Thought of the month
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world!
Anne Frank
Genesis 1: 31 "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day".
Born in 1885, composer and Christian, George Butterworth joined the army in 1914 and was killed at a one of the battles of the Somme in 1916 at the age of 31. His body was never recovered.
In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other:
“Do you believe in life after delivery?” The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”
“Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”
The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”
The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible, and eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”
The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”
The first replied, “Nonsense, and moreover if there is life, then why has no one has ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable, if Mother exists then where is She now?”
The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her, it is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”
To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and you really listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”
We invite you to join us at the Chapel on Zoom!
Join us on Sunday evenings at 6-15 pm when we have our Service live for you to join in at 6-30pm. Just log in to;
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4107830582?pwd=Nkd0UlpWaDBjOE1DZmdhRThOU2RLdz09
Meeting ID: 410 783 0582 Passcode: Fay
We would love to have you join us sometimes!
Even more so if you are in a different part of the country or even the world!
Is your time limited by everyday constraints?
Life today can for many be hectic, stressful and noisy and often those that would like to and need to attend a Church service or even visit a Church for a few minutes to experience a space of healing peace are unable.
For those that are in this situation we will be including thoughts, reflections and music, and please be aware that the members of Ashburnham Chapel are praying that God's Blessings will be with you and that His peace will surround you.
Proverbs 13:8-10
A person’s riches may ransom their life, but the poor cannot respond to threatening rebukes. The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
There are, perhaps, very often times when we can feel dissatisfied with our lives while so many others can but dream of living it.
If wealth was the secret of happiness then the rich should be dancing on the street, but only the poor do that.
If power was the guarantee of security then high officials would walk unguarded, that is not the case, but those that live humbly sleep soundly.
If beauty, good looks and fame were the guarantee of perfect relationships then celebrities would have the best marriages yet this seems to be rarely the situation.
Live simply, walk humbly and let your love be genuine.
Galatians 5:22: The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.
The Christian Way of Living
There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.
“Why sir,” said the farmer, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”
So is with our lives. Those who live a Christian life meaningfully and well must enrich the lives of others, for the value of a Christian life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be a Christian must help others, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all...