Lent Course 2015 - Reflections on The Apostles' Creed

Dear Friends

Easter is very early this year. Shrove Tuesday falls on 17 February 2015 and Ash Wednesday on 18 February 2015, which means Lent is almost upon us! The focus of our Lent Course will be reflections on the Apostles' Creed. It is open to all parishioners, family and friends.

Joan Chittister, in her book In Search of Belief says of the Apostles' Creed:

The question does not lie with whether or not the Creed is believable. The Creed is about the mystery of life, and its mystery is apparent. The question is whether or not the Creed is meaningful to us, here, now. Clearly, the quandary is that we live in a desert between two places, one a relatively static world where doubt was little tolerated, the other a world exploding with information, inundated with questions, where we are now and find ourselves, as a result, no longer sure.

Please join Prof. Denise Ackermann, Bishop Geoff Quinlan, and the Rev'd Mark Long for our Lenten reflection on the Apostles' Creed and it's relevance to life and faith in the 21st Century.

We will meet on Tuesday's from 19:30 to 20:45, beginning on 24 February 2015, for the six weeks of Lent. There will be a 15-20 minute input followed by an opportunity to participate in group discussion.

For those who find evenings difficult, Mark will offer a summary on Wednesday mornings from 11:00 to 11:45, beginning 25 February 2015.

If you are able to attend, please fill in the list available at the back of the Church, or let the Office know by phone or email.

For your consideration and prayerful preparation:

24 Feb 2015: Week 1 - Creator
Prof Denise Ackermann

We believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

3 Mar 2015: Week 2 - Jesus: Birth and Death
Bishop Geoff Quinlan

We believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended to the dead.

10 Mar 2015: Week 3 - Jesus: Resurrection and Judgement
The Rev'd Mark Long

On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

17 Mar 2015: Week 4 - The Spirit 
Prof Denise Ackermann

We believe in the Holy Spirit.

24 Mar 2015: Week 5 - The Church and The Saints
Bishop Geoff Quinlan

(We believe in) the holy catholic Church, and the communion of Saints.

31 Mar 2015: Week 6 - Forgiveness, Resurrection and Eternity
The Rev'd Mark Long

(We believe in) the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Blessings
Mark

Summer Newsletter 2014: Article

Dear Friends

“In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (Isaiah 40:3; TNIV)

Last year, as I wrote this column, I was glorying in the daily sight of Table Mountain, and reflected on a passage - also from Isaiah - that spoke of feasting and abundance and joy and fulfillment. As I write today, it is the wilderness, the desert, which catches my attention. I still awake with awe to the sight of the Mountain, I toast the evening with a glass of the Cape's finest, and occassionally see out the day with a drop of God's gift to humankind. However, in the year that has passed I have - even in this paradise - been aware of the desert encroaching on God's beauty that is Southern Africa. Perhaps this has been highlighted (darkened?) by the raft of recent load-shedding, a reminder of the levels of incompetence that mark leadership in our national arena; and the challenge of burying a newborn baby in the coming week that marks something of the deep sorrow we each carry in our own unique way.

The above passage from Isaiah 40 is a poignant reminder of the challenge we face as God's people in this beautiful land, especially in the light of Advent and our preparations for Christmas where we remind ourselves so powerfully through this season that God seeks our lives to be the road of holiness, of life, of hope. It is easy to get caught up by the despair and encroaching darkness and, therefore, we need to actively find ways to recognise, but not identify with, the actions, attitudes and thought patterns that lead us into these dark places. Anthony de Mello, Catholic Jesuit priest and one of the spiritual masters of the 20th century, tells a story in his book "Awareness" that highlights this need for transformation:

There's a famous story about a lion who came upon a flock of sheep and to his amazement found a lion among the sheep. It was a lion who had been brought up by the sheep ever since he was a cub. It would bleat like a sheep and run around like a sheep. The Lion went straight for him, and when the sheep-lion stood in front of the real one, he trembled in every limb. And the Lion said to him, "What are you doing among those sheep?" And the sheep-lion said, "I am a sheep." And the Lion said, "Oh no you're not. You're coming with me." So he took the sheep-lion to a pool and said, "Look!" And when the sheep-lion looked at his reflection in the water, he let out a mighty roar, and in that moment he was transformed. He was never the same again.

We need to be aware if we are to be transformed and transforming agents of God in the communities and society we serve, if we are to truly prepare the way of the LORD. What will it take to wake us up, to truly awaken us, that like the sheep-lion we may recognise our misidentification and awaken to who we fully are as human beings made in the image of God, as children of God, as builders of straight highways in the desert of our lives and relationships, both personal and corporate? This surely is the challenge of incarnation, of a faith environment in which we claim belief in a God who is not only Spirit and Love, but also human like us? The Christian faith is paradoxically both spiritual and material, and focuses us on a God who is both indeterminable and yet definable in human form.

And so what is your "pool"? And what do you see when you look into it? What is the image that transforms you? What is it about this Advent, this Christmas Season that transforms you, that means you will never be the same again?

de Mello goes on to say that, "The three most difficult things for a human being are not physical feats or intellectual achievments. They are, first, returning love for hate; second, including the excluded; third, admitting that you are wrong." And perhaps this is what the incarnation, the Christmas story, is all about: God with us, loving us, embracing us, and forgiving us. That is truly a wonderful gift, is it not? And it is enfolded in the story of the Messiah's birth, visible in Jesus' life and ministry, tangible in our transforming lives. But if we do not ask the question; if we do not listen for God's "word" (as Bishop Geoff has encouraged us to do in his last two sermons to us); if we seek to remain unaware, misidentified, fearful, anxious, depressed and scared; how can we be the builders of straight highways in the desert of our context and environment, be it personal, family, friendship, or community based? We can't, obviously. So, are we sufficiently courageous to stare into the "pool" which is God, and be transformed? And thereby becoming, more fully, God's transforming agents in our world?

May God bless us as we journey through this Christmas-tide towards all that 2015 will bless and challenge us with. As we take this break from work, from school and are enfolded in family and faith, may we discover anew God's strength and vision in our lives. May the peace, joy and hope embodied in the Messiah's birth so transform us that we will never be the same again!

Christmas blessings and love from Dawn and myself.

Mark

Spring Newsletter 2014: Article

Dear Friends

"Serving each other; serving the world"

On Saturday 30 August 2014 thirty-two St Andrew's Church members met to workshop together around our vision for who God is calling us to be as a Christian community in the wider Newlands context. This group was broadly reflective of the Parish as a whole, with each of our three Sunday congregations well represented.

While acknowledging that possibly our biggest strength is our outreach programme via Ministry to the Needy (MTN), feedback from our group discussions highlighted the need for "inreach": a need to caringly reach out to each other that we may then reach out to the world as an engaged, inclusive and welcoming community of Christian disciples.

We recognised the need to build on our Anglican identity and tradition, acknowledging that who we are today as St Andrew's Church is built on the legacy of those who have gone before us over more than a century. Additionally, we recognised that there are aspects of who we already are that we wish to preserve: our three Sunday services with their varied focus; our Ministry to the Needy (MTN); the various Home Groups; our intercessor prayer ministry; our fellowship activities (the St Andrew's Amble, Shrove Tuesday Pancake evening, and our Curry Supper) and tea after our services; the Morning Market; and our strong revenue stream.

Importantly, we noted a number of things we would like to see enhanced or added to our Church life with a focus on creating opportunities for broader engagement and participation by all who belong to, or seek to join, our Christian community here at St Andrew's. This requires a loving, caring and non-judgmental space where people of all cultures are able to grow as disciples of Christ and in width and depth of Faith. In this regard:

- Become a "24/7 Church", not just a Sunday-focused Church. Our building plans are important here, as they will offer us greater weekday access to our Hall and other facilities.

- Strengthen and expand our Home Group structure as a primary space to belong, where caring relationships can be formed, ministry encouraged, and Faith shared.

- Include our children and young people more fully in our worship: have them begin in Church before going down to Children's Church and Teen Church; provide opportunities for participation in music; develop a Servers' Guild.

- Build relationships through fellowship: a regular (quarterly?) combined morning service; review service times to allow for tea after the early service; and weekends away together.

- Provide opportunities for Spiritual development: revive courses such as Alpha, Renew, the Marriage Course; have regular Quiet Mornings; and build prayer partnerships.

- Create focus groups for Mothers and Toddlers, and for those who have been divorced or bereaved.

- Be more intentional about the Sunday evening service: vibrant music and liturgy; outreach to local schools and the university.

- Consider supporting a mission worker.

- Develop an "Info Central" around our website so that information about our various activities and community life is easily accessible.

We also reflected on what we wish to eliminate from Church life. This included the noise the Children's Church make coming for Communion, cliques, judgementalism and negative criticism:

- In terms of our children, there is an excitement about coming in for a blessing or to receive communion, and after the long trek up from the hall, that excitement is difficult to contain, although the teachers do their best to settle them down at the door (another reason why our Building Project is so important); our children need to feel welcome, and some noise is unavoidable!

- One is rarely aware of being in a clique. The best way of ensuring one's friendship group or Home Group doesn't fall into this definition is to be constantly on the look out for those on the margins of Church life, and invite them in. It can be educational to occasionally step out and view your group from an outsider's perspective.

- Criticism can be positive and valuable. We wish to avoid criticism that is judgemental and destructive.

In closing we noted that we wished to avoid the following: losing our Anglican identity; losing members through lack of caring; burnout of the few due to underinvolvement of the wider Church membership; complacency (especially in terms of our Dedicated Giving); and lack of follow-through towards engagement of new members.

Moving forward: we need your input! Please give comment on the above as you may have a perspective we did not consider at the workshop. How can you do this? A conversation with a Churchwarden or Parish Councillor, or the Rector; an email via the Church Office; a comment on our Facebook page. It will also be helpful, if there is any area above that excites you, that you indicate your willingness to be part of a team that develops that specific area in our Church life.

A concurrent process alongside this opportunity for further comment, is the review of our mission statement, the defining of our vision, and a list of priorities in terms of the issues identified at the workshop.

And finally, please hold the ongoing process in prayer. We seek to be about God's work and the purposes of God's Kingdom in our world. It is critically important that our mission, our vision, is aligned in this way.

Blessings
                      Mark

Season of Creation

Dear Friends

September marks a change in the seasons as we move from Winter into the wonderful transitional season of Spring! We have been blessed with wonderful weather welcoming this season into our lives: beautiful Cape Town days that enable one to forgive winter for all its wet and cold.

In the Anglican Church of Southern Africa we celebrate September as the "Season of Creation", and at St Andrew's we will be using the special collects, readings and Eucharistic Prayer authorised by the Synod of Bishops' for this season over the next five weeks.

Sunday 7 September: Climate Change "Sleeper, awake"

Sunday 14 September: Eco-justice "Walk lightly on this earth"

Sunday 21 September: Water "Water is life, sanitation is dignity"

Sunday 28 September: Creation and Redemption "On Earth as it is in Heaven"

Sunday 5 October: Biodiversity "Our Sister, Mother Earth"

Please join us as we celebrate God's gift of Creation. And, as always, family and friends are welcome to join us: please invite them!

Blessings
Mark

Admission to Communion before Confirmation 2014

Dear Friends

My sincere apologies for the lateness of this communication. If this has caught you a little off guard, the opportunity of a second date later in the year may be of help.

Admission to Communion before Confirmation has become a regular practise of the Anglican Church in Southern Africa. It is important to note that Admission to Communion is an opportunity for our children to take part fully in the worship life of the church, and helps prepare them more completely for the adult commitment to a life of faith that they will one day make at their Confirmation. The only two conditions that apply to receive Communion before Confirmation are:

- the individual is Baptised, and
- is officially admitted by the parish priest in their home Church.

There is no age limit, although I often find that around seven (7) years children begin to show a more focused interest in participating more fully at the altar rail.

The first opportunity this year for children to be admitted to receive Communion before Confirmation is at our 09:00 Family Service on Sunday 31 August 2014.  As this may be a bit soon for some families, there will be a second opportunity at our 09:00 Family Service on Sunday 30 November 2014.

I will run a preparation event on the Sundays prior to the Admission Service, being Sunday 24 August 2014, and on Sunday 23 November 2014, both at 17:00-18:00 in the Vestry. The preparation will include a focus on such topics as commitment, prayer, thanksgiving, the Passover and the Last Supper, Jesus’ death and resurrection, belonging and caring. It is helpful if parents (or a parent) is able to attend with the child.

Parents, please discuss this with your child, and if he/she is interested, please complete the attached form and let our Church Secretary, Bev Shaw (021 674 3851 / office@standrewsnewlands.org.za), know which event you will be attending. Should you wish to discuss this further please contact me on 082 600 6080.

Blessings
Mark

Parish Vision Workshop

Dear Friends

I wrote quite extensively about our need to revisit our mission and to explore our vision in the most recent Church Magazine (see http://thelongviewza.blogspot.com/2014/06/winter-newsletter-2014-article.html) and in this regard wish to invite you to join us for:

The St Andrew's Parish Vision Workshop
Saturday 30 August 2014, 09:00-12:00
in the Church Hall
77 Kildare Road, Newlands, 7700

The morning will be divided into three parts:

We will begin with some input around mission and vision, what defines and differentiates these concepts, along with the role of core ministry practices in implementing our mission and helping us embrace our vision. This will be a plenary session.

We will then spend some time in groups reflecting on three questions:
- Who is God calling us to be?
- What is God calling us to do?
- Where is God calling us to go? 

Our final session will also be in groups, this time focusing on a revised SWOT (strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats) exercise where we will explore the following four questions:
- What is intrinsic to whom we are which we wish to maintain at all costs? 
- What would we like to add that is not presently part of who we are/what we do? 
- What do we need to stop doing/excise from Parish life?
- What do we never want to see at St Andrew's (under any circumstances)?

What is the outcome we are hoping for from the morning together? The plan is to gain sufficient input that with further consultation we will be able to elucidate a revised mission statement, give flesh to a Parish vision, and identify a number of priorities for our mission and ministry going forward. We would wish to finalise this process for acceptance at our next Annual Vestry meeting in February 2015.

So please make the effort to attend and participate in this process, and please feel free to already begin thinking and talking around the above questions.

There will be a sign-up sheet at the back of the Church, or you can register for the morning via Bev in the Church Office.

A reminder that our present mission statement says:

St Andrew's aims to be a loving, worshipping, Christian community which encourages everyone to follow Christ as disciples through being obedient to his Word and Spirit, and as a result taking God's love to the local community, to the poor, the needy and the world. 

Blessings
Mark

Young People and Family Worship

Dear Friends

Family-focused Worship

A reminder that this sunday, 10 August 2014 at 18:30, we have our next Family-focused Service where we encourage families with teenagers and young adults to join us for worship together! Alison Gwynne-Evans and Debbie Coombe are planning an opportunity for fellowship afterwards and I've overheard comments about pizza...

I really hope you will make the effort to join us as we continue to explore this particular desire in our community, and your continued feedback (positive, negative and indifferent) is important, please!

Teen Church

We have recognised the need to differentiate our Teenagers from our younger Children's Church participation on Sunday mornings. William Tough has taken on responsibility for this, and the last two Sundays have proven very positive. Your teenagers participation is important, and again any feedback will be appreciated.

Youth

Raymond Quinlan continues to carry responsibility for our ad hoc Youth events, and we are planning something later in the term which Raymond will be in touch about. "Youth" in this context includes are older pre-teens as well. Any input in terms of ideas, and also willingness to help, will be appreciated! And again feedback is always valuable.

Archdeaconry Youth Service

There is an Archdeaconry Youth Service to which we are invited on Sunday 24 August 2014, 18:00, hosted at St Thomas' in Rondebosch. "Youth" in this context is Teenagers and young adults (students), and the Rev'd Allen Goliath (assistant Priest at St Saviour's, Claremont), is the Archdeaconry Youth Chaplain.Please speak to Raymond Quinlan in you would like greater detail. It will be great if we can have a good presence at the service.

Blessings
Mark