HALLOWEEN The History

Jesus said. "If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32

In ancient Britain and Ireland the festival of Samhain, the lord of death, was observed on October 31. It was Druidical belief that at this time the lord of death called together the wicked spirits that within the past 12 months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals. It was believed that the spirits of the dead returned to their original homes, there to be entertained with food. If food and shelter were not provided, the evil spirits would cast spells and cause havoc toward those failing to fulfill their requests. Sacrifices were offered to the spirits of the dead. Halloween was thought to be the most favorable time for divination's and was a day on which the help of Satan was invoked for such purposes.

Halloween antedates Christianity by many years and was introduced into the Christian world hundreds of years after the death of apostles. Ever since the time of Constantine, who made Catholicism the state religion, the Roman Emperors realized the importance of having a unified empire. The civil and religious leaders saw how important it was for the sake of unity to allow only one religion within the Roman realm. It became state policy to force all non-Christian to accept the orthodox faith. The conquered pagans had an influence on the affairs of the church as they brought with them many of their practices and celebrations. Halloween was one of them. The pagans were fervent in clinging to their ceremonies and observed them openly, yet they were supposed to have been converted to Christianity.

HISTORY OF OBJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

COSTUMES
The Druids believed that by wearing masks and costumes, they would confuse the spirits into thinking they were one of them and they would be left alone.

BLACK CATS
Black cats hold a high significance to witches and Satanists. The black cat they believe has special powers. To them they believe the black cat represents incarnated humans, malevolent spirits. This is why many black cats are in danger around Halloween. Local SPCA's won't let anyone adopt a black cat around Halloween, for fear the cat might be harmed.

"TRICK OR TREAT"
On the night of the festival of death, the Druids of old go from home to home demanding food. If the people comply they pass on in silence. If their demands are not met, the people and their home are cursed with trouble, sickness and death.

It is not meant to be implied that the wearing of costumes or black cats are evil, but we need to be aware of what they symbolize in the context of Halloween.
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you." James 4:7-8

CHRIST IS NOT HONOURED BY CELEBRATING HALLOWEEN
"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11
Halloween is harmful because it lures people into the occult. People who would not ever involve themselves with the occult at any other time will experiment at Halloween parties and seances, Ouija boards and rituals. It is well known that Halloween is one of the most active days of evil and the meeting of satanists and witches- it is the most important day in their calendar when human sacrifices are offered.

You may ask: "what is the difference between Christmas which also has pagan roots and is not the actual day of Jesus birth and Halloween?" Even though we have a problem with the secularization and materialism of Christmas, Christmas is a time of giving and the season of peace and joy. Halloween on the other hand is macabre and based on fear. Think of all the horror movies linked to Halloween (popular viewing fare at Halloween parties).

"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death." Romans 8:1-2

Extract from an article by Richard D. Dover
http://www.inhisstepsministries.org.

This article was submitted by Lesly Wood in our Church Newsletter.

TRAFFIC IN JOHANNESBURG

1920 - The Star

Police trapping in Johannesburg has recently been severely criticised by motorists, who have claimed that trapping has been of some indiscrimination a nature as to punish the careful road user at the same time as the careless or reckless motorist.
At a recent dinner Mr. A.J. Haak, a well known Johannesburg trader and motorist, declared that the police were concentrating तोओ much on the motorist travelling at a moderst 24 or 25 miles an hour rather than devoting sufficient attention to road hogs doing customary 45 miles an hour burst.


नो इ से ठाट इस ठाट.

Imagine - John Lennon

I am a Christian, and think this is the best song every written for peace. Love you John Lennon, A very powerful man u were, I am sure that is why you had to die, gone for 30 years and not forgotten. xxxx

AMAZING GRACE - THE HYMN

"Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn written by English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725–1807), published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world.

Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He was pressed into the Royal Navy and became a sailor, eventually participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible storm battered his vessel so severely that he became frightened enough to call out to God for mercy, a moment that marked the beginning of his spiritual conversion. His career in slave trading lasted a few years more until he quit going to sea altogether and began studying theology.

Ordained in the Church of England in 1764, Newton became curate of Olney, Buckinghamshire, where he began to write hymns with poet William Cowper. "Amazing Grace" was written to illustrate a sermon on New Year's Day of 1773. It is unknown if there was any music accompanying the verses, and it may have been chanted by the congregation without music. It debuted in print in 1779 in Newton and Cowper's Olney Hymns, but settled into relative obscurity in England. In the United States however, "Amazing Grace" was used extensively during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century. It has been associated with more than 20 melodies, but in 1835 it was joined to a tune named "New Britain" to which it is most frequently sung today.

Author Gilbert Chase writes that "Amazing Grace" is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns",[1] and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually.[2] It has had particular influence in folk music, and become an emblematic African American spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" saw a resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, sometimes appearing on popular music charts.
Go HERE for more information

Amazing Grace by Elvis

AMAZING GRACE - (Full version with Karaoke Lyrics)

Amazing Grace (+ Lyrics)by GospelSongsAndLyrics


Andre Rieu

LEST WE FORGET

DUNKIRK 1940

1940: Dunkirk rescue is over - Churchill defiant

The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, has described the "miracle of deliverance" from Dunkirk and warned of an impending invasion.

His moving speech to Parliament came on the day the last allied soldier arrived home from France at the end of a 10-day operation to bring back hundreds of thousands of retreating allied troops trapped by the German Army.

Many French troops remained to hold the perimeter and were captured.

Major-General Harold Alexander inspected the shores of Dunkirk from a motorboat this morning to make sure no-one was left behind before boarding the last ship back to Britain.

The beach and sea were in chaos. There were bodies floating in the water and we were under constant attack from machine-gun fire, bombing, explosions sending shrapnel in every direction.

Battle-weary and hungry soldiers from the retreating British Expeditionary Force (BEF) as well as French and Belgian troops had spent many days waiting to board ships from the one remaining pier, the east mole.

Many thousands were taken straight off the beaches, struggling in shallow waters to board small vessels that transferred them to the waiting ships.

When those who survived the evacuation arrived exhausted in England they were welcomed as returning heroes and offered plenty of tea and sandwiches as they boarded special trains.

Commander-in-chief of the BEF, Lord Gort, arrived back in England on 1 June and was also feted as a hero.

When his force was almost swallowed up by the Germans - after the French were driven south from Sedan and the Belgians surrendered - he took the vital decision to withdraw to Dunkirk where, according to the Times newspaper, four-fifths of his men were rescued.

This afternoon Mr Churchill admitted to the House that when Operation Dynamo was launched on 26 May to rescue allied forces cornered by the advancing Germany Army, he expected about 20,000 or 30,000 would be saved.

But thanks to the valour of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, no less than 338,000 British and French troops were rescued and brought back across the Channel to fight another day.

Mr Churchill tempered his admiration for the success of Operation Dynamo with these words: "Wars are not won by evacuations".

He said there was no doubt in his mind that the last few weeks had been a "colossal military disaster".

The BEF had to leave behind all its heavy armour and equipment.

The French army was weakened, the Belgian army had surrendered, Channel ports, valuable mines and factories in France and Belgium had been taken over by the enemy.

He said the nation should brace itself for another blow. "We are told that Herr Hitler has a plan for invading the British Isles," he said.

Returning troops were vital if Britain were to resist such an invasion.

He ended his speech with a defiant message to Hitler's armies.

"We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender."

Britain would "ride out the tyranny of war, if necessary for years, if necessary alone."

Mr Churchill paid special tribute to the Royal Air Force that had provided what protection it could for the ships and stranded soldiers .

The Royal Navy sent 220 light war ships and 650 other vessels under a hail of bombs and artillery fire.

I DOWNLOADED THIS FROM BBC.

Can u remember the story of the SnowGoose. Oh golly that did bring a tear.

CANNON BALLS

DID YOU KNOW THIS?

It was necessary to keep a good supply of cannon balls near the cannon

on old war ships. But how to prevent them from rolling about the deck

was the problem. The storage method devised was to stack them as a

square based pyramid, with one ball on top, resting on four, resting on

nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could

be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one

problem -- how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding/rolling=2 0from

under the others.

The

solution was a metal plate with 16 round indentations, called, for

reasons unknown, a Monkey. But if this plate were made of iron, the iron

balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was

to make them of brass - hence, Brass Monkeys. Few landlubbers realize

that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.

Consequently,

when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would

shrink so much that the iron cannon balls would come right off the

monkey.Thus, it was quite literally, cold enough to freeze the balls off

a brass monkey.

And all this time, folks thought that was just a vulgar expression?

You must send this fabulous bit of historical knowledge to at least a few

intellectual friends.

VREEDEFORT

The farmers arrived in the area as part of the Great Trek, started in the Cape in 1836, led by Andries Hendrik Potgieter. They settled in Potchefstroom in 1841. Those who settled further afield, had to travel long distances to Kroonstad and Potchefstroom for Holy Communion (Nagmaal ) they had been debating and canvassing for a place nearer to their farms to congregate for this purpose. When the decision was taken to establish a settlement with a church in their vicinity they agreed to use the name Vreedfort meaning place of peace. Signifying that the farming community was at peace as last.

This is not the original Church.
Information: Meteorite Impact

HAPPY THANKS GIVING

Clip Art Digi Web Studio

A TRUE HERO

This man is a saint, We are all proud of him and wish him well for his upcomming Birthday, we wish you Madeba a blessed and healthy year.

South Africa salutes you sir. Viva Madeba.

There should be more like you, world wide.

MOTHERS DAY

http://http://legacyproject.org/guides/mdhistory.html

Everyone has a mother, so it isn't surprising that throughout the world there are ways of honoring and celebrating mothers. Mother's Day is a time to think about the legacies – personal and societal – mothers and grandmothers pass on.
Historically, mothers have had a key role in building and maintaining connections across generations. Even today, they are most often the "kinkeepers" in families and take the lead in passing down family stories, life lessons, and traditions. Honoring this role of mothers is part of the story behind Mother's Day – but not all of it.

Many people may believe Mother's Day was developed as a commercial holiday by Hallmark or some other company to sell cards, candy, and flowers. Or, they may believe it's a day solely to celebrate the domestic role of women in the home and family. Neither of these perceptions is accurate. Our consumerist market may have fueled the commercialism around the holiday, and the role of mothers in families is indeed important, but Mother's Day is not only about honoring a woman's devotion to her own family. The history of the day has its roots in honoring the broader networks, social ties, and political concerns of women. The day is about women's commitment to the past, present, and future at both the personal and political levels. It honors women who have acted not only on behalf of their own children but also on behalf of an entire future generation.

Early Beginnings

Mother's Day isn't a new holiday. The earliest Mother's Day celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of ancient Greece in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. People would make offerings of honey-cakes, fine drinks, and flowers at dawn.

The Romans also had a mother of all gods, Magna Mater, or Great Mother. A temple was built in Rome for her. In March of each year, there was a celebration in her honor called the Festival of Hilaria. Gifts were brought to the temple to please the powerful mother-goddess.

During the 1600s, England celebrated "Mothering Sunday" on the fourth Sunday of Lent (the 40 days leading up to Easter) as a way to honor the mothers of England. Many of England's poor lived and worked as servants for the wealthy, far away from their homes and families. On Mothering Sunday, servants were given the day off to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the "mothering cake," was often baked to add to the festivities.


HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL.

LYDENBURG

Loretto Convent - now a home for the Mentally Retarded.

LYDENBURG

Lydenburg, means "Town of suffering." As you can see this is the Old Powder Magazine.

MILLSTREAM - LYDENBURG

Lydenburg is 58 km from Millstream, situated at the foothills of the Long
Tom Pass on the Highveld Escarpment of Mpumalanga.
The top photo is the Voortrekker School, it was built in 1851. The next is
the first Voortrekker Church. Built 1853.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Paper ASparrow.