THE RECTOR WRITES

Springtime of the soul!

Spring is a time for spiritual renewal and growth!

Out walking over Easter it was thrilling to see some new born lambs running after their mother. They were bouncing, snowy white and full of life. To be literally looking over the fence at this beautiful natural picture brought back to me the ‘reason for the season’ that Easter is the spring-time of the soul. That we too must see it as a time of new hope and life!

Spiritual renewal begins again by turn our hearts and lives afresh to God through Jesus. This is for anyone.

Jesus as he died upon the cross for us completely surrendered his whole life to God, trusting him that through the pain of suffering and death that there would be new life, hope and renewal.

This hope and renewal comes to us once we ask him into our lives for the first time or as we refresh or recommit ourselves to Him again. This new life is symbolic in the new born Lamb but is seen also in Jesus the Lamb of God who died and rose for us bringing new life to ourselves, our family, our church and our community.

This is the time we see signs of hope and trust God again to bring us life and to new life!

“This is a trust-worthy saying that deserves full acceptance. That is why we labour and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the saviour of all people, and especially of those who believe.”
1Timothy 4:9-10

HOW WE FIND NEW FAITH IN OUR LIVES…

Jesus’ Inner Life

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Mark 1:35

Jesus was totally committed to prayer and diligent daily in God’s word. So, in following him, I will commit myself to the same disciplined devotional habits:
Reading the Bible and praying regularly, aiming to do so every day including time to pray for this church and parish
Asking God to fill me daily with his Holy Spirit
Having some longer times for prayer, worship and mediation on God’s word
Seeking fellowship with other Christians to strengthen my inner life

When my discipline slips, I will not condemn myself but with seek God’s help to start again.

TRIP TO CITY HALL

On Saturday 2nd April over 20 people from St Michael’s paid a visit to Belfast City Hall. A friendly guide accompanied us during our hour long tour of our magnificent Belfast City Hall.  The stunning entrance hall, grand staircase and landings use 4 types of marble, three from Italy and one from Greece.The dome rises to a height of approximately 53 meters, inside the dome is a whispering gallery similar to that of St Paul’s Cathedral in London. On the first floor we reach the rotunda. The centre of the Rotunda is open creating a circular viewing gallery.We then were taken to the Council Chamber and allowed to take a seat usually occupied by elected Council members.
The benches were constructed in irish oak and the workmanship was of a very high standard with beautiful wood carvings incorporated into each bench.  The tradesmen involved in the woodwork were the same as those who worked on the liner Titanic.
Some of our party were able to dress in the Council members robes and have their photos taken. The motto of Belfast is “PRO TANTO QUID RETRIBUAMUS” and comes from Psalm 116 v 12, translated from Latin it means ” What return shall we make for so much”. Altogether a memorable trip and much enjoyed by all who attended.

EASTER MONDAY CHURCH PICNIC

On Easter Monday after the sandwiches were made and the equipment got ready for our catering the next day about 15 people and a dog set out for our annual picnic.  What a day we had!  We visited Lough Neagh at Antrim Forum and had our picnic then a long walk along the tow path to Clotworthy House where we saw the beautifully laid out.  Some footballers (and a dog) got a bit muddy but I hear it washed out eventually.  We were then invited to Jim’s house for our eats so we stopped at whatever carry-out we fancied and filled the house with smells of chips, pizza, fish, sausages etc.  A big thank you to Jim for putting up with us.

MISSION NEWS

CMS
Paul & Tania Baker & Lana

We heard recently that all is going well at the Kiwoko Hospital.  Many patients pass through the doors some as day patients, some on long and short stays.  Although people are there for medical treatment the gospel of Jesus is also shared.
As is often the case money is not in great supply due to the Ugandan shilling being a little bit stronger than sterling and a lot of their support comes from Northern Ireland.  Paul and Tania are still making plans and preparations for coming home in August for some months.  Do keep praying that the necessary papers for Lana to travel are forthcoming.

Alison & Paul Guinness

Alison and Paul Guinness still continue with their studies at all Nations College and plan to visit Burundi in June after all their exams are finished.  Do pray that they will get good results in their exams and that God will guide them for their future together.

CROSSLINKS
Hi, all just a short update from Josh and Ye Ying. Josh writes;

Thanks for your ongoing prayers for us.
This weekend we’re having a church leader’s retreat. Our feeling is that as a church planted some 10 years ago, we’ve just about learnt how to ‘do church’ (run a service week by week etc – though some weeks are still more ropey than others!) and we’re wanting to become much more deliberate at reaching out to those outside the church and discipling individuals.  Wisdom for what that would look like would be much appreciated, especially as we think about how Luke and Jane (our new International student workers, beginning work in August, but thinking about strategy now) will fit into existing programs.
On Monday, Hebrew classes will continue. Longer term we’re thinking through ways of seeing future church leaders equipped with the Biblical languages, do be praying for good conversations with the various churches we know.
Last Tuesday we had our first week of this month’s series on “Teaching the Bible” which I’m leading. We had a good crowd (20 people) who will be giving practice talks in the weeks ahead. Pray that they will have time to prepare well, and that the feedback we give will be helpful.
InFOCUS continues on Wednesday. There are a couple girls (Sophie and Helen) who seem close to professing. Do pray for them!


Thanks for your prayers, and thanks for your prayers for more regular quiet times. As always, more can be done, but I’m grateful that we’ve both been able to prioritise this a bit more in the last couple of weeks.

Josh

 

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES

My friend, Carolyn, was frustrated by how often her four-year-old son, Brian, was getting dirty playing outside. At wit’s end, she finally said, “Brian, can’t you play someplace where it’s cleaner?” “If God didn’t want us to play in the dirt,” Brian logically said, “why did he make so much of it?”