Kampala

It’s gorilla and primate territory, so I should fit in quite well. Kabale has an astonishing story of physical and spiritual development over the last 90 years from a place with no infrastructure at all to a source of healthcare, education, commerce and Christian revival (key figures include Dr Leonard Sharp & Bishop Festo Kivingere an evangelist expelled by Idi Amin who eventually returned to lead the diocese. Below you can find a rough guide to my itinerary, prayer requests and hopefully some blog updates from Uganda if it is possible for e-mails to get through.’

Thursday 9th & 10th September

Overnight flight to Entebbe Airport, Kampala and meeting with members of the Church of Uganda

Saturday September 11th

Travel approx 300km south to Mbarara and then 150km to Kabale (the main town in Kigezi diocese). Mainly potholes, occasional roads.

Sunday September 12th

Worship and preaching in Kabale Cathedral

Monday 13th -Thursday 16th September

Meetings with Bishop George, Canon Stanley and others and visits to secondary schools and hospitals with lots of impromptu preaching and speaking.

Friday 17th September

Drive to Fort Portal

Saturday 18th- September 20th

Drive to the Masindi/Kitara Diocese, folllowed by two days of visits, particularly to an education project linked to the Bristol Diocesan Board of Education.

Tuesday 21st -Wednesday 22nd

Rest and mini-safari (me vicar, you gorilla)

Thursday 23rd

Drive to Entebbe for flight home the next day

Please pray for whatever ever you wish, and possibly…

• Marilyn and the girls in Malmesbury
• inspired preaching,
• an awareness of the Spirit’s prompting in all things,
• health and safe travel,
• new stronger relationships as I learn from the Ugandan church,
• for me not to be a totally useless photographer.

The African Children’s Choir™ is made up of some of the neediest and most vulnerable children in their countries. Many have lost one or both parents to poverty or disease. The Choir helps these children break away from the everyday cycle of poverty and hopelessness. While touring with the Choir, the children are exposed to a world of new possibilities. Chaperones, host communities and caring professionals share their wide variety of experience with the children, exposing them to many new ideas and encouraging them to dream. After returning to Africa, the African Children’s Choir™ provides care and education that builds on the unique international exposure the children experienced abroad. The children receive a quality education, leadership training and spiritual ministry at the Music for Life Primary School in Kampala, or at other well-equipped schools in their respective countries.

More information at http://africanchildrenschoir.com

For those of you who are curious as to what is coming up in our future Abbey series a sneak preview of what is provisionally planned: This autumn we hope to study 1 Corinthians together which will probably challenge us on a number of ethical and spiritual levels; from Advent to Easter our focus will be Matthew’s gospel, Christ’s birth, life, death & resurrection; at Easter we hope to have a series on Ephesians shaped by Eugene Peterson’s new book Practice Resurrection; and then after Pentecost in summer 2011 (yes we do plan that far ahead!) we return to the Old Testament for a look at the powerful prophetic ministries of Elijah & Elisha (from 1 & 2 Kings).

Rev Lee Barnes, curate at the Abbey will be ordained priest on Saturday July 3rd at Bristol Cathedral at 3.30pm. Members of the Malmesbury & Upper Avon group are very welcome to attend, although the service is long and not easy for young children. Lee will be presiding at Holy Communion in the Abbey the next morning at 10.30am.

Rev James Pettit who was on the staff here for 4 years and is now curate at St Mary of Charity, Faversham will be ordained priest at St Mary’s on July 4th at 10.30am.

Rev Toby Crowe from St James Alperton who has been on placement with us for the last month will be ordained priest by Rt Rev Pete Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden, on Saturday 3rd July at 10.30am.

And finally the Rev Eve Pegler who has been serving as curate of the Gauzebrook Group for the last three years and was very much a part of our Holy Week Festival and our Gospel Choir leaves the diocese with her husband Jerome to become Team Vicar in the Shaftesbury Team in Dorset. She will be licensed by the Bishop of Sherborne at 7.30pm on July 21st.

Please remember them all in your prayers and get along to support if you can.

On the 21st the Kings Concert perform Purcell, Vivaldi and Handel at 7.30pm; on Saturday at 11am the Russian violinist Sergey Krylov performs unaccompanied Bach and Paganini; and then on Saturday at 7.30pm the London Chamber Orchestra, with Krylov, perform Mozart and Haydn in the presence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. A flyer with more details will be available very shortly in the Abbey. Tickets (which range from £5-£50) are available, from March 22nd, solely from Prelude Records in Norwich on 01603 628319.

Well done to the young people of TRAX, FNT and Piepline who baked cakes and sold them at the Abbey last Sunday to raise money for the Haiti Earthquake appeal. £267 was raised and it will be banked tomorrow morning in the DEC’s bank account.

Reports of the earthquake in Haiti this week have left us all with the deeply shocking news that tens of thousands may be dead and approximately 3 million lives affected. As international relief teams continue to arrive in Port-au-Prince it’s good to remember that we can play our own part in this relief effort. First in prayer for the people, governmental leaders and the church of Haiti. Also by financial donation to the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) on 0370 60 60 900 or online at DEC donate_now. The DEC represents 13 humanitarian agencies including Save the Children, CAFOD, WorldVision and Christian Aid. Below is Christian Aid’s prayer for Haiti:

A prayer for Haiti

Loving God of creation,
at this time of devastation
we hold before you the people of Haiti.
When the damage is unimaginable,
and the suffering seems overwhelming,
remind us that every person affected
is loved, honoured and precious in your sight.
We remember all those who have been hurt;
all who have lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones.
Work through us to bring healing
to broken and distorted lives,
peace to those who have been thrown into despair,
light to those in darkness,
and hope to those who fear.
We ask this in the name of Jesus
in whom all life and grace is found.
Amen

Following the huge success of last year’s event we are once more transforming Malmesbury Abbey into a Skate Park for three days in the February half term. There will be an Ash Wednesday communion followed by the opening of the park, for more details please see our Programme or for further info go to “Facebook.com/abbeyskate” or contact us on skate@malmesburyabbey.com

This year we will have three days of skating courtesy of Christian Skaters UK, with sessions for beginners /girls only / and of course sessions for the more experienced skaters of which there is a large community in Malmesbury. We are also planning to hold dance workshops with visiting instructors and Beatbox workshops with TyTe (the Rev Gavin Tyte) who is the developer of the world’s first online beatboxing tutorials and a significant member of the beatboxing community. There will also be a café (with, amongst other things, special hot chocolates to buy!) open throughout the day, a spirituality space and music to skate to!

TyTe (the Rev Gavin Tyte)

The whole event is run professionally and with appropriate risk assessments taken. Each skate session and each workshop costs £2 payable on the door – and you will need to bring along your liability waiver (print one from link below)–signed by your parents (if you are under 18). If you would like to book for a Skate session or for one of the workshops please fill out one of our registration forms from the link below. It is not necessary to book beforehand, but it is the only way to guarantee a place.

If you cannot skate or rollerblade do not worry, you are very welcome to come and experience this event within the ancient and tranquil surroundings of the Abbey. Last year young and old enjoyed the event and the Abbey was returned to normal by Saturday morning with no damage thanks to an amazing crew of volunteers!

We are all excited at the Abbey and look forward to seeing you there!!

How to signup for a skate and/or workshop:

Sign Up online Here (closed)

You will also need a SIGNED Liability Waiver form

Programme

Download Poster BIG / Small

Links

Have a look and add to the Abbey Skate Spotify Playlist
Christian Skaters UK
Christian Surfers UK
TyTe Bio
beatboxing tutorial DVD

I always thought it wasn’t ‘cool’ to be a Christian, and that my friends getting up to no good were the cool ones. But the journey from there to me getting in the pool and being baptised was a slow and very gradual one. There was not one ‘Road to Damascus’ moment, but many, many little things that brought me to Jesus. Most of them I never realised until afterwards, sometimes a long time afterwards.

But now I can say that my friends in the congregation who came to the Baptism service, each one has given me at least one of those moments, through something they said or did, or just through the example they give in their own lives. They are the coolest people I know.

I have been blessed so much, with a wonderful wife and two lovely daughters, and food, warmth, safety and friendship. I have seen how God has helped my wife Clare and she has come through such loss and pain a stronger, happier and more wonderful person than ever through faith. Her transformation has transformed my life too.

I wanted to get baptised because I wasn’t as a child, and God found me and I knew it was something I had to do. It was an amazing, uplifting experience, which I am still glowing from, weeks afterwards.

By Tristan Cork