ST KIARAN'S

CHRONICLE

APRIL 2018
 Dear family and friends of St Kiaran’s

Eastertide has come earlier than

usual this year. It feels like we just got
past Christmas and then went straight to
Easter, by way of Lent, with hardly any
space in between!
Easter is the most important
event in the Christian Calendar because
it draws us to that moment in human
history when God made it possible for
people from every nation under heaven to know him as Saviour.
To be set free from the bondage of sin.
1 John 3: 8 tells us that “…The reason the son of God appeared
was to destroy the works of the devil.” This removes every
hindrance between us and our Creator.
But the Easter story has various “movements” that make up
the whole. Not one can exist without the other. We should, in
fact, take a step back and talk rather of the Incarnation. The
event of God becoming a human and dwelling among us. From
that perspective the same is true of each aspect of the
Incarnation. They exist in harmony with, and for the other to be
realised.
Thus Christ’s is born so that he would reveal the Father and
at the same time die as an atonement for our sin. His death
would require his resurrection for we believe that Jesus “…was
delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
(Rom. 4:25).
Finally, Christ ascends to the Father – for how will the
resurrected, glorified Son of God be with the Father? Not through
dying again, but by ascending to where the Father is. Of course,
where the Father is, is not a place far away, but another
dimension, so to speak, where God, who is spirit, dwells. But the
ascension is a physical reality that occurs to imprint upon the
minds of Christ’s followers, past and present, the nature of the
resurrection, the power of God and the certainty of a time when
he will come again in the glory of God.
But before Easter we have a moment of recognition…a
glimpse of glory, as Jesus is worshiped and adored as the
Messiah with praise, palm branches and garments. Sadly, it is
only a glimpse; for the people are too earth-bound. They were
unable to comprehend “…what is the breadth and length and
height and depth” (Eph 3:18) of the love of Christ and the scope
of God’s salvation.
This particular “movement” in the Incarnation story is also
important because it involved the waving of palm branches as
Jesus approached Jerusalem. Palm branches were historically
associated with religious ceremonies in the
life of Israel. So, in part some sort of
religious status may have been assigned to
the entry of Jesus on that day. But palm
branches also were waved as a sign of
honour for a victorious person. The chant of
‘Hosanna’ comes from Ps. 118:25–26, one of the psalms chanted
at the ascent towards Jerusalem. Add to this the cry of the
people: “Blessed is the king of Israel!” (John 12:13), and we get
an event that is saturated with Messianic overtones – the kind
which could not be ignored by the religious leaders of the day.
The kind that should have caused them to dwell upon the
significance of the moment. But this was not to be. At the same
time it forms part of God’s salvation plan.
For us however, in celebrating or focussing on these
movements in the Incarnation story, we look back with clarity
and a deeper understanding of what God has done, through
Jesus Christ. A deeper appreciation of God’s great love; his
perfect provision and his endless grace.
May we all take in these moments with a view to finding our
faith renewed, our love deepened, and our spirits quickened in
our journey together as God’s people. May the Easter story fill
you with anticipation and joy!

With much love

Your friend and ST KIARAN'S WOMEN'S FELLOWSHIP
pastor
All women are invited to two special meetings:
Mike
The APRIL meeting is entitled LETS DANCE
and the MAY meeting will be a discussion
on HEALTH, BODY AND MIND
All meetings are held on the 4th Wednesday of
each month
For further information contact May van
Rensburg
 Easter Services
The services for the Easter Weekend are as follows. All are
encouraged to join us in these special times.
March:
Sunday 25 Palm Sunday Services at 9.30am
and 6pm
Thursday 29 Tenebrae Service 7pm
Friday 30 Good Friday Service 9am

April 1:Resurrection Sunday: two Services

Sunrise Service at the beach at 6.45am
Communion Service at the church 9.30am

These are points from one of Mike's recent sermons

 Remembering
Barbara Tunbridge
We once had a friend here at StK,
a lovely lady full of character.
Always a smile on her face – walking
Fish Hoek at a pace!
She came to know our loving Lord,
and to all so it would be told!
To our evening services she would come
welcoming all, & especially loved by our YOUNG!
Easter services, & Christmas Carols she would not miss,
and as for the annual ‘Ladies Breakfast’, her name
would be 1st on the list!
If …‘KITCHENS she did not do’……
we must acknowledge and say a gracious
Thank You Barbara Tunbridge
for your lasting legacy of our new
LADIES' LOO!

Church Family News

It is with great sadness that we record the
passing of two of our members:
Rodney Stephens, husband of Josephine,
father of Iain, Paul, Jill and Dawn
on February 14th
And James Simcock, father of Peter
on March 5th
May their souls rest in Peace.

We rejoiced with Annica Muir on the

occasion of her 90th Birthday on February
10th. May all your days ahead be healthy and
happy.
 BEFORE THEY CALL, I WILL ANSWER:
A MODERN STORY

Last week, on a Saturday morning, I was with our small

walking group of rather elderly ladies. We call ourselves the SAT
FLAT WALKERS, i.e. we walk on a Saturday, and mostly, but not
always, on the level.

This day we were walking in Kalk Bay.

I was on the pavement and did not see a
piece of wire which tripped me up. Crash!
I landed on my hands and the side of my
head. Then I rolled myself on to my behind
and was confronted with five pairs of
ladies’ legs. I sat still awhile and then was
conscious that there was another pair of
legs: strong men’s legs. Good, I thought,
he’ll be able to lift me up on to my feet.

One of the ladies said, “Lucy, do you know this man?” I

thought, What does it matter, whether or not I know him. He’s
the answer to the prayer I haven’t yet expressed. I looked up,
past his waist and found, yes, I do know him. He’s Avril
(Muller’s) son-in-law. So of course he did get me onto my feet,
made sure that I was all right and then went on his way to do his
shopping. I found I wasn’t all that damaged: my knees were
grazed and my hat had a streak of good South African blood.

So that I could recover we went and had coffee at one of the

many excellent coffee shops in Kalk Bay. As we returned to our
cars, the same man, known as “B.J.” suddenly appeared and
asked if I was still O.K. And yes, I was able to drive the short
distance to Fish Hoek.

The whole episode reminded me of Isaiah’s words of the

New Era God was going to bring in, provided his people Israel
repented: BEFORE THEY CALL, I WILL ANSWER (Isaiah 65:24).

Lucy Centlivres
 Meet Alletta Mbuwa
I was born in 1969 in the little town of Rusape* in
Zimbabwe, born into a big family of six girls and one boy. Since
my family was big I grew up in the rural area around Rusape.
Upon completing my high school I got married in 1990 and have
two children - a boy, Talent, and a girl, Alice. Talent, who lives in
Harare, having matriculated, is
now training to be a motor
mechanic and Alice is still in
school staying with her aunt in
Kadoma.
Unfortunately my husband
died in 2004 when the economy
Zimbabwe was deteriorating. As
a single parent I had to work to
provide for my kids. I worked at
the British Embassy in Harare
as a general hand for 8 years.
Eventually, I decided to
come to South Africa in 2008 to try and make ends meet. It was
not easy. I started on a grape farm in De Doorns harvesting
grapes from the fields. Life was very difficult as the job was
seasonal, therefore when that was finished we went to harvest
oranges in Swellendam.
As time went by I met a friend in 2009 who invited me to
come to Cape Town. I was fortunate to find a job as a
housemaid. Life became much better than working on a farm. As
I was living in Masiphumelele I met a certain lady who
encouraged me to go to church and I was introduced to the
Presbyterian Church in 2010. I enjoyed going to church but as I
did not understand the Xhosa language I decided to come to St
Kiaran's Church.
Being a member of this church has taught me to pray a lot
and read my Bible every day. I have grown in my spiritual life
and I will forever be grateful for being part of this church. I do
help in the kitchen by washing and cleaning dishes.
Aletta

*Rusape is in Manicaland in the beautiful Eastern Highlands!(Ed.)

CHILDREN”S PAGE
 In CONVERSATION WITH …………
John Lamont

We are mostly unaware of the many ways in which our

members engage with the
community at large. John is one
of our members who have been
active in service to many of the
local organisations such as
Neighbourhood Watch, etc, in Fish
Hoek since his retirement from
the SA Navy in 2008.
John showed an active
interest in the sea from his school
boy days and it was no surprise
to his parents when he joined the
SA Navy in 1966 at the age of 18.
John’s obvious talents and ability were soon recognized and
he was instrumental in the introduction of the Daphne Class
submarines purchased from France by the SA Navy in the mid
70’s. Since then John was involved with many other important
projects over the years and he retired in 2008 as a Captain with
42 years service. However not content with that he immediately
joined the SA Navy as a reservist for a further 7 years. Well done
sir!
This armed forces connection has led John to becoming very
interested in Militaria. He collects, particularly, Submarine
Badges, and also webbing and other items of interest.
John’s two daughters Charmain and Michel's keen
participation in St Kiaran’s Sunday School and their obvious
enjoyment resulted in John becoming a member of St Kiaran’s in
the 70’s and John and his wife are now one of our Sunday
morning regulars.
I have been a friend and admirer of John from the first day I
met him in the SA Navy and when I think of the amount of
service he has dedicated to the SA Navy’s organisation I can only
end with this compliment, John “You take my breath away”.

John McDermid
 Simon of Cyrene

Who was Told to Carry the Cross

Simon of Cyrene is mentioned in three of the four Gospels as
the man impelled by the Roman soldiers to carry Jesus’ cross out
of Jerusalem. His place of origin has led many to wonder if he
was of African descent (and therefore black), or if he was simply
born there as were many others of Greek, Roman, and Jewish
descent.
Cyrene was situated in modern-day Libya, on the northern
coast of the African continent. Settled by the Greeks in 630 B.C.
and later infused with a significant Jewish population, Cyrene was
the capital of the Roman district of Cyrenaica at the time of
Jesus’ crucifixion. By then, Cyrene was home to a large number
of Greek-speaking, or Hellenistic, Jews.
Many Jews from Cyrene had returned to their native Israel
and were part of a community in Jerusalem called the Synagogue
of the Freedmen comprising Jews from many other provinces
including Alexandria (Egypt), Cilicia and Asia. Luke records men
from Cyrene being among those converted at Pentecost, the
martyrdom of Stephen; believers from Cyrene were among the
first to be scattered by the persecution in Jerusalem; arriving in
Antioch, they preached to the Gentiles there. These believers
were instrumental in the formation of the church at Antioch,
where, for the first time, “the disciples were called Christians”.
Simon of Cyrene is mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Matthew only records his name and place of origin, but Mark and
Luke say that he was “on his way in from the country”. Mark,
uncharacteristically, provides the most information about Simon,
adding that he was “the father of Alexander and Rufus”, men
obviously well known to Mark’s readers. It is speculated that the
Rufus mentioned here may be the same man Paul greets in his
letter to Rome, whom he calls “chosen in the Lord” and whose
mother “has been a mother to me, too”. Paul’s knowledge of
Rufus’s family indicates that at some point they lived further
east.
So does any of this indicate whether Simon was black?
Ultimately, we don’t know for sure. There is always the possibility
that Simon was an African who converted to Judaism, or that he
was of mixed descent. However, considering that people of
Jewish lineage lived throughout the Roman Empire, it is also
possible that Simon of Cyrene was olive-skinned.
◊ ◊ ◊ ◊ ◊

Do you know what INRI means?

INRI stems from the Latin phrase 'Iesus Nazarenus Rex

Iudaeorum' meaning 'Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews'. This
was the notice Pontius Pilate nailed over Jesus as he lay dying on
the cross. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Luke 23:34. ...”

The Seven Words Jesus Spoke from the Cross

• Today you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43. ...

• Behold your son: behold your mother. ...
• My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ...
• I thirst. ...
• It is finished. ...
• Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow!

 Easter Eating Customs of Europe
The holiday of Easter is associated with various food
traditions that vary regionally. Among the Easter customs are the
preparing, coloring, and decorating Easter Eggs.
In Neapolitan cuisine, the main
Easter dishes are the casatiello or
totano, a salty pie made with bread
dough stuffed with various types of
salami and cheese, also used the day
after Easter for outdoor lunches.
Typical of Easter lunches and dinners
is the fellata, a banquet of salami and
capolallo and salty ricotta. Typical
dishes are also lamb or goat baked
with potatoes and peas. Easter cake
is the pasteira.
In Russia, red eggs, kulich and
pashka are Easter traditions.
In Greece the traditional meal is
mageiritsa, a hearty stew of chopped lamb liver and wild greens
seasoned with egg-and-lemon sauce. Traditionally, Easter eggs,
hard-boiled eggs dyed bright red to symbolize the spilt Blood of
Christ and the promise of eternal life, are cracked together to
celebrate the opening of the Tomb of Christ.
In Ukraine there are several traditional foods including paska,
(bread) and cheesecake desserts.

Greek Easter Bread

 WAKING UP
When I woke up this morning I asked myself: What are some of the
secrets of success in life? I found the answer right there in my room.

The Fan said: Be cool.

The Roof said: Aim high.

The Window said: See the world.

The Clock said: Every minute is precious.

The Mirror said: Reflect before you act.

The Door said: Push hard for your goals.

And don't forget, the Carpet

said: Kneel down and pray.
 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. (Winter)
Holy Communion is served on the
1st 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.