Anniversary and Ascension greetings
It was 23 years ago, on 17th May 1992, that Ann and held the first meeting – in an apartment – of the first Protestant Church in Jávea to have its own 24/7 premises. God has remained faithful to His creation – the church that is different – on the East (Mediterranean) coast of Spain.
The road along which we have walked with God has rarely been smooth, with an equal number of ‘peaks’ and ‘troughs’, and I am so pleased that – even though He sees the end from the beginning – He keeps it from us.
Two days ago it was Ascension Day, no longer remembered as it was when I was at school with a Special Assembly and then the rest of the day at home to reflect and contemplate.
Even people who are unchurched probably recognise Christmas and Easter, but the Scriptural significance of Whit Sunday and Ascension Day are less well-known than St. Swithin’s Day (15th July), which is said to indicate weather during the following 40 days.
Whit Sunday – as I remember it – was when the family had new clothes and walked through the streets in a procession to celebrate the Gift of the Holy Spirit on the 7th Sunday after Easter. We are all familiar with the words of Christ so often quoted from St. John’s Gospel, chapter 14 verse 2 “I go to prepare a place for you . . .”
Ten verses later Jesus is quoted as saying ” . . . He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father.”
Many of us no longer have youth on our side, and each year seems to pass faster than its predecessors, but the promises of God are eternal and do not depend on how we feel or the degree of ‘unworthiness’ the devil tells us we’ve achieved.
This has not been the best of years for many of us. Archbishop John Langley in Australia is recovering from a stroke, and Archbishop Norman Dutton in the UK is recovering from two strokes in quite quick succession. I was discharged from hospital to “go home and die in your own bed, rather in one at the hospital” and am delighted to report that God has healed me from a cocktail of illnesses designed to kill, and I am left only with slight rheumatism in my fingers and toes.
It is with GREAT JOY and THANKS TO GOD, that I can report that Archbishop Norman Dutton has graciously accepted my invitation to accept a position of honour in AICW (the Communion which was entrusted to him by its founder, +Peter Compton-Caputo) and I welcome him (and commit ++Norman and Dorothy to your prayers) as AICW Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus.
++Norman has offered -and I have accepted – to advise me on any matters pertaining to the Communion.
Please accept and convey my Episcopal greeting to your Clergy and congregants, as you urge them to believe that Jesus enabled and empowered believers to minister in the miraculous.
++Clive