Holy Cross Anglican Church Empangeni

Holy Cross Anglican Church Empangeni Services -Sundays at 0700 and 0800(family service) and Thursdays at 1000.. St Thomas (Felixton ) at 1000 on Sundays

02/03/2022

ASH WEDNESDAY 2022

Ash Wednesday gives us a chance to reflect on ways in which we have hurt God’s people and damaged God’s world – both in the things we have done and in the things we have failed to do. It is a time to confess our part in contributing to environmental degradation through our behaviours and lifestyle.

As a global family we are reeling at scenes of destruction in Ukraine and the recent report from IPCC which shows clearly the great damage climate change will cause to the most vulnerable, our hearts are broken with lament.

As we ‘repent and believe the good news’ it is a chance to commit ourselves anew to take action, to commit ourselves to 40 ‘little acts of good’. These 'small acts of good' become our acts of living hope in the face of sometimes overwhelming despair

Creator God, we marvel that we are made from the dust of the earth, intimately connected and uniquely purposed within your creation. Yet we confess that we have polluted this planet with sin and soot, dirtying the world with unclean fuels and burning forests to ash. We have disconnected ourselves from our relationship to this planet; our actions and lifestyle choices have caused hurt to our neighbours near and far.
Lord have mercy.

(Adapted from Living Lent)

27/01/2022

Mark your calendars!

14/10/2021

YOUR PRIEST

The one to whom everyone explains his problems, but who generally has no one to explain theirs to.
The one who lifts others up when they fall, but who they sink when he stumbles.
One who helps others to get up from their mistakes but who has no right to make mistakes.
The one who forgives everything they say and do, but who generally never forgives a word or an act.
The one who prays for everyone and for whom almost no one really prays.
The one who must pray for everyone to be happy and blessed, but who has no right to make his family happy.
Finally, you do not realize that he works all the time, that he sleeps late, that he carries the weight of their souls, the weight of the responsibility of their lives, that he worries about their problems every time, prays that they have a life happy and calm, he has many people around him, but in reality he IS ALONE.
He sometimes gets depressed in front of you, without anyone noticing!
He cannot have a simple life, he is expected to constantly be a model and example of life when he talks, walks, dresses ...
Everybody thinks that God takes care of him, so nobody cares about him ...
Perhaps they have never realized that the one who teaches them the Gospel every Sunday is a HUMAN BEING, with virtues and defects.
Remember that you are true men of God and pray that you always remain in the truth.

Let's not forget to pray for the Priests.

01/09/2021

The COMPASS ROSE FLAG of the Anglican Communion was designed in 1954 by Canon Edward N. West of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York for the Second International Anglican Congress in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The Compass Rose was modernized in 1988 and the new design was laid into the floor of Canterbury Cathedral during the Twelfth Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops.

At the centre of the circular emblem is the Cross of St George, a reminder of the origins of the Anglican Communion, and a link unifing the past to the Communion today. Encircling the cross is a band bearing the inscription, "The Truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)

It is written in the original New Testament Greek, the traditional language of scholarship within the Anglican Communion.

From the band radiate the points of the compass. The compass symbolizes the worldwide spread of the Anglican Faith. Surmounting the shield, at the North, is a mitre, the symbol of apostolic order essential to all Churches and Provinces constituting the Anglican Communion.

The design was adapted with the colors of blue and gold and made into a flag by Canadian-born priest, Father Andrew Notere.
The Archbishop of Canterbury received the first flag at Lambeth Palace in December 1990, and the flag was officially inaugurated at the Meeting of the Primates of the Communion in Belfast in April 1991.

29/11/2020

THE PURPOSE AND SYMBOLISM OF THE ADVENT WREATH

Advent, which begins the Church’s liturgical year, began on Sunday, December 1. Advent encompasses the four Sundays and weekdays leading up to the celebration of Christmas. The Advent season is a time of preparation for our hearts and minds for the anniversary of the Lord’s birth on Christmas. We celebrate Advent by putting up an Advent Wreath and lighting candles each week. The use of the wreath and candles during Advent are a longstanding Catholic tradition that was originally adopted by Christians in the Middle Ages as part of their spiritual preparation for Christmas.
The wreath and candles are full of symbolism tied to the Christmas season. The wreath itself, which is made of various evergreens, signifies continuous life. The circle of the wreath, which has no beginning or end, symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul, and the everlasting life we find in Christ.
Even the individual evergreens that make up the wreath have their own meanings that can be adapted to our faith. The laurel signifies victory over persecution and suffering. The pine, holly, and yew signify immortality and the cedar signifies strength and healing. The pine cones that decorate the wreath symbolize life and resurrection. The wreath as a whole is meant to remind us of both the immortality of our souls and God’s promise of everlasting life to us through Christ.
The candles also have their own special significance. The four candles represent the four weeks of Advent, and one candle is lit each Sunday. Three of the candles are purple because the color violet is a liturgical color that signifies a time of prayer, penance, and sacrifice.

The first candle, which is purple, symbolizes HOPE. It is sometimes called the “Prophecy Candle” in remembrance of the prophets, especially Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ. It represents the expectation felt in anticipation of the coming Messiah.

The second candle, also purple, represents LOVE (faith). It is called the “Bethlehem Candle” as a reminder of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

The third candle is pink and symbolizes JOY. It is called the “Sheperd’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is a liturgical color for joy. The third Sunday of Advent is Gaudete Sunday and is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus, as well as the joy that the faithful have reached the midpoint of Advent.

On the fourth week of Advent, we light the final purple candle to mark the final week of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of our Savior. This final candle, the “Angel’s Candle,” symbolizes PEACE. It reminds us of the message of the angels: “Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Men.”

The white candle is placed in the middle of the wreath and lit on Christmas Eve. This candle is called the “Christ Candle” and represents the life of Christ. The color white is for PURITY—because Christ is our sinless, pure Savior.

Celebrating Advent is an excellent way to prepare your mind and heart for Christmas.

Blessed Advent Season everyone!!

Holy Cross does recycling
14/03/2020

Holy Cross does recycling

14/03/2020

Does your church Recycle/Compost?
“But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him”. Jeremiah 18 V 4

Have you ever heard of composting or recycling in your church? Is it currently being practiced in the church? Church members can become stewards of resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing the amount of waste that goes into the trash and eventually into landfills. The church needs to take notice of the impacts associated with its actions and make a conscious decision to care for God’s creation. This can be done through recycling and composting in the church.
Importance and benefits of recycling and composting:
• It conserves raw materials – making new products out of recycled materials reduces the need to consume raw resources.
• It saves energy – using recycled materials in the manufacturing process uses considerably less energy than that required for producing new products from raw materials.
• It helps protect the environment – recycling reduces the need for extracting (mining, quarrying and logging), refining and processing raw materials all of which create substantial air and water pollution. Composting will help reduce the amount of methane released when biodegradable waste (such as food) decomposes in landfills.
• It saves you money – A massive reduction in the amount of waste we send to landfill will result in reduced operational costs of landfills
• Enriches soil, composting helps retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests.
• Compost reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.
• Compost encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that break down organic matter to create humus, a rich nutrient-filled material.
• Composting improves the health of the church yard and garden
Over 50% of what we throw in the garbage can be recycled. An additional 25% of our trash is comprised of food wastes and other materials that could be composted. Make a difference in sustainability of the world by recycling and composting at church.
Tlou Mpai
http://www.slwp.org.uk/what-we-do/recycling-composting/why-it-is-important-to-recycle-and-compost/
http://www.slwp.org.uk/what-we-do/recycling-composting/why-it-is-important-to-recycle-and-compost/

27/02/2020

TAKE THE PLASTIC PLEDGE

CREATION IS GROANING FROM PLASTIC POLLUTION
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now” Romans 8 :22
Creation is groaning because of plastic, it oceans are polluted, the rivers are clogged. In the words of Pope Francis “The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth”.
Today we focus on plastic, in our landfills, our oceans and rivers. One hundred years ago most waste was biodegradable or reusable. Here are some scary facts:
• Nearly all of the plastic ever produced still exists
• By 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish
• Plastic comes from oil and fossil fuel companies are planning to increase production by 50 % in the next 15 years
• By 2050 there will be 40 billion tonnes of plastic on the Earth, up from 4.5 billion now.
Marine plastic kills over 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals annually
• Micro plastic is entering the human food chain through fish.
• Once in the ocean, much of the plastic gets broken down into pieces so small they are hard to see named “microplastics,” which are virtually irretrievable.
• Plastic waste in the ocean is equivalent to having fifteen plastic grocery bags filled with plastic trash sitting on every meter of coastline around the world
• The ice floating in the Arctic as it melts over the next decade, could release more than a trillion bits of plastic into the water
• On some beaches on the Big Island of Hawaii, as much as 15 percent of the sand is grains of microplastic.

This Lent, take the challenge to pledge to fight plastic.
Reduce your personal usage, buy a reusable shopping bag, a reusable water bottle, stop using straws, refuse, and reuse as much as possible
• Put pressure on the local shops or restaurants you use
• Join Campaigns to reduce plastic
• Use social media to influence your friends and contacts
• Take your money out of fossil fuels

https://theconversation.com/fossil-fuel-industry-sees-the-future-in-hard-to-recycle-plastic-123631
Plastic bank interfaith social plastic manual “Fighting Ocean Plastic Using
Principles of Christian Spirituality”

Address

58 Maxwell Street
Empangeni
3880

Opening Hours

07:00 - 10:00

Telephone

035 792 2570

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Holy Cross Anglican Church Empangeni posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category