No.11 30th August 2024
Hi,
Thanks to those who looked after Magazine things in absence of myself and the Standards and Quality Control supervisor.
I was in Harris last week and on the tour of the Distillery (keen to support the local economy!) they pointed out the motto at the bottom of the bottles: "Esse Quam Videri". You can look up why that is added, but it means 'to be, rather than to seem'.
It made me think about the need for integrity in life - that is always a battle against sin and self, where we can pretend to others (and ourselves!) that we are one thing, but in reality our thoughts, desires, hopes, motives are quite different from what we portray - 'seem' to be.
Scott is getting to the end of what has been a great series in Romans...(thanks Scott!) and one thing which has struck me again is the need to be so caught up in who we are because of what Christ has done for us, so that we begin to change our day to day actions, and our heart motives too. ie there is no disconnect between who we are and how we act. Romans 12:1 was a wonderful turning point with an amazing 'therefore'. Basically, 'therefore' in the light of all that God has planned for us, achieved for us in Christ, even when we were rebels, how will you now act.
Religion will tell us to do this and do that - but the Gospel is reminding us of who we are, what has happened to us...and then calls us to live in the good of all that.
Enjoy the Mag.
MB
Sunday 1st September, 10.30am
Scripture - Romans chapter 16:1-16
Rev Scott Kirkland
Wednesday 4th - 7.15pm
PULSE prayer meeting at McDougall's
LARGE PRINT - SONG WORDS
If you find viewing the song-words on the screen in Sunday worship a problem, we currently print a limited number of large-print song sheets for specific people.
We don't want to print unnecessary copies so please speak with the door team and we will begin to make these available for you each week.
LIFTS TO CHURCH
If you require a regular lift to church, please let us know by emailing the office: office@mearnsfree.org
and if you are able to offer to be on the rota for giving a lift please speak with Sandy McDougal - see below for details.
Letter from the Manse
Dear Congregation,
I am delighted to have Martin back from holiday and taking up the reigns of responsibility again for the magazine this week!
When I step into various responsibilities usually undertaken by other people in MFC, I am reminded of what a delight it is to minister here in this congregation. I am reminded that so many of you serve the Lord wholeheartedly, in a rich variety of ways and so often with great fruitfulness. It is quite remarkable.
Last Sunday in worship we spent some time in Romans 15 with Paul's reflection on his own ministry. There is no doubt Paul had a unique calling as an Apostle and particularly as it was to the Gentiles (non-Jews). However, as we know well here in MFC, when we are called to faith in Jesus, we are also called into His service. We may not have a unique calling as Paul did), but every Christian is called to both a new relationship with God and also a new service. When we read Paul's description of his own ambitions in this ministry and the way he applied himself geographically to these, I am sure with me, you are amazed (even more so when we remember he did not have access to a car, plane or train!).
Reflecting on some of these things, I stressed in the sermon the amazing clarity of Paul's thinking (and right humility). He spotlighted that all he had achieved was only possible because God had gifted him the ability to undertake this service and he had been gifted the very calling to serve. Paul was clear-minded that all his "success" (fruitfulness) was because of what the Lord was doing in and through him. I was struck again by Paul's clarity: "
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me...." This is a clarity and a humility we can also experience.
However, I may not have stressed sufficiently the motivating, energizing
privilege of being in the Lord's service. In the sermon, I highlighted how many successful Olympians said in later interviews how proud they were of themselves. However, in a more positive note, I was also struck by how frequently they said they were proud to compete for GB (or to wear the GB tracksuit). I think most of us would get that. However, we may not always fully appreciate the privilege and breath-taking honour it is to be clothed in Christ's righteousness and to become part of His "team". I say this with a spirit of wonder and but also encouragement. Is this truth not truly thrilling? And is it not incredible that although some of our abilities are used in what seems like the most mundane practical, day-to-day applications, the Lord is at work accomplishing His will even through these! Amazing!
This coming Sunday in Romans 16, we shall hear Paul name numerous real people who grasped this amazing privilege of serving the Lord. So energizing was this for them, Paul calls some "outstanding"!
Serving the Lord is in fact invariably practical. However, every practical action we undertake for the Lord is based on our understanding of God, ourselves and how we believe God wants us to serve Him. This means that what we believe is inextricably linked to this practice. These two aspects of Christian life (believing and acting) must never be separated. We should always strive for clarity in our beliefs not least because it will affect what we do.
Next Saturday (7th September), in Edinburgh, The Free Church will host a day conference on why we need clarity in our beliefs. "Credo" is the Latin for "I believe". Credo provides the root for our English word, "creed" - what we believe. The conference is
"We Believe- Why the Creed Matters Today". Can I encourage you to have a great day out to Edinburgh and attend the conference. I think you will find it so helpful. There will be several speakers (including Sinclair Ferguson). Anita and I are aiming to attend. You can find booking details
here.
See you Sunday,
With warmest regards,
Scott
Gathering Song
We start our Sunday service with a Gathering Song - as we finish off our conversations it's good to take a moment to reflect that we are gathering together to worship the Lord.
This week we are repeating the same Gathering Song we started with last Sunday, which among other things gives us a chance to learn it more fully.
You can take a moment to watch and listen to it
here...or on Spotify
here.
It's a great way to walk through the plan of God and work of Christ for us:
Come, behold the wondrous mystery
The king... the theme of Heaven's praises
Robed in frail humanity
He, the perfect son of man
In His living, in His suffering.
Christ, the Lord upon the tree
In the stead of ruined sinners
Hangs the lamb in victory.
Slain by death, the God of life
But no grave could e’er restrain Him
Praise the Lord, He is alive!
Drivers Needed
With the new season of church activities starting it would be good to have a larger number of drivers available to call on to supplement the existing team.
Drivers are required for:
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Sundays (pick up 10.00 -10.15) and take home after coffee etc
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Tuesdays (pick up 1.30 -1.45) for Café Connect located at the Baptist Church. This is a 2.00pm start and take home is at 3.30pm.
Your commitment can be on a weekly, fortnightly, once-a-month or just to be called on in an emergency.
Those being transported vary in mobility and frailty. Extra time may be needed for some.
There is disabled access at both venues.
This is a very worthwhile ministry as more people in the congregation are no longer fit or able to drive.
If you consider this to be part of your ministry at Mearns Free Church please let Alastair McLellan know at office@mearnsfree.org.
(It is a requirement that all drivers have safeguard training and this will now need to be to Free Church of Scotland stipulations.)
Sandy H
We had a very positive and productive morning last Saturday as around 30 of us met with Dave Ellis from Ocho to chat about who we are and how we want to present ourselves to the world.
There was a lot of laughter as conscious biases regarding fonts and colours were discussed, and it was great to have clear contributions from Eilidh, Jamie and Daniel as generational voices were heard.
Dave was an excellent host as he led us through over three hours of discussions. He took many notes and he will now compile a report summarising our thoughts and present visual ideas for our branding and communications. It will take a few weeks but we look forward to seeing the results of our time together bear fruit.
Our thanks at the end went to Jacob who arranged this excellent event.
Jack G
on Sundays!
The new Hizkidz term has begun.
We currently operate two groups - under 5s and 5-12s during Sunday morning services. If anyone is interested in joining the team of leaders and helpers then please speak to Pauline.
Clearing the Chairs!
Although Chris B should have been on a relaxing beach holiday he couldn't quite get out of the habit of clearing up chairs.
Full story is actually on X here
OPEN DOORS
Millions of Christians are displaced across sub-Saharan Africa – why is no one talking about it?
Pastor Barnabas lives in one of many internally displaced people (IDP) camps in Nigeria, along with thousands of Christians who have been forced from their homes by Islamic extremist violence. It’s one of many similar IDP camps across sub-Saharan Africa, where 16.2 million Christians have been forcibly displaced by violence and conflict. But most of the world doesn’t even know it’s happening.
Through the Arise Africa campaign, you can help stop the violence and start the healing for Pastor Barnabas and the whole church across sub-Saharan Africa and wake up the world to the suffering of our brothers and sisters.
Webinar registration: Open Doors Prayer Webinar - September Tickets, Thu 5 Sep 2024 at 19:30 | Eventbrite
Campaign video: Millions of Christians are displaced across sub-Saharan Africa – why is no one talking about it?
Vimeo – please take a look!
Give your support: Sign the petition and share a prayer: opendoorsuk.org/ariseafrica
Thank-you!
Chris Greenhalgh
Email Addresses For Mearns Free Church
Please make sure you change your email address list now we are part of the Free Church.
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Tom Brown (Office): office@mearnsfree.org
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Scott Kirkland (Minister): minister@mearnsfree.org
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Sandy McDougall (Treasurer): finance@mearnsfree.org
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Pauline Forster (Children and families worker): children@mearnsfree.org
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Jacob (Ministry Associate): youth@mearnsfree.org
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SATURDAY 14th SEPTEMBER
We have a St Andrews First Aid course entitled "Emergency First Aid" (plus baby and child CPR) booked and have some spaces available. Click
here to see details of booking.
This is a 4 hour course, starting at 10am and will likely be held at Belmont. We have secured a discounted rate of £83.40 per person.
Contact Pauline if you'd like to book a space.
The Pulse
We call our weekly prayer meeting at Mearns Free Church "The Pulse".
You can see where we meet each week on the
calendar.
“Prayer is subversive activity. It involves a more or less open act of defiance against any claim by the current regime.... [As we pray,] slowly but surely, not culture, not family, not government, not job, not even the tyrannous self can stand against the quiet power and creative influence of God's sovereignty.”
― Eugene H. Peterson,
Scott wrote last week encouraging us to come along to the midweek Pulse meeting... you can go back and read those comments, but here is a snippet of some of the practical questions being asked:
In the coming months, we will explore how we can increase the number of us meeting together for prayer.
In the short term, can I encourage you to attend The Pulse?
Is the time of the meeting a problem for you? Let me know because we want to find a time that suits as many of us as possible.
We shall use different venues from time to time in the hope that this might make The Pulse more accessible.
The dates, times and venues are already visible on the website calendar till the end of November.
If you need a venue's address, don't hesitate to get in touch with the office and we will supply you with these.
As a fellowship of believers, we want to rejoice and weep with one another, first and foremost in prayer!
Scott
Ladybird Book of Mearns Free Church
Please Subscribe To Our YouTube Channel
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel.
You can do this by going to the channel
here, and simply pressing the tab with the bell that says “Subscribe”.
There is no cost. You will find all videos produced by Mearns Free Church at this location. There are today, 120 subscribers. Let's see if we can boost that number significantly.
If you "Subscribe", when we post new videos on the channel, you may get a notification.
This will help you stay in touch with all our news/worship. Since we rarely post videos more than once a week, you will not get inundated with notifications! The more subscribers we have on the channel the greater potential online visibility we shall have.
You will also notice that below each of our videos, there is a little tab with a "thumbs up". if you appreciate being in worship at Mearns Free Church each Sunday or participating in worship through the YouTube Channel, please press the “thumbs-up” icon. This also helps encourage online visibility.
Safeguarding in Mearns Free Church
Our safeguarding team is here to help ensure Mearns Free Church is a safe place for all. However, this ambition must be embraced by all of us if it is to be successful.
Let's get our PVGs in place, get ourselves trained and put safe practice into place week by week.
Free Church’s Safeguarding Training
Our Safeguarding Team (including Sue Anderson, Ian Forgie, Marlene Smith and Sue Amery-Behr) have so far processed the safeguarding paperwork for 63 folk in our congregation;
Disclosure Scotland have issued PVG certificates for just over half so far and we expect their task to be completed soon.
All who have applied for PVG certification need also to engage in the Free Church’s safeguarding training. This is currently provided online from the comfort of your own homes, and takes a couple of hours.
The next training session for congregations is Thursday 31st October at 19.30.
You can sign up for the training sessions through this link to the registration page: Safeguarding Training Booking – Free Church of Scotland
Office Bearers can sign up for their training on Tuesday 24th September.
Thank you for embracing safeguarding.
Doing so is essential to ensure that Mearns Free Church is a safe environment for all who worship with us and for all who engage in our ministries to children, young people and vulnerable adults.
Alastair McLellan
Mearns Free Church has a What's App Group for Prayer
Purpose: A platform to share information regarding a sudden and crucial need for prayer.
How to connect: Speak to Margaret Boyd if you would like to be added to this group or email Margaret at: mandmboyd@hotmail.co.uk
What tech do I need?: You need to have a Smart Phone with WhatsApp to get set up.
Dear All,
We have some exciting job vacancies which are now live on our website.
We are looking for Housing Settlement Officers for our Winter Project and for a Women’s Project Worker (Mat Leave Cover) to join our City Centre Project.
Full details including job descriptions and application instructions can be found here Jobs - Glasgow City Mission
Kind Regards
Susan Robertson
Operations Manager
Glasgow City Mission | 20 Crimea Street | Glasgow | G2 8PW
T 0141 221 2630 W www.glasgowcitymission.com
Scottish charity SC001499
B.Y.O.C. please
CAN YOU HELP?
it makes such a difference if people bring their own cups rather than using the disposable ones each week - can you help?