Profiles: Peter Smooi

As we are profiling some of the amazing members of our small congregation, this time we are casting the spotlight on Peter Smooi.

 Peter Smooi is one of the characters of Hogsback. He is recognisable in the community with a smile on his face, standing on the pavement selling mushrooms or walking sticks or walking with his dog by his side and his guitar slung across his shoulder.  He is a man of peace and of Africa and identifies with Rastafarianism.  He is a deep-thinker and has interesting viewpoints. 

Peter’s heritage is truly in the Amathole mountains where his family has lived for many generations. He was born at Daneswold in 1964. His parents lived in Hogsback, although his father came from the Kat valley. Peter has inherited characteristics from his Khoi grandfather who worked on a farm nearby. Although he grew up in Hogsback, he went to school in Alice up to Std 3 and then he worked in gardens and factories in many places including travelling to Cape Town to work in a factory. He has two children: Yoliswa born in 1984 and Anelisa born in 1990.

Since Peter’s daughters have left him, he lives on his own. A typical day in the life of Peter is to get up in the morning, have a cup of tea or coffee, and then walk into the forest to search for mushrooms in the summer, particularly under pine, oak and wattle trees. He will collect them and carry them to the village to sell them. The most popular mushrooms are the Bolitha and pine ring mushrooms. He also looks for suitable black wattle stems to make walking sticks to sell to visitors. The inscribed walking sticks have become a trade mark of the pavement sellers who congregate on the pavement opposite the hardware store and the shop. Many hotels buy them in bulk to sell as souvenirs. The other special trademark of the pavement sellers is the making and selling of clay cattle, hogs, horses and the chapel which they make from the local clay.  It is in this way that income is derived to buy pap and bread. One can imagine that there must be some days of no sales and therefore no food. And yet, even though Peter has so little, he will share what he has with Gas.

Jikani, which opened on 25 January 2014, has played a, invaluable role in many ways including supplying clothes to those who cannot afford expensive clothes. On Sundays Peter and Gas make the longer walk to St Patrick’s where they are regular members of the congregation.    

Even though Peter does not have many material goods, what he has he shares with his dog, Gas. Peter is an example of how one can live on little.  His life makes one feel humble as it shows that material goods that are so sought after by society are not the essential priorities. In many ways these St Patrick’s profiles make one appreciate some of the great messages of Jesus Christ, to see Christ in others, to be humble in oneself and to be kind to one’s neighbour, especially if he or she is in need.     

In admiration to all those at Hogsback who walk tall even with so little! 

Thank you, Peter; enkosi kakhulu, Peter. Ndiyabulela kuwe, Petros, esizithandayo wena

Snow Gospel Festival hour

We are inviting EVERYONE to come and join our local communities, up here in Hogsback, at Bold Point, at the foot of the Elandsberg heart, to sing and praise the Lord, in the middle of the Hogsback Celebrations weekend programme. The Bold Point community will be cooking and selling food from 12 noon to 4pm to raise funds for their community hall. The little ones and the youth will be doing traditional dancing, gumboot dancing and storytelling from 1-2 pm, where after we will have an hour of worship singing from 2pm to 3pm.

If God put this on your heart to come and join us, we would appreciate it more than you know. Even if you just keep this Celebration weekend in your prayers, that we all will be safe, and that God will be at the center of everything.

You can download the programme for the Hogsback Celebrations from here www.hogsback.org.za

What to bring:

It is very cold up at Bold Point so please dress very warmly. You can bring blankets/chairs to sit on and if you have spare blankets to donate to those who do not have, that will be wonderful as well. Maybe sweeties for the little ones will also be a fantastic idea. Bring your voices, instruments and if you would like to do an item that would also be “cool”. We are trusting God in this.

Accommodation

There unfortunately is no more accommodation on the mountain, so it would be lovely if you could drive up and back on the Saturday.

Newsletter of the Diocese of Grahamstown June-July 2018. Vol No. 3

Paul’s thorn (service by David Williams

Readings:
2 Cor 12:7
Gen 3:1-19;
2 Cor 12:1-10

What do we want for our children; that they grow big and strong! So we want to take away hindrances. We want the same for the church. So we want to remove trials and temptations. They can hinder our spiritual growth by making us concentrate on the problem and not on God. But they can do the opposite and make us remember God!

The Genesis story tells us why the world has thorns (Gen 3:18). It has fallen, and we share in that, so we have disease, problems, cancer and so on. Emphatically these are due to satan; God is good and tempts tempts no one (Jas 1:14). But they are allowed by God, but because they can result in good!

One of these is the thorn, but note it is only a problem if it gets inside! Remember the apple; it did no harm until it was eaten. But we are prone to do so; in the flesh dwells no good thing, because we share in a fallen world. But temptation is not sin. Then Paul was not exempt.

Emphatically, a thorn harasses, it slows, hinders, and so is bad. But does not kill. We are saved, the thorn does not take that away, but it affects our sanctification.

Paul in danger of pride, because of what God had blessed him with. And he could not remove the thorn. Then his weakness allowed God to work. Sometimes our ability means that we hinder God. After all if we trust our ability, we are not trusting God – we cannot have two masters! Then our strength is made perfect in weakness, and that means it must be God’s work, we cannot be perfect.

So in his affliction, “my grace is sufficient” - the thorn a gift! And gifts aid our service. It was grace, and so .undeserved.

What do you do in trials?

• Firstly, prayer for removal! And so many just do not do that, and put up with the problems unnecessarily. The prayer of Paul was pleading, was persistent, repeated. It was in faith, and here the experience of Paul was a real blessing – he KNEW God.
  
• Secondly, if not answered, we know that God is allowing the trials for our good! Then remember 1 Corinthians 10:13, and that trials for a Christian must be temporary – we have assurance of heaven. 

Look to Jesus and all that He suffered, for out of that came blessing. The same is true for us – they are not so much trials – they are assets!

Doubt Sermon by Norma Fivaz

Readings:   Job 38: 1-11                                                        

                   Ps 63

                   Mark 4: 35 – 41  Message & NIV translation

Introduciton:  The day when    “ The wind ran out of breath.....”

Eugene Peterson captures the moment in the most beautiful prose. Can you feel the wind?  Breaking, crushing, destroying......until it eventually settles down.

Here in Hogsback, we know those storms, and we all run to unplug the modems before all our electronic equipment gets destroyed.

And eventually, even the wind “runs out of breath...”   and it all gets calm once again.

Focus:  Life's  storms and the effect on us.....possible doubt

We have all gone through stormy patches in our lives, times that we had felt overwhelmed, tired.

There is one thing certain in this life:  there WILL be storms.

Mark 4    A very familiar story. All the Children's Bible illustrations are so vivid, of this little boat   surrounded by waves that want to crash it to pieces any minute. Both Rembrandt  van Rijn and Van Gogh tried their hands on depicting these moments  on canvas., and it you look at their paintings, you notice these hardy fisherman, with eyes wide and anxious.....expressions of despair, hopelesness....

V35 a:   “That day ….”   NIV

It had been a normal, busy day in the life of Jesus …

-      He had just selected His 12 disciples and started His ministry

-      teaching along the side of the lake of Galilee, explaining His parables in easy, understandable language

-      answering questions that arose from His teachings

-      healing Peter's mother-in-law ….and many others

-      healing the paralyzed man, which had to be lowered through the roof, as the crowd that surrounded Jesus, filled to house and all the entrances to the home

-      healing the man with the shriveled hand

An ordinary day in the life of Jesus...busy with what His Father sent Him to do....

V 35 b:  “when evening came..”  NIV  (Msg says “late” )   

There are times when it gets dark around us. The sun had set, and the beauty of the sun-set had been  swallowed by the dimmed light.....day's task is almost over..

And yet, there is still a beauty in the dark of evening....with bright stars against the pitch black velvet sky, sparkling....

-      tranquil

-      Silence around the boat

-      Idyllic

And then there is a change in the mood of the evening.....

v37 “A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat” NIV

  Msg: “ ahuge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat....threatening to sink it”

Can you sense the anxiety that these skilled men of the sea, must have experienced?

-      hopelessness

-      the feeling of loosing the battle

v 38 :   Where is Jesus under these circumstances?

“Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion”

-      He is IN the boat

-      right there, within reach

-      unafraid of what the weather conditions are doing to them

Question:   What was required of these disciples, in order to save them?

Answer:  to Call on Him

-      a simple instruction

-      humbling....because we cannot get it right in our own strength, even if we are experienced in these kind of situations

-      we need to take the step

-      reach out to God

v 39   Jesus' response?

            1.      “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves:  Quiet! Be still!”

                      He calmed the storm

                      He responded to their requests

           2.   v40  “ Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

 This comes as a rebuke to the disciples:    Where is your faith?   You of little faith.....

Let's apply this scene to our own situation:

What are the reasons that we........

-      waver when life gets tough

-      hesitate to hand it ALL to God

-      still want to carry the responsibilities of being in control?

We all wrestle with this to some degree, at some stage on our lives. This thing called    DOUBT.

 Myths about doubt  (1)

           

1.     Many people think doubt is the opposite of faith. It is not!     Faith vs unbelief

And UNBELIEF means:     refusal to believe

                                            a deliberate decision to deny God in our lives

Doubt may include:   -     questions about certain facets of faith

-      an ambivalence or in-decisiveness over one issue.

You may be a full-fledged Christian, without having EVERY single matter of faith 100% settled or neatly defined.

2.     Many people think doubt is unforgivable.  It is not! I want to point you to John the Baptist, the man who baptised Jesus. The man who said of Jesus....” Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. He saw the heavens open, and heard the voice of God, saying : “ This is My Son with whom I am pleased”

            This is the man who pointed at Jesus Christ, and said: “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God”.

He had incredible faith.

But what happens.....he gets arrested, thrown into jail, and doubt starts troubling him.....he gets uncertain about what he had believed before.  “Is Jesus really who He claims to be? Or should we be looking for someone else”.  So he sends two of his friends to go and check out with Jesus, and ask Him point blank the question.

What is Jesus' reaction? He doesn't blame John. He doesn't disqualify him. No criticism.

Luke 7:22:  “And Jesus answered and said to them:  “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard. The blind receive sight. The lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead are raised up. And the poor have the gospel preached to them”

Paraphrased:   Go back and tell John about these evidences you have seen with your own eyes  that authenticate My claim to being the one and only Son of God. That will renew John's confidence and will bolster back up his faith.

How does this effect Jesus' opinion of John? Does He think John is worthless? No good for the kingdom of God any more?

NO:   after this episode, Jesus pays John the highest compliment.....”I say to you, among those born of women, there is no one greater than John”.

God wants dialogue with us as His children. That's not to say doubt is praiseworthy. That is NOT what the Bible teaches.

What it says to me:    In our relationship with Him, God wants honesty, openness, intimacy to the degree that we have the confidence to discuss and reason and debate with our Father. Tell Him what concerns us. Tell Him when we feel lonely, abandoned, fearful......(add whatever feelings you may harbour)

3.     Many people think doubt is unhealthy.  On the contrary:  it can produce some positive changes in our spiritual life, if we take steps to resolve it.

If we take steps against doubt, it is like an antibody which our spiritual life develops....to boost our spiritual  immune system. We will have the defence mechanism to address future situations which may derail our faith life.

                                                                                    (1)   newlifecc.ca    Sermon on Doubt

How does doubt affect us?

-      it affects our mind

-      our emotions

-      our will / decision making

How do we address doubt?

1. Find the root of your doubt......We need to make a diagnosis.

-      too little time spent in God's presence?

-      Too controlling of our circumstances

-      pride?

-      Our intellect that forms a barrier.....we what to reason everything out in a scientific way

2.     Addressing doubt …..the treatment

ASK....                         -    Turn to God

-      turn to a God-fearing friend, who can walk the way with you

-      turn to a support group / Bible study group who you can trust

READ  God 's Word

TALK to God

GO to a church and be part of a Christian group / fellow believers

Summary: 

Doubt is such a powerful instrument that the devil uses, to try and separate us from our Heavenly Father. He wants to destroy our close relationship with God.

Don't allow the devil to steal what does not belong to him.

God is powerful, loving and willing to hold you in His hand....may He protect you and keep you safe!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, we so often forget that You are with us in the storms of life....right there, in the boat, lying on a cushion.....waiting for us to call on You.

How foolish of us.....to work ourselves into a frenzy, in stead of calling on You first, allowing You to be in control.....of the wind, the storms and our lives.

We want to asked for forgiveness, for the times that we doubted You; doubted Your ability to take control of the situations. Forgiveness for our doubt.....

Thank you that you do not                  – criticise us

-      disqualify us

-      write us off   …........... because of this weakness.

We come in a new way, this morning, reaching out to You, putting our hand into Your hand, and letting go of our anxieties.

Heavenly Father, thank you for Your graciousness, to give us another chance. Help each one of us to leave here, knowing that we have a Father, who cares and  who wants to steer our lives.

Thank you for Your Word, and examples of humans who have stumbled before us. Let us learn from them and their examples.

We want to honor and praise You!

We want to thank you, for being a loving Father,

                                           an understanding Father

 one who cares, and wants us to live lives, believing and knowing that You are in control.

Thank you, that we can close this prayer in Your Holy name.

                                                Amen

Why we need to look after God's creation

This last Sunday we celebrated World Environmental day during our service at our little chapel. For those living in Hogsback, we are intensely aware of nature and that we should tale good care of God's creation. Helen Fox reminded us of how God has entrusted his creation to us and why we, as Christians should take this very seriously.


 Shanti then lead us in a prayer for Hogsback:

Special Earth service on this Sunday St Patricks at 10am

Come to a special Hogsback Earth Service - Celebrating and reflecting on the recent past World Environment Day on 5th June

This special Earth service will address three common perceptions held in western earth-related thinking which lead to us to engage in actions that are devastating to the earth, creatures and ultimately ourselves.

1. It is all about people (Anthoprocentrism)
2. We are separate from the earth
3. The earth is a machine - we are the only ones with a soul

We will have a time of praise in celebration of creation as well as scripture readings.

Come to be challenged to think more deeply about the goodness of God and our world.

Sunday 10th at 10am at the St Patrick's, the Chapel on the Hill

With love and blessings,
Liz Thomas and Helen Fox