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Today is the Seventh Sunday of the Easter season, also know as the Sunday after Ascension (Ascension Day being 21st May this year).  It is also the last Sunday before the Feast of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples.

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Fr Ron’s Reflection on today’s readings

The Collect for the Sunday after Ascension

O God the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The first reading – 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel reading – John 17:1-11

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”

Intercessions for Seventh Sunday of Easter -Sunday after Ascension  – 24th May 2020

Almighty God, may our prayers ascend to you just as Jesus Christ, your son, was taken up to heaven.  As we celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus let it inspire in us feelings of joy and hope rather than fear and separation as we await the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer

Everlasting God  we pray for our Bishops, Robert and David, and all Church Leaders; for Fr Ron and the laity who serve this Chaplaincy.  May the Lord bless our Chaplaincy Council and guide them in their work as we move forward together to live the Gospel in Tenerife.

Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer

Creator God, we pray for our troubled world its peoples and their leaders. We pray for those caught up in war, and violence, and hatred; especially the innocent victims of these evils and those who are abused because of Christ. May peace abound and righteousness flourish, that we may vanquish injustice and wrong and that the suffering won’t last forever.

Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer

Father God, we pray for all the people that we encounter in our daily lives especially through the internetand social media in these difficult times.  Help us to recognise Christ in one another however stressed and tired they may be. We ask that you help us to recognise the risen Christ in the face of someone we meet today and give us an opportunity to  brighten their day with a smile or a word.

Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer

Loving God, we pray for all those in need; for those who are filled with guilt; who are broken-hearted; who are confused and afraid; or saddened because a relationship has broken down. We pray for all suffering from illness, particularly those requesting our prayers and give joyful thanks for those on the road to recovery.  (add names of those requesting prayer)

Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer

Merciful God, we pray for all who have died; especially those who encouraged us in our faith by their example. As we pray for them, may they in turn continue to pray for us that we may stay true to our faith and give the same kind of example ourselves to others.  (add names of the recently departed or on Anniversary list)

Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer

Faithful God, as we go out into the coming week, make us mindful that we should constantly pray for your world and your people just as Jesus, your son, prayed for his disciple before returning to you.

Merciful Father: Accept these prayers for the sake of your son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen

Thanks to the Costa Blanca Anglican Chaplaincy for sharing their prayers for this Sunday.

This coming Thursday, the 21st May is Ascension Day, a major festival of the Church’s year, so there will be an extra page especially for that day, published here on Wednesday evening, along with Fr Ron’s usual mid-week letter.

In case you missed this week’s midweek letter, please click here to see latest information about the possible timeline for reopening All Saints’ Church.

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Fr Ron’s Reflection on todays readings

Collect for The Sixth Sunday of Easter

God our redeemer, you have delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of your Son: grant, that as by his death he has recalled us to life, so by his continual presence in us he may raise us to eternal joy; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Epistle Reading – 1 Peter 3:13-22

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

The Gospel Reading – John 14:15-21

“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Intercessions for Sixth Sunday of Easter -Year A  – 17^th May 2020

Gracious God, you are anything but unknown to us for you made us, our world and everything in it and so we pray with one voice, proclaiming your presence to all the earth.

Lord, in your Mercy: Hear our Prayer

Holy God we pray for your church throughout the world, for sceptics and believers, for clergy high and low. For all those who seek God at home, at work, in the streets, and in the pews, for all who search for life.  We pray for the stillness to listen to the voice of the Spirit and to recognise what our personal relationship with you has done for us.  We pray for all who strive to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel especially in these difficult times when we cannot meet together in our church buildings.

Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Creator God, we pray for prime ministers and presidents, for bosses and workers; for leaders and trendsetters. For those who set the targets at home, at work, in the streets, and in the pews. For all who wield power, that they may be guided by the Spirit of Truth. We especially pray all the world’s governments as they continue to do their best during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Father God, we pray for family and colleagues, friends and lovers, for neighbours and strangers, For all those who we are missing with whom we normally would break bread: at home, at work, in the community, and in our church but we continue to pray for all who grow, harvest and prepare the food we eat and for those who continue to deliver to shops and supermarkets.  We give especial thanks for those who continue to risk their lives, in those shops and supermarkets and in delivery and postal service.

Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Loving God, we pray for the sick and troubled, for the fearful and alone, for those in pain at home, at work, in the streets, and in the pews. We pray that all who suffer, may feel the Spirits healing presence.  We especially ask for healing for those with Corona Virus and for our wonderful health service who are at the frontline.

Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

Merciful God, we pray for those kept fresh in our memory and for those long forgotten, For all who ever took the breath of life at home, at work, in the streets, and in the pews.  We pray for mercy and forgiveness for the dead and those who mourn them, may they find rest in the Spirit’s embrace and we commend them to your keeping for ever.

Lord, in your mercy: hear our prayer.

God of heaven and earth, companion in life, Spirit of truth, to you alone we turn our eyes and lift our hearts. Help us to keep your commandments and to love one another as you love us.

Merciful Father:

Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Thanks to the Costa Blanca Anglican Chaplaincy for sharing their prayers for this Sunday.

Today is Ascension Day, a major festival of the Christian Year.  It marks the fortieth day after Easter Day, the day that Jesus ascended into heaven, promising his disciples, that the Holy Spirit would come to give them power.

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Fr Ron’s Reflection on today’s Readings

Collect for Ascension Day

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens, so we in heart and mind may also ascend and with him continually dwell; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

The First Reading – Acts 1:1-11

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

The Gospel Reading – Luke 24:44-53

Jesus said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

A prayer for the Corona Virus situation

Merciful God, we pray for the many people who have contracted the coronavirus in all parts of the world. Bring comfort to those grieving loved ones who have died, and peace to those worried, fearful and uncertain as the virus spreads. We also pray for governments and authorities who are developing strategies to contain and deal with the virus and those in the health services who may be risking their own lives to care for sick patients.  We pray for all those engaged in research into finding cures or vaccines against the virus, that you would guide their work, and give them strength to persevere.  Amen.

Dear Friends,

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed– in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52

These powerful words from St Paul proclaim the change that will take place when the Lord comes at the end of time. It may not yet be the end of time, but this pandemic has brought upon us massive change in almost every way. In fact a deep crisis, not only in the financial markets but in the way people think, so many are changed from within.

If I had told you in January, that by March you would witness a shut-down world with most of the world’s aircraft grounded, the loss of countless loved ones to a pandemic and most everything different, you would have called me a mad man. Yet this is dramatically what has happened. In other words this experience has helped us to realise that life is fragile, that our human lives are precious and vulnerable, and that, as St Paul said, things can change in the blink of an eye. The world cannot return to how it was, in fact we are living through the emergence of a world that is basically up for grabs. We need to figure out what now is important to us?

We are witnessing that Lockdown has caused clean air and that pollution has declined drastically. People in Venice seeing fish swimming in the canals and others living in Bihar have reported that they can see for the first time in living memory snow-capped mountains and others that they can see the visible peak of Mount Everest.

Can we now see clearly the way forward as Christians? Are we prepared to answer the big questions in life about the environment and the purpose of life, and can we proclaim this to those who are seeking? Can we answer the important and fundamental truths of our faith and are we ready to explain to seekers that they too can share in the wonderful message of God’s love for them? That is certainly our task and privilege.

As Spain and other countries proclaim a time of mourning for those who have died let us remember them by going to the garden prepared for the Chelsea Flower Show which itself could only happen online. One of the gardens is based on the 23rd Psalm. The creator of the garden said, “It’s a ‘found’ place in which to escape, to re-engage with nature and strengthen mental health and wellbeing. It has dark valleys and still waters, and has a strong resonace with contemporary life and its stresses. It is a garden that represents a spiritual oasis. Inspired by the landscape of Dartmoor. It’s a ‘found’ place in which to escape, to re-engage with nature and strengthen mental health and wellbeing.

Let us find that place for ourselves where we can sit in prayer with the Lord.
With Blessings,

Fr. Ron Corne
Chaplain

Each Sunday the Tenerife (and others) Virtual Church group are worshipping together at 12noon.  Our Chaplain, Fr Ron, and the associate Chaplain from St Francis Tenerife South, the Revd Rachel Ganney, welcome you to take part.  This week’s link is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0YI7b0Rq4

Dear Friends,

The first charge to all Christians is this:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

This means caring for one another to the utmost degree and making sure no one is either compromised or put at risk.

With the slight easing of the State of Emergency in Spain certain possibilities regarding our churches becomes conceivable. These possibilities mean that we may enter our buildings for worship, but with stringent regulations in place in relation to distancing, hand cleansing, maximum capacities, the wearing of masks and gloves etc. etc.

I believe that it is not the time that we should be considering opening our church of All Saints, as many of our people fall into the vulnerable category, including those who will be needing to take on the people-facing roles in our church.

Regulations state we cannot meet before or after the service, and that we may only operate to a third of our capacity (booking system), with the congregation wearing face masks, and the spaces must be disinfected beforehand. The use of blessed water or ritual ablutions, among other measures, will not be permitted, a 2 metre distancing, and no singing, no hymn books, and so forth and so on.

I have decided that we should delay opening until at the earliest July. This will remove a great deal of anxiety at this time, and will reassure everyone that when we do reopen, it will be with a great deal more confidence and that we may be able to learn from those who have gone to church slightly earlier.

We will continue of course to offer our wonderful website with a weekly sermon, plus our live worship online on Sundays and our midweek letter and other worship aides.   I will also be continuing to contact and speak to our people and soon to hold a zoom coffee morning …on line – bring your own coffee, sorry about that!

Be assured when we do return to our beautiful church and grounds for worship and fellowship that we will be observing whatever regulations are in operation in July, and we will be taking all the precautions possible to keep everyone as safe as possible whilst still creating a spirit of worship and trust.

We will announce in due time the forward date of opening.

With Christian love and fellowship.

Fr. Ron Corne.
Chaplain
All Saints Tenerife

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