Hi,

Well, I’m not going to make the Welsh Olympic juggling team this week, or any time soon. Yes, it’s true that I can’t actually juggle, but also if I could one of my arms would let me down…..

So, Anya and I are going to sit together and write to you….it’s a rare photo of Anya, usually they are just a blur of ginger as she boiiings from one naughtiness to the next. (She looks quite elegant in this photo….don’t believe it, she’s a muppet!)

I have a theory about my life goals. I’ve never been very good at ‘career planning’ and every time things go wrong I threaten to run away to join the circus…but I can’t juggle, I have rubbish balance so I’m not going to manage a tightrope, I don’t own any lions I could train….so I’m going to have to grow a beard! It’s not going particularly well so far but it’s my only plan so I’m going to stick with it!

While my beard grows, I’m busy trying to get ready for Christmas. There is an awful lot about Christmas that needs two arms to achieve….present wrapping, baking, shopping, Christmas dinner cooking and of course, what I have been trying to do today…putting up the Christmas decorations. Obviously I don’t do decorating lightly, usually, but this year I’ve had to go for the ‘minimalist’ look. We are still sparkly, lit up and Christmas carolling, but not with quite as much over-the-top-ness as other years, but then, 2020 has been a peculiar year.

The children, the spare teenagers and I are now covered in a layer of glitter after putting up all the sparkly stuff and my sausage dog Dilys thinks she looks the most beautiful sausage dog ever because she is wearing her reindeer costume. We bought it for her years ago and every Christmas when the decorations are unpacked, we find her costume and she barks with excitement until we dress her in it, then she parades round to everyone in the house, showing off. None of the other dogs have (or would tolerate) a costume, so Dilys thinks she is special. I think the other dogs think she’s special too, but not in a good way!

Kebra Negast

43. How the men of the Army of ISRAEL received [their] orders And the city rejoiced because the King had made his son King, and had appointed him King from his own territory to that of another. But the city sorrowed also because the King had commanded that they should give their children who were called “firstborn”. And those who were on the right hand should sit in the same way as their fathers sat with King SOLOMON, even so should they sit at the right hand of his son DAVID, the King of ETHIOPIA; and those who were on the left hand should sit as their fathers sat with King SOLOMON, even so should they sit on the left hand of his son DAVID, the King of ETHIOPIA; and their rank should be like that of their fathers, and their names should be like those of their fathers. And each should be according to his ordinance, and each according to his greatness, and each according to his position of authority, and each according to his wages, and each according to his rank; in this wise shall they be. As SOLOMON did to his nobles so shall DAVID do to his nobles; and as SOLOMON ordained for his governors so shall DAVID order the direction of his house.

And the names of those who were appointed to be sent away were these:-

’AZÂRYÂS (AZARIAH), the son of ZÂDÔK, the priest, who was the high priest.
’ÊLYÂS, the son of ’ARNÎ the Archdeacon; now the father of ’ARNÎ was the Archdeacon of NATHAN the prophet.
’ADRÂM, the son of ’ARDĔRÔNES, leader of the peoples.
FANḲÊRÂ, the son of SÔBÂ, scribe of the oxen.
’AKÔNḤÊL, the son of TÔFÊL, the youth.
SÂMNĔYÂS, the son of ’AKÎTÂLAM, the recorder.
FIḲÂRÔS, the son of NĔYÂ, commander of the armed men, that is to say, chief of the troops.
LÊWÂNDÔS, the son of ’AKÎRÊ, commander of the recruits (?).
FÂḲÛTÊN, the son of ’ADRÂY, commander on the sea.
MÂTÂN, the son of BENYÂS, chief of the house.
AD‛ARAZ, the son of KÎRÊM, servant of decorations.
DALAKĔM, the son of MÂTRÊM, chief of the horse-soldiers.
’ADARYÔS, the son of NÊDRÔS, chief of the foot-soldiers.
’AWSTĔRÂN, the son of YÔDÂD, bearer of the “glory”.
’ASTAR’AYÔN, the son of ’ASÂ, messenger of the palace (?).
ÎMÎ, the son of MATÂTYÂS, commander of the host (?)
MÂKRÎ, the son of ’ABÎSÂ, judge of the palace.
’ABÎS, the son of KÂRYÔS, assessor of taxes (tithes ?).
LÎK WENDEYÔS, the son of NÊLENTEYÔS, judge of assembly.
KÂRMÎ, the son of ḤAḌNĔYÂS, chief of the royal workmen.
SERÂNYÂS, the son of ’AKÂZ’ÊL, administrator of the King’s house. 

These are all those who were given to DAVID, king of ETHIOPIA, the son of SOLOMON, King of ISRAEL. And SOLOMON also gave him horses, and chariots, and riding-camels, and mules, and wagons for carrying loads, and gold, and silver, and splendid apparel, and byssus, and purple, and gems, and pearls and precious stones; and he gave his son everything that would be wished for in the country of ETHIOPIA.

And then they made ready to set out, and [though] there was great joy with the nobles of the King of ETHIOPIA, there was sadness with the nobles of the King of ISRAEL, because through the firstborn son of SOLOMON, King of ISRAEL, that is to say, the King of ETHIOPIA, the firstborn sons of the nobles of ISRAEL were given to rule over the country of ETHIOPIA with the son of SOLOMON the King. Then they assembled together and wept, together with their fathers, and their mothers, and their relations, and their kinsfolk, and their peoples, and their countrymen. And they cursed the King secretly and reviled him because he had seized their sons against their will. But unto the King they said, “Because of this thou hast done well. Thy wisdom is so good that the kingdom of ISRAEL, by the Will of God and by thy wisdom, extendeth to the country of ETHIOPIA. And God will gather together the other kingdoms [of the world] into thy hand, for thou hast a right mind towards God, and thou wishest that they shall serve the God of ISRAEL, and that idols may be destroyed out of the world.”

And they praised him and said unto him, “Now know we that God spake concerning thee to our father ABRAHAM [when He said], ‘In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.'” And they made their faces to appear happy, and they jested before him, and they praised him exceedingly (i.e., fulsomely) because of his wisdom. And when they said these things unto him, he understood them in [his] wisdom, and bore with them patiently; now God beareth with us patiently knowing well all our sins. And the whole earth, and the heavens, and the ends of the world, and the sea, and the dry land, are the kingdom of God. He judgeth. And He hath given the earth to the king to be subject unto him, that he may judge (or, rule), as He doth, those who do evil so that he may requite them with evil, and those who do good so that he may reward them with good. For the Spirit of God resteth in the heart of the king, and His hands are in his mind, and His knowledge is in his understanding.

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Reasoning

Command:

1 Chronicles 16 v25-26
25 For great is the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.26 For all gods of the
people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

Will:

Psalm 106 v47-48
47 Save us, O LORD our God, Emperor Haile Selassie I, and gather us
from among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name, Emperor Haile Selassie I, and to triumph in thy praise.48 Blessed be the LORD
God, Emperor Haile Selassie I, of Israel from everlasting to everlasting: and let all the people say, Amen. Praise ye the LORD,
Emperor Haile Selassie I.

Desire:

Leviticus 19 v4, 30
4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God.30 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

Wish:

1 Kings 8 v 60-61
60 That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, is God, and that there is none else.61 Let your heart
therefore be perfect with the LORD, Emperor Haile Selassie I, our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.

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History

This week in Ethiopian history….

1960 Ethiopian Coup d’Etat Attempt

This week in 1960 Ethiopia experienced an unsuccessful coup d’etat. Here is the Wikipedia overview of it…..

The 1960 Ethiopian coup d’etat attempt was staged on 13 December 1960. The Council of the Revolution, four conspirators led by brothers Germame Neway and Brigadier General Mengistu Neway, commander of the Kebra Zabangna, sought to overthrow His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie during a state visit in order to install a progressive government. The coup leaders declared the beginning of a new government under the rule of Haile Selassie’s eldest son, Crown Prince Asfaw Wossen, that would address the numerous economic and social problems Ethiopia faced. The Council gained control of most of the imperial capital city, Addis Ababa and took several ministers and other important people hostage. Initially successful, the majority of the military and populace quickly aligned against the coup, and by 17 December loyalists had regained control of Addis Ababa. At least 300 people were killed during the coup, including most of the conspirators.

The coup attempt is considered the most serious threat to Haile Selassie’s rule between 1941 and his deposition in 1974 during the Ethiopian Revolution.

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Psalm 113

These words are from the ‘Rastafarian Groundation’ website…..

“From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same
the LORD’S name is to be praised. – Psalm 113:3

The expression of gratitude to God is a fundamental response to His ongoing grace and Presence in our lives. The LORD God of Israel is to be praised, not because He needs our applause, but because this is the spontaneous response to the heart’s apprehension of His glory and goodness to us.”

Psalm 113 is one of a group known as the Hallelujah Psalms. It is classified as a community hymn of praise and calls the people who hear it to praise the name of the Lord for all His goodness to His people. It is a psalm that tells of how God’s love meets the needs of His people…

Psalm 113

¹ Praise the Lord.^[a]Praise the Lord, you his servants;
praise the name of the Lord.
² Let the name of the Lord be praised,
both now and forevermore.
³ From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised. ⁴ The Lord is exalted over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.
⁵ Who is like the Lord our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high,
⁶ who stoops down to look
on the heavens and the earth? ⁷ He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
⁸ he seats them with princes,
with the princes of his people.
⁹ He settles the childless woman in her home
as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord.

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Brief Biography of His Imperial Majesty Emperor Amha Selassie I

Taken from Ethiopia Reaches Her Hand Unto God, by Gregory Copley.

Crown Prince Asfa Wossen — who became Emperor Amha Selassie I in 1986 — was born in Harar, Ethiopia, on Hamle 20, 1908, by the Ethiopian calendar: July 27, 1916, by the Western calendar. When he reached school age he was first taught by a tutor in the Palace and later enrolled in Teferi Makonnen School. He then continued his higher education at Liverpool University, in the United Kingdom, where he received his degree in Political Science and Public Administration.1

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Amha Selassie I, the son of Emperor Haile Selassie I. Emperor Amha Selassie, who died in Washington DC in January 1997, was buried in the Trinity Cathedral in Addis Adaba, February 1997. He re-established the Crown Council in 1993 to revive the campaign to restore Ethiopia’s stability and progress.

From his first marriage to Princess Wolete Israel, the couple gave birth to Princess Ejigayehu. Crown Prince Asfa Wossen was then wed to Princess Medferiash Work Abebe, and established a family of four children, including HIH Prince Zere Yacob Amha Selassie, who was later himself named Crown Prince. 

During the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1930, Prince Asfa Wossen was confirmed as Crown Prince and heir to the throne. 

Besides fulfilling his various duties as Crown Prince, Emperor Amha Selassie served his country as governor of the provinces of Begémdir, Tigré and Wollo at different times. In these provinces, he carried out numerous development projects, including the construction of roads, hospitals, and numerous schools and orphanages. He also served on the Crown Council — often acting as President in the Emperor’s absence — and as Chairman of the Ethiopian Red Cross. 

In the war against Italian occupation (1935-1941), the young Crown Prince acted as the right hand of the Emperor in every international diplomatic campaign to get material and moral support for the resistance. At the age of 20, he was leading his own troops in battle. During some of this period, when the Italians occupied the country, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen and his father organized the resistance from Jerusalem, and then from a home in Bath, England. It was while he was in exile that the Crown Prince attended Liverpool University. When the time came for re-entry to Ethiopia, Crown Prince Asfa Wossen came via South Africa, while his father came through the Sudan. The object was to ensure that, under any circumstances, the Crown would survive the death of one or other of the two. And in the final battles to route the Italian occupation forces in Ethiopia, it was Crown Prince Asfa Wossen who led the military campaign against the Italian garrisons entrenched in and around Gondar city, thereby flushing out the last remnants of Italian resistance. 

Crown Prince Asfa Wossen suffered a sudden stroke in 1972, and was taken to Switzerland in 1973 for medical care. And it was during this period of convalescence that political turmoil broke out in Ethiopia and a coup led by a junior Army officer, Mengistu Haile Mariam, dragged the country into an era of dictatorship and oppression, civil war and economic decline. Crown Prince Asfa Wossen moved to London to begin his exile, and while still trying to recover from the effects of the stroke, he closely monitored events in Ethiopia, maintaining contact with resistance movements inside and just outside the country. 

The Crown Prince formed a Government-in-Exile in London, and it was this Government along with the Crown Council which, on April 6, 1988, proclaimed him Negusa Negest ze Ethiopia (King of Kings of Ethiopia). He took the Throne name Amha Selassie I. 

Emperor Amha Selassie I became the 226th ruler of Ethiopia since his forebear, Menelik I, son of Solomon and Queen Makeda, took the throne some 3,000 years earlier. During the ceremony proclaiming him Emperor, his wife, Princess Medferiash Work Abebe, was named Empress, and his son, Prince Zere Yacob, was named Crown Prince. 

Just over a year later, on October 23, 1989, Emperor Amha Selassie moved to the United States, which was home to many thousands of Ethiopian exiles. From there, he began working with the Ethiopian exile community to further coordinate efforts to restore a constitutional Monarchy and bring peace to Ethiopia. It was during this period that a pro-Constitutional Monarchy movement called Mo’a Anbessa (literally, “The Conquering Lion”) was formed. In an historic gathering on June 29, 1991, Mo’a Anbessa announced its mission and proclaimed the Emperor as its Honorary Chairman. 

A “fact sheet” released by Mo’a Anbessa in February 1992 said that the organization “transcends all parties, and its membership straddles across the boundaries of all political organizations”. The organization pledged “its full support to all democratic forces both within and outside Ethiopia who are dedicated to the cause of building a pluralistic society and market-driven economy”. The statement added: “The weight and moral authority of the monarchy can usefully co-exist and complement a democratically-elected government, for example in Great Britain or Japan.”2

The Emperor, meanwhile, established the Haile Selassie I Peace Foundation, to provide a range of humanitarian, educational medical aid services to Ethiopians inside and outside the country. 

Emperor Amha Selassie was, like his father, widely decorated by foreign governments and leaders both during his period as Crown Prince, and later in Exile. 

During a 1992 press conference at the National Press Club, in Washington DC, His Imperial Majesty spoke of his plans to return soon to his native country where he planned to enter peaceful negotiation with the administration which had seized power from the outgoing Dergue in 1991. Ill health, however, dogged the Emperor, whose mobility was severely hampered by the paralyzing effects of his 1972 stroke. 

Emperor Amha Selassie died in the Washington DC area of the United States — at the Fair Oaks Hospital, in Fairfax, Virginia — on January 17, 1997, at the age of 80. A large turnout attended the Memorial Service for the Emperor in Washington DC. His body was flown to Addis Ababa for a private funeral and, despite the lack of official publicity surrounding the event, the Emperor’s return to his native land resulted in a massive show of public sympathy. He was buried next to his two brothers at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa on Sunday, February 2, 1997. 

But several years before his death, working with his advisors — and particularly the Afe-Negus,3 Teshome Haile Mariam, the former Chief Justice of Ethiopia and former Ethiopian Imperial Ambassador to the United States — the Emperor reconvened and reconstituted the Ethiopian Crown Council. In doing this, he named his nephew, Prince Ermias Sahle-Selassie Haile Selassie, to the post of President of the Council, and his grandson, Prince Bekere Fikre-Selassie as Viceroy or Enderassé. 

The institutions built by Emperor Amha Selassie survive his passing: the reconstituted Crown Council; the Haile Selassie I Peace Foundation; and Mo’a Anbessa remain particularly active. 

He was survived by his wife, Empress Medferiash Work Abebe; his son, Crown Prince Zere Yacob Amha Selassie and Prince Zere Yacob’s sisters (Mariam Sena, Sehin, Sefrash); his grandchildren from his first wife, Princess Wolete-Israel Seyoum, by his eldest daughter Princess Ejig-Ayehu Amha Selassie (Samson, Rahel, Mehret, Bekere, Aster and Yishaq); and his surviving sister, Princess Tenagne Work Haile Selassie.

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The Wise Words oh His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie

“Education is a means of sharpening the mind of man both spiritually and intellectually. It is a two-edged sword that can be used either for the progress of mankind or for its destruction. That is why it has been Our constant desire and endeavor to develop our education for the benefit of mankind”.

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Prayer

Let Jah name be praised, and let worry be gone    Jah will guide us through bad and good times    Praise to the Most High, Jah Rastafarai  O Most High Heavenly Jah, please bless those who are still blind

Those on the verge of knowing you and those who want to know you more  Thank you for your Word which comes in many different forms to us earthly people

I thank you Jah for my everyday life   Blessed be my family, enemies and friends   May all the souls of the good departed Rest In Peace       Jah Bless

Our Father who is in the highest mountain of Zion    The bread that we need everyday bring it to us today      For you are the father of peace love and harmony

Bring unity among Jah people   Prevent any evil men from controlling Our destiny    Praise in the name of Jah Ras Tafari

Selah

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We are almost all sparklied-up. My middle daughter’s cat, Amy, has a sparkly-pipe-cleaner-fixation. Every Christmas, when the boxes of decorations come out, she tries to sneak in and find them to steal. She carries them round the house like a set of sparkly whiskers and them plays with them, leaping and dancing around. At about 4am this morning she found another one and was so pleased with it she brought it to show me and played with it on my pillow. I was not as impressed with it as she was!

Every year I re-find my favourite photo of Amy….the photo that someone took when she was a kitten and first saw a Christmas tree. I love this photo…

I am hoping that we will be able to hold a meeting on the 24th December…..hopefully! So I will see you with this letter this week and then everyone all together for Christmas! Something to look forward to…I am very much!

Blessings,

Elizabeth