Presbevents 23

Wednesday 10 February 2010
Jan and Ellen Herbst (Adelaide): Douglas, I was quite surprised to see my heart story featuring in Presbevents. I would like to elaborate a little on the miracle that the Lord has worked through the hands of my cardiologist. I have indeed been weak since April 2009 with a dysfunctional heart - cascades of ectopic beats have made the heart a thoroughly incompetent blood pumping organ. This was due, to put it simply, to an extra nerve bundle discharging electrical impulses randomly to the ventricles. Medicines were thoroughly ineffective to regulate the heartbeat. Locating and ablating the offending nerve bundle inside the heart on the septum was considered a very great risk. Carried on the wings of prayer, this complicated procedure became a simple operation with immediate results: no recuperation time, no delay. Many people prayed for me and I thank them all. Our gracious God has granted me energy to continue the ministry to which he has called me. Thank you again for your Presbevents initiative - it serves an important communicative purpose to the blessing of many.
Derek Potgieter (Durban) and William Pool (Durban): These brothers have asked that I include the following letter which had been sent out last year to all churches in the UPCSA: It has the support of both the Moderator of General Secretary and the General Secretary. Doug
Our suggestion, as you will see by the title of this letter, is to try and get congregations from our church from the Cape to the Copperbelt to join in a concert of prayer to cover 50 weeks of the year 2010.
We are asking congregations to consider praying for a whole day (24 hours) or for a weekend, or for a whole week, with each day broken down into one hour slots and volunteers taking responsibility for each hour.
We believe that there must be at least 50 out of our 400 congregations who would be prepared to take up this challenge.
With this letter you will see an example of material to help you cover 24 hours, broken up into one hour slots, with prayer. You may then choose whether to do this for a day, one weekend, or even for one whole week. Just so as to encourage you, if you think this would be impossible, our three congregations covered the 10 days from Ascension Day to Pentecost day this year, 24 hours each day for 10 days.
What we are asking you to do is to volunteer to cover one day, or a weekend, or a week during the year 2010.
That time then gets broken up into one hour slots and you call for volunteers from your congregation to fill the one hour slots. You will be surprised at who even volunteers to come at 2.00 o’clock in the morning. As I have said, if you volunteer to take part you will see the material and guidelines which you can set up in your church or hall, which helps people to pray constructively for the hour that they have
volunteered for. They will all tell you afterwards that the hour was too short. Of course people can pray at home if they cannot get to the church for the hour that they have volunteered to pray for.
We think that if we manage to carry this off it will create a wonderful sense of unity for our church with the whole church sharing in one common activity. We also hope that this will be a time for the release of God’s Spirit to direct our church and your congregation, into new ventures and mission.
Unless you have a very specific time that you would like to hold the prayer vigil we are asking that you simply volunteer to cover either a day, or a weekend or a week, and allow us to allocate you a time during the year. The only reason for this is because we would like to try and cover as many of the 50 weeks of the year as possible. But obviously the time would need to be convenient to you and the actual prayer is more important than the time of year.
Accompanying this letter are two pages that give what we call 12 stations of prayer.
These are examples of areas of concern for prayer which you may set up in your hall, or church, for people to move around during the hour and pray for. Of course you may add to or subtract any of these stations and add any that may be of particular concern to your own congregations, or country’s needs.
You may also look up on Frere Roads web page at www.frereroad.co.za to get pictures of how the Frere Road hall was set up for the prayer stations. You may or may not be able to do all this but we found the young people were very creative in setting up the prayer stations.
We would like to encourage you to seriously consider this appeal. It had a big impact on our congregations and they are eagerly looking forward to doing it again in 2010.
You are also encouraged to weave any other activities that you would like around your own congregation’s time of prayer.
James and Gwen Elias (Durban): Our youngest, Lael, and her husband, Darren, have now been three weeks in the area of Los Angeles (very cold and very wet!), staying with some good friends of ours until they have established themselves, found jobs, and generally settled.
Modern technology does help a bit in overcoming the great distance, but it is still hard to have a daughter quite so far away. On the other hand we remember that this is what Gwen’s parents had to face when she came to this country some roughly 35 years ago on account of your (!) invitation to her to come and work with you out of the then Head office of the PCSA. (Although she was initially meant to return to
California after two years – which did not happen!) (James is referring to me of course, since it was I who invited her to come and be a Youth Worker with the PCSA.
But is was James who persuaded her to stay and become his wife! - Doug) In the meantime you might like to know that Gwen celebrates her 60th birthday on Sunday coming (Valentines day). Various “secret” events (that is, secret to her) have been planned by the family to celebrate this milestone.
This last weekend saw the ordination to the ministry of Jaco Bester in the congregation to which we belong (North Durban) and appointment as assistant minister. Being a mentor during his seven years in the Fellowship of Vocation the Presbytery appointed me to deliver the charge on this occasion. It was a great privilege to do this in what was a most celebratory, dignified, and colourful service supported also by representatives of the Methodist, Anglican, and Catholic clergy.
Peter and Charmaine Chapman (Somerset West): Peter has lost his father. The funeral took place on Friday in Durban.
William and Lisette Pool (Durban); Just to ask for prayers of my colleagues for a broadcast service that I am about to do. We will record the service at Berea on Sunday the 14th February and it will be broadcast on Sunday the 28th February at 11.00 am. That will be the 5th Sunday before Easter and the lectionary gives the theme and readings as The King and the Kingdom: Conflict. The readings are 2 Kings 6:8 -23, 1 John 4: 1 - 6, Luke 11:14 - 26.
I am sweating on the top line about this and somewhat anxious about what they have to say to our country at the moment. So I would be grateful of prayerful support for wisdom.
On the family front our middle son Samuel is engaged to be married on the 24th April here at Berea. So we shall have a great Highland Fling!
Thanks guys, for the above items. Lots more, please for the next PRESBEVENTS!!! Doug