Willowbrae Parish Church Newsletter November 2018 November 2018 Dear Friends, ‘Work in Progress’ Recently our part of Edinburgh seems to have been submerged in road repairs or alterations. At various times as you made your way up the A1 you would have found that you were delayed or re-routed at the Duddingston Road junction, on Willowbrae Road right outside the church, at the area around the top of Easter Road, and at Leith Street. If you are like me, part of you grumbles about this. However, another part is glad that such a vital part of our daily lives is being maintained, and hopefully improved. ‘Work in Progress’ is an on-going necessity in life. We just hope there is a master-plan somewhere! Maybe our congregation feels a bit like that at the moment too? Our Buildings Options Study is fully underway. Zoe is working very hard – and fruitfully - on our links and involvement with the community, and on the hopes of our own congregation for the future. We are about to join the Path of Renewal movement. We are thinking and praying about how we could connect in a meaningful way with families and children in our parish. – Then on the much bigger front, the national Church of Scotland will receive a new ‘radical’ strategic plan at the 2019 General Assembly. At the moment, I have no idea what that will contain, and how it will impact on a congregation like ours. – So, our congregation, and the Church of Scotland at large, could really do with a big sign over it saying, ‘Work in Progress.’ In light of this, how reassuring it is to know, as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 3.9, that ‘we are God’s fellow-workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.’ We believe that God is indeed at work in our world, in our congregations, and in our individual lives. What Paul emphasises in this verse is that our task is not to do God’s work for God. Our task is to be watchful, and expectant, so that we can discover what God is already doing, and then to join in together as his co-workers. Or, to change the metaphor, our task is to discern where God’s Spirit is blowing and – only then – to hoist our sails to catch the Spirit’s energy, and direction. So there is certainly ‘Work in Progress’ in the church. But what a relief, what a reassurance, to know that it is not up to us to devise a master-plan for all this! Our task is to be attuned to the great purposes of God for our parish and our world, and to follow where God leads. May grace and peace be yours, Changes to the Church Family New Members: Mr Archie and Mrs Grace Halliday Deaths Members: Mrs Isabel Grainge Miss Muriel Dow An Evening Songs of Praise to commemorate the Centenary of the Armistice An Evening Songs of Praise to commemorate the Centenary of the Armistice will be held in Liberton Kirk on Saturday 10th November at 7.30pm. It will be an opportunity to sing the beloved evening hymns so seldom heard nowadays, including the stalwarts ‘Abide with Me’, ‘The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, is Ended’, ‘Saviour, again, to Thy dear name’, whilst reflecting upon the theme of Remembrance. The event will follow a similar format to a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, with evening hymns interspersed with lessons, poetry, testimony, and reflection. The event is free, non-ticketed, and open to all. Soup Lunches Our Soup Lunches are a great time of fellowship over hearty bowls of soup and gorgeous, waist thickening puddings and cake. They also enable us to support the work of local and global charities. The Kirk Session decided that the £300.00 from September’s lunch be sent to support Barnabas Fund relief work amongst those people affected by the floods in Kerela, India. October’s donations were split between Bethany Night Shelter and Christian Aid’s emergency relief work in Indonesia; both charities receiving £135.00. Donations from the lunch on 4th November will support the work of the Earl Haig Fund, Scotland. Fellowship Group Over the summer months, £70.00 was collected in “tea money”. Our members decided to send this collection to our Missionary Partner, John McCulloch and his wife, Annette, to help support their work with Bedouin families in Israel. Future meetings will be held on 5th November with a talk about our schooling, work etc. Emily Pankhurst and the suffragettes provide the topic of the meeting on 19th November and, on 3rd December, as part of the year of the young person, we will hear about the work of the Boys Brigade. We round off 2018 on 17th December with our Christmas celebration. Meetings take place at 2pm in the church centre and all are welcome at any meeting. Margaret Nimmo Chatter overheard by a Sunday Club leader After hearing that week’s Bible story, the children present were given paper and crayons and encouraged to draw something relating to what they had just heard. One wee girl sat thinking hard of what she would draw, and, seeing her friend already busily scribbling away, she asked, “What are you drawing?” “Jesus” the friend replied. After a moment’s hesitation the little girl said, “But we don’t know what Jesus looked like!” “You will once I’m finished.” Pause for Prayer. The midweek half hour of reflection, quiet, and prayer, both silent and spoken, takes place very Wednesday from 1.30pm to 2pm in the church. Everyone is welcome. Prayer requests cards can be found at the back of the church and in the church centre. Life and Work Magazine Orders are now being taken for ‘Life and Work’ magazines for 2019. If you would like to have your own copy each month, please give your name to Audrey Watson - 0131 661 2932 . The magazine covers all aspects of the Church’s activities in Scotland and beyond, and helps to keep us informed of the work of the wider Church. The writers are from all walks of the Church’s life – from the Moderator to folk in the pews. As well as the articles, there are photos, prayers and book reviews. There is always a congregational copy on the display shelves at the back of the church on the left as you leave, for you to look at and read. The magazine costs £2.80 per issue, but because we pay annually, there is a discount of 9%. This means we pay £2.55 per copy, i.e. £30.60 for the year. Please let me know if you are interested in ordering your own copy for next year. Audrey Watson Safe Families for Children – Friendship at times of Crisis Thank you to all those who contributed to the Soup Lunch donations for Safe Families for Children at the start of the Summer. These donations have helped to support the work of Safe Families in Edinburgh, working with families in crisis to help them get back on their feet. Inspired by the love and life of Jesus, at Safe Families for Children we believe that every child is of value and deserves hope. The Bible speaks of many situations where crisis and tragedy have struck. In response, we see acts of mercy, shown by the Good Samaritan to a stranger on the road, generosity and compassion, shown by Boaz to Ruth in the fields, and determined friendship, shown by the men who lowered their paralyzed friend through the roof to the feet of Jesus. Each of these paints a picture for us of the love that God shows to each of us. Just as we continue to see similar crises and tragedy found in those stories today, we hope to inspire the church in Scotland to reflect God’s love in similar acts of mercy, compassion and friendship to those in their communities. Safe Families works with local authorities throughout the Lothians who refer families in need of help. As a Host Home, Family Friend or Resource Friend, our volunteers offer practical support, advice and resources. These families are then matched to trained and approved volunteers. Where there is a resource need, requests are sent out to our list of Resource Friends. In an area not far from the church, one of our Host Families was able to help a struggling young mum and her 6 year old son. Both were new to the area with very few local links or supports. Mum was still recovering from an alcohol addiction and regularly felt weighed down from carrying the full weight of caring and raising her son without any family close by to support her. Although she had a good relationship with her son, there was a lot of strain on her and she was needing a break. We were able to match the child up with one of our families who took him out every second week to spend time with him. They were able to take him to the Botanic Gardens, museums and do arts and crafts at home, which he loved. They would have dinner together before returning him home to mum. Although seemingly simple, this support not only gave mum the rest she so needed but provided the child with positive role models and experiences to build on. If you are interested in contributing further to our work or volunteering, please contact Ruth Scott at [email protected] or 0131 603 8430. The Flower Fund.