Today we complete our study in the 23rd Psalm. The five bible studies will be available all together on the Website very soon and they will be available to listen to on Phone Burnside as a Midweek bible study on Wednesday, and as an additional podcast.
Each Friday Frances shares some thoughts about a hymn.
What musical talent! What energy and enthusiasm! What preparation! I refer to the production of ‘The Irish Blessing’ on Pentecost Sunday.
The video presentation of the old Irish Hymn, ‘Be Thou my Vision,’ involved a total of over 300 individuals and Irish Church groups, and was in recognition of the dedicated service of all Healthcare Workers dealing with COVID19 on the island of Ireland.
When I watched the production and saw the musicians blend together in their various capacities .... vocal, instrumental, and dance .... I marvelled at the rhythm and timing of a group of people, from North, South, East and West, most of whom had never met before, yet were there to ‘make a joyful noise unto the Lord.’
Here we have an example of the remarkable advances in modern technology.
Many years earlier, in 1908, a man named John Oxenham, wrote many Poems and Hymns, one of them being ‘In Christ there is no East or West.’
The story is told of an incident during World War 2 in which two ships were anchored together, one containing Japanese aliens and the other American aliens, waiting to be repatriated. For one day they lined the rails, glaring at each other. Suddenly, someone began to sing ‘In Christ there is no East or West.’ Then another, on the opposite ship, joined in. Soon there was an extraordinary chorus of former enemies praising God together and ‘making a joyful noise unto the Lord.’
There may be advances in technical expertise, but people of all backgrounds and generations, from east or west, are urged, in the words of the Psalmist to, ‘Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.’
And the Hymn for today? ‘In Christ there is no East or West.’
Frances
For anyone who may have missed the Irish Blessing or would just like to listen to it again.
The early days of Lockdown were a little bit crazy trying to rapidly learn enough about video and the internet to stay in touch. Some of you sent me little bits of encouragement during those early days, and at that stage I didn’t have the blog to share them on, and I didn’t have a very good filing system to keep track of them.
This week I found 2 poems that folk had shared with me during March.
The first is from Jean McDonald and the second is from Betty Kennedy.
Job Opportunities in PCI Care Homes
There are a number of opportunities for employment in some of PCI care homes, for the full list and application packs visit https://bit.ly/2TSMDVf Closing date for some applications is Tuesday 9th June 2020 |
John Wycliffe
A Christian filmmaker has shared why he is so keen to bring to life the “fascinating” story of the life of Bible translator John Wycliffe in his new film Morningstar. Born in the early 1300s, John Wycliffe grew up at the height of the Roman Catholic Church’s powers. But as an early reformer, long before the likes of Martin Luther, he fought against the growing corruption and worked tirelessly to translate the Bible into the English language. Read the Article here https://www.christian.org.uk/news/upcoming-film-morningstar-brings-john-wycliffes-story-to-life/ Find out about the film here morningstarfilm.co. uk |
How Could a Loving God Send People to Hell?
An interesting article from Rebecca McLaughlin at Crossway publishing.
How Could God Send People To Hell
Also some excellent Podcasts at the bottom of the article about heaven, hell, angels and demons.
Times for yesterday, how did you do?
Derek 5:45
Try the puzzle for the weekend, remember it is more difficult, with many more pieces.
Play the "Portrush Harbour" puzzle!
https://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=2d73d78cda40
I don’t think anyone sent in a guess for the Where Is It? yesterday. So if you were stumped you are in good company, if you do know where it is, why didn’t you send a message?
It is the sculpture sited at the East Strand in Portrush. Here it is with its surroundings more visible. Does anyone know what it represents?
Where Is It? today? A little bit further along the coast for the weekend but not as far as Ballycastle.