General Chat

Something a bit like Sylvia's message - Hope its appropriate.

I spent some time in Texas (Dallas & Fort Worth ) in 1986 - things were not too bad. There were still places you didnt go if you were a different colour to the people there. There was still some segregation & I was very young and naive.

Being from the UK and living in an area not use to that sort of thing it was very alien, everyone used the same transport, went to the same places together and so on..

Having no car i used the bus a lot. When the friend i was staying with heard that she was so shocked she looked like a ghost. She said to me "In future if you want to go to the cities i will take you by car or one of the family will, Only hired help, maids and B****s use the bus not well brought up W**** people" Which really shocked me. I had noticed a few reactions on the bus but just put i down to me being English with a funny accent and no suntan yet.

I was wandering around Fort Worth one day on my own looking for small book shops. I saw several book shops on the other side of a wide road, so just wandered across on the crossing and into the alleyways. Spent at least an hour going in and out the bookshops. Didn't notice anything in particular.

Unknown to me I managed to just stroll into a part of town I should not have been in. When i emerged from this lovely little bookshop, when i manged to find a few out of print books i wanted. I was met by 4 very large B**** men who didnt really look that friendly.

"What you doing down here, you looking for trouble"
I said no, sorry i was just looking for some books.
They huddled together muttering - one came even closer, I neraly stepped back in the shop.
"You foreign" "Yes i am here on holiday staying with some friends "
Back into the huddle They all came towards me again "dont you knwo you shouldnt be down her - No Whites allowed here, you come to poke fun at us"

I said no certainly not i jsut wanted some books. "We going to take you back to your own area" Your sort dont come thsi side unless to make trouble"

They sort of escorted me back to the road - then he said "we cant cross thats not our area -

They stood watching me as i walked across the road.

A shopkeeper came out of a clothes shop and asked me if i need the police as he was going to report trouble. I said no its ok - they were only sending me back. He then gave me a map of the safe areas & told me where not to go.

I certainly learnt a lesson that day. I hope its changed now and everyone can walk where they want. One day I will go back there, I loved it so much..

Good afternoon.... :-)

Sorry, I got carried away...................... :-D


The work of the Holy Spirit...

Think of a glove. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when we put our hand in it, the glove can do many things. Actually though, it is not the glove, it is our hand in the glove that makes it work. The Christian is like a glove. It is the Holy Spirit (the hand) who does the work. We need to make room in our lives for the Holy Spirit so that we can do God’s work.

Lord, help us to be open to your Holy Spirit.

Cx :-)

Good morning :-)


No problem Sylvia - it's a dire situation whichever way we look at it. When will we ever learn? :-(



The Walk of the Christian

A father and son arrived in a small western town looking for an uncle whom they had never seen. Suddenly, the father, pointing across the square to a man who was walking away from them, exclaimed, “There goes my uncle!”
His son asked, “How do you know when you have not seen him before?”
“Son, I know him because he walks exactly like my father.”

So, may we walk in the Spirit in the steps of the Father. Amen.


Cx :-)

I have only one thing to say about what is happening below the line at the moment .............

no-one has done anything for far too long.

Personal experience ................... we were warned to keep out of certain areas in Austin back in July 1968 because the Black community would (not COULD but WOULD) explode if the temperatures reached 100F. Rioting would be rampant against the living conditions, and "whities" would be in harm's way. The Greyhound Station just happened to be in the centre of one of those areas, and we had young relations arriving in town by Greyhound. We would not be safe even though we were close friends with a Black couple who were well-known in the community.

Luckily things didn't explode, the relatives arrived safely, and we very gladly left town shortly after. But that was 52 years ago.

Things have gone from bad to worse, with only slight improvements from time to time, and many black people have been killed.

Hopefully, this time MIGHT be different as "whities" are seen front and centre in protests. Unfortunately there is someone in charge who should never have been put in that position, and who is desperate to get re-eleced in November.

Unfortunately his voting base is likely to be cheering current events, and applauding him.

Don't just say how bad it is, try to think of ways that it can be stopped .............. in the US, in Canada, in your own countries, and your towns. It does happen everywhere, and many of us are to blame by basically turning a blind eye to it all, until "next time".

In Canada, it is Blacks and First Nations.



sorry, Cynthia. Rant over!

Good morning :-)


Absolutely David. Dreadful, dreadful things happening over there, and don't even get me started on a certain person outside a church holding a bible. He looked at it as though he had never seen one before!!!


Listening for the Holy Spirit

Before refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve their food. Icehouses had thick walls, no windows and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the icehouses and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer.

One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn’t find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch.

Amazed, the men asked him how he found it.

‘I closed the door,’ the boy replied, ‘lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.’”

Often, we do not hear God speak to us because we do not listen well enough.

Lord help us to learn to listen to you speaking to us. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello, good morning :-) <3

Dreadful responses in US to the death / murder of George Floyd :-( :-(

Hello all

An interesting little story. Amen to today's posting.

Happy Tuesday blessings everyone. Stay safe

Good morning :-)


Thinking of Pentecost - The Power Must Be Used

Many years ago, a young missionary, Herbert Jackson, was given a car to help him in his work. The car was a major asset, but it had one difficulty—it would not start without a push or a jump-start. Jackson devised a system to cope with the car’s inability to start. When he was ready to leave his home, he went to a nearby school and asked permission to bring some of the children out of class to help him push-start his car.

Throughout the day, he was careful to always park on a hill or to leave his engine running when he stopped for short visits. For two years the young missionary used what he believed was an ingenious method to enable him to use the car.

When poor health forced the Jackson family to leave the field, a new missionary arrived to lead the mission. When Jackson explained to the new missionary his methods for starting the car, the young man opened the hood and began inspecting. “Why, Dr. Jackson,” he interrupted, “I believe the only trouble is a loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, pushed the switch, and the engine roared to life.

For two years, Dr. Jackson had used his own devices and endured needless trouble. The power to start the car was there all the time—it only needed to be connected.

Lord, help us to be connected to your Holy Spirit in our lives. Amen.


Cx :-)

Hello all

Holy spirit, we welcome you
Holy spirit, we welcome you

Move amongst us with holy fire
As we lay aside our earthly desire
Hands reach out and spirits aspire
Holy spirit, holy spirit, holy spirit
We welcome you.

Have a Happy Monday and stay safe everyone x

Good morning :-)


School songs, mottos, blazers......what memories eh? My school song was Non Nobis Domine - Not unto us O Lord....it sprang into my mind when Vera mentioned that lovely hymn.

Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday – when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit’s Work in Our Lives

The story is told about a little boy who was flying a kite. It was a windy day, and the kite kept going higher and higher. Finally it got so high that it was out of sight. A man passed by and saw the little boy holding onto the string. The man could not see the kite, and he asked the boy, “How do you even know you have a kite up there?” The boy replied, “Because I can feel it.”

Although we cannot see the Holy Spirit, we know the Holy Spirit is working through us when we are drawn to Christ.

Lord, help us to be open to your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Cx :-)

Hello all

Vera I remember that well as we also sang this at school assembly..... happy days indeed.

In the past I've spent many Pentecost weekends at Mount St Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire at retreats for this very special Christian time of year.

Good afternoon all

Gracious Spirit, Holy Ghost
Taught by Thee we covet most
Of Thy gifts at Pentecost
Holy, heavenly love

The words of this hymn are engraved on my brain as it was our school hymn and sung on the first and last day of every term. The reading on those days was 1 Corinthians 13 (Though I speak with the tongues of men etc) and our school motto was “Amor vincit omnia” - love conquers all. As my school had been founded by one of the livery companies their motto of “Serve and obey” was on our blazer badges and hat bands. The theme of service and love ran right through my time at the school.

Happy days :-)

Good morning :-)

Today we celebrate Pentecost, that special time when the Holy Spirit filled the Church with power and added 3,000 new believers. Pentecost falls 10 days after Ascension Day.

During baptism preparation classes, we are reminded that the shape of a bishop's mitre symbolises the flames of fire which were said to descend onto the heads of the disciples when the Holy Spirit came.

The Collect (special prayer for today).
God, who as at this time
taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
grant us by the same Spirit
to have a right judgement in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour. Amen.


The Gospel for today :
John 20:19-23 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the LORD. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Cx :-)

Hello all

I've loved being reminded of the amazing lady
Corrie ten Boom, so thank you for posting Cynthia.

Happy 1st Birthday wishes for Emma's gt granddaughter little Connie, she is sure to have a lovely birthday and be totally unaware of Covid 19!!

Keep safe/well and enjoy the good weather today X

Good morning :-)


Thank you for the birthday wishes. A strange day but it went well, all things considered. <3

Pat, there is no rush for the churches to re-open here as yet :-(

and finally.......


In 1977, at age 85, Corrie ten Boom moved to Placentia, California. The next year, she suffered a series of strokes that left her paralyzed and unable to speak. She died on her 91st birthday, April 15, 1983. Her passing on this date evokes the Jewish traditional belief that states that only specially blessed people are granted the privilege of dying on the date they were born.



“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
—Corrie ten Boom



Love to all. Cx :-)

Hello all

Happy birthday Cynthia, I hope today has gone as well as it could for you this year. X

Happy Birthday, Cynthia

love and hugs to you from here xxxx

Happy Birthday Cynthia <3

Happy Birthday Cynthia.

How lovely that your family can be with you today.
That will be so special for you all.

Happy Birthday Cynthia. :-D <3

We are nearly back to normal here so the bells will be ringing on Sunday. Services with social distancing here.