The Anglican Church of All Saints

Please note: With Tenerife now on Level 2, the maximum capacity of All Saints is 50.  Masks remain compulsory in church.  The services for this year have been planned taking into account the current Spanish government regulations, and the recommendations of the Diocese in Europe.

19th September – The 16th Sunday after Trinity

11am Sung Eucharist  – Celebrant & Preacher: Fr Ron Corne

Tenerife Virtual Church – As the Revd Rachel and Paul are travelling at the moment, the Tenerife Virtual Church will only be on alternate Sundays.  The next service will be on Sunday 26th September.

Please click here for the archive page of Fr Ron’s letters

15th September 2021

Dear Friends,

Whilst watering my plants and flowers on my roof space at the Parsonage in Tenerife I noticed the most incredible Stripe-Eyed Flower Fly, as it hovered hummingbird-style over flowers in search of nectar – the tiny insect hovered around with absolute perfect synergy, a master of the air, brightly coloured and perfect in its design, it seemed totally absorbed as it hovered over the flowers always perfectly aligned and stationary at a distance, incredibly agile and able to shoot off and be gone in a split second. The insect demands attention with its striped eyes – it is absolutely hypnotizing. It would win every gold medal going for its design and ability to hover.
If you don’t think God is a Master of Design watch one of these tiny creatures.  Hover flies in general work tirelessly as they pollinate crops, and the larvae scour the undersides of plant leaves for aphids and eat them as their primary food source, gorgeous in every way, an incredible part of the creation.

A friend of mine at Theological College worked on Hovercrafts before ordination. He was absorbed by the engineering, and I have many a time watched the hovercraft in Southsea as they lift their skirts puffed with air to hover over the sea as they make their return journeys to the Isle of Wight. We as human beings have often borrowed from God’s immaculate engineering and design, to create our own machines.

Jesus said imitate me and I will make you fishers of men, walking on water isn’t easy, as Peter found out. So how can we follow Jesus how can we hover over life as the hover fly? We want to become more like Jesus, but we know we’ve got a long way to go and we can often feel like we’re going backwards. So, how can we grow?

The answer is given in 2 Corinthians 3:18 ‘And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.’ It’s by seeing and admiring Jesus’ glory that we are transformed to become like Jesus, all through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. During the football World Cup, children across the world were trying to be like their favourite footballer. They copied their tricks and wore replica shirts with their player’s name on. Some even copied their hairstyle to look as much like them as they could! Why did they do this? Because they admire that player so much. Similarly, the more we see and admire the wonderful glory, beauty, and holiness of Jesus, the more we will become like him. Jesus lived a perfectly attractive life: he lived to please his heavenly Father. As he did that, he loved others more than himself. He sacrificed himself, his own life for us. The love of Jesus is wonderful. The more we see that, the more we will adore him and start to become like him. Notice, the answer isn’t found in making up all sorts of strict rules about what we can or can’t do. Just trying to keep strict rules won’t truly change us to become like Jesus. In fact, if we only follow rules without getting to know Jesus better, we’re likely to become even colder towards other people.

Rules don’t change hearts, but revelation does – that is, the revelation of Jesus to our hearts. Then our hearts will be changed to become like him, like the hover fly agile and beautiful in keeping his law of love.

Dear God, please reveal to us
your sublime beauty
that is everywhere, everywhere, everywhere
so that we will never again
feel frightened.
My divine love, my love,
Please let us touch
your face.
– St. Francis of Assisi

Fr Ron Corne
Chaplain