia Tebbutt, 26 April

The Man Who Won’t Go Away ‘On the day after Jesus’ death, it looked as if whatever small mark He left on the world would rapidly disappear. Instead, His impact on human history has been unparalleled…

Normally when someone dies, their impact on the world immediately begins to recede. But Jesus inverted this normal human trajectory, as He did so many others. Jesus’ impact was greater a hundred years after His death than during His life; it was greater still after 500 years; after a thousand years His legacy laid the foundation for much of Europe; after 2000+ years He has more followers in more places than ever.

If someone’s legacy will outlast their life, it usually becomes apparent when they die. On the day when Alexander the Great or Caesar Augustus or Napoleon or Socrates died, their reputations were immense. When Jesus died, His tiny failed movement appeared clearly at an end. If there were a kind of ‘Most Likely to Posthumously Succeed’ award given on the day of death to history’s most influential people, Jesus would have come in dead last…

Jesus’ vision of life continues to haunt and challenge humanity.

His influence has swept over history like the tail of a comet, bringing His inspiration to influence art, science, government, medicine and education; He has taught humans about dignity, compassion, forgiveness and hope.

Since the day He did come—as GK Chesterton put it, ‘It has never been quite enough to say that God is in His heaven and all is right with the world; since the rumour is that God had left His heavens to set it right.’ ’ - John Ortberg: Who is this Man? May 2015 Eight O’Clock News

Prayers on 26 April Dear Father God, as parents we know just how much it means to us when our children come and tell us about their lives, their joys, their worries, their triumphs and their failures. And it is even more precious to us when they really listen, in turn, to what we have to tell them about what is foremost in our minds. We praise and thank You, our heavenly Father, that we can dance with You in our joys, run to You with our fears, rant at You in our anger and weep out our grief on Your breast. Forgive us that we so often forget that conversation is a two-way thing, and we don’t wait to hear from You what is on Your mind.

Lord, there isn’t anything we can tell You about the concerns we have for what is happening in our world, in our country, in our families or in our own lives that You don’t already know.

We think of the thousands of refugees from North Africa pouring into Europe at a terrifying rate, we think of the other refugees who have come into South Africa and are now under attack by our own people.

We think of our Christian brothers and sisters being summarily executed by ISIS. We think of those whose lives have been shattered by the earthquake in Nepal. We think of South Africa and all her many problems: her tottering economy, ineffective government, frightening crime rate, her electricity failures and growing racial division. Father, it would be easy to throw up our hands in despair and let our feeling of helplessness in the face of all this take over. Help us, rather, to listen attentively to Your side of the conversation, to what is on Your mind for us to do, maybe as members of this church, maybe as members of this congregation, as members of our small groups, or as individuals. Help us to be open to Your leading, so that we may not miss any opportunity to play our part in Your great plan to bring about Your Kingdom here on Earth, even as it is in heaven. One thing we do know we can all do is to pray for every one of Your children caught up in these situations. May Your mercy and protection surround them, and Your wisdom, courage and strength enable them, so that Your will may be done in their lives and in this world...

Lord, here we are—members of Your church, Your bride, warts and all. For some inexplicable reason which we can never understand, You love us completely. May we go from here in the wonder of that love, and may that wonder shine out of us and embrace all with whom we come into contact, may it colour everything we think, say and do, so that the world will know that we belong to You. Thank You, Father. Amen - Sally Palmer (shortened) Editorial Team Tel.

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Ev Els

021 696 0336 emichael@iafrica.com

Cheryl Anderson

083 272 1530 canderson@beckman.com