Cocken & Carrington w Lasswade & Rosewell Parish Church July Newsletter 2021 But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you my name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. … For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour; … Do not be afraid, for I am with you; Isaiah 43:1-2b, 3a, 5a Over the last fifteen months of the Covid-19 pandemic, there may have been many times when we felt like we were having to wade through mighty torrents just like the waters that Isaiah speaks of. There has been so much uncertainty, so much struggle to keep going, so much isolation and inability to pursue the normal activities we so enjoy with family and friends, and it all seems to go on and on with continuing doubt as to when we can feel more confident that we are safely emerging out the other end. In all of these times, it is good to be reminded that God knows and God is with us. Just as God wanted to assure his people long ago in Isaiah’s time in the struggles they faced that he was present with them to help and strengthen them, so it is good to hear God’s eternal promise today still: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” There is nothing that we face alone because of God’s faithful love and presence with us. Church Opening Rosewell Church and Cockpen & Carrington Church opened again for services with hygiene safety and social distancing in place on Sunday 18th April. It has been wonderful to be back at church and to worship and fellowship together again in person. Until we reach Level 1 in terms of restrictions, we are still not able to sing, but that is hopefully not too far away. Masks, however, will still be required. Although we have decided not to put pew cushions back at the moment because of all the extra cleaning this causes, do feel free to bring a cushion with you to sit on during a service and then take it home with you. If all goes according to plan, we may be able to have 1m distancing in place from the middle of this month and then 0m distancing from early to mid-August. We will keep you updated as things develop. Online services are still being provided for those worshipping at home. These are recordings of the services held at Rosewell Church and can be found either on the following link for Lasswade and Rosewell Parish Church YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPz1IzrN37wetsOyP3kwYFQ or via the joint churches Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CCandLR/. Services will normally be available to view from about 12.00 pm each Sunday. Unfortunately, it has not been possible to open Lasswade Church at present with the cameras and recording equipment to provide online services being fitted at Rosewell Church. Once restrictions are mostly past - hopefully come late August to early September - and most people are able to be back at church on Sunday, it is hoped that Lasswade Church will open then. Presbytery Planning Consultation Recently, our Presbytery’s Strategic Planning and Mission (SPM) Committee have sent out new Presbytery Planning papers for consideration. These papers and the proposals they set out are in response to the General Assembly and the crisis it highlighted for the whole of the Church of Scotland. Running on an annual deficit of £11 million and with large reductions in the numbers of ministers, the situation that the Church now faces is unsustainable. Seeking a viable solution cannot be shelved any longer. The overall plan put forward, therefore, is that each community should now have one minister and one set of church buildings. For the Bonnyrigg, Lasswade, Rosewell, Cockpen & Carrington cluster of parishes, we are asked to consider becoming one parish, with Rosewell set up as a Local Mission Church. Because of the size of our combined parishes with all their new housing, there is provision going to be made to have two ministers still present. As part of this plan, it is suggested that the church and halls that are currently owned by Bonnyrigg Parish Church would be kept, as would the church and hall in Rosewell. However, it is further proposed that Lasswade Church along with Cockpen & Carrington Church and hall would be sold. The SPM Committee propose that reducing the number of buildings, office bearers and activities in this way, would release resources for the work of mission to the whole parish, including our sizeable areas of new housing. Premises in Hopefield would be purchased or leased to develop the outreach begun there by Pioneer Minister, Elisabeth Spence, in the last five years. It is recognised that these proposals would involve major change and local parties will need time to engage in thinking them through. To face these kinds of considerations is always distressing, especially when it comes to thinking about church buildings closing and being sold. These are our precious buildings and there is so much of our life story wrapped up within their walls; there are so many dear friends with whom we have journeyed in the church family. We are just at the start of the consultation process at present and nothing has as yet been decided. The minister and Session Clerks, Liz Mills and Dorothy Spence, will meet with two members of the SPM Committee on Friday 9th July to convey the initial responses of the two Kirk Sessions. Thereafter, the next step planned is for the SPM Committee representatives to meet with each Kirk Session to allow further direct response, discussion and clarification of the proposals. Throughout the journey of considering the proposals given to us, prayerful wisdom and discernment are needed to consider where we are at as churches and how we can make best use of our resources to be church and grow church now and into the future. How can we best serve Christ and see his kingdom come in Bonnyrigg/Lasswade and Rosewell community? Once again in facing that challenge, we have God’s promise: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” Summer services This summer Liz Mills (C&C), Andrew Renwick (L&R) and Elizabeth Morton (Lay Pastor), will share conducting worship for the services on Sunday 1st, 8th and 15th August while the minister is on holiday. As well as leading the services together at Rosewell Church and then at Cockpen & Carrington Church, online pre-recorded videos of the services will be produced again by John Adamson and Andrew Jack and will be found once again on the Cockpen and Carrington Parish Church YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiwgEoiSjvt56YbCL6Sok8w or via the joint Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CCandLR/. Lasswade & Rosewell Flower Fund If anyone would like to donate to the provision of flowers at Lasswade & Rosewell Church, there is a 'Flower Fund box' at Rosewell Church door or you can contact Sandra Ross. We are very grateful to everyone who donates towards the flowers to decorate the church and these flowers, in turn, are distributed to people to show that they are in our thoughts. Wishing you every blessing over the summer. Lorna, your minister .