All Saints Gazette: Don't Let Your Love Run Cold!
This week at All Saints: Thursday dinner at Vrjburg, 18:00
“And because lawless will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). But don’t let your love grow cold!
We are not an American church, but there are some US and US-adjacent people among us, myself included, and at least some of us are quite troubled by the US election results yesterday, to say nothing of recent elections here and elsewhere that have put governments in power that are (or include parties who are) avowedly hostile to a diverse society that respects the dignity of human beings and the more-than-human world.
I for one am more shaken than I feel like I ought to be, since the US is no more or less important in God’s eyes than any other human community, and my illusions about my country and its mythology have long been dispelled (or at least punctured). But we have the experiences, feelings, and fears that we do, and these feelings are an expression of our love for the human community and the more-than-human community. This love, in turn, is an expression of the very love of God. The experiences do at least have to work their way through the system.
What you experience today and in the coming days may be very different from what others are experiencing, even in our community. So we will not attempt any one-size-fits-all response. But we, your church, want to support you as you resist evil and do good. So two things:
1.) Just in case anyone needs to hear it: If you are feeling like there is no hope or no future for you in this world, that is a lie! Stay with us! This world and its future do not belong to any politician or party; they are God’s, you are God’s, and all things are yours! Stay with us! Our phones will stay set to ring if you need us.
2.) Don’t let your love grow cold. Jesus did more or less warn us that we would never achieve what we seek in this age of the world. Victories for justice and the dignity of all persons are always partial and provisional, and the results are usually disappointing. He said that plenty of people would observe the rise and apparently victory of lawlessness (the disregard of God’s law as revealed in the divine covenants and the communion of all living things), and that “the love of many will grow cold.” Whatever else we do (and I don’t know the next steps either!), we must not let our love grow cold!
And our love will not grow cold, “for the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that God has given to us” (Romans 5:5)!
Community Dinner
Community is a machine that kills fascism. We gather with the Vrijburg community for a ritual and potluck dinner this evening at 18:00. Bring something if you can, but there’s always enough, so mainly bring yourself.
Movable Feasts
Seriously! Where should we have one-off gatherings for Bible study or fellowship? Send us your suggestions (and you can host the party, if you like)! Thursday at Vrijburg is difficult for some people, so let’s move around some. Also, this gives us a chance to reach out to more people.
Christmas
We are going to have at least once service for Christmas this year. Depending on space availability and people’s preferences, it could be on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Which would you prefer? Let us know here!
Thanksgiving
As mentioned before, we do have the room anyway on the evening of Thursday, 18 November. So let’s have a party and give thanks! All food contributions are welcome, whether or not they have anything to do with typical American Thanksgiving. But I (having a longstanding exception to my vegetarianism on Thanksgiving) would be willing to contribute toward a turkey, though I have never roasted one and don’t know how, and have no idea where to get them. Let me know if you are interested in that!
Daily Office
Daily Morning and Evening Prayer is one of the pillars of Anglican spirituality. It can be a bit hard to just pick up the book and figure out how to do it if you’re new, and it’s also nice to do it in community. Join Mpho every weekday morning at 8:00 and evening at 18:00 in November at the links below. Drop-ins welcome!
Morning Prayer (8:00): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87205357918?pwd=CU3jVBNaM5FS5qmW0s2HVaSKAA6SAk.1
Evening Prayer (18:00): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85851616026?pwd=eNGLI44ftZ1Rl2tK0qGdQawb7iv5th.1
Don’t get weary!
Here’s a song to help you! This is a gospel blues song that came from the African American community in the first decades of the 20th century. The video below is an excellent choral arrangement more in the style of a spiritual, but you might also enjoy this 1928 recording by the song’s likely originator, Blind Willie Johnson.
Support our Life Together!
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Bank details
All Saints Amsterdam
IBAN NL32 TRIO 0320 8657 62
BIC TRIONL2U
That’s all for Today! Want to talk to a priest? We want to talk to you too!
Website: https://allsaintsamsterdam.church/
Mpho: mpho@allsaintsamsterdam.church
Kyle: kyle@allsaintsamsterdam.church
General: info@allsaintsamsterdam.church
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