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The Anglican Church of All Saints

Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife North

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Midweek Letter

Midweek Letter

28th June

I am fortunate to live overlooking the coast, on the Southwest of Tenerife, which means that at this time of year the sun sets directly in front of me into the sea. As Spring turns to Summer the sunsets become more spectacular. The colours of yellow, orange and pink light up the vista and the sun´s rays spread out across the sky. Each sunset is unique and my favourite place to watch the dwindling light and changing sky is from my hammock. I´ve noticed that cloudy skies earlier on can sometimes be the precursor to a stunning sunset.

As the sun sets here it begins to rise over our friends in the Western hemisphere…and as it sets there it returns to rise over us the following day. We wait in the dark for the light to break forth and there are days when the clouds hide it totally. Hammock reflection has made me wonder about the “clouds” that colour and cover my personal sky, that prevent the sunlight shining through?

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross writes: People are like stained glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out but when the darkness sets in, their beauty is revealed only if there is light within.

There´s no perfect life, no perfect job, no perfect childhood, no perfect marriage and no perfect set of people who will always do what we expect them to do. What we do have is a perfect God who is able to lead us through this imperfect life with unfailing strength, incomparable wisdom and infinite love. Talking about what gets in the way can be a way of enabling us to live and love with our whole hearts.

Now I´m pretty sure that we all know what healthy eating constitutes and we have access to a wealth of information around the topic so why is it that some of us struggle to eat healthily? Perhaps it´s because we don´t talk about the things that get in the way of doing what we know is best for us, our families and our communities.

Naming and having honest conversations about our “clouds” can enable us to develop resilience, courage, compassion and connection. We live in a world where expectations can tell us that being imperfect means being inadequate. Secrecy, silence and judgement can prevent us from developing resilience. We are encouraged in scripture to love each other as we love ourselves. Some of us are not so good at loving ourselves, naming our “clouds” and talking about them, owning and telling our story. Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we are supposed to be and embracing who we are. Choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect, to set boundaries and to allow ourselves to be vulnerable. It encourages us to exercise the compassion that comes from knowing that we are all made of strength and struggle and nurturing the connection and sense of belonging that can only happen when we believe that we are enough in the eyes of the God who loves us unconditionally.

Belonging to a community of faith, as we do at All Saints, enables us to connect and share ourselves and our stories. As we look at the sun´s rising and setting we are reminded of the faithfulness of God who is above, beneath and beside us. We experience a Creator God who lit the world and breathed life into each one of us. We are enabled to know more of the Son who saved the world and stretches out His hand to each one of us and we experience the Spirit of God who encompasses each one of us in our world. This coming week may we see the sunset as an opportunity to reset knowing that the sunrise brings the promise of a new dawn. Our horizons may change but the sun, the Son does not.

Judith Rigby
Congregational Worship leader

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All Saints’ Church is part of the Anglican Communion
Diocese in Europe.

All Saints’ Social Media Links

Follow @allSts_tenerife

Services & Events Schedule

SUNDAY:
11:00am – Sung Eucharist

WEDNESDAY:
10:00am – Holy Communion
11:15am – Bible Study/Prayer Group (alternate weeks)

For the latest information about Car Boot Sales (updated 14th June 2022), please click here.

Contact Us – Who’s who

Chaplain:  Vacancy
tel: +34 605 48 67 92
email: allsaintsnorthtenerife@gmail.com
Assistant Priest:
The Revd Rachel Ganney
tel: +34 672 83 47 11 (WhatsApp)
email: rachel@ganney.net
Reader:
Peter Lockyer
tel: +34 922 37 03 28
email: allsaints@lynx3.eu
Congregational worship leaders:
Graham Blinston
tel: +34 922 38 67 82
email: gblinston@hotmail.co.uk
Judith Rigby
tel: +34 711042849
email: rigbyjudith59@gmail.com
Church Wardens:
Wendy Sanderson
tel: +34 922 32 09 78
Dawn Rutherford
email: dawnr30@hotmail.co.uk
Safeguarding officer:
Judith Rigby
tel: +34 711 04 28 49
email: safeguardingpuertotenerife@gmail.com
Hon Treasurer:
Cheryl Douglas
email: cheryl6921@hotmail.com
Chaplaincy Council Secretary:
Kath Delgado Cabrera
tel: +34 615 22 23 11
email: kath.delgadocabrera@gmail.com
Organist:
Rayco Gonzales
tel: +34 699 64 94 54
email: raycobrito@hotmail.com

LINKS TO KINDRED SITES

St Francis’ Anglican Church,
Tenerife South

La Palma Anglican Church

The English Library, Tenerife

The Friends of Tenerife

Ecumenical links

In der Anglikanischen Kirche in Puerto de la Cruz hält die Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Teneriffa Nord sonntags regelmäßig um 17 Uhr deutschsprachige Gottesdienste für ihre Mitglieder, Urlaubsgäste und interessierte Besucher.  Im Gemeindehaus hinter der Kirche befinden sich Gemeindebüro und Gemeinderäume. Hier und im dortigen Gartengelände wird bei vielerlei Gemeindeveranstaltungen ein geselliges Beisammensein gepflegt – Tel. 922 374 964.

OUR GERMAN Lutheran Brothers and Sisters also use the church for their Sunday Services and social events.  They have an office at the Parsonage and can be contacted by telephone on 922 374 964  Their office hours are displayed by the main door to the Parsonage.

We also have Ecumenical Links with the Scandinavian and Finnish churches in Puerto de la Cruz.

© 2022 All Saints Church, Tenerife • Built by Ken Sheldon on the Genesis Framework