A Christmas Letter to Friends in Chennai
Anne and Murdoch MacKenzie
December 2010
Now in the Advent season we are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This Advent we are particularly remembering those in the persecuted church around the world. We are using an Advent Prayer Book produced by the Barnabas Fund which gives us a country to pray for each day. This morning we were praying for Uzbekistan. We also pray for friends in Chennai every Monday morning as we did earlier today. We pray for the Vyasarpady Pastorate and rejoice that it was visited by the Archbishop of Canterbury. We pray for Bishop Devasahayam and our Madras Diocese for all the good things which are happening and as well as for reconciliation where there is strife. We receive the Kirkspire regularly and always find it full of interest and we praise God for all that is happening there in the worship and outreach of the church with Asha, Riber Memorial Day Care Centre, Christian Counselling Ministry, the Healing Ministry, the village project and Thiruppalaivanam clinic and church, Balramapuram, the Sunday School, House Churches and so much more. We enjoy watching and listening to the DVDs ‘Lead kindly Light’ and ‘Ancient of Days’ and it was a special joy for us to have Arul Siromoney stay with us in June en route to visit Iona.
2010 has been full of significant events for us especially Edinburgh 2010 when, together with friends from the World Church, in the first week of June we celebrated the Centenary of the great Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910. We also visited the new archive centre for Skye and Lochalsh in Portree where we managed to archive the Macdonald Collection of over 800 works of art painted, in the mid twentieth century, by Murdoch's father's cousins, Catriona and Mairead Macdonald. We had the pleasure of hosting Christine Hogl, a celtic harpist from Bavaria at the end of June, who played in Connel and in Iona Abbey. After attending the marriage of two friends in Bossey we were glad to be able to visit Riccardo and Maria Teresa, friends for over 50 years, in their home in Vesime in northern Italy. In September we welcomed Murdoch's cousin, Christine, from Australia. In October we shared in Elizabeth and Angie's marriage in Skye and looked at various 'family matters' relating to our childhood and to Anne's family, in Merseyside and in Devon.
Murdoch is the Secretary of The Fellowship of St Thomas which is the body in Scotland which relates most closely to the churches in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Burma/Myanmar, Nepal and Bangla Desh. You can visit the website on www.fost.org.uk We were glad that Bishop Devamani of Dornakal was able to be present at the final gathering of Edinburgh 2010 and to read part of the speech originally delivered by his predecessor, V.S. Azariah, in the same hall in 1910. Recently in November we had a visit to Edinburgh by 7 members of staff of Madras Christian College which was most interesting and brought us up to date with Tambaram. We are also involved with Fairtrade and are both part of the Oban Fairtrade Steering Group. Again you can visit our website at www.obanfairtrade.org.uk.
Anne and Murdoch MacKenzie
December 2010
Now in the Advent season we are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This Advent we are particularly remembering those in the persecuted church around the world. We are using an Advent Prayer Book produced by the Barnabas Fund which gives us a country to pray for each day. This morning we were praying for Uzbekistan. We also pray for friends in Chennai every Monday morning as we did earlier today. We pray for the Vyasarpady Pastorate and rejoice that it was visited by the Archbishop of Canterbury. We pray for Bishop Devasahayam and our Madras Diocese for all the good things which are happening and as well as for reconciliation where there is strife. We receive the Kirkspire regularly and always find it full of interest and we praise God for all that is happening there in the worship and outreach of the church with Asha, Riber Memorial Day Care Centre, Christian Counselling Ministry, the Healing Ministry, the village project and Thiruppalaivanam clinic and church, Balramapuram, the Sunday School, House Churches and so much more. We enjoy watching and listening to the DVDs ‘Lead kindly Light’ and ‘Ancient of Days’ and it was a special joy for us to have Arul Siromoney stay with us in June en route to visit Iona.
2010 has been full of significant events for us especially Edinburgh 2010 when, together with friends from the World Church, in the first week of June we celebrated the Centenary of the great Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910. We also visited the new archive centre for Skye and Lochalsh in Portree where we managed to archive the Macdonald Collection of over 800 works of art painted, in the mid twentieth century, by Murdoch's father's cousins, Catriona and Mairead Macdonald. We had the pleasure of hosting Christine Hogl, a celtic harpist from Bavaria at the end of June, who played in Connel and in Iona Abbey. After attending the marriage of two friends in Bossey we were glad to be able to visit Riccardo and Maria Teresa, friends for over 50 years, in their home in Vesime in northern Italy. In September we welcomed Murdoch's cousin, Christine, from Australia. In October we shared in Elizabeth and Angie's marriage in Skye and looked at various 'family matters' relating to our childhood and to Anne's family, in Merseyside and in Devon.
Murdoch is the Secretary of The Fellowship of St Thomas which is the body in Scotland which relates most closely to the churches in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Burma/Myanmar, Nepal and Bangla Desh. You can visit the website on www.fost.org.uk We were glad that Bishop Devamani of Dornakal was able to be present at the final gathering of Edinburgh 2010 and to read part of the speech originally delivered by his predecessor, V.S. Azariah, in the same hall in 1910. Recently in November we had a visit to Edinburgh by 7 members of staff of Madras Christian College which was most interesting and brought us up to date with Tambaram. We are also involved with Fairtrade and are both part of the Oban Fairtrade Steering Group. Again you can visit our website at www.obanfairtrade.org.uk.
Now as we send these greetings, we once again remember the reason for the season with a question about the Christmas Tree.
The Christmas Tree
There’s a star at the top of the Christmas tree
On the floor the parcels are piled.
The light of the star is reflected
In the eyes of a happy child
.
A star shone out at Bethlehem
So wonderful and rare.
It showed the way to the baby
In the stable cold and bare.
It showed the way to the wise men
Who longed to find a King,
But all they found in the stable
Was a little baby thing.
There’s an angel on the Christmas tree
Dressed in shining white,
With arms outstretched to greet us all
On this blessed Holy Night.
There are candles on the Christmas tree
Shedding forth their light,
Enfolding us in their glowing warmth
On this our Christmas night.
Christmas trees, stars and angels,
Candles burning bright.
What do they mean to us right now,
As we think of the first Christmas night?
May God bless you all with the love, joy and peace of Jesus this Christmas and in the New Year of 2011.
Anne and Murdoch
The Christmas Tree
There’s a star at the top of the Christmas tree
On the floor the parcels are piled.
The light of the star is reflected
In the eyes of a happy child
.
A star shone out at Bethlehem
So wonderful and rare.
It showed the way to the baby
In the stable cold and bare.
It showed the way to the wise men
Who longed to find a King,
But all they found in the stable
Was a little baby thing.
There’s an angel on the Christmas tree
Dressed in shining white,
With arms outstretched to greet us all
On this blessed Holy Night.
There are candles on the Christmas tree
Shedding forth their light,
Enfolding us in their glowing warmth
On this our Christmas night.
Christmas trees, stars and angels,
Candles burning bright.
What do they mean to us right now,
As we think of the first Christmas night?
May God bless you all with the love, joy and peace of Jesus this Christmas and in the New Year of 2011.
Anne and Murdoch
