ST KIARAN'S

CHRONICLE

Postberg Praise
God chose this arid, rocky ground to bloom in wild abundance:
joy in a multitude of colours sings to heaven.

Just so He seeded my life with His Word, imbued it with His

Spirit now my souls thank-song joins the earths in many
hued praise: Praise Him!
Eva van Belle

October 2017
 Thanksgiving

Sunday 5 November 2017

At both services

This is a special,
St Kiaran's gives all the sacrificial offering over
monies received directly
and above your normal
towards the projects and
tithes and your regular
people listed below.
disciplined giving.

We propose R12,000.00 be raised for the projects and people.

We would like to support from 1 November 2017 to 31 October 2018

Missionary Support
Mark and Lorraine Liprini 21,420.00
Eugene and Tina Wessels 13,620.00

Social Outreach Projects

Joyce Chevalier Centre 1,000.00
Happy Valley 1,000.00
Living Hope 1,000.00
Pending Outreach 2,400.00

Masiphumelele Church 1,000.00

Phumlani Creche 3,000.00
44,440.00
Less interest on R50,000 Investment 7,120.00
maturing May 2018
Sub total 37,320.00

Less carry forward in Fund (approx.) 25.282.30

TOTAL NEEDED R12,037.70

Please use the envelope provided for your Thank Offering.

Hand it in during a Special Offering on
Sunday 5 November or return it to the office.

Give Prayerfully !!! Give Cheerfully !!! Give Generously !!!

 Dear family and friends of St
Kiarans

TO GIVE THANKS

I will give thanks to you,

LORD, with all my heart; I will
tell of all your wonderful
deeds. (Psalm 9:1)

Within the setting of Holy

Communion if we were
following the fuller, responsive
order of service we would
arrive, very early, at the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving, also
known as the Eucharistic Prayer. It is, in simple terms, the table
grace of the people of God. And it begins in the following way:

The Lord be with you. (Minister)

And also with you. (Congregation)
Lift up your hearts. (Minister)
We lift them up to the Lord. (Congregation)
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. (Minister)
It is right to give God thanks and praise. (Congregation).

Its the last two lines of this introduction that I want to focus
on. In one form of this order, the minister then says words like
this after the last line above: It is not only right, it is our duty
and our joy at all times and in all places, to give you (God)
thanks and praise Of course, this sounds a bit artificial and
forced. After all, why should an expression of thanks be a duty
and our joy? At that point in the service, we may be reluctant to
feel either dutiful or joyful.
Yet, Im sure, as Christians, we would want to be genuine
and authentic in every way that we live our lives in this world.
The Psalmist does say, I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all
my heart. Its the part about doing something with all my
heart that we want to get right, isnt it? Otherwise we may feel a
bit hypocritical. In all ways, especially in the context of worship!
I think that the idea that we should give thanks to God
and that it is rightour duty and our joy is not so much a
matter of being formal and possibly fake, as it is a matter of
discipline. The discipline of gratitude.
Gratitude is such an important component of worship and
our life with God. There is not one thing that God does to harm
us. Everything we receive from God is for our good. He loves us
so much that Im sure if it could, it would hurt. Well, it did at
the Cross! The Psalmist affirms Gods goodness as the reason for
giving thanks, for he will tell of all Gods wonderful deeds.
And so, developing a discipline of gratitude is important to
our faith. Amidst the hardships of life, there will always be
something to be grateful for. I think gratitude changes the
atmosphere in all settings. At home, at work and in the church.

Lets continue to develop in that area as we serve God and

the world.
With much love, Mike

PASTORAL CARE AT ST KIARANS

We care about YOU!
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love
one another (John 13:35).
Clearly it is our Lords intention and great longing that we,
as Christians, love and care for each other and it is our genuine
desire, here at St Kiarans, that all our members feel that they
belong and that all visitors feel welcome!
Chatting before and after services and over after church tea
in the hall provides opportunity for our minister, Mike, to chat
with folk and for us to get to know each other. Small groups
(Bible studies and fellowship and service groups) are great for
getting to know one another and for caring.
To try to keep in touch and in an endeavour to be there for
our members, St Kiarans church has a system of Carers folk
who keep in touch with our members and pick up if there is a
need.
I have recently been appointed Pastoral Care Elder, my role
being to:
make sure that all our members HAVE a Carer
support the Carers
and
to liaise with Mike, Les (our Session Clerk) and
the Carers to ensure that YOU feel that you
belong and are cared for.
Our Carers are:
Our Small Group Leaders. Small groups meet
regularly and it is easy to pick up on needs and care for
each other.
Our Magazine Deliverers. Our aim is that delivering, rather
than posting our bimonthly magazine, provides a point of
contact be it a visit, a quick hello or a phone call to say
that your magazine has been dropped off and to find out
how you are. Please welcome your carer when they call or
phone, as it is our way of being in touch.
Should you wish to visit a Small Group to see if it is one you
would like to join, please chat to Mike or Les at the church office
about what groups there are and they will put you in touch with
the relevant Group Leader.
Should you have a need, if you would like Mike or me to visit
you, or should you wish to introduce yourself, please do contact
us!
I would also welcome any suggestions you may have!
My home number is 021 785 5432 (evenings), or contact
Mike or Les at the church office 021 782 6118.
Alternatively catch me at church Id love to chat with you!
Warm regards,
Wendy Hudson (Pastoral Care Elder)
 Martin Luther
Reformation: 31 October 1517
We started the year in our first issue remembering that 500
years ago Luther caused a great change to come about for the
Christian Church. So, as we near the actual date when he pinned
his theses to the church door, it is fitting to be reminded of it.

His eyes were opened when he realised the personal significance

of Romans 1:16-17 - That the just shall live by faith.

Extracts from R C Sproul's writing:

And so, the lights came on for Luther. And

he began to understand that what Paul
was speaking of here was a righteousness
that God in His grace was making
available to those who would receive it
passively, not those who would achieve it
actively, but that would receive it by
faith, and by which a person could be
reconciled to a holy and righteous God.

And so Luther said, Woa, you mean the righteousness by which

I will be saved, is not mine? Its what he called a justitia
alienum, an alien righteousness; a righteousness that belongs
properly to somebody else. Its a righteousness that is extra nos,
outside of us. Namely, the righteousness of Christ.
And Luther said, When I discovered that, I was born again of the
Holy Ghost. And the doors of paradise swung open, and I
walked through.
Notes from R C Sproul
American Calvinist Theologian,
author and pastor

Mary Suter
 Elizabeth asked her Sunday School class to sketch a picture of
their favourite Bible stories. She was puzzled by Bert's picture,
which showed four people sitting in a plane, so she asked him
which Bible story it was meant to represent.'The flight to Egypt,'
said Bert. 'I see ... and that must be Mary, Joseph, and baby
Jesus,' Elizabeth said, 'But who's the fourth person?' 'Oh, that's
Pontius - the Pilot.'In CONVERSATION with

In CONVERSATION with

Milly Merrington
We are mostly unaware of the many ways in which our
members engage with the community at large. Milly is one of our
members who have been active in service to others over a long
period of time with TOC H.
TOC H is an International Christian movement whose local
members seek to ease the burdens of others through acts of
service right here in our valley. Many of our church members,
past and present, have been active TOC H members over the last
few years, however, I am sure, they would agree with my view
that Milly is head and shoulders above everyone else in the
unstinted devotion and service she has given to TOC H over the
last number of years.
A large number of our local old folks' homes and other
deserving organisations have benefited from the help and
assistance provided by TOC H and yours truly has regularly
participated in the Mall and street collections she has personally
organised and supervised on countless occasions in the past.
I have been a personal friend and admirer of Milly from the
first day I met her and when I think of the amount of service she
has dedicated to her TOC H organisation I can only end with this
compliment, Milly, You take my breath away.
John McDermid
TOC H (TH) is an international Christian movement.
The name is an abbreviation for Talbot House. TOC
signifies the letter T in the signals spelling alphabet
used by the British Army in World War I. A soldiers'
rest and recreation centre named Talbot House was
founded in December 1915 at Poperinghe, Belgium
by Reverend Philip Thomas Byard (Tubby) Clayton,
an Anglican clergyman. In 1920 he founded a
Christian youth centre in London also called TOC H,
which developed into an interdenominational
association for Christian social service. Branches of
TOC H have been established in many countries
around the world.

Church Family News

It is with great sadness that we record
the passing of three of our members.
In August:
Dai Phillips, father of Gwyn
and
Margaret Cuthbert, wife of Alf, mother
of James and Debbie
And in September:
June Nicol, wife of Des
Our sincere sympathy is extended to all
the families.
 St Kiaran's Women's Fellowship
will meet on 25 October for Cardmaking

Their last meeting for the year will be on 22 November

All welcome!

Meet Jawn and Jeanette Goosen

Jeanette (nee Robertson) was born in a house in 1st Avenue
Fish Hoek in what is now the Pet shop! The family moved to
Gordon's Bay when she was 5 and returned to Fish Hoek in 1963.
She has lived here ever since. She completed her schooling at
Muizenberg High School. And started work at the Standard Bank.
She then worked at Groot Schuur Hospital and False Bay Hospital
too. She stopped work to become a full time mother to Mark and
Lynda. She has been a member of St Kiarans church for 40 years
and has served in a number of roles as housekeeper, caterer,
assistant secretary and then Church secretary for 10 years. She
has a keen interest in Family History and we have spent many
happy hours tracking down various ancestors both locally and in
England and Scotland.

Jawn (officially Johannes Cornelius Goosen 7th) was born in

Durban, before moving to Pretoria and then Simon's Town. His
father was in the navy so they tended to move around. They
spent 3 years in London where his father was the South African
Naval Attache. They returned to Simon's Town in 1961. Jawn
completed his high school education at SACS. After a brief spell
at UCT he completed an apprenticeship at Robb Motors. Shortly
after this he started work at Swartklip Products which was part of
Armscor and later Denel. He started work as a machine setter in
the ammo plant and was responsible for the manufacture of the
paper tubes used for making shotgun cartridges. He then moved
to the tool room as the company's model maker, then as a
production planner and finally worked in the Research &
Development department from 1980 until he took early
retirement in 2010.

Jawn and Jeanette were married in Simon's Town in 1980 - a

second marriage for both of them. Between them they have 4
children. Three children in the UK and one locally in Fish Hoek.

Jawn joined St Kiaran's Church, in Nov 1989. He was

ordained as an elder in 1994. He served as Session Clerk till he
resigned from the session in 2004. He was asked to become an
elder again in 2012 and has served as property elder since then.
Both Jawn and Jeanette are keen hikers and were part of the
St Kiarans hiking group. They were volunteers at SAN Parks at
Cape Point Nature.

Once Jawn
retired they took
a Gap year in
England. They
spent 5 months
house sitting for
Hugh and Fiona
Tucker in
Benfleet, Essex,
during the coldest
winter in 300
years. It was a
novel experience
to have to shovel
snow off the driveway in order to use the car and trying not to
slip when walking on the icy pavements. This was followed by an
amazing, idyllic 7 months travelling the length and breadth of
England in a narrow boat appropriately called Goosemoor. The
experience of a life time!!

Both Jawn and Jeanette have taking to doing the Park Run
and have recently completed their 50th runs. Jeanette is a keen
scrap-booker. Jawn has become a member of the Fish Hoek
beach A-team and swims every day at dawn rain or shine. He has
also started making primitive music instruments and is learning
to play the ukulele.

A very nervous first time crew m ember says to the skipper, Do

boats like this sink very often? Not too often, replied the
skipper. Usually its only the once.

Beginning Again
Now at 80 on my own once again I am with deep gratitude
aware that God Makes all things new. Not my grinders or
creaking knees, though thankfully they still function.
Jim at times answered the telephone saying - The vliende
piering (flying saucer) will
be back at lunchtime,
alluding to my race around
style of shopping and
driving. Now at a slower
pace; though the old
pattern still returns at
times, I find beauty grows
more intense even as my
eyes fade. Parables, pop up
in unlikely places. Ordinary
everyday events reveal
miracles of God's Love. A
Christ Thorn plant
drive over Ou Kaapseweg yields fields of yellow Spring flowers,
treed cascades of mauve blossom more profuse than I ever
remember. On a walk to church, metres from my new flat, I come
upon a pavement garden; crimson-edged Varkore, heavy
orange heads belling between neon green fingered Euphorbias,
and, beauteous of all, a Christ thorn, its new blood red triple
sized blooms giving me a vivid metaphor for Redemption.
Late at night I hear on my bedside radio the Muslim doctor
graciously listening to a long ramble from an old woman and
peppering his careful advice with the Arabic words for God
willing. Yes Lord, forgive me for always needing to express my
know all opinion. Help me to be a better listener, I whisper.
So many thanks, a noisy family lunch, perfect soft eggs
beside the sea, vast and ever changing. The old hymn How
great Thou art sings in my heart in my beloved grandmother's
throaty contralto.
That's the thing about old age, the past sharpens lives
again even as I search for my car keys.
Liz de Jager

TWO MAIDEN SISTERS

AND WHAT THEY GOT UP TO!

In England in the 1870s life could be a bit dull: maybe

endless invitations to boring
tea-parties. So Harriet and
Charlotte, together with a
mutual friend decided to
answer Bishop Grays appeal
for people to come and work
at his Angels of Mercy
project in Plein Street, Cape
Town. This they did for a
few years and then decided
to come and live for a while
in Kalk Bay. They had many
bright ideas, and, to use a
bit of a vulgar phrase, they had pots of money.
 Devoted Christians, they petitioned Bishop Gray for a church
to be built in the same design as their home church. No worry
about the finance, they said. We will provide whatever is
needed. So the beautiful Holy Trinity Church was built on the
Main Road in Kalk Bay. The stone was sourced from the Kalk
Bay mountains.
BUT THAT WAS NOT ALL. The sisters looked around and
saw that there were very few facilities in the area. I dont know
in what order these came into being, but before long there was a
school (where children of different races sat side by side). Then
there was a cottage hospital, also an orphanage, which were
handed over to the Anglican diocese of Cape Town when they
went back to England. Eventually the need for these was no
longer necessary but, as we all know, the church, with its
beautiful stained glass is a vibrant part of the community.
The Humphrey sisters and their friend Miss Pocklington
returned to England in 1877, leaving behind a memory of
Christian dedication with an example of concern for the poor and
disadvantaged. What an encouragement to us 150 years
later........
Lucy Centlivres

About Living Hope

We seek to reach people for Christ, bringing
hope and breaking the despair of poverty and
disease.
These are but 2 of many aspects of their
work, which our donation through the
Thankoffering will assist.

Many people from rural areas have left their farmlands to

find work in the city. Little do they know that they can provide for
their daily nutritional needs on their farm, they can also operate
it as a business.
The Agriculture and Business Training is a long
term, intensive, three phase training programme for individuals
who have a passion for farming. The complete programme is 1
year and 9 months long, encompassing five streams of training:
Agriculture, Business, Community Development, Base skills
(math, computer, personal finance and more), and Christian
discipleship. The goal is to develop sustainable tunnel
(greenhouse) farmers who will in time not only provide for
themselves and their families but also create employment in their
rural communities. Our goal is success and therefore we invest
the time and resources to personally walk with each student on a
path of learning.
The students training is split between theory in the class
room and practical hands on experience. Our 7 hectares of farm
land are home to 13 tunnels growing vegetables hydroponically.
Through this platform and future plans of expansion, a fertile
ground abides for students to learn and grow.
Some of these vegetables are available in our local
supermarkets.
Living Hope has the honour and the privilege to work
and minister in 7 very unique and different communities:
Capricorn, Masiphumelele, Mountain View, Muizenberg, Ocean
View, Overcome Heights and Red Hill.
All our Cape Town friends - do come and visit the Living
Hope Farm Stall and Coffee Shop at our main campus in
Capri. The food is fantastic and the coffee is outstanding. This is
part of our endeavour to be self-sustaining and also part of our
visitor's centre which will be telling the wonderful story of Living
Hope. Our Belgian waffles are amazing - you simply won't find
better! The Salads are extraordinary and healthy! The trading
hours are Monday to Friday 08:00 - 15:00 and Saturday 09:00 -
15:00. ...

Another of the beneficiaries of our Thankoffering is:
Happy Valley, a homeless shelter in the picturesque suburb of
Simons Town, Cape Town, which is celebrating its 21st
anniversary.
The shelter was established in 1996 in a former weapons
arsenal by a joint effort of the magistrate of Simons Town and
the surrounding churches as a primary stepping stone for
homeless adults by providing accommodation and food in return
of a small monthly fee of R650.
About 65 people refer to Happy Valley as their home for a
time period of six months after which residents who are not staff
are supposed to move out.
St Kiaran's Presbyterian Church
Cnr. Central Circle and Recreation Road
P.O.Box 22146, Fish Hoek, 7974
Phone: 021 782 6118

Minister: Rev. Mike Muller

All are welcome at our

Regular Sunday Services
Sunday Worship Services at 9.30a.m. & 6p.m.
Holy Communion is served on the
st
1 Sunday of the month at both services

CHURCH PRAYER MEETINGS

Tuesdays: 11.45 a.m. in the Craig

Room
Prayer is offered after services for
healing or other needs, by members of
our Prayer Ministry
Prayers with our young people: as
arranged .... or whenever you wish to
arrange times with fellow Christians.