The Anglican Church of All Saints

Tuesday 24th May at 2pm

A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of the Reverend Ronald Andrew Corne was held at All Saints Church, Tenerife.  The service was attended by members of All Saints congregation, the British Vice-Consul from Santa Cruz, and clergy from Tenerife and some of the other Canary islands who knew Fr Ron as a colleague.  Two members of our sister congregation of St Martin de Porres, La Palma, also made the journey to be present.  As well as hymns, readings and prayers of thanksgiving for Ron’s life, a number of those present gave their own reminiscences.  The service was recorded and may be seen on https://youtu.be/2yV8R2snbHM

 

Midweek Letter 25th May

This week here in All Saints we celebrated a Service of Thanksgiving for Revd Ron. Amongst other things it was a time of remembering and sharing the memories.

Memory is the process of taking in information from the world around us, processing it, storing it and later recalling that information, sometimes many years later. Memories help shape the way we live and experience certain things that occur in our lives.

Remembering the past, living in the present and looking to the future are all important, however remembering the past can affect how we live in the present and the future. The good and the bad of our experiences will both determine the acts of our futures. Ultimately reflection can empower us to determine what´s important to us and one simple way to start reflecting is through memory keeping.

Facebook reminded me of a memory this morning from 7 years ago. Sifting through photos and videos on my phone, calendars and journals is a way to piece together not just a narrative – not just the story of what happened but, like historians we can decipher which significant moments mattered in our lives.

The concept of remembering recurs prominently in the bible, especially in the Old Testament. God remembers his covenant with his people whereupon God´s people are encouraged to remember Him. There are many times stones are placed as a marker or piled together to stand out in a place. Climbing various Welsh mountains in my youth there were frequent cairns contributed to by those who had completed the task and left the stone as a lasting memory.

The most enduring memorial in the bible is one that can´t endure: the loaf and the cup at the Last Supper – and Jesus´ words, “Do this in remembrance of me.” What lasts is the meaning. The body and blood are seen and shown and shared in the memorial of that meal in the upper room. It vanishes through being consumed but it endures in not just the memory but the behaviour, the actions of those who by eating and drinking together come to see how they now form themselves into one body.

This week perhaps we can take time to name and contemplate what has shaped us in the past. We will each have formative moments that have shaped our life. Memories are reflections of the heart we happen to gaze on once in a while. The choices we make reflect the memories we create. As Christians we try to become more like Christ. As we pursue this transformation let us consider the invitation God gives to each one of us to be led and guided to a deeper awareness of His love and care for each of us. Calling on God to remember his people or an individual is the essence of prayer. The repentant thief alongside Jesus on the cross called out: Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom. We pray for all who have asked us to remember them in prayer this week.

Judith Rigby
Congregational Worship Leader