Dear Friends, I’m writing this on a beautiful, sunny, breezy spring day – perfect kite flying weather, which brings to mind my brothers. I grew up with four older brothers and I adored them. I believed there was nothing they could not do. They could make anything, from Meccano cars for our pet monkey to ride around in (that’s a story for another time!), to walkie talkie radios, amplifiers and hi-fi systems. I particularly remember long sunny days in Singapore when the three eldest ones would spend hours crafting model aeroplanes out of balsa wood and tissue paper. The smell of dope (sealant) was all pervasive. These were radio-controlled aeroplanes and so there would be dog fights in the sky until there was a crash and a heap of mangled balsa wood and paper, and the process would start all over again.

One of the benefits of this process was that there was always spare material to make kites. My three older brothers would often make kites for us two younger children out of strips of balsa wood and tissue paper. I remember they would use leftover bits of boiled rice to stick the paper and wood together. We loved flying these kites with their long tails, watching them soar higher and higher. On 30th May it is Ascension Day. This is the day when Christians remember when Jesus returned to his Father in heaven. “[Jesus replied] ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem…and to the ends of the earth.’ When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.’” Acts, chapter 1.

So what does this have to do with kite flying? There is a legend which tells of a teacher in Bermuda who was having a tough time explaining Jesus’ ascension to heaven. He decided a visual prop might help, so he painted a picture of Jesus on a kite and launched it into the sky. Every year in Bermuda people fly kites to remember this story (although they do it on Good Friday looking forward in hope).

This year at Christ Church, Derry Hill we are marking Ascension Day with an afternoon tea, a craft activity for children, followed by a service. Everyone is welcome to join in with any part of the afternoon. The Tea will start at 2.30pm and the Service at 3.45pm. If the weather is kind, we’ll fly some kites too! Linda.