A Journey of Faith
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them. Mark 10: 13-16 NIV
Frank and
Mary came to St Matthew from India while visiting their daughter Teena and her fiancé Johnny. Frank’s love of our Lord was full of energy which, dare I say, was not part of our reticent Lutheran DNA. They came from a very large church and his message was ‘share the gospel – share the gospel. He and Mary were here for the wedding of their daughter Teena to Johnny Grimes – a young football player from Newcastle, England. Johnny’s parents, Lorraine and James had immigrated to New Zealand and settled in Hamilton. Johnny and Teena were planning on presenting each other bibles as part of their wedding ceremony and they wanted the bibles blessed.
Our wee St Matthew congregation was blessed too. At the time we had retired pastor Jim Pietsch visiting and leading worship for a few weeks. Pr Jim gladly blessed their
bibles at worship one Sunday and these became an important part of their wedding ceremony.
Frank and Mary returned six months later to support Teena and Johnny and be there for the arrival of their grandson. A first child is such a precious gift but one full of unknowns.
Teena and Johnny were keen to ask our Lord to watch over the birth and the safe arrival of their son. They asked for a blessing of this big event in their lives. We had no interim pastor at the time and I had no idea where to find the appropriate rite. An urgent cry for support flew out to Bishop Robert and assistant Bishop Richard. Within half an hour I was blessed with a copy of the relevant rite and I could confidently plan for the special occasion.
My excited granddaughter whispered
“ there are a prince and princess at church” as the family arrived in their traditional costumes. What a wonderful fellowship we shared following worship. Beautiful Indian food, guesses of the baby’s birth date and weight. Athiyan arrived bonny and safely on the 18th July. Praise God. He is a very contented wee man and much loved by both parents and grandparents, Frank and Mary, James and Lorraine.
Teena and Johnny were keen to have Athiyan baptized once he had had his first round of vaccinations, before Frank and Mary were to return to India, and were hopeful to have a pastor perform the baptism. Many pastors were heading to Australia for general pastors conference. I contacted Pr John Davison, past pastor for our St Matthew congregation, and presently working as a chaplain in Hastings. God is good, all the time. Pr. John was had a free weekend and was willing to travel to lead worship and conduct the baptism. All the time God is good.
We would normally say that with Athiyan joining God’s family his faith journey has begun BUT it went back much further. It began with the love shared by his parents and grandparents. God’s love.
Lesley Johnson
St Matthews, Hamilton
October 2024
