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Manse
letter Throughout
my life, the classical language, Latin, has found itself interwoven into my
experiences. When I was at school, our motto was part of the school’s
crest on our blazers, and was simply “Veritas”
meaning truth. As I grew up at school and started to learn Latin as a
language, I can still remember my late grandfather rhyming off the
conjugation of verbs, determined that the language would not be forgotten. He
had learned Italian during the war and maintained that with a working
knowledge of Latin, he could understand many different European languages,
all deriving from Latin. I have a
very clear memory of standing in his kitchen helping with the washing-up and,
in between singing or whistling, he would jauntily rhyme off the verb
“to be”. “Sum es est sumus estus
sunt”, he would say, again, and again,
quickening the pace until the two of us were racing through the chant at
breakneck speed. “To be [yourself] is such an important part of life -
live with truth in everything that you do” was a very simple but profound
kitchen-sink statement from my Pops that I will always cherish. Moving then to University, I first studied at Trinity College at the University of Glasgow. At the impressive wrought iron gates to the University are three Latin words, including my first Latin word from school, “Via, Veritas, Vita,” meaning, “The way, the truth and the life.” These are of course well-kent words for many of us, from John 14 as Jesus assures his disciples of a life beyond this, made possible through him. Advent and Lent are also two words whose origins are Latin. It doesn’t seem long since we journeyed through Advent, a time of waiting for what is to come, the birth of Christ. There’s an immediacy to this time, as there is expectation, and the Advent hymn, “Lo he comes with clouds descending” closes with the penultimate line “O come quickly, O come quickly, O come quickly,” suggests that even in Charles Wesley’s time there was a degree of impatience and excitement in Advent, waiting for the birth of Christ. But now we move on to Lent, which is quite the opposite in its tempo. Its Latin origins give its meaning to a slow time - perhaps you’ll recognise it better in the French word for slowly, “lentement.” In such a short space of time in the Christian year, we hurry through to the birth of Christ and then are called to slow down in Lent as we approach the cross on which Jesus dies for all of us. Slowing down is something that I have had to learn to do in the last year. My illness of last year, and its remaining impact on my life, has taught me the need to pace my life, in tune with my health. It’s not been an easy process, but it has had its rewards. I have learned to appreciate the minutiae of life that I may have missed before, and in disengaging myself from work through illness and then re-engaging in health gave me a wonderful opportunity to question my practices in ministry. We all have particular talents, and we also all have our weaknesses too. My talents, I’ll leave for you to discover (if indeed they are there!), but I am not ashamed to admit that my single most important weakness is disorganisation. My mother and I can spend an evening talking together in a way that no one else understands. That’s because we each go off at tangents in our thinking, and then return abruptly to a previous subject matter, rather like the way Billy Connelly tells many different stories and jokes within the one joke he meant to tell in the first place. The same too can be said about my life in general. Ministry is about living with the past, the present and the future, all at the same time. There are many demands on a minister’s time and very often those are equally tangential in their nature. Sometimes, in juggling all the tasks of ministry I need a little help and a gentle reminder to make sure that I am spreading my time out equally across the whole calling of ministry, because every task and expectation of ministry is just as important as the next. Ministry is constant, and it never ends, there will always be something else that needs to be done, a person who should be visited, a letter that should be written, a prayer for a particular situation, a conversation , a new avenue to explore, a vision for the future, a need to lead, a place to listen, time to contemplate, personal devotion and study, a meeting to attend, a Kirk session, presbytery or a national assembly committee - the list is endless. I would like your help and support. Appreciate that, if you can, I have been called to three congregations here, and each should have an appropriate portion of my time. We are also part of a very small Presbytery, and the outcome of that is that each minister has to carry out many different tasks within Presbytery. Every presbytery in the land has the same work to do, but here in our Presbytery we have 60 folks to do the work, and in Glasgow, there are nearly 400 folk to share the burden. I am also for the foreseeable future, Interim Moderator to Dalton, Hightae and St Mungo, and while you may feel that this is an added pressure, remember how valuable Sandy Stoddart’s ministry was for us during my absence. Remember also, that there is a great deal of ministry that is carried out in a quiet, confidential and largely unseen manner. There is one last thing that you can do for me, and this is so important. I need to know who should be visited. Ministers visiting their entire congregation originated after the Disruption of 1843 when the Church divided into two. The splinter group in that time, the Free Church started off with no buildings, and no churches. As those churches were built, the minister and his elders would visit members frequently, because it was the only way to ensure the life, work and worship of the congregation continued. In 1929, when the Church finally reunited, there were many wonderful additions to the established church which were borne out of the experience of the Free Church, and the two most important were the recognition of the need for a pastoral ministry through visiting, and home communions for those who could not come to the Church. I hold these two parts of ministry very close to my heart, but inevitably in my weakness of disorganisation, I fail to fulfil these to their fullest potential. We have to recognise that we do have a place to meet, and that there are a great deal of you who I meet regularly through worship, organisations, and the life of Moffat itself. Equally so, there are a great deal of you who I have not met yet - some of whom will have very real pastoral needs. I want you to call me if you want me to come and see you, and I will. I may not be able to come immediately, but I will endeavour to come as soon as possible. If you have something that is troubling you greatly and you feel a more urgent need, let me know and I can respond appropriately. If you don’t want to call me, or you feel that I might be too busy - don’t! Ask your elder, or a neighbour or a friend to call me - I promise you I do not bite! And remember, when you want to see a doctor, you don’t sit at home patiently waiting, hoping that the doctor might just drop in and see you. Instead you call the surgery or NHS 24, and you get what you need. The working patterns of Doctors have changed dramatically over the years, and so too has ministry, but that does not mean I am not interested. It means that I need your guidance, your help, and your requests, so that I can better direct my ministry to those who need it most when they need it. The final Latin motto that I want to share with you is one that is engraved in the fireplace of the lounge area of Dowding House. It remains from the days when the building was a school, and of a bygone era, there are the words “Labore est orare” which means “Work is prayer.” May you during this time of Lent take time to journey with God in your lives. Recognise that all we do is part of a prayerful life, that work is prayer. You might feel that you are no good at praying, so let your prayers be lived out in the very practical manner of life. And if you are in the habit of praying daily, and you feel you have a good disciplined approach to prayer - don’t forget that when you say amen, there is still much to be done. I pray that in this time of Lent and in the glorious celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ at Easter, and in our work and prayer, we may further deepen our relationships with one another as a community of faith, and in turn, come closer to God. May the intimacy and love of God be present in all our lives. May it be so, and may God be with you, and when the time comes, have a wonderful, happy and blessed Easter. Your minister and friend, Adam (PS Don’t forget to call!) From
the session clerk We are regularly reminded that we are
living in a secular society with fewer and fewer adults and children going to
Church. Many churches no longer have Sunday Schools or Bible Class. We are
indeed fortunate that we have a good number of children and young people
coming along to church, and that we have leaders who are willing to give of
their time to provide young people with an introduction to the Christian
faith. A number of the leaders, however, are involved not only with Junior
Church and Discoverers but also help in the crèche, which limits their
opportunities to attend Sunday worship. It would be good if, in the first
instance, we could increase the number of volunteers assisting within the
crèche to allow those who help with Junior Church and Discoverers to be
released from crèche duty. The more volunteers the fewer occasions your name
is on the rota thus allowing everyone to participate regularly in the worship
services. The ideal situation would be if we could have sufficient volunteers
whereby the number of occasions you were helping was around five per
year. If you feel you would like to
help in this important part of our church’s work, please contact Sylvia
Crosby or if you are approached directly please give the request some
consideration. The leaders of the
youth groups are mindful of the amount of teaching material which is
available on the internet and on DVDs and they feel that a laptop would be
beneficial. They would like to appeal to anyone in the congregation who may
be upgrading their laptop to consider donating their old one to the church
for use not only by Junior Church and Discoverers but also by other groups. It is the time of year again when we are seeking
volunteers to act as hosts to allow us to open the Church to visitors during
the summer months. This year it is
planned to open the Church from Monday June 7th to Friday
September 24th. Opening
hours would be Mondays to Fridays, from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 2.00pm to
4.00pm, and on Saturday mornings whilst coffee is being served. If you feel
that you could assist with one morning or afternoon once a week or once a
fortnight, I should be pleased if you would add your name to the list which
will be placed in the vestibule within the next few weeks. From a personal
experience when visiting other churches, I have appreciated if there is
someone present to give a welcome and to share their knowledge about their
church and also their community. Volunteers are also required to help with
the Saturday morning coffee, and your support would be appreciated and again
the rota will be in the vestibule within the next few weeks. I am writing this at the start of Lent and we all
have heard folks say, or have even said ourselves, what are you giving up for
Lent? There are always the usual responses giving up chocolate, sweets, and
so on and I’m sure that for many folks this will be quite a sacrifice
and to go without these for 40 days will be quite an achievement. However, is
this really what the season of Lent is about? I heard a thought for the day
on the radio on Pancake or Shrove Tuesday or, as it is known in many parts of
the world, Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. I knew that the Mardi Gras was a time
of celebration but I did not know that it was a carnival of excess or had
religious roots. Apparently, this was the last chance to use up richer,
fattier foods before entering the period of Lent when lives were lived more
frugally in order that minds could be concentrated on Easter. Lent should be
a period of reflection, and perhaps we should take a step back from
life’s usual routine and consider what as Christians we are doing with
our lives. Are there things in our lives which we could or should change? The
season of Lent leads us to Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday and to
his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday. To fully appreciate what Christ
has done for us, we need to prepare ourselves and to fully understand the
sacrifice He made for each and everyone of us. Wishing you all a happy Easter. Adam
Anderson . Property action group Site work The concrete base for the old fuel tank, and holly
trees, have been removed from the main car-park area. Soil has also been
removed and a hardcore laid to improve parking facilities. The laurel bush adjacent to the vestry was removed
and hardcore laid to allow vehicle access for slate replacement on the south-west
roof section of the church. Soil
recovered from this work was used to infill a number of depressions in the
grassed area, which will be re-seeded in the spring. Internal
work An area of rising damp has been identified on the
vestry corridor wall and around the outside door, which will require to be
treated and plaster replaced on both sides before re-painting. Jack Graham Ceilidh dance The social group organised this event
to give members the opportunity to meet for an evening of fun and fellowship. Music for dancing was supplied by the
Hartfell Band, comprising Willie and Ian McRoberts
on accordion and drums respectively. A company of 70 danced practically
non-stop throughout the evening to a varied selection of music played in
expert fashion by the lads. The
majority of dancers came from dancing groups at Locharbriggs
and Kirkton, with many complimenting our hall as
being attractive and ideal for dancing.
A break in the dancing allowed a supper to revitalise both band and
dancers, and once again compliments flowed with regard to the high standard
of the food. Dancing resumed after a substantial raffle was conducted, and
continued until 11.30pm when Auld Lang Syne brought
the evening to its close. Thanks to Willie and Ian, to the donators of
raffle prizes, and to the ladies and the solitary gentleman who provided a
wonderful supper. Special thanks are
due to Jessie and Andy Newlands, Margaret and Blair Blacklock, Jeff Brown,
Graeme Paterson and Margaret Buchanan, who worked hard during the evening,
contributing to its success. Profit from the dance has enabled £100 to go to
the Albanian project and £272.10 towards church funds. James Buchanan Bluegrass music This summer, we have the incredible opportunity of
welcoming a bluegrass band to come and play at St Andrew’s to help
raise money for our charity outreach project. Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and is a sub-genre of
country music. It has roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional
music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the United
Kingdom and Ireland (particularly the Scottish-Irish immigrants in
Appalachia), and African-Americans, particularly through genres such as jazz
and blues. In bluegrass, as in some forms of jazz, one or
more instruments each takes its turn playing the melody and improvising
around it, while the others perform accompaniment; this is especially
typified in tunes called breakdowns. This is in contrast to old-time music, in which
all instruments play the melody together or one instrument carries the lead
throughout while the others provide accompaniment. Traditional bluegrass is
typically based around a small set of acoustic stringed instruments including
mandolin, acoustic guitar, banjo, fiddle, resonator guitar and upright bass,
with or without vocals. Bluegrass music has attracted a diverse and
extremely loyal following world-wide. Bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe
characterized the genre: "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's
blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound. It's plain music that tells
a good story. It's played from my heart to your heart, and it will touch you.
Bluegrass is music that matters." This small group are touring Scotland over a very
short time and are planning a whistle-stop tour of the whole country. They
played in Scotland in churches in 2008 and were extremely well received. They
play both spiritual and contemporary music and share a little of their faith
story and their passion for music. The acoustic nature of bluegrass music and
its unique slant on folk music make this an unmissable
event. The Rev Dr Robin Hill, minister of Gladsmuir and Longniddry in
Lothian, brought the band to Scotland in 2008 and has been helping find new
venues for this year’s tour. He has this to say about his
congregations’ experience of the group. “When Craig Duncan and
Friends came to Longniddry in 2008 our congregation
was absolutely spellbound by the band’s virtuosic playing and their
engaging personalities. Their combination of bluegrass, gospel and well-known
favourites made the evening a really joyful experience for everyone from
eight to 80+. And at the end of all the encores, our presbytery elder came
out saying, “That wasn’t a concert, it was an act of
worship!” Actually, of course, it was both. Craig and his friends are
such nice people and such talented musicians that our church cannot wait to
have them back again.” The group are placing no charge for their concerts.
They are just happy to be sharing their faith and music with others, and
helping congregations just like their own realise fundraising potential for
worthy projects. All they ask for is to be fed and put up for the
night of the concert before they move on to their next destination. The group
comprises two married couples and one, possibly two single men. They are happy to be split up and go to different
folks’ homes, so if you have a spare room, and would be willing to
welcome one or more of the group to your home for food and board for one
night, then please contact Adam Dillon on 220128 or adamdillon@btinternet.com
The concert will be held on the July 29th
at St Andrew’s. More details
will follow closer to the time. Put the date in your diary! Adam Dillon Finance action group A t time of writing, the treasurer
has completed the accounts for 2009, but the audit has not yet been
finalised. Based on the unaudited accounts however, we find that while income for
general purposes rose by some £4,000, due mainly to an exceptional tax
recovery, our offerings suffered a fall of about £3,000, not unexpected as
you will know from previous reports.
The increase in income was unfortunately swallowed up by the much
larger rise of £13,200 in expenditure. The main increase was in the Mission
and Ministries allocation, which was up by some £6,000. We also spent £14,400
in necessary repairs and maintenance - this included repairs to the clock,
boundary wall, fitting protective screens to the stained glass windows,
installing gates at the manse and ground maintenance. On a brighter note,
figures to February 28th lead us to hope that the continuing fall in
offerings may have bottomed out, although we should point out that these
first two months of 2010 included nine Sundays compared with eight a year
ago, so we should not read too much into these early results Finally, we are delighted
to express our gratitude to the late Mrs Cordingley,
from whose estate a legacy was received in January of £21,200. George Gray The
Church of Scotland Ministries
and mission contributions 2010 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Thank you for supporting the worship, mission and service of the Church
through the money you give in your offering.
It is important that you know what happens to this money. This letter tells you about your
congregation’s Ministries and Mission contribution - the money your
congregational treasurer sends to the church offices in The information below shows how the contributions from your linked congregations are used to support parish ministries, mission and renewal, and the general support and services provided for congregations and the councils of the General Assembly. Please note that the cost of your minister is not what he/she is paid. This cost is the total for stipend and employer’s national insurance and pension contributions, and is based on a minister with ten years’ service. Congregations: Contribution MOFFAT ST ANDREW’S 47,354 WAMPHRAY 2,512 £58,846 Parish ministries (87%) £51,196 The cost of ministry in your parish is: £39,100 Your contribution to the cost of ministries in other parishes and training for ministries: 12,096 This supports the Church’s work in resourcing congregations for Christian education and outreach, in caring for the vulnerable in society, in partnership with churches in some of the poorest parts of the world, and in providing a Christian perspective on social, political and moral issues of today. Support and services for councils and
congregations (7.5%) £4,413 This provides financial, legal, procedural, safeguarding and other services, and meets the cost of the General Assembly and the Moderator. Please note that ministries and mission contributions only provide part of the total funding required for the work of the Church listed above. A fuller picture is given in the leaflet Funding or Faith, which is available free to all congregations. I hope that this helps you to understand ministries and mission
contributions and shows you are enabling the sharing of the gospel through
the money your congregation sends through the Church offices to all parts of Yours sincerely Gordon D Jamieson Head of Stewardship If If you can always be cheerful If you can get to sleep without drugs. If you can relax without alcohol. If you can start the day without caffeine If you can take blame without resentment If you can resist complaining If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful
for it If you can understand if your loved ones are too busy
to give you time And if you can overlook it when those you love take it
out on you, When, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong. Then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog!
Reproduced with permission from the Gladd Times magazine courtesy of Dumfries and Galloway
Canine Rescue centre Summer coffee
mornings
While thoughts are already turning to our Saturday coffee
mornings, we look forward to having new helpers join us in providing this
service from June until September. If
by chance you have come to St. Andrews in recent times, you will be made most
welcome, and it is a good way establish new friendships. A new rota chart will be installed in the
vestibule in early April. Meantime
should you require further information please contact me on 220363. Margaret Buchanan Organ
grinders and monkeys
Despite the recent major overhaul of the organ, the
instrument still requires regular maintenance. In November last year, the organ was
attended to by Sandy Edmonstone, our organ builder,
and Roger, his assistant. They
travelled down from Generally the organ remains in good condition and has been problem-free over the last 12 months. However, like any property, vehicle or other mechanical device it will from time to time require attention. Some of you may have seen our new piano. It is a Yamaha CLP370 digital keyboard and differs from many (cheap) keyboards as it uses natural wood for the keys as seen on acoustic pianos. The keys are touch sensitive giving great flexibility to the player. Realistic sounds are achieved by taking samples of sounds from ‘real’ instruments and then producing equivalent electronic sounds. The piano was purchased using donations from members of the church and has already been used to great effect in concerts. May I take this opportunity of thanking the choir members for their attendance over the past 12 months. They provide a very useful link between me and the congregation. Who knows, one day, with modern technology which is now available, the organ will be playable from downstairs, and then we can all come down and join you. Remember, where there’s a WILL there’s a way! Andy Thorne Little Stars toddler group We are thankful to have an ever-increasing and
enthusiastic group of parents and carers every Monday morning between
9.30-11.30am in a well-stocked and warm church hall. The Discoverers set out
the hall each week after their meeting, the Guild ladies have continued to
support us in the provision of refreshments, and Audrey’s and
Ellie’s music and exercise groups are hugely enjoyed by everyone. The children listen to the Bible stories
and learn about God’s love for everyone, which we feel is important
whatever their age. We are delighted to welcome new babies, and are
thrilled that Jessica Stewart has a new sister, Caitlin, and our sincere
congratulations go to Michael and Beverley.
We await the arrival of three more in the coming months! The miracle of a new person is always
wonderful and great excitement is felt on hearing about a baby’s safe
arrival. Late news: Hannah has a new sister, Jessica, and we offer our
congratulations to Hannah, Helen and Brian.
It was also wonderful to hear that Granny Audrey has twin
granddaughters! Again, many thanks to everyone who has helped make
Monday mornings such a pleasure. Margo,
Jennifer, Helen and Sylvia Traidcraft This year marks the 30th
anniversary of Traidcraft. It was launched in 1979 by a group of
Christians. They recognized the
widespread poverty and the difficulties producers in many countries faced in
getting a fair price for their products.
·
Traidcraft is the UK’s leading fair trade organisation and has
been fighting poverty through trade for 30 years. ·
Traidcraft works to fight poverty through trade by: >
trading with people in Africa, Asia and Latin
America; > supporting people in the developing world to build
sustainable businesses;
and > influencing
policy-making in government and business. ·
Traidcraft sources its products from community-based
businesses in the developing world, paying fair prices to the producers and
distributing the products in the UK.
The goods are sold via supermarkets, independent retailers, online, mail order, and a network of more than
6,000 fair traders. Traidcraft’s autumn 2009 catalogue is packed with products to suit all
ethically- conscious consumers, with fair trade, recycled and organic
products. This latest range boasts more than 400 products
from craft workers and farmers across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Many
producer groups have lost valuable export orders because of the credit crunch
in other countries – making Traidcraft sales
even more important to help producers provide for their families. Traidcraft orders provide work not just for those who make the wide
range of products, but the teams who quality check and pack the orders too. To find out more about Traidcraft in your area contact Sonia Sharkey or the Discoverers group. Our Traidcraft stall is available on the first Sunday of the month during coffee after the service. Or for further information about Traidcraft visit www.traidcraft.co.uk Sonia Sharkey Junior
church Since Christmas, the members of junior church have been
busy learning about Abraham, Lot and Isaac and how God kept his promise to
Abraham by giving him a son who would have many descendants. Over the last couple
of weeks, we have been looking at the story of John the Baptist, and we are
hoping this will lead on to the Easter story. As well as looking at these stories, the older children of junior church
wanted to raise some money for the children of The support we receive from parents and helpers is greatly appreciated, and we should like to thank you very much and wish you a happy Easter. God bless you all. Jane,
Maxine, Graeme and Naomi
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