Hello Faith Pals, You will not have to water the garden this week!  The blessing of rain. Now…I am not going to get too far ahead-next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent- BUT I did want to say a little something about angels. I think you know I love angels.  I have quite a number-most of them have come from friends, or from traveling, or buying in a shop or an op shop post Christmas (quite sad-angel rejects.  I take them home so they are happy with the company, or host of angels). Now, I mentioned angels because this week I did have to go to Southland to buy singlets for David.  I knew I could park close to Target-dash in-dash out, BUT in my rush to the check out, I passed the Christmas area.  I thought, “Oh I will just have a quick check to see if there is an angel here” and there was.  So I have named her my Covid-19 angel-a reminder of the year, and that God has not deserted us, and has sent many angels to us-earthly ones helping us through and I am sure others to support a weary heart or despondent spirit. Well this $5 Target angel is quite something.  She is plump, quite chubby.  She reminds me of a child in a primary school Nativity play: a bit of gold ribbon to pull in her dress, sequins stuck on to cardboard wings, and she is carrying a makeshift star on a pole-made me wonder if she is a hybrid, a cross between a fairy and an angel. Anyway, she is now home, surrounded by an assortment of angels-gracing the room with those fashioned from clothes pegs, from dried pasta, sequined sparkly ones, carved wooden ones, paper quill ones, pom pom angels, stitched ones, to serious ones modeled from glass, or china. Angels: messengers from God.   Angels.  Now, I have to tell you the story of Gabriel’s feather, long thought to be in a Spanish monastery, in El Escorial Palace near Madrid, Spain.  The feather, rose-coloured, and of extraordinary beauty, was thought to be from a wing of the Archangel Gabriel. It was acquired sometime between 1563-1584 by King Philip 11. Apparently the Monastery of San Lorenzo at the palace no longer owns this relic. Could this feather have come from the quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) of Central America, a bird of the Trogon family sacred to the Aztec and Maya Indians and famous for its plumage? But the prized wing and tail feathers of the male are green, not rose. Could it be  from one of New Guinea’s birds of paradise (Family Paradisaeidae). Survivors of Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage around the world took back to Portugal skins of these birds obtained from the island’s inhabitants in 1522.  Count Raggi’s bird of paradise (Paradisea raggiana) has rose-coloured plumes, which might account for the Gabriel feather. How appropriate if a feather once thought to be from an archangel of heaven proved to be from a bird of paradise! Now, a piece of useless, but fascinating information, that I have been meaning to put in one of these emails-and haven’t, so here it is: ‘The average cob of corn has eight hundred kernels arranged in sixteen rows.’ Who thinks to count these kernels?  News: from Rob’s Aunty Elv, to say ‘thank you’ to everyone for your prayers for Jack’s recent surgery.  Elv, we will keep praying for him (and for his family), because prayer is needed during his long recovery.  Continue to keep Shirley Edwards and Margaret Wills in your prayers, as well as Alan and Fredrica, Rohini and Jaya, and Myrtle. ‘Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; out-do one another in showing honour.  Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.  Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.  Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.’ (Romans 12: 9-13) Trees and Towns. ‘In the Mojave desert, one often comes across those famous ghost towns that were built around the gold mines. They were abandoned when all the gold had been mined out. They had served their purpose and there was no reason for anyone to go on living there. When we walk through a forest, we see trees which, once they have served their purpose, have fallen. However, unlike ghost towns, their fall has opened up space for light to penetrate, they have enriched the soil and their trunks are covered in new vegetation. Our old age will depend on the way we have lived. We can either end up like a ghost town or like a generous tree, which continues to be important even after its fall.’ -Paulo Coelho   Blessings and love, Barbara   Virus-free. www.avg.com

Hello Faith Pals, Welcome to Friday. Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah’s Ark. Don’t miss the boat. Remember that we are all in the same boat. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the Ark. Stay fit. When you’re 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Don’t listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. Build your future on high ground. For safety’s sake, travel in pairs. Speed isn’t always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. When you’re stressed, float awhile. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. No matter the storm, when you are with God, there’s always a rainbow waiting. – Author Unknown Here is one about living together, by Paulo Coelho: ‘During the Ice Age many animals died because of the cold. Seeing this situation, the porcupines decided to group together, so they wrapped up well and protected one another. But they hurt one another with their thorns, and so then they decided to stay apart from one another. They started to freeze to death again. So they had to make a choice: either they vanished from the face of the earth or they accepted their neighbor’s thorns. They wisely decided to stay together again. They learned to live with the small wounds that a very close relationship could cause, because the most important thing was the warmth given by the other. And in the end they survived.’ That reminded me of Colossians 3: ‘As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.  Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.’ -Colossians 3: 12-14 So, my little porcupines, we put up with each other’s prickles-as others put up with ours! Maybe, with love, our prickles, our quills, will be flattened and be a soft outer layer, rather than a hard, sharp, spiky one. The word ‘porcupine’ comes from Latin: ‘porcus’ (pig)  ‘spina'(spine/quill).  In some regions the porcupine is known as a ‘quill pig.’ A baby porcupine is called a porcupette. The porcupine has up to 30,000 quills on its body. It has natural antibiotics on its skin. ‘Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.’- (1 Peter 4:8) News: Margaret Wills will be leaving hospital today, and staying with her family, Rob and Judy, until she can manage at home.  We continue to keep Alan and Fredrica, Rohini and Jaya, Lex and Leora, Jack, Martin, Elv and Noy, Shirley, Bruce and Maggie, in your prayers. Blessings and love Barbara

Hello Faith Pals, I hope you are well and surviving the hot spells. We thank God for the gift of water! Last Monday I wrote about a detergent, Tide.  Today I thought I would go back to the topic, talking about soap.  The term ‘spic and span’ comes from a sixteenth century Dutch sailors’ term ‘Spiksplinternieuw’ for every spike and splinter of wood on a new ship.  This was Anglicized to ‘spick and spannew’ and meant something that was brand new, and spotlessly clean.  Soap was invented in about 2800 BC by the Babylonians, from goat fat and ash, but in 600 BC the Phoenicians, really marketed it well and they sold it to the Greeks, Romans and others.  They marketed it to the Gauls as a laxative!  By the eleventh century, soap was so popular in Venice, that a tax was placed on it, leading to a black market in soap! Sometimes inventions happen in unexpected ways-even with soap. In 1879, a soap maker at the Procter and Gamble company had no idea a new innovation was about to surface when he went to lunch, forgetting to turn off the soap mixer.  When he returned he found more than the usual amount of air had been incorporated  into the batch of pure white soap that the company sold under the name “The White Soap.”  Fearing he would get in trouble, the soap maker kept the mistake a secret and packaged and shipped the air-filled soap to customers around the country. Soon customers were asking for more ‘soap that floats.’   After company officials found out what happened, they turned it into one of the company’s most successful products, Ivory Soap. While soap is a wonderful invention, we have to be careful that purity doesn’t become a lopsided virtue! We have often heard the saying ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’.  Where did that expression come from?  Sometimes we hear it quoted as though it came from the Bible, but it came from John Wesley (in a 1778 sermon).  Sadly, this expression has meant that some Christians believe that if one is not clean, then they are not Christian.  Jesus said ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.’ We are to love others, and that means the unwashed, those on the streets, those living in poverty. Maybe, alongside the box of detergent from last week, a bar of soap could go near our prayer corner, or near our Bible to remind us to keep a ‘spic and span’ heart. Such a heart, by frequent washing with prayer and the reading of Scripture, would be free of the daily accumulation of the grime of greed and gossip, of the dirt of discrimination, judgement and divisiveness. Here is a story that fits in; it is from Paulo Coelho’s blog (you may know the name-he wrote The Alchemist, and many other books): ‘A young couple moved into a new neighbourhood. The next morning while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hanging the washing outside. “That laundry is not very clean; she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.” Her husband looked on, remaining silent. Every time her neighbour hung her washing out to dry, the young woman made the same comments. A month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband, “Look, she’s finally learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?” The husband replied, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.” And so it is with life… What we see when watching others depends on the clarity of the window through which we look. So don’t be too quick to judge others, especially if your perspective of life is clouded by anger, jealousy, negativity or unfulfilled desires.’ https://paulocoelhoblog.com/?s=dirty+laundry News: we keep Alan and Fredrica in our prayers, as they await the next step regarding treatment. We continue to pray for Rohini and Jaya, Shirley, Margaret, Lex and Leora, Jack, Noy, Martin and Elv, and everyone else.  To close with a quote from Paulo Coelho: ‘You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.’ And a prayer: And a verse of Scripture: ‘There is gold, and abundance of costly stones; but the lips informed by knowledge are a precious jewel.’-Proverbs 20: 15 Blessings and love Barbara

Hello Faith Pals, Well, Happy Friday!  I didn’t realize until yesterday that it was going to be Friday the 13th.  Here is some information for you.  I wrote it up on my Word Doc, because I was having problems with my email earlier this morning: Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition.  Friday the 13th occurs in any month that begins on a Sunday.  This irrational fear of the number 13 has been given a scientific name:’ triskaidekaphobia.’  It is thought that the unlucky nature of the number 13 may have originated in Norse myth, about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla.  The trickster god, Loki, was not invited.  He came, as the 13thguest, arranged for Balder (a god, son of Odin) to be killed.  Then the earth went dark.  The superstition may have arisen in Christianity; another dinner party-the Last Supper!  Thirteen people present in the Upper Room. In Spanish-speaking countries, instead of Friday, it is Tuesday the 13th that is a day considered to be unlucky, and in Italy, it is Friday the 17th (not the 13th) that is their unlucky day.  The origin of this belief can be traced in the writing of the number 17 in Roman numerals: XV11.  If you reorder the numbers, you could make the word V1X1 (‘I have lived’-implying death in the present) so the number 17 is seen as bad luck.  In 2000 the film ‘Shrek: If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth’ was released in Italy with the title ‘Shrek: Do You Have Something To Do on Friday the 17th?’ In the United States, an estimated 17-21 million people are so affected by their fear of this day that they avoid going to work, taking flights, or even getting out of bed.  Approximately $800-900 million is lost in business on Friday the 13th in the United States. Well, I think numbers are God given, so there is nothing to fear. If we want a religious flavour today, it is the feast day of St Diego Alcala (also known as Didacus of Alcala). He was a Franciscan lay brother of the fifteenth century who lived on the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain.  He was the cook and doorkeeper.  His kindness to the poor who came to his kitchen door and his gift of healing caused him to be declared a saint before his death in 1463.  When he felt that the end of his life was drawing near, he asked for an old and worn out habit, so that he might die in it as a true son of the poor St Francis. With his eyes fixed on the crucifix, he died, saying the words, “O faithful wood, O precious nails! You have borne an exceedingly sweet burden, for you have been deemed worthy to bear the Lord and King of heaven.” Later he was also granted the status of saint by the wider church through the efforts of the king of Spain, whose son was cured by Diego. Now, to cook and to serve meals with love is not only ‘good medicine’ it is also a glimpse of heaven.  When Jesus sat down to eat, he invited all.  Perhaps the door to the dining room, or to the kitchen could be a door where we glimpse heaven for a moment? Here is a prayer: ‘Humble Saint Diego, be a blessing to all who prepare meals and work in the kitchen. May all of us who take up that humble yet holy task strive to insure that not only the food but our hospitality and table conversation will make all meals doorways to heaven.’ Amen (prayer by Edward Hay) For many of us, lockdown has been hard because of the absence of people at our table.  Now that there is a lifting of restrictions, we will enjoy our times together even more, I think. News: Alan Kingsbury’s results have continued to rise.  He is going to have a bone and deep body scan (probably next week) to determine the next course of treatment.  Alan wrote in an email to me last night: ‘… kindly state my health is not good news but I’m resolved to be  positive and patient that GOD will show me the correct path.’  Please keep Alan and Fredrica in your prayers. Also Rohini and Jaya.  Lex and Leora: Lex is making slow and steady progress, which is good.  Still quite tired, which is understandable.  Shirley Edwards is improving a little, now that she is at home.  Margaret Wills is still in hospital, coping with the two bouts of physio each day in the gym.  She will probably have some idea next week about how long she will be remaining in hospital.  She thanks you for your thoughts and prayers.  Jack made it through his operation, but still has a long way to go re recovery.  Please keep Elv, Noy, Martin and Jack in your thoughts and prayers. This was forwarded to me from a friend: HOW TRUE!  Feel free to forward on to others!   This explains why friends forward jokes. A man and his dog were walking along a road  The man was enjoying the scenery when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.  He remembered dying and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years.  He wondered where the road was leading them.  After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it, he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold.  He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side. When

Hello Faith Pals, We rejoice that some of the Covid-19 restrictions have lifted.  It is still uncertain when we will be able to meet for worship on Sundays, but when we are able, we will let everyone know. Happy Monday!  I started writing this now, because I was intending to wash the bed linen but one cat is still asleep on the bed (Janet Soo will understand this dilemma!) so I thought I would send out my email while I wait.  I then looked at my Edward Hays, book and on November 8, he lists it as ‘New Soap Day.’! How appropriate, I thought, as I wait to do a load of laundry. So…let me tell you about new soap day.  Apparently back in 1890 a new soap appeared , but no one was interested in it.  It had been invented by a German chemist named Krafft.  He had discovered if you mixed certain chemicals with alcohol, it made a lather-like soap from fat.  Then came World War 1 (and yes, this is another of those inventions due to war).  When the Allies blockaded Germany, no one was able to obtain natural fats (used for soap) but two men remembered Krafft’s invention, and produced a German wartime substitute for soap, a synthetic detergent that left no scum.  In 1946 this synthetic detergent was manufactured under the name Tide. So…soap…as we know it today-born from conflict, tension and the passion to find a wartime soap substitute.  Another useful product that has come out of war. Now, Edward Hays writes that we can learn a spiritual lesson from detergent (he even suggests that we might put a bottle of detergent next to our Bible, or near where we pray!) The Latin detergere means ‘to wipe away.’  Hays writes: ‘It is divine to deterge a friend, spouse or stranger’s sin as soon as it happens.  Without waiting to be asked to pardon whatever mess the offense might have created, deterge it, wipe it up at once with a love-soaked sponge.  Deterging is difficult even when someone asks you to do it, and is really amazing when you do it before being asked.  Yet life becomes more harmonious and full of grace the faster you go to work on deterging the spills, spots and stains others make in your life.’ So…soap.  Are you going to look at it differently now? ‘Have mercy on me, O God …blot out my transgressions. wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin, …Purge me with hyssop, and i shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.’ -Psalm 51, vss1, 2, 7 ‘let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.’ -Hebrews 10: 22 News: Jack came through surgery, but there is still a long way to go regarding healing/recovery.  Please keep Elv, Martin, Noy and Jack in your prayers, please. This is a big week for Alan and Fredrica: blood tests and appointments today, and chemotherapy on Wednesday.  Please keep them in your prayers, as well as Rohini and Jaya, Shirley Edwards, Margaret Wills.  Also Lex and Leora.  Lex  went home on Thursday, and is doing very well, but again, a long road to recovery after open-heart surgery. Really-put ALL of the church family in your prayers! Plus our military, and those who have served in war.  It is Remembrance Day on Wednesday, so let us remember those who were willing to sacrifice their lives for freedom: ‘On 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare. With their armies retreating and close to collapse, German leaders signed an Armistice, bringing to an end the First World War. From the summer of 1918, the five divisions of the Australian Corps had been at the forefront of the allied advance to victory. Beginning with their stunning success at the battle of Hamel in July, they helped to turn the tide of the war at Amiens in August, followed by the capture of Mont St Quentin and Pèronne, and the breaching of German defences at the Hindenburg Line in September. By early October the exhausted Australians were withdrawn from battle. They had achieved a fighting reputation out of proportion to their numbers, but victory had come at a heavy cost. They suffered almost 48,000 casualties during 1918, including more than 12,000 dead. In the four years of the war more than 330,000 Australians had served overseas, and more than 60,000 of them had died. The social effects of these losses cast a long shadow over the postwar decades.’ It is also NAIDOC Week; so let us celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.  This reflection is from our Synod website: Always was, Always will be Always was Always will be The Lands I walk on And the Lands that walk within me To know the history of First Peoples Is to know the importance of place, To know what being on country is, Is to know and feel the connection To want to hear the stories and feel the stories is our call to all, To want to know and hear the Lands as a gift, to our being and knowing, To know and hear from First Peoples, is how we as First and Second Peoples are called to the growing To know the significance and compass that abounds us, as First Peoples through place, is to know our links to the Land surpasses all time and space But in knowing that connection Is to know and reflect on, dispossession and its true realisation, To hear the Land relation, is a call to know and reflect on the impacts of invasion and colonisation What is country, what is milaythina ningee (Mother Earth) in the now and in the forever time for First Peoples? Stolen lands, At the colonisers

Hello Faith Pals, This week’s sermon does not follow the lectionary.  I thought about the church service opportunities that have been missed due to lockdown.  One of these was Harvest Thanksgiving. This service, a regular feature in the country, is also celebrated in cities.  I thought it would be good to base the service/sermon around it, as I am sure that during lockdown we have become more aware/mindful of the many blessings we have received from God, and being thankful/grateful is our response back to the Divine Giver.  ‘Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.’ -Native American proverb. Or, as the 13th century theologian/mystic Meister Eckhart once wrote: ‘If the only prayer you said was “Thank you” that would be enough.’ A bit more on Meister Eckhart: Meister Eckhart (1260- 1327) was a Germany mystic, theologian and philosopher. Eckhart taught a radical religious philosophy of seeing God in all. His mystical experiences and practical spiritual philosophy gained him a popular following, but it also caused him to be tried for heresy by a local inquisition. Despite having writings condemned as heretical, he remains an important source of mystical experience within the Christian tradition. As his popularity grew, some senior church figures were worried his teachings were heretical. In 1326, Eckhart was formally charged with heresy, and in 1326 the Archbishop of Cologne ordered an inquisitorial process. In February 1327, Eckhart made a passionate defence of his beliefs. He denied he had done anything wrong and made a public protestation of his innocence. Eckhart claimed that his sermons were designed to encourage ordinary people and monks to aspire to do good and develop an unselfish love of God. He may have used unorthodox language, but his intentions were noble and designed to make people appreciate the most important spiritual concepts of Christ’s teachings. I have been meaning to send you this poem by Pam Ayres for ages!  Some of you have read it already, but for those who haven’t, I hope you will have a chuckle.  I like Pam Ayres; I have seen her on tour several times, and she comes across as a normal, ordinary person.  I know Jan Serpell is a huge fan, too. PAM AYRES – Poem about the coronavirus  I’m normally a social girl I love to meet my mates But lately with the virus here we can’t go out the gates. You see, we are the ‘oldies’ now We need to stay inside If they haven’t seen us for a while They’ll think we’ve upped and died. They’ll never know the things we did Before we got this old There wasn’t any FaceBook So not everything was told. We may seem sweet old ladies Who would never be uncouth, But we grew up in the 60s – If you only knew the truth! There was sex and drugs and rock ‘n roll The pill and miniskirts We smoked, we drank, we partied And were quite outrageous flirts. Then we settled down, got married And turned into someone’s mum, Somebody’s wife, then nana, Who on earth did we become? We didn’t mind the change of pace Because our lives were full But to bury us before we’re dead Is like red rag to a bull! So here you find me stuck inside For 4 weeks, maybe more I finally found myself again Then I had to close the door! It didn’t really bother me I’d while away the hour I’d bake for all the family But I’ve got no flaming flour! Now Netflix is just wonderful I like a gutsy thriller I’m swooning over Idris Or some random sexy killer. At least I’ve got a stash of booze For when I’m being idle There’s wine and whisky, even gin If I’m feeling suicidal! So, let’s all drink to lockdown To recovery and health And hope this awful virus Doesn’t decimate our wealth. We’ll all get through the crisis And be back to join or mates Just hoping I’m not far too wide To fit through the flaming gates!                  * Are you smiling? ‘Happiness never decreases by being shared.’-Buddhist teaching News: please keep Alan and Fredrica, Rohini and Jaya, Shirley Edwards, Margaret Wills, Lex and Leora, Jack, Martin, Noy and Elv in your prayers.  Jack is having his operation today. Alan is having blood tests on Monday, and his last chemotherapy treatment on Wednesday. Lex was meant to come home yesterday.  I am not sure if that happened, but will check over the weekend (I will leave them to rest today). I want to include this story.  I shared it with several of you earlier in the week, so you folk can skip it, or re-read it.  You may need a tissue: A Glass of Milk by Author Unknown One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said….. “Then I thank you from my heart.” As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit. Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light