Hobkirk and Southdean with Ruberslaw ctÜ|á{ axãá The Parish Newsletter of the linked charges of Hobkirk and Southdean with Ruberslaw No: 41 Spring 2016 Hobkirk & Southdean Parish Church of Scotland: Charity No. SC012830 Ruberslaw Parish Church of Scotland: Charity No. SC034629 Don’t forget the Easter Eggs! ave you ever wondered why eggs have such a special Hsignificance at Easter? Eggs have been an important fertility symbol for millennia, and they have always been associated with the rebirth of Spring. And as eggs are associated with new life, early Christians used them as a visual symbol of the resurrection of Jesus. When people first starting giving eggs as offerings and gifts at Easter time, they used birds' eggs. They were painted bright colours to echo the vibrancy of the colours of Spring after the darkness of Winter. In the UK and Europe, early Easter eggs took the form of duck, hen or goose eggs. These were later replaced by artificial of the century chocolate eggs became the ubiquitous Easter eggs until eventually, as chocolate became a more widely offering. available foodstuff, the first chocolate eggs began to appear in Eggs are significant as a shared tradition between Christianity the early 1800's. The vogue for exchanging chocolate eggs at and Judaism - hard-boiled eggs are served at Passover and are Easter quickly spread right across the globe so that by the end used to reinforce the idea of rebirth. EASTER SERVICES Palm Sunday, 20 March: Services at 9.30am at Hobkirk and 11am at Minto with Baptism; and 6pm ‘Easter Praise’ at Southdean Maundy Thursday, 24 March: 7pm Communion at Denholm Good Friday, 25 March: 7pm Service at Bedrule Easter Sunday, 27 March: 7am Service on top of Ruberslaw; 9.30am Communion at Hobkirk; and 11am Family Service at Denholm HOBKIRK & SOUTHDEAN ANNOUNCEMENTS RUBERSLAW Baptisms 31 January 2016 at Bedrule: Octavia Florence Stirling Pollock Wedding Funerals 20 February 2016 on Ruberslaw: David Mactaggart and Claire 4 December 2015 at Bedrule: Jocky Palmer Hislop 11 December 2015 at Denholm: Grace Beck 16 December 2015 at Denholm: Nan Hardy Baptism 30 December 2015 at Denholm: Jim Oliver 28 February 2016 at Southdean: Ella Rae Shaw 22 January 2016 at Denholm: Olivia Emma Young and Sophia Jane Young Visit our web page at www.hobkirkwithruberslaw.org and like us at www.facebook.com/ruberslawchurch A Message from your Minister….. Dear Friends, WELCOME TO WORSHIP! With this Easter edition of ‘Parish News’ you will find a copy of the calendar for services taking place in the five churches of Hobkirk and Southdean with Ruberslaw over the coming twelve months. Please put it in a place where you can refer to it as these months pass by. Whether you be a ‘seeker’ or a committed Christian there will be something of interest in the services in the months to come, and there is a variety to suit different tastes. Take this Easter, for example – if you like singing, come to Southdean on Palm Sunday; if you are looking for a time of quiet reflection, come to services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, or Easter Communion at Hobkirk; if you’d like a Family Easter Service, come to Denholm at 11am; and if you’re feeling very energetic, climb Ruberslaw for our Easter Dawn Service! (See the back page for more details!) Please feel free to come to any of the churches for any of these services – they are open to all, and there can be something very refreshing in attending a church that’s different from the one you normally attend. I look forward to welcoming you to church over the coming months. Your Minister and friend, Douglas. Denholm Folk Festival 1st Denholm Boys’ Brigade The 12 th Denholm Folk We began in September with 10 boys of Festival was held in the mixed ages when we had fun and games, village from 5 th - 8 th projects and competitions. Our coffee November last year, and morning on 3 rd October was very hundreds of visitors came successful. Adam Rettie and Craig Lothian to enjoy the concerts and are to be commended for the way they the informal sessions. A managed to hold onto the B.B. flags on wide variety of performers such a windy day at the Remembrance Service at Minto attracted large crowds, Archie Fisher performs Church! The B.B.’s took part in the Nativity Play which while musicians from as far everyone seemed to enjoy. December 19 th was afield as Norway, Ireland, Christmas Post Day when 223 cards were delivered! and Hungary joined with local people to keep everyone The boys and parents seemed to enjoy being ‘posties’ entertained in the pubs and the Denholm Meet. for the day. It has become a tradition that the Festival ends with a free Our sincere thanks to all who have supported our B.B. concert held in Denholm Church, a venue which creates its own Company in every way. This includes Skye Patterson very special atmosphere. Seven different acts performed, and who is doing voluntary work to achieve her Duke of many audience members commented that it was the highlight of Edinburgh Bronze Award - we wish her every success. the Festival for them. It left everyone feeling how uplifting it is As well as Mr. Curtis coming along to show us ‘there is to have the whole village community coming together to more to sailing a boat’, by courtesy of the Guild we had welcome our visitors and share some memorable occasions a very interesting talk and slide show by Eleanor through our shared love of live music. Bathgate about the World Scout Jamboree to Japan. We The next Festival takes places from the 3 rd to the 6 th November were fortunate to have a sales table during fund raising this year – why not pencil it in your diary now? night at Denholm School where we held a marmalade sale which made £30. This was doubled by the UK Government, making £60 and this money was donated Denholm Drama Group to Mary’s Meals for orphaned children in Malawi and Denholm Drama Group would like to apologise to all their should feed 12 children for a year. supporters in the area for the cancellation of the Christmas Into the New Year Mr. Lothian, a paramedic, came along Pantomime at Southdean Village Hall on Saturday 5th and gave the boys some good advice on first aid and life December last year. This was due to extremely inclement saving skills. weather on that day which we felt posed an unacceptable risk for st people travelling to the village hall. We had hoped that we might B.B.’s will finish for summer on 31 March with a find another date in January to hold the performance, but presentation night. Families and friends are invited to st unfortunately, due to cast and village hall commitments, this was attend. All at 1 Denholm Boys’ Brigade wish everyone found to be impossible. Once again, please accept our apologies a very Happy Easter. - we hope it did not cause too much disappointment or Captain Margaret Derham inconvenience. Watch our website at www.denholmdrama.org for future events in Southdean and Denholm. Ruberslaw Worship Group GUILD NEWS Ruberslaw Worship Group currently supports our Minister Douglas in two main ways. Ruberslaw Guild We organise a Café Church three times a year in Denholm Ruberslaw Guild would like to thank all who supported the Village Hall which provides a more relaxed form of worship. coffee morning in aid of the project: Feed the Minds: The theme and format changes every time and there’s always a breaking the Cycle of FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) – coffee break and time to chat! This gives everyone an which raised a very creditable £175. opportunity to share in praise and prayer in an informal setting. There’s a play area for children so that families of all ages can The January meeting involved looking at the Guild join in our worship. discussion topic – “working through conflict”, when members considered different kinds of conflict we Members of the group, together with Douglas, visit the encounter and ways of dealing with them. At the February residents of Deanfield Nursing Home in Hawick three times a meeting members learned about and discussed the “Golden year. We share a short act of worship and spend some time Age” project. afterwards talking to the residents. Over the last few months an increasing number have been taking part. They particularly The next meeting will be on Tuesday 15 th March when enjoy the opportunity to sing well-known hymns. They love members will be considering Food Security. listening to the readings and stories that the Worship Group The final meeting of the session will be the AGM on provides. This is part of an evolving team ministry with local Tuesday, April 19 th . All meetings are at 7.00pm in Denholm churches and The Salvation Army. Church Hall and everyone is welcome. Hobkirk and Southdean Guild Minto Pew Cushions Our March meeting is an open one at Southdean Hall on Wednesday 16 th March at 7.30 when Roger Hemming will The new Minto pew cushions may well be in place by give an illustrated talk on “The Border's Exploration Group” the time you read this! Having had a “wee practice” followed by a light supper. Entry £5. We hope some of our sewing the Denholm pew cushions, a band of friends from Ruberslaw Guild will come. volunteers came forward again to tackle the much larger job at Minto.