Other Items of interest

Financial Warning! During July and August the mass exodus from Bahrain affects the cathedral financially.  Please remember that although you may not be here in person the life and work of the cathedral goes on in your absence and bills have to be made and financial commitments met.  The cathedral depends on you financially whether you are here or not so please, if you would, ensure that your freewill giving to the cathedral continues while you are away on holiday. That would be very much appreciated. A new idea to keep warm in church Some find it too hot! Others complain it’s too cold! It is probably impossible to please everyone at the same time. The real question is how high (or low) should the cathedral air conditioning be during services. It must be rare for an Anglican cathedral to be too hot on occasions, so we should rejoice in it. But that’s hard when you have ice cold air blowing on you for an hour or so. So what can we do to keep everyone at the optimum worship temperature? One solution – prayer shawls. Other faith communities use them so why not us? We have a super abundance of hassocks or kneelers, few of which seem to get used these days. Maybe we need to replace some of those with suitable ‘shawls.’ Those who feel the draught can cover their shoulders (and knees if necessary) keeping themselves at the ambient worshiping temperature. Then we can all worship in comfort and agreement! Worship Service Music Historically the Anglican church has been noted for music being a major part of worship services, the organ being the instrument which has dominated. It is very unfortunate that over the last few years we at St. Christopher’s have suffered from a lack of regular organists. In recent months there have been many services on Sundays and Fridays when Dean Alan has had to act as a man of many parts, being organist as well as ’preacher’ and ‘celebrant’. Recently Kevin Mayhew came on the scene!  Kevin is a name well known in the church music field and he has produced a series of recordings on CDs covering all the hymns in the ‘Ancient and Modern Hymn Book’ plus others. Dean Alan was able to purchase this series when in the UK and although experiments are still taking place with the way in which these recordings are utilised, we have already enjoyed many services with what appears to be excellent accompaniment from the organ - with no-one sitting at the keyboard! This, together with the use of the overhead projector for the Friday morning services, has really brought us into the 21st century, and enabled us to take full advantage of modern technology. Friday Morning Family Service During July and August the Friday morning 9.30 a.m. services will continue but with a celebration of Holy Communion every week. As from Friday, September 1st we shall resume our pattern of every 1st, 3rd and 5th Fridays being a full family service.  The younger children will stay in church with the whole family on these days with a special children's activity on the 2nd and 4th Fridays when Holy Communion is celebrated.  In the autumn we shall also be developing the opportunity for the teenagers to take a more active part in our warship and there will be a much wider repertoire of Christian music, both traditional and contemporary, to look forward to. It's the worship opportunity of the week for YOU, so be there! The Bible Society in the Gulf Once again, the attention of all our parishioners and readers is drawn to the Bible Society in the Gulf outlet on the Cathedral compound; it is open every evening except Monday, and also on Friday mornings.  The BSG is supported by many churches and congregations in Bahrain enabling it to provide Bibles and scripture in many languages, plus a wide range of scriptural material, all at reduced cost.  The large Resource Centre by the NEC (in the American Mission Hospital car park) has an even wider range, and is normally open daily, though closed on Mondays and Saturdays during the summer months. A visit is recommended to view the large selection of adult and children's Christian books, birthday cards, audio tapes, CD's, Christening and Confirmation gift items, etc.    Anniversary of Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators Our Bishop the Most Rev. Clive Handford was a guest at the recent 50th anniversary of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN) on the 17th May held at the Mansion House, London.  The Duke of Edinburgh and Duke of York were in attendance together with the Lord Mayor and other distinguished guests. Bishop Clive is here photographed with our regular Sunday congregation member, Yvonne Trueman OBE, a private pilot member of GAPAN.