Stonehaven Fetteresso Life of Worship • Life of Love • Life of Service
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Help and Assistance Welcome to Fetteresso Church have a Grampian Coronavirus Assistance Hub Stonehaven Fetteresso group of volunteers to help with any shopping needs etc Life of Worship • Life of Love • Life of Service at this time. If you need help please contact the church office on: [email protected] Or 01569 730143 or for more wide ranging advice and help please check out: Grampian Coronavirus Assistance Hub www.gcha.org.uk A special service is being held to formally install the next Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Rev Dr Martin Fair will officially succeed Rt Rev Colin Sinclair as the Kirk’s ambassador at home and abroad on May 16 with proceedings broadcast live on the Church’s website and Facebook CHURCH AT HOME page from 11am. www.churchofscotland.org.uk/news-and-events/ For prayer, worship music, news/2020/Special-service-to-install-new-Moderator The May issue teaching, contemplations of Life and Work and our children’s page is available for please go to the Sunday 31 May, 10-10.30am – Pentecost – streamed on the all to view, free online CHURCH AT HOME at: Church of Scotland website and Facebook page The Moderator will lead a service to mark the birthday of the Christian tab on the church website. https:// Church, with contributions from many different places. Like the disciples on Or click: www.lifeandwork.org/ that first Pentecost, here is the invitation to step confidently into whatever resources/free- the future holds. We would like to invite you to make this the service for http://www.fetteresso.org/ download-may-2020 connect/praise-and-worship- your congregation on that Sunday, so that as much of the Church of music Scotland as possible will be gathered in fellowship and praise. Scottish Charity Number SC011191 Church to host webinar on impact of coronavirus It will highlight: A webinar is being held to provide those in the ministries of the church, office a predicted downturn in congregational income which may continue bearers, staff, members and volunteers with an update on how challenges facing well into 2021 or until a coronavirus vaccine becomes generally the Church of Scotland are being tackled. available. The Assembly Trustees are the need to suspend plans to create a Growth Fund and instead use hosting the session on Friday, any spare capacity to invest in the resources that will be needed for 22 May at 11am to discuss the renewal of church life post-virus. the impact that the the paring down of the central services to provide all but essential coronavirus pandemic has services during May and June and thereafter returning to address the had on the charity. required process of downsizing the central administration. Rev Dr Martin Fair, currently a proposal to encourage the implementation of a more robust the Moderator Designate, will presbytery planning process alongside an acceleration of the “well chair the meeting for those in equipped spaces” land and buildings programme. the ministries of the church, office bearers, staff, members a commitment to work with and support CrossReach during what is and volunteers. the greatest crisis the care sector has ever faced. They will be able to put questions to the Church’s Chief Officer, Dave Kendall, Details of how people can sign up to the event will be issued in the coming and Very Rev Dr John Chalmers, convener of the Assembly Trustees. week but people can submit questions in advance now to ensure detailed answers. Dr Chalmers said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it unprecedented changes to the landscape in which the Church is operating. Send your question in advance to: “At great speed and with extraordinary imagination, ministers and congregations [email protected] or have worked to overcome the challenges of self-isolation and social distancing. “There is, in fact, evidence that with the use of modern technology and an [email protected] extended online presence the reach of the Church has greatly increased. “In spite of the great distress and disruption that coronavirus has caused, this is a time to thank all those who have anchored our life in such difficult times.” Dr Chalmers said no one will ever know the full extent of the way in which ministers and church members have dealt with people’s private anxiety and grief and contributed to the well-being of the nation. The contents of a special report prepared by the Assembly Trustees, in light of the General Assembly being cancelled, will be discussed. Prayer requests from Suresh, India Village Ministries: Most people including daily wage workers have moved from the cities to be with their families in rural areas for the duration of the lockdown. Due to lock down, people in the villages are not working. This has created huge psychological and financial stresses. The price of things has increased significantly. Some poor families in the slums are literally starving for food. Relief aid from IVM has been delivered to slums dwellers, migrant daily workers, poor people who In May Suresh Vemulapalli from India Village Ministries was due to visit with us are starving for food. Hundreds of families have at Fetteresso. IVM along with our food bank here in Stonehaven are the been given rice bags, 30 eggs for each family, subject of our Monthly Prayer Focus. onions in Challapalli mandal, Krishna District of Please click here http://www.fetteresso.org/connect/prayer Andhra Pradesh. for an update and prayer requests from them both during this month of May. There is a fear that the number of confirmed cases will increase and, if this happens, our IVM team are very busily engaged helping the people on a country’s health services are not in a position to handle it. daily basis with their food requirements – that’s really • We need God’s intervention in this situation to stop the spread of this deadly looking after, caring for, showing compassion, and truly virus. loving all ‘our brothers and sisters - who are all our • Give thanks that Regional sub-Inspector of Police and Mandal revenue Officers, neighbours’ in accordance with the Lord’s two great Village Administrative Officer participated in this distribution program. The commandments. Officers commended services of IVM in this crisis situation. Local media personnel also helped IVM to distribute this aid to needy people. We are distributing essential food pack (5Kgs of rice, 1 kg • Pray for the protection of us, the children in our orphanage, elderly widows, Lentil and 1 kg sunflower oil, vegetables/eggs) to many pastors and all our staff as we minister to families, that the Lord will provide for starving families in our region. This food pack costs ONLY £6 the needs of those under our care. ($9). • Many poor people in rural India live day to day but without work, they starve. "If you can't feed a hundred people, Due to lockdown, many poor families are then feed just ONE" struggling to feed their children... - Mother Teresa Many more waiting for help… We are We appreciate your prayers and support. looking unto the Lord for His provision. God bless Suresh & Roja • Pray for us at this time as the needs are If you wish to support India Village Ministries please pass on your great. donations to Far & Wide. This can be done, preferably by bank transfer We believe that God is sovereign and in (for details contact Barbara), but please mark all donations clearly control in the midst of these stressful days. stating if they are for IVM. He will continue to be a shield and provider for His people. The most important thing is Cash donations can be left at Barbara’s and will be passed on. for the Lord to give us ears to listen and eyes to see what He is communicating to Thank you all for your generosity at this time. us through these adversities. Christian Aid Week offers new ways of getting involved online Corona Relief Update The annual Christian Aid Week will launch on Sunday 10 May, with new ways for churches and individuals to get involved. Due to two months Christian Aid Week will run from Sunday 10 May until lockdown, those Saturday 16 May. working in the informal This year’s fundraising event has been adapted for the current health crisis sector are no longer and includes inspiration and ideas for connecting with your community safely. able to feed their You can find out how to organise a virtual quiz evening or hold an online families because they church service using Christian Aid's specially prepared worship resources. depend on a day-to-day Get involved income. This income has ceased. Hunger is becoming an epidemic in the rural India. During the week you can also sign-up for events being run by Christian Aid, which include a daily quiz and live streaming worship events. We continue distributing food essentials to these starving people. Christian Aid will also be offering an ‘e-envelope’, to help people share the Christian Aid Week story with family and friends, and ask for a donation. Many more waiting for help… We are looking unto the Lord for His provision. Sally Foster Fulton, Head of Christian Aid Scotland, said: “For years, supporters in Scotland have knocked on doors, crossed bridges, hosted big “For I was hungry and you gave me something to brekkies and coffee mornings and book sales, all to raise money and eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to awareness for Christian Aid, to stand together with sisters and brothers living drink..” in extreme poverty across the world.