General Chat

Good morning :-)

No kandj 'm still struggling on my phone unfortunately. Hopefully the router will arrive soon. I will catch up with the interesting stories as soon as I can.

Meanwhile,

Yesterday we had the story of how Jesus turned water into wine. Wine bars are very popular these days and wine was popular in biblical times too.

Who drank wine in the Bible? Almost everyone. Drinking wine was normal for all Jews, though the Levitical priests in service at the temple abstained from wine. In the New Testament John The Baptist also abstained.

Jesus himself drank wine and was charged with drinking too much by his accusers.

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’

There is much about wine in the Bible.......

Cx :-)

Hello all

I hope your router problems are sorted soon and very many thanks for continuing your postings.

I can't claim to have a family christening gown that goes back as far as Gwyn.... a lovely story.
Vera, you were very diplomatic with the gifted christening gown when your daughter was baptised.

I bought a beautiful satin gown from Debenham's bridesmaid section when our granddaughter was baptised 20 years ago. This pretty tiny dress has also been used for my nieces two daughters. All 3 babies were baptised at our village church which is such a very special place for all of our family.

Vera, January isn't a good month for me too. I can understand how hard/upsetting it will be for you now losing your friend on the same day as your brother. Is it really 12 months ago since he sadly died??

It felt good being in church this morning and seeing a few familiar faces who have been absent for various reasons. Today was our covenant service.

Sending hugs to everyone who feels sad right now.

Another interesting week of posts Cynthia, in spite of your struggles with the router/internet. I hope you have more luck with it this week.

I’ve been reminded of my daughter’s christening when she was 3 months old. One of her godmothers was unable to attend but said she would like to make the baby a christening dress. Unbeknown to me my mother-in-law had told the godmother to make sure she made the dress large enough as my daughter was “enormous” (she was 8lbs 2ozs at birth and growing at a normal baby rate). The dress arrived the day before the christening. It was a rather bright pink satin trimmed with lace and was HUGE. There was no way I could adjust it to fit the little one but felt terrible as I knew it had been sewn with love. I ended up writing a very tactful letter of thanks to godmother and dashing out to Mothercare and buying a simple, short white dress. The pink dress made a pretty party frock when my little one was 2 or 3.

We sadly lost a friend on Friday which was the anniversary of my brother’s death last year. My thoughts are with our friend’s wife and family and everyone who is grieving for a loved one.

Good morning :-)

Still struggling...sigh..

Baptism.... it's never too late..

According to the Guinness Book of Records

The oldest person to be baptised is Clarence Raymond Kannheiser (USA), who was christened on 11 April 2009 aged 97 years 53 days at St. Patrick Church, Rochelle, Illinois, USA. Clarence was born on 17 Febuary 1912.

Clarence was baptised by Father David A. Peck. He also received his first Communion and Confirmation at the same service.

Of course, that record may still be broken :-)

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Am still struggling on phone but managed to get this...

Baptism....

A baptism with beer? Almost unimaginable! But, according to tradition, it is said to have been the case in Norway in former times that not water, but rather beer was used to anoint the children´s heads during baptism.

And why? It seems there were two reasons – both born from necessity. When temperatures were very cold, the water froze very quickly, beer on the other hand much more slowly due to the alcohol content. The second reason: this type of baptism apparently took place only in a region of Norway where water was scarce. Sounds admittedly strange of course: water scarce, beer available? The way it is generally explained is that the water available was possibly not clean enough – but there is no conclusive explanation in the end.

In the year 1241, however, it came to Pope Gregory IX´s attention and he wrote a letter to the Norwegian Bishop Sigurd von Trondheim. In this letter, he quoted from the Gospel of Saint John, in which it states that no one can enter the kingdom of God “unless they are born of water and the Spirit”. In short: the Pope declared baptism with beer for null and void.

Cx
:-)

Good morning :-)

My router has packed up so I'm having to use the data on my mobile phone which is a pain. New one tomorrow hopefully. Will catch up then. <3

Cx :-)

Thank you for another interesting theme of posts, Cynthia.

We have a family Christening gown, not as old as the Royal one and much more humble, but I love the idea that different generations of our family have worn it.

My grandmother in Wales sent it new for my brother, her first grandchild, who was born in 1937.
It is fine white cotton, with Broderie Anglais inserts on the cuffs of the long sleeves and across the yoke.Coloured ribbon can be threaded through the insert, if desired.
The hem of the dress has deep rows of more Broderie Anglais.
Underneath the gown is worn a plainer cotton sleeveless petticoat.

I think it was just a nice version of what babies wore at the time, but it was used as our family Christening gown ever since.
I wore it after my brother, as did my younger sister, all Christened in the Norman font of our parish church.
My son would have worn it, when we brought him home from abroad to be Christened, but we were called back overseas and he was too big once we finally returned to UK.
My 2 daughters wore the gown at their baptisms and it was last worn by my grandson in mid 1990s.
My daughter had a studio photograph taken of her son wearing it, so it is shown in it's full length.... Nice to have that detailed record of the gown bought by his GG grandmother.

Time will tell if another greneration will wear it... I like to think they will.

Good morning :-)

Baptisms!

The Royal Christening Gown

Royal babies now wear a replica of the famous Honiton lace christening gown, so associated with royal baptisms. This new version was commissioned by The Queen and made by Angela Kelly and her team as a copy of the famous original which was deemed too fragile to remain in use.

That original was made in 1841 for the christening of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s first child. Their daughter, Victoria, was dressed in the gown with her proud mother declaring she looked ‘’very dear’’ in it.

The finished product, which would be used by over 60 royal babies in total, clearly left Victoria feeling amused as she gave its creator the title of ‘Embroiderer to the Queen’.

The gown had been inspired by Queen Victoria's own wedding dress, and was made from white silk with a handmade lace overlay. Janet Sutherland, a miner's daughter from Falkirk, Scotland, made the lace.


If anyone has an interesting story re their own Christening gown, it would be good to hear from you.

Cx :-)

Hello all

Another interesting topic. Thank you Cynthia.

Thinking today about the many children who are abused and hurt by those close to them and I'm praying for all children who are forced to live in this frightening situation.
Remembering the NSPCC staff in their work preventing cruelty to children and also the church Children's Society who work to help all vulnerable children in so many ways.

Sending hugs to all who are in need today.

Good morning :-)


Baptisms....

Since January 2008, His Holiness Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia, has been holding several mass Baptism ceremonies a year, in which he personally becomes Godfather to the third and later children of married Orthodox couples.

The Baptisms are part of his initiative to improve the dire post-Soviet demographic situation in Georgia. Patriarch Ilia is the most trusted and beloved man in the nation, and families are overjoyed to spiritually unite their children to him. The Patriarch now has 41,630 Godchildren.

In 2020 The service was held in the courtyard of the cathedral due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Following the service, His Holiness Pat. Ilia addressed the congregation with a sermon and blessed all his new Godchildren.

“I congratulate you, my Godchildren, today. May God bless you. May the Lord bless your families, your parents, your sisters and brothers, and all of Georgia,” the Patriarch said.


And we thought 37 baptisms was a lot!!! :-D :-D


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


Yesterday, we recalled the Baptism of Jesus. Two thousand years on, and parents are still wanting to have their children baptised into the Christian faith. In fact, between next week and the end of May, our church has 37 baptisms booked in.
There are some interesting stories regarding baptisms over the years……

In Medieval Age baptisms, a child would be sponsored by multiple godparents, known as god-siblings, or godsibbs for short. Since being a godsibb was an important duty, the godsibbs would often chat amongst one another about the child, hence the origin of the word 'Gossip'.

Well, I never knew that!!


Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Thank you Vera <3


Today, (whilst still in the season of Epiphany), we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus.

The Collect (special prayer) for today :

Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Cx :-)

Thank you for another interesting week Cynthia, particularly yesterday’s poem which I found incredibly powerful and thought provoking. I tried googling to find the author but was not successful. In the general style and putting a different slant on epiphany it reminded me of one of my favourite poems that I usually mention at this time of year, T S Eliot’s Journey of the Magi.

Stay safe and well everyone.

EDIT I have found the author. Godfrey Rust. I’ll look out for other work of his.

Good morning :-)


EPIPHANY


The Wise Men brought three gifts to Jesus that describe an element of who Christ is and reveal what gifts we should offer Him today.

The wise men brought Him gold. As our King, we must give Christ our WEALTH.

The magi gave Christ frankincense. As our God, we must give Christ our WORSHIP.

The wise men offered Jesus myrrh. As our Saviour, we must give Christ our WITNESS.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Epiphany with a twist...



Coming as they did from the first century
they had a few problems with London traffic
and were seriously misled by signs
to the Angel and King's Cross.
Inquiring diligently about the star
they were referred to Professor Brian Cox,
who thought it was amazing
while smiling in a constant and strangely unsettling way.
In Harrods the camels
made a mess over Soft Furnishings.
On the Underground
commuters glared at No Smoking signs
as incense wafted gently through the carriages,
and when the great day came
they saw the entire voting population
slumped on sofas by four o'clock,
rendered senseless by too much
dead poultry and the Queen,
while over Liberty's and Hamley's
the flickering angels sang
Glory to God in the High St
and they found him,
with the inns full up once more,
in the old familiar place,
bringing their unregarded gifts
to the empty stable
of the human heart
where the infant Christ is born
again and again.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

The Epiphany

Lord Jesus
may your light shine our way,
as once it guided the steps of the magi:
that we too may be led into your presence
and worship you,
the Child of Mary,
the Word of the Father,
the King of nations,
the Saviour of mankind;
to whom be glory for ever.
- Frank Colquhoun

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Epiphany


“As pilgrims of faith, the Wise Men themselves
became stars shining in the firmament of history
and they show us the way.
The saints are God’s true constellations,
which light up the nights of this world,
serving as our guides.
Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Philippians,
told his faithful that they must shine like stars in the world.”

- Pope Benedict

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Epiphany.....

“If we approach with faith,
we too will see Jesus….;
for the Eucharistic table
takes the place of the crib.
Here the Body of the Lord is present,
wrapped not in swaddling clothes
but in the rays of the Holy Spirit.”

St John Chrysostom (347-407) Father & Doctor of the Church

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Yesterday, we celebrated the Epiphany when we remembered the three Kings taking their gifts to the child Jesus. Over the years, saints and scholars have studied this story and have left us some interesting thoughts and quotes:

What are you doing, O Magi? Do you adore a little Babe, in a wretched hovel, wrapped in miserable rags? Can this Child be truly God? … Are you become foolish, O Wise Men … Yes, these Wise Men have become fools that they may be wise.
— Saint Bernard of Clairvaux


PRAYER: O Lord, Help me to be a fool for you. Forgive me, Lord, for worrying so much about my own image that I fail to speak and live for you and am tempted to soft-pedal the Gospel. Help me to know when it is right to engage with people and to communicate the Good News effectively.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany - that special time when the Magi presented their gifts to the child Jesus.

The Collect (special prayer) for today :

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Cx :-)