Reid Memorial Church E-Magazine
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
REID MEMORIAL CHURCH E-MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2020 SEPTEMBER 2020 REID MEMORIAL CHURCH E-MAGAZINE FRONT PAGE: Image: Liz Reid CONTACT INFORMATION MINISTER REV. ALEX McASPURREN [email protected] Tel. 667 1623 SESSION CLERK Mrs ELIZABETH CLARK [email protected] Tel: 667 6705 ROLL KEEPER Mrs LINDA FARRER Tel: 667 5129 CHURCH OFFICE ANSWERPHONE IN OPERATION Tel: 662 1203 EMAIL [email protected] ELDERS IN CHARGE OF ELIZABETH & GRAHAM CLARK COMMUNION ARRANGEMENTS [email protected] Tel: 667 6705 MISSION DEVELOPMENT MICHAEL McMULLIN WORKER [email protected] 07444 082 627 SUNDAY DUTY ROSTER SHEILA CAPEWELL TREASURER JUDITH SMEATON Tel: 662 0149 [email protected] MAGAZINE EDITOR Mrs LINDA FARRER Tel: 667 5129 [email protected] Graphics and design by DAVID WHITE ORGANIST Dr MARTYN STRACHAN Tel: 339 3217 [email protected] HALL BOOKINGS Mrs JOYCE ROSIE [email protected] Tel: 667 2527 SAFEGUARDING COORDINATOR ANNE BLACK [email protected] Tel: 447 4149 CLERK TO THE Mrs SUSAN MACKAY Tel: 667 0910 CONGREGATIONAL BOARD [email protected] ORDER OF SERVICE INTIMATIONS DAVID WHITE [Currently suspended] [email protected], by Wednesday morning please. FACEBOOK @REIDMEMORIAL [REID MEMORIAL CHURCH, EDINBURGH] THE SOUND OF SILENCE DEAR FRIENDS, Our congregation is beginning to take the first tentative steps to gathering for worship on a Sunday. That got me to thinking about the things we will be leaving behind on this phase of our journey out of lockdown. For some of us lockdown will have been a time of challenge or struggle. Familiar activities may have been left undone, familiar places left unvisited, and familiar faces left unseen. For many this has not been an easy time. For some, though, lockdown may have brought with it opportunity. The space left by people, places, and activities left behind may have become an opportunity to do other things. I wonder how many of us saw previously unfinished tasks completed. I wonder how many saw new things taken up in the space now available so to do. What about you? The location of the manse is on a busy side street that is not far from a couple of busy road junctions. In the year since moving in it has seldom been quiet. Lockdown changed that. The roads and pavements have been quieter; the air has been cleaner; the sun, when it appeared, seems to have been brighter. These are not the figments of a romantic imagination, but scientifically observable facts. These ‘missing’ things have left something almost solid – silence. It’s a silence that is almost concrete in nature; it’s a silence that I have seldom experienced before. Silence can be terribly disquieting, especially if you are not used to it. Yet silence may also be enriching. It is good for both head and heart; it is good for the soul too. Silence has an enormous spiritual value, and a place in the Christian > > tradition. It is in silence that we most clearly hear the ‘still, small voice’ of God. It is in silence that we most clearly hear the workings of our own minds. These, together, may feel threatening yet with time they may also be liberating and enlivening. As we regather on a Sunday we may find the absence of singing to be almost a silent experience for us; it will be strange but may give us space to reflect. We may find ourselves asking ‘just why is it we choose to sing in church?’ This form of silence may be uncomfortable however like more thoroughgoing silences it will have its value. In the spaces where once we sang, we will now be able to listen. Perhaps we will hear in this the busyness of our own minds; perhaps we may hear the voice of God calling to us. Perhaps the call will be to “be still, and know that I am God.” Yours in Christ, ALEX FEEL THE TUG Have you ever wondered how you can be certain about who and what God really is? One Christian put it this way: ‘I’m reminded of the story of the little boy who was out flying a kite. The wind was brisk and large billowing clouds were blowing across the sky. The kite went up and up until it was entirely hidden by the clouds. Then a man came by and asked the little boy what he was doing, staring up at an empty sky. ‘I’m flying my kite,’ he replied. The man replied: ‘What kite? How can you be sure it is still there? You can’t see a thing.’ The little boy agreed that he could see nothing, ‘but every little while I feel a tug, so I know for sure that it is still up there and is connected to me!’ When it comes to God, you don’t need to take anyone else’s word for it. You can find Him for yourself by inviting Jesus Christ into your life. Then you too will know by the warm wonderful tug on your heartstrings that though you can’t see Him, He is up there, and that He lives in you. You are connected! OPENING FOR SUNDAY WORSHIP Reid Memorial will be open for Sunday worship from 30th August 2020. The day that the church is open for individual prayer and contemplation will change to Wednesdays from 3pm to 4pm. To comply with current guidelines from the Scottish Government and the Church of Scotland, a number of changes have been necessary. Some people who have been shielding may decide that they do not wish to return to church for the time being. You are asked not to attend if you feel unwell or have been in contact with anyone who has symptoms of Covid19. > > NUMBERS: we are restricted on how many may attend to maintain physical distancing. QUEUING: will be in an easterly direction along West Savile Terrace and you may be required to wait outside in inclement weather. MASKS: we are obliged to wear face-coverings. Exceptions exist for folk with certain health conditions. Additionally, the minister, readers, etc, are permitted to remove theirs while leading worship. HAND SANITISER: please use the sanitise at the entrance and exit from the sanctuary. DURATION: services will begin at our usual time (11:15am), and last for around 30-35 minutes. TOILET FACILITIES: will not be available, except in an emergency. VENTILATION: one of the control measures dictates that doors must be left open therefore the Main Sanctuary temperature may be cold. TRACK AND TRACE: you will be asked to give your name and contact number when you enter the Main Sanctuary. SEATING: you will be directed to a seat by the people on door duty. SINGING: there will be no singing, though there will be music. BIBLES: these, along with hymn books, have been removed from the pews. Readers will have to bring their own Bible to worship. SOCIALISING: sadly, you are encouraged to leave immediately after the conclusion of the service. No tea and coffee will be available after the service. LEAVING: please leave the Main Sanctuary by the north door as directed. Those with reduced mobility remain seated and leave by the entry door. COLLECTION: facilities for givings will be available at the entry and exit points. 16th SEPT NINIAN BISHOP OF GALLOWAY, APOSTLE OF THE PICTS Ninian was a Celt who was born about 360, in southern Scotland. He was remarkable for two things: he was almost certainly the first man in Scotland to live in a little white stone house, and also the first to preach the gospel to the Scots. Just as remarkable: becoming the apostle to the Picts was intimately connected to him even having a white-washed stone house, instead of the usual wooden hovel. Ninian had not always stayed in Scotland, but had travelled to Rome to study, and then on to Gaul, where he had spent time with St Martin of Tours. Martin’s monastery was called Loco Teiac (little white house), and it seems that when Ninian returned to Scotland to preach the gospel, he wanted something similar. And so, it was that Ninian built his little white house, called Ad Candidam Casam, and began sharing the Gospel with the Picts who lived in Whithorn and Galloway. This was the region north of the old Roman wall – where Roman rule had never been established. Ninian seems to have been very effective, for it is said that, like Patrick (a generation later) and Columba (a century and a half later), he helped form the character of Celtic Christianity. And throughout southern Scotland, there are still many churches which bear their names. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN (21 FEBRUARY 1801 – 11 AUGUST 1890) He was an English theologian and poet, first an Anglican priest and later a Catholic priest and cardinal, who was an important and controversial figure in the religious history of England in the 19th century. Newman was also a literary figure: his major writings include the Tracts for the Times (1833–1841), his autobiography Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1865–1866), the Grammar of Assent (1870), and the poem "The Dream of Gerontius" (1865), which was set to music in 1900 by Edward Elgar. He wrote the popular hymns "Lead, Kindly Light", > > "Firmly I believe, and truly" (taken from Gerontius), and "Praise to the Holiest in the Height" (taken from Gerontius). Ten years ago, this month Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890) was canonised as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. These lines are from his great work ‘The Dream of Geronitus’, and have become a very well-loved hymn... PRAISE TO THE HOLIEST IN THE HEIGHT Praise to the Holiest in the height, And in the depth be praise, In all his words most wonderful, Most sure in all his ways.