The prayer from Sunday's service.

Yesterday was Sunday.  Once a quarter I have the privilege of leading the intercessions during worship service.  I quite enjoy writing prayers, because I am not just writing what comes to mind--I am actively thinking about what to pray for and how to pray.  

Often, as I think about my family, my community and the world, words seem elusive. But, I praise God, because He interprets my desires, intentions and hopes.  

When I'm writing the intercessions for church, I know He is

inspiring and leading me.  I know that when the congregation hears and agrees, God's throne is filled with the incense of faith.  Not that single smokey wisp of a slender stick of incense, (which is my prayer), but rather a great plume of smoke that is passion, belief, hope and trust that our God is faithful to answer.  

With that in mind, it is my hope that your belief and prayers are added to this intercession, which I said yesterday.

Reader: Father, we lift our hearts to you

Response: Use us to touch the World.

In the power of the Holy Spirit, and in union with Jesus Christ, let us pray to the Father:

Father of Amazing Grace and love, your promise is to hear us when we pray through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord. 

Thank You, Father, for meeting with us today.  We lift up your body, The Church.  We pray for :

Arch Bishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby

Arch Bishop of York John Sentamu

Area Dean, Rod Cosh

We pray that they will lead the church prayerfully, with discernment, wisdom and creativity imagination?.

Robin & Juliet—for times of refreshment, rest, encouragement and wisdom and energy to use the many opportunities they will have to import experience and training to those they meet in Kenya.  We pray you will protect them as they travel. 

Bruce Russell and Colin Hartley as they fill in the gaps whilst Robin is away—that they will have grace and strength, and experience your healing Presence. 

Roger Witney-- We give thanks for his willingness to serves us during our search for a new music director and ask for your blessing on him.  Father, please bring ministers of music to our parish, to serve at St. Mary’s and Christ the Worker. 

We pray for Christian Unity in our parish, our country and the world.  Bless our ties with other congregations—Holy Family Church, the Free Church, and many smaller congregations who serve our community.  Grant that we would be one in vision and one in purpose—that of revealing Your love to the world. 

Reader: Father, we lift our hearts to you

Response: Use us to touch the World.

Father of Grace and Mercy, we pray for our Queen, Elizabeth.  (Thank You for blessing her with many years of good health, as she has sought to faithfully serve the nation.  Thank You for blessing her marriage to Prince Philip, serving as an example of commitment in marriage and family.)

We pray for our Prime Minister, the House of Commons and Members of Parliament, and the House of Lords.  Lord, You often guide us—even when we seem unaware of Your Presence.  (Raise up men of influence—like Ezra, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—to speak Godly wisdom to our leaders.)  We Pray that our government leaders will seek to have moral integrity, servant hearts and minds who seek wisdom as well as knowledge.

Reader: Father, we lift our hearts to you

Response: Use us to touch the World.

Almighty God, we pray for the world: 

South Sudan, Egypt, and Syria:  Once again we pray You would raise up “Men of Peace” and “Men of Influence”, who possess the skills of negotiation, arbitration and peace-making.  May these men and women seek to bring equity, justice and mutual respect for all parties involved; that cooperation will be established and all races, religions and ethnicities can live openly and freely together.  We pray the peace-makers will not weary, but that their strength will be renewed daily. 

We pray for the rebuilding of Haiti, as that country still struggles to establish an effective infrastructure.  Pray that missionaries who have been working long-term will find renewed vision, procure necessary resources to continue their work.

We pray for the rebuilding of the Philippines, Viet Nam and other countries damaged by the super typhoon, Haiyan.   We pray for those who grieve over the loss of family, friends, homes, businesses, and health.  Send those with a long-term vision to direct the work of aid workers and rally the local community to contribute what they can. 

Reader: Father, we lift our hearts to you

Response: Use us to touch the World.

Heavenly Father, we pray for our local community.  Make us aware of those around us who are lonely—and seek to become their friends.  Thank you for the many cultures and races represented in our community.  We ask that You help us to build bridges and better understanding between neighbours.

We pray for:

Langley Neighbourhood Forum—that you would raise up more people to contribute to the voice of Langley residents

Langley Community Coffee Shop—that friendships would deepen and flourish, that those who would benefit by attending would discover it and join the weekly meeting

Around Langley Magazine—that all those who contribute to its production, promotion and distribution would be encouraged.  We pray that those who read it will be inspired to build stronger community by becoming more involved in the many community service projects

Reader: Father, we lift our hearts to you

Response: Use us to touch the World.

Lord, Your Name is like ointment poured out.  We pray for those who need healing of spirit, healing of mind, healing of heart, healing of body.  

Loving Father, comfort those who grieve

The loss of a loved one

The loss of employment

The loss of health

Those experiencing divorce.

Provide faith, hope, courage and peace to them. 

Father, we thank You for the lives of those, in the faith, who have recently died.  Thank you for their faithful witness, their influence and their love.  With Christ, we remember them, as we partake of the gifts. 

Lord of heaven and earth, we commit ourselves into Your loving hands.

Merciful Father, Accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 

__________________________________________________

Serving Jesus, Author of our faith,

"Lady Helene"

 

 

A though from Proverbs about animals

King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 12:10: “The righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”  

There’s the sound of little feet scampering around as Sissy’s Chihuahua—Hannah—and one of the “Ginger Twins”—Sethra—play.  And I smile, because their antics include wrestling, rolling, nipping and licking.  Little Bit—a calico with big green eyes—sits on the dresser watching me.  Again I smile, this time directly at her.  I have to say my visit with my sister and Mom has been enriched by spending time with all the energetic personalities of these beautiful creatures. 

My sister’s passion for them has led her to have an understanding and commitment to them, to make their lives as good as she can.  For her, they are the children who will mature, but never leave home. 

Perhaps there are some of my readers who wonder why she doesn’t consider taking in foster children.  But the responsibility of caring for Mom was stressful enough—not to mention the expense of them. 

And in honesty, I think she stumbled into caring for stray cats.  Feeding an extra cat costs less than sponsoring a child through Compassion or Feed the Children or providing a home for a foster child. 


But more than that, feral cats play a part in maintaining the ecological environments of local areas.  Did you know that besides eating small rodents and reptiles (snakes, lizards and geckos), cats will also eat large bugs?  They help to prevent over-population of birds in some areas.  Feral cat colonies are usually made of family groupings and establish a territory based upon the availability of food and shelter.  The colony Sissy recently adopted includes a mother and two of her grown kittens. 


Local Humane Societies urge concerned local residents to get involved by becoming caregivers which provides an opportunity to create a managed feral cat colony.  Caregivers monitor the colony primarily by feeding the cats.  However, they also help to apprehend the cats, so that the health of the felines can be evaluated, vaccinations administered, sick cats treated, and veterinarians then sterilise them.  This prevents the cats from over-populating an area. 

I was shocked to learn that cats as young as six months can go into heat.  If they do not mate, they can go into heat every two weeks!  Often this means that these young female cats are kittens themselves, and turn out to become under-nourished, aggressive and prolific breeders.  Caregivers often work with Humane Societies and other local cat sanctuaries to provide what is called “Trap-Neuter-Return” services. 

          If a kitten is caught young enough, they can be adopted into homes—and make wonderful pets.  Sometimes stray cats, those who were previously domesticated but have become lost or been abandoned, join a cat colony.  If these cats are found by a caregiver, they can be rescued and placed into new homes. 

          Cats who are too wild for adoption are returned to their original habitat.  The benefit of this is that it allows caregivers to maintain a healthy colony in an established area.  When a territory is evacuated by removing the original cat colony, a vacuum is created.  However, the vacuum only creates a place for more wild, unsterilized cats to come.

          The benefit of the “Trap-Neuter-Return” programme is that the lives of feral cats are improved by preventing prolific reproduction.  This in turn provides better feeding and shelter options for the cats in the colony.  Public health is protected because returned cats have been vaccinated against feline leukaemia, distemper and other contagious cat diseases.  “TNR” is more cost efficient than capturing feral cats that are held until they are killed and later disposed of; a cost of less than half. 

TNR was brought to the U.S. from Europe and the U.K. during the 1980s. The practice of TNR grew rapidly in the 1990s when Alley Cat Allies began providing information and assistance to people caring for feral cats who recognized that their numbers must be controlled and reduced through sterilization. In communities where TNR is widely embraced, feral cat numbers have dropped. TNR programs operate largely or entirely through the dedicated efforts of committed volunteers.” http://www.floridacatrescue.com/glossary.html


As I said in the previous post, my admiration of my sister has grown.  Daily she demonstrates patience, persistence and kindness to these little souls who have refuge under my sister’s roof.  She has explained it to me that although they are not human, they deserve to be treated with respect. 

“Then the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you?  Or thirsty and give you drink?  When did we see you a stranger and took You in?  Or when did we see you sick and come to you?  And the King shall answer and say, Verily, I say, Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto Me.”  (Matthew 25:37-40) 

Sissy has often said that this is her heart.  I think Jesus and St. Francis would agree. 

Serving Jesus, Author of our faith,
Lady Helene
Blog Regarding the life of animals...Proverbs 12:10 Saturday, 07 April 2012

A mission of mercy

 My sister has a way with cats.  This is an ironic twist from our childhood days when we thought that cats were definitely not to be had as pets.  After all, we were a dog family! 

I don’t remember the first dog our family had, as I was a baby.  There are photographs of my older brother, myself as a baby and a dog in an over-stuffed chair.  Charming. 
The next dog we owned was a white Alsatian named Fluffy.  She was wonderful—loved children, was very gentle with us and very clever.  However, the neighbourhood children were afraid of her because she had a tendency to jump up on them and knock them over.  So we had to find her a new home. 

Then there was Humphrey, a mix of German shepherd and something else.  He was a medium –sized dog, also extremely clever.  One day, while Humphrey was still a puppy, a kitten showed up.  She was grey-striped and I actually convinced my Dad to keep her.  I named her Tiger.  She loved to get drinks from the bathroom sink.  She was a cat that thought she was a dog—and I think that in part was due to the fact that we raised her with Humphrey.  They were best friends.  However, right before we moved from California to Indiana, Tiger was poisoned.  I was very sad. 

In 1970, we had a wonderful Christmas.  My dad brought home a tiny puppy, whom he had already named Mini—because she fit in the palm of his hand.  She came home with him in his jacket pocket.  The red bow around her neck was bigger than she was; her diminutive size came from being a rat-terrier/pincher mix.  She was all black, with tan eyebrow, and feet, with a white spot on her chest.  She had been born on Halloween.  We had her the longest of any dog we owned—15 years. 

All this to say that for the most part, our loyalty lay with dog ownership.  That is until about 10 years ago when my sister purchased a tiny yellow kitten and named him Syeman.  You should see him now—at 18 pounds!  

Now there are 11—yes eleven—cats in the flat.  This gets back to my sister having a way with cats.  Syeman was a playful, intelligent fellow.  He would even go on a leash; this was helpful when Mom and Sissy began taking trips to Florida as they prepared to move from Indiana’s cold winters to Florida’s year-round warmth.  One day they stopped at a rest stop, and acquired another kitten.  She was named Maggie.  She had a very rough beginning, so she was shy as well as skittish.  But Sissy & Syeman nurtured her, so that she eventually relaxed into the family. 

After buying a house on the west coast of Florida, Sissy found a local vet.  It was through the local vet that Livia was acquired.  Mom was adamant—she didn’t want another cat!  Well, so much for what Mom wanted, as Livia—who became “Little Bit” (and eventually “Bit”) decided that she was going to be Mom’s companion.  As you know, cats pick their people—and Mom was “Stuck” with Little Bit.  It didn’t take much winning over.

As time went by, Sissy became aware of feral cats in the neighbourhood.  She began feeding them and over a two-year period, she befriended a tuxedo cat, whom she named Preacher.  The first time she saw Preacher, all she saw was a pair of green eyes and a white spot.  Then she heard him meow.  Sissy was gentle, soft-spoken and patient, intent on being able to touch him—stroking and petting him.  Eventually she invited him into the house.  Preacher had been on the streets for good while.  His defencive, survival-instincts eventually mellowed.  Now he is a love sponge—giving as much as he gets.  He lives up to his name, acting like a pastor to all the cats. She calls him the "Godfather".  :-) 
Along with Preacher, a tiny black cat gained Sissy’s attention.  Because she was so small and young, Sissy named her Bambina—because she called all her cats “Baby”.  Black as coal, with deep emerald eyes, Bina used to make sure the other cats kept their distance by giving them “The eye”.   That look was scary even to me!  She rarely came out from under the bed except to eat, or lay on top of my sister for affection.  And Sissy was the only one who could touch her.  In the last year she has mellowed to the point of being genial, and allowing me to rub her tummy. 

Just about the time Sissy thought she was done, two neighbourhood cats learned how to use the cat flap to get into my sister’s home.  Gracie and Charlie came right in and made themselves part of the family.   Gracie was a grey tiger-stripped, with an unpretentious and funny disposition.  She was always good for a laugh.  Charlie is a black tuxedo cat as well—maybe one of Preacher’s progeny.  Charlie can shows signs of jealousy when she wants affection.  And she tends to be a bit of a loner.  Yet she is a loyal little girl.  I was with her at the time, and Charlie adopted me!  Boy was I surprised, as I’d done nothing to encourage her.

Although they were “owned” by a family down the street, they preferred being in my sister’s place.  My sister moved from that house into an apartment.  When we moved, we tried to return Charlie and Gracie to the other family.  But they never settled back in—so we brought Charlie to the new place.  However, Gracie was spooked by carriers, and we just couldn’t get her.  From the last we knew, Gracie went back to being feral.

In November 2009, Sissy & Mom moved into the current place.  Last year Sissy began feeding a colony feral cats.  Very slowly she began building a relationship with the cats—naming them. 

In October, she brought in a tiny ginger kitten, who had a respiratory infection.  She named her, Sethra Rose.  After three weeks of being sequestered in the bathroom, Diane let Sethra out.  She is  all kitten, running, climbing, playing and making us laugh at her antics!  Hannah loves playing with her.  
 
Sethra’s brother is Jeb Lee, a slightly bigger version of Sethra.  Their mother is a mottled coloured cat named Brendal.  CC is a grey tabby cat, who is very laid back.  Sissy seems to think CC may have been previously owned and either abandoned or he’s gotten lost.  Miss Kitty is a tiny grey tabby cat as well.  Miss Kitty has had at least two litters of kittens in her very short life—and Sissy managed to get Miss Kitty into a carrier and take her to the vet before she had another.  And finally, there is Blue—an dark grey who is kind of a smoky-blue colour, with huge yellow eyes.  This month Sissy has managed to get Jeb Lee, Brendal, CC, Miss Kitty to the vets for spay and neutering.  Blue and Sethra are next on the list. 

While she loves all these cats, Sissy knows that the practicality of keeping eleven cats and one Chihuahua is expensive, emotionally and hygienically stressful.  So our project is to get photos of the newest foster kitties to put them up for adoption.  It will be heart-breaking to say good-bye as they are all loveable characters with their own idiosyncrasies.  But Sissy knows it is best for them.

I plan to post photos of some of the cats in the following days.  

Serving Jesus, Author of our faith,
"Lady Helene" 

A "Right Minded" Woman...

        What person in her right mind would want to spend six weeks rowing a boat across the Atlantic Ocean?  Nothing to do all day but pull oars, fight waves, ache from fatigue and hope you’re staying on coarse.  And then there is the weather...will there be storms, squalls, or overbearing heat and sun?  Will the rest of the team—five other women—get along with each other?  Will the friendships grow, strengthen or will there be disagreements and resentments? 

        But then, that’s what passion does...it has a way of over-riding the left-sided logic of the mind and light the flame of imagination.  So really, it would take a “Right-minded Visionary” to take up a daunting task that is most obviously going to take courage, lots of preparation, tenacity and plain hard work to achieve.  

        Julia Immonen is a “Right-Minded” young lady who passionately hates the damage that human trafficking imposes on vulnerable women and children—some as young as four years old.  Through prayer and research, Julia made a plan and then began to seek out others to get involved.  The plan became Row for Freedom.  http://www.rowforfreedom.com/

      If My Midnight Man weren’t suffering from chronic back pain, he’d love to be a part of the team pulling oars across the Atlantic.  Because we’ve been acquainted with Julia’s parents for many years, MMM was aware of Julia’s goal in its early days.  For months MM Man has given me updates about her progress—how she’s recruited five other women to row with her.  She has gotten sponsors on board and has constantly trained to make this project one that educates people about the horrors of human trafficking and encourage others to “...use whatever’s in your hand to make a difference to change the world..one person at a time.”

        That’s why I wanted to write about Julia Immonen and her team of ordinary women—ages 22 to 31—who  are taking on a task that goes beyond Olympic proportions.  After all, most Olympic performances last less than 10 minutes—with exceptions like marathons.  But Julia and her team will be rowing day-after-day, everyday for bout six weeks (35-45 days).  Even the Olympic don’t last six weeks!  It’s passion that drives Julia and her friends to challenge nature, themselves and the status quo.  Julia loves Jesus Christ.  Julia loves people.  Julia loves justice, mercy, compassion.  I hope you will follow the link to her website.  More than that, I pray that you will pray for Julia and her team.  Maybe you’ll be led to become a supporter. 

        Each time we buy a Fair Trade item, we fight slavery in foreign countries.  By following Julia’s example, maybe each of us can find a way to make a contribution to the end of Human Trafficking.  

Serving Jesus, Author of our faith,  "Lady Helene"