A Message from Our Interim Moderator
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www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk Kiltarlity and Wardlaw Churches A MESSAGE FROM OUR INTERIM MODERATOR Dear Friends, There is a moving story about a man called Charnet who was a political prisoner in France in the days of Napoleon. He was thrown into prison simply because he had accidentally, by a remark, offended the emperor Napoleon. Cast into a dungeon cell, presumably left to die, as the days and weeks and months passed by, Charnet became embittered at his fate. Slowly but surely he began to lose his faith in God. And one day, in a moment of rebellious anger, he scratched on the wall of his cell, "All things come by chance," which reflected the injustice that had come his way by chance. He sat in the darkness of that cell growing more bitter by the day. There was one spot in the cell where a single ray of sunlight came every day and remained for a little while. And one morning, to his absolute amazement, he noticed that in the hard, earthen floor of that cell a tiny, green blade was breaking through. It was something living, struggling up toward that shaft of sunlight. It was his only living companion, and his heart went out in joy toward it. He nurtured it with his tiny ration of water, cultivated it, and encouraged its growth. That green blade became his friend. It became his teacher in a sense, and finally it burst through until one day there bloomed from the little plant a beautiful, purple and white flower. Once again Charnet found himself thinking thoughts about God. He scratched off the thing he had scribbled on the wall of his dungeon and in its place wrote, "He who made all things is God." Somehow through the guards and their wives and the gossip of the community, this little story reached the ears of Josephine, Napoleon's wife. She was very moved by it. She became convinced that a man who loved a flower that way could not possibly be a dangerous criminal so she persuaded her husband to release him. So Charnet was set free. You can be sure that he dug out his precious little prison flower and took it with him and cultivated that plant in the years to come. He also pondered in his heart a verse that he put on the little flower pot holding the plant. What would that verse be ? "If God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith ?" Luke 12 verse 28 God’s light can burst into even our darkest situations. Yours sincerely Edgar Ogston The Parishioner Newsletter Issue 52 - June 2012 Page 1 of 22 www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk Holiday Club 2012 As in previous years the Kirk Session at Kirkhill have agreed to try to run a Holiday Club this summer but in order to do so there will need to be enough people willing to commit to helping with the work for one week during the school holidays. The success of the week depends on building relationships with the young people who attend as well as giving them an enjoyable and fun experience. To that end we need helpers who are willing to be responsible for, or help with, small groups of children during the week. This is not an onerous task and you will be given material to work with - you don't have to think things up for yourself! The Club would run each morning from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Monday to Friday. If there are not enough helpers during one of the July weeks an alternative would be to run the club for a week during the October school holidays. We are planning to base the theme for the week on the Olympics and propose that the event will take place this year in the refurbished Wardlaw Church building but, as before, the Holiday Club will be open to children from both Kiltarlity and Kirkhill and the surrounding areas. However we are only able to go ahead if we have a core of 10 people committing to help with a small group for the whole week. If you have not completed the form attached to the May edition of The Parishioner, please speak now to Eileen or Alasdair Morrison as soon as possible – 831 185. A decision needs to be taken by the end of May about whether, or not, the Holiday Club will go ahead. The Parishioner Newsletter Issue 52 - June 2012 Page 2 of 22 www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk Please note that tickets will NOT be available on the night The church website now has a dedicated page for the silent auction : www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk/silentauction You are able to view the item list as it takes shape. The ‘last updated’ date appears at the top of the list so you can see when it changes. When the sermons clash with the music… There was a feud between the Minister and the choir director of a church. It seems the first hint of trouble came when the Minister preached on ‘Dedicating Yourselves to Service’ and the choir director chose to sing : ‘I Shall Not Be Moved.’ Trying to believe it was a coincidence, the Minister put the incident behind him. The next Sunday he preached on ‘Giving.’ Afterwards, the choir squirmed as the director led them in the hymn : ‘Jesus Paid It All.’ By this time, the Minister was losing his temper. Sunday morning attendance swelled as the tension between the two built. A large crowd showed up the next week to hear his sermon on ‘The Sin of Gossiping.’ Would you believe the choir director selected the song : ‘I Love To Tell The Story ?’ By now, there was no turning back. The following Sunday the Minister told the congregation that unless something changed, he was considering resignation. The entire church gasped when the choir director led them in : ‘Why Not Tonight ?’ Truthfully, no one was surprised when the Minister resigned a week later, explaining that Jesus had led him there and Jesus was leading him away. The choir director could not resist : ‘What A Friend We Have In Jesus.’ The Parishioner Newsletter Issue 52 - June 2012 Page 3 of 22 www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk Recently, during a morning service in a Lanarkshire I have a little Satnav church, the Locum Minister asked the children to It sits there in my car name a very important person, a head of state with a A Satnav is a driver's friend title, that they would like to see some Sunday in their It tells you where you are church. The Minister was clearly anticipating the response ‘the Queen.’ What he got, loud and clear, I have a little Satnav was “the Pope.” Rarely has such spontaneous and I've had it all my life It does more than the normal one good-natured laughter resounded round that church – and quite right too; but, as someone later My Satnav is my wife remarked, just about tongue in cheek, “Time was It gives me full instructions when that heroic young man would have been On exactly how to drive awarded the George Cross for Courage – "It's thirty miles an hour" it says posthumously.” "And you're doing thirty five" It tells me when to stop and start I've learned... And when to use the brake And tells me that it's never ever that you can do something in an instant that will give Safe to overtake you heartache for the rest of your life. It tells me when a light is red I've learned... And when it goes to green that you should always leave loved ones with loving It seems to know instinctively Just when to intervene words. It may be the last time you see them. It lists the vehicles just in front I've learned... It lists those to the rear And taking this into account that we are responsible for what we do, no matter It specifies my gear how we feel. I'm sure no other driver I've learned... Has so helpful a device that either you control your attitude or it controls For when we leave and lock the car It still gives its advice you. I've learned... It fills me up with counselling Each journey's pretty fraught that money is a lousy way of keeping score. So why don't I exchange it And get a quieter sort ? I've learned... Ah well, you see, it cleans the house that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Makes sure I'm properly fed Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself. It washes all my shirts and things And - keeps me warm in bed ! I've learned... Thanks to Graham Elkin for this poem that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different. Same goes for hearing. The Parishioner Newsletter Issue 52 - June 2012 Page 4 of 22 www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk VACANCY – THE NEWS THIS MONTH IS …. There was no news to report from the May meeting of the Inverness Presbytery on our vacancy, so we are still awaiting the authority to call a Minister and form a nominating committee. This was as expected, as we have been advised that these permissions will not be forthcoming until September or October of this year. In the meantime, we have gained the authority of Inverness Presbytery and the General Trustees to let out Wardlaw Manse.