Crib service 2018

The crib service is always a joyous occasion!! 

Sunday Sermon: Emmanuel

Sermon by David Williams

Readings:

Is 7:1-17, Matt 1:18-24

What is your preparation for Christmas? When did you start?  God started centuries before, as soon as the first sin occurred (Gen 3).  Do you raise the hype?  God gave many foretastes, prophecies of a coming Messiah. Many are in Isaiah (eg Is 9, 53 etc), a turbulent time when the message gave hope – is our situation too easy?

How is your knowledge of Old Testament history?  The kingdom was divided Israel/Judah after Solomon.  In the eighth century, Pekah of Israel and Rezin of Syria threatened Judah, wanting help against Assyria, the dominant power.  Judah needed help!  Are things ganging up on you? You need help!  They thought of appealing to Assyria; Isaiah said to trust in God.

The king, Ahaz, did not want to trust in God without reassurance, and demanded a sign.  God gave a message that God was with them, the sign of Emmanuel (God is with us).  When a young woman is with child, her deliverance is inevitable, and will be soon – so it will be with them, because God was with them.  Here there is no miracle – they were told to trust in God’s word.  It was a small sign, but with a big promise!

It was not enough for Ahaz, who appealed to Assyria, who indeed came and dealt with Pekah and Rezin.  But! A human solution became a problem, and Assyria then soon threatened Judah – was God indeed with them?  But God was indeed with them, and not so long afterwards, in 722BC, came a decisive defeat of Assyria by the angel (Is 37:33f).  But did they learn? Not long after that, the next king entertained emissaries from Babylon, the ascendant world power, which a century later conquered Judah and took it into exile.

Then came Matthew 1, another situation where salvation resulted, not politically, but from individual sin, and Matthew cites the same sign of Emmanuel.  Even after centuries, the Bible was still relevant – and still is.  But now the sign is upgraded!  This time it is really a virgin, who has conceived.  So there is a stress on GRACE!  (it must be noted here that the Hebrew word in Isaiah 7 definitely means “young woman” and not “virgin”, but the translators into Greek two centuries before Christ rendered it as “virgin”, a translation cited by Matthew.

But now the sign of Emmanuel carries a deeper meaning as it is applied to the incarnation. Jesus gives a deeper relation; God works within a person, not just outside in society.  He gives a fuller salvation, eternal life, not just temporary solution.

Interestingly Matthew then adds chapter 2, the response of worship.  It deals with three kings from the east, now coming in peace, not as the Assyrians.  They brought tribute, not taking it! They are often called “wise men”; here their wisdom led to Jesus.

So what is Christmas for you?  Matthew stresses that Jesus is fully God, now with us.  The book of Hebrews elaborates: The Son is superior to earthly power. The Son is superior to wisdom.  And the Son is superior to angels, even those who defeated the Assyrians!

Mike Griffith passed away peacefully on Friday, 9 November 2018, aged 85, after a rich life.  He was surrounded by love and care.

At the end Mike was surrounded with care and love: his wife, Carole; his nurse, Miriam; Carole’s generous friend, Tonya who left her home and business to help; and his daughter, Laurel who had come from New Zealand. A touching item was when father and daughter sang Mike’s favourite song Oh Holy Night! to Michele in Grahamstown.  During the last few months, many Hogsbackians visited to help and encourage Mike and Carole as Mike became more frail. 

Mike was a gentle man. Like so many who eventually lived at Hogsback, he would bring his family for picnics and then in 1980 he bought the property as a family holiday home.  It was meant to be a refuge and he was happy never to leave. Appropriately, he named his home Tanquility.  Mike has three children: Michele who lives in Grahamstown; Laurel in Wellington, New Zealand; and Gary, an Anglican priest, in New Zealand. Mike has six grandchildren, one in China teaching English, and the others are all in New Zealand.

Mike and Carole at their home. They had met in East London when their children were young and later, in 2013, they married in St Patrick’s. The remarkable groom was 80 at the time and had a smile on his face every day!

Although he was born in Johannesburg, Mike spent most of his career in East London. From his school days he was a leader. He had that air of confidence that creates respect from others. His leadership was crowned by being elected by his fellows as the Custodian of the Key and then selected by the staff as Head Prefect of Selborne College.  His peers recognised this leadership role throughout his life. He had a beautiful tenor voice and would sing in church as a chorister. He was an outstanding sportsman representing the school in three team sports and was captain of two of them. He was Sportsman of the Year at Selborne College in 1952 and was selected as the opening bat in the South African schools XI.

The Border Cricket side of 1960/61. Mike played for Border as a batsman for ten years

He worked for the Weir Group and became MD of the Agriculture Group. To show his enterprise, he volunteered to go to Dordrecht even though it is an Afrikaans region and his Afrikaans was not strong. Not only did he learn to speak Afrikaans, but he stayed for three years and during that time he scored the highest turn-over ever.

The Directors of the Weir Group of Companies. Mike was MD of the Agriculture Division and was the top dealer for three years and was awarded a trip to London to meet the President of Massey-Ferguson worldwide 

Mike was a faithful Christian. He was a lay minister and conducted services in neighbouring towns. He was in demand to conduct weddings. He was a loyal member of the St Patrick’s Chapel and was elected to the Council, a position he held for over a decade. Another major contribution of his, together with his friend, Neil Cooper, was to conduct the Christmas and Easter Arboretum services in the forest. 

Mike, at a recent Council meeting 

Mike was kind. Mike’s life has been one of service to his community. He has lived in Hogsback for many years during which time he has made a huge impact. As a businessman he ran the shop for a while but unfortunately had a huge setback when the business did not succeed. It says a lot for his tenacity that he bounced back. Of recent years he has been an estate agent where many Hogsback residents will attest to his kindness in ensuring that they were looked after. Many of the house sales in Hogsback, have his imprint on them. He was Chairman of the Hobbiton-on-Hogsback Association and spent many years on the Community Police Forum to ensure security for the Hogsback community. 

One of the most special aspects of his life is how he has gone out of his way to help the needy with some amazing accomplishments. On one occasion he heard a young primary school child, Sipho, sing in the kitchen of the Lighthouse Steak Ranch (previously called The Enchanted Tree House restaurant) where Mike was eating. He asked to speak to the boy and suggested they sing ‘Silent Night’ together, as it was Christmas time. Together the two sang ‘Silent Night’ to the delight of the other patrons. Mike managed to get Sipho to sing in the chapel during the Carol Service where he wowed the congregation and a visitor offered to sponsor him to go to the Drakensberg Choir that year! Mike managed to get him accepted and Sipho was able to experience the highest level of voice training and education for a year. Earlier, he was able to help another disadvantaged child from Hogsback, Luke, to be adopted, and after 13 years is now at Bishop’s in Cape Town. Mike has enriched many particularly showing compassion when conducting weddings; helping the needy and even selling houses.

You have enriched our lives and the community. 

We shall miss you, Mike.

By Trevor Webster

Mike loved his Hogsback home, Tranquility, and would greet visitors on the ramp Fritz built to enable him to use his walking frame; guests were greeted with this cheerful sign above the door showing how much they were appreciated

What does God want? (Sunday service by David Williams)

Readings:

Ez 33:1-9, 

1 Tim 2:1-8

It is always so sad to stand in front of the church and see empty pews.  Why do people not come? (but thanks to those who do!) This demands the question...

Why are we here? What do people want? 

They want fellowship, music, to feel God, all good reasons, but really secondary.  The essence of Christianity is to relate to God, and to yield to Him.  The Bible’s favourite title for God is “LORD”, in both Testaments.  In salvation, we are transferred to His Kingdom. So there is a question …

What does God want us to be if he is Lord? 1 Timothy 2:2 gives an answer: Quiet and peaceable, Godly and respectful.  In short, in HARMONY with others and with God!  In this we reflect the nature of God as Trinity, three Persons in full harmony – we are in His image – incidentally 3 Persons are ONE God (1 Tim 2:6).

What does God want us to have (1 Tim 2:4)?  He desires the salvation of all, and that all have the knowledge of the truth, in short, LIFE! – both for now and forever.  Again as in his image, this reflects the nature of God, who is life.

This is what God wants; what has He done (1 Tim 2:6-7)?  Thank Him for that!  God sent His son, to teach and die so we know how to live now and forever.  AND God sent His servants, which also means us.

So what should WE do?  Obviously seek to live right and proclaim, but Paul puts something else FIRST of all (1 Tim 2:1), our priority …

• Pray!  It is God’s work that we need

For all, even those we do not like, irritate us, harm us etc. For rulers, even those who misrule, are corrupt, even persecute.  Remember the emperor at the time was Nero

This means that we have a responsibility; we are called to stand in breach to ask God not to bring judgement on those who deserve it (Ps 106:23, Ex 32:7-14)

                        We are watchmen Ez 22:30, 33:1-20

                        We are intercessors 1 Sam 12:23

                         But if we do not …, then we answer to God

Are we serious? If he is our LORD, we MUST pray!  Indeed, we must supplicate (1 Tim 2:1), so urge, beseech, implore!

Featuring: Rev Barry and Lynden Wittstock

The next St Patrick’s couple to highlight is the Rev and Mrs Barry Wittstock. Barry has been the Archdeacon of St Mark’s Anglican Church in Cambridge, East London, since 2006. During that time, he has also been involved with St Patrick’s, especially during the last few years. In fact, he is one of our two official marriage officers and has taken many weddings here. He plans to retire shortly to live in Hogsback where he has a house where his son stays. We have enjoyed the fact that he has been able to take services quite regularly. A bonus is that his wife, Lynden, is a superb pianist/organist and plays at services.

The wedding of Barry and Lynden at the Grahamstown Cathedral on 24 June 1978; Barry’s ordination at Holy Trinity Church, King William’s Town on 1^st June 1980, with his mother

Barry matriculated from George Randell High School in 1971 and gained his diploma in theology from St Paul’s College in Grahamstown. He has served in at least eight parishes in the Eastern Cape, starting with and ending at St Mark’s Cambridge. He went to Queenstown and returned there, Fort Beaufort where he was also responsible for St Patrick’s, Hogsback, Adelaide, Kidd’s Beach and Beacon Bay.  He was chaplain of many institutions. During this varied career Barry has got to know and been involved in many rural areas including being involved with Hogsback activities. He has been a part of Hogsback affairs as a landowner, a priest and has been on the board of the Hobbiton-on-Hogsback Association. During his career Barry has led social responsibility projects, been an invigilator for matriculation examinations, has led missions to other towns and many countries and has been involved with the training of ministers.

Barry, Barry’s brother, Rod holding Emily and Lynden; the Wittstock children Jonathan born in 1983 and Victoria born in 1981

 Lynden was brought up in Cradock where she went to St Peter’s Anglican Church. She studied nursing and has progressed to become a sister. Barry and Lynden married on 24 June 1978 at the Grahamstown Cathedral. Two years later, Barry was ordained at the Holy Trinity Church, King William’s Town on 1^st June 1980. They have two children: Victoria born in 1981 and Jonathan born in 1983. Victoria married Wesley Luff in 2003 and they have two children, giving Barry and Lynden two grandchildren studying at Stirling.  

The marriage of Victoria to Wesley Luff in 2003 at St Nicholas Church, Beacon Bay; the two grandchildren: Kiara and Kaylib in Stirling uniform

We thank Barry and Lynden for their service to St Patrick’s over many years and for their involvement in our activities.  We look forward to their retirement here at Hogsback in the near future and assure them that they will be much appreciated. 

Featuring: Tandy Makalima

Tandy Makalima with her daughter, Orienda, and grandson, Enkosi

Tandy Makalima’s father was a policeman at Hogsback. She was born on 1^st November 1970 in Auckland, went to the primary school and then Siyabonga High School where she matriculated. Her tertiary education was done at Fort Hare University where she gained a BSocSc in human resource management and a BComm Hons in industrial psychology. She has been working at Victoria Hospital in Alice since 1991. 

Tandy’s daughter is Orienda Makalima. She was born in Auckland on 3 July 1989. She went to the Auckland Primary School and then Nzululwazi High School in Alice to matriculate. She has a son, Enkosi, born 19 February 2014. The three of them live together and love spreading their wings by travelling. They have made trips to Aliwal North and to Cape Town where they loved going up Table Mountain, seeing the Waterfront, going by boat to Robben Island and eating seafood at Camps Bay, amongst other things. 

Tandy’s home in Auckland.  The family has lived in Auckland for generations, like so many other Mfengu people.  Tandy travels up from the valley for Sunday church services; here she chats to Norma during tea after service

Tandy posing; with friends including Hogsback; in traditional dress

Tandy is a star tug-of-war athlete. Here she is preparing for the tug-of-war; Tandy displays her award; friends celebrate Tandy’s award in the Games

The prestiguous Award ceremony; celebrating with friends

Tandy and daughter; three generations of the Makalimas beautifully dressed at The Edge

Travelling north!; playing in the snow at Hogsback

Tandy loves growing vegetables, eating them to keep her family healthy and selling them. Sometimes she brings her vegetables to sell at church.  

Enkosi in the vegetable garden; Enkosi eating his vegetables

Thank you, Tandy and family, for sharing your story with us and contributing to St Patrick’s church services. We love chatting to you after church services and hearing your news. We appreciate the dimension you bring to the congregation. 

Enkosi kakhulu 

Sermon By David Wiliams: Paul at Athens (Acts 17)

Readings

Ps 121,
Acts 17:16-34

Do you like travel? In fact we are all on a journey!  Paul was on a journey with a purpose; he wanted to spread the gospel (Matt 28:20).  On his second missionary journey he had to wait for his companions in Athens, but he was not idle – he could not waste precious time.

While there, Paul was provoked by the idolatry in the city.  That is like Jesus, who was sad about Jerusalem (Luke 13:34).  Paul was severely provoked; the word is very strong (paroxysm). How do you feel about unbelief?

Paul took every opportunity to share the good news, not just to the religious, but to any who would listen (Acts 17:17). Why? Like Jesus, out of love and compassion, but also out of obedience to God.  He was called to witness, both generally, like all Christians are told to, but specifically when he met Christ on the Damascus road (Acts 9).

After a while, Paul was given a specific opportunity – the Athenians always wanted to hear new ideas.  People were prepared to hear; are we as ready to listen, as in church?

Paul sought a point of contact with them, as I like to do with visual aids, things that are part of God’s creation.  He saw one in the many idols in the city.  What would he say here – many churches? Or perhaps that we also have many things we almost worship like idols!

Paul then pointed to God’s power (Is 42:5).  Because he knew God, he was not overawed by the audience, at the heart of what had been the intellectual centre of the world for centuries. And no doubt he knew the help and power of God.  Yet he also proclaimed that God is close to all, and in fact reveals by a human being, Jesus.

But Paul did not just inform and entertain, but announced that God demands repentance; there will be a judgement!

And Paul did not just give an interesting idea, but could say that God gave evidence; Jesus rose!  This is a feature of every Acts sermon. Are we sure of the evidence? Are we sure because we have met Him? Then we can tell with confidence.

There was a varied response (Acts 17:32) - belief, mocking, delaying.  Paul remained steadfast - God wants faithfulness