Banff and King Edward Parish Churches Sunday church services begin at 9.30am in King Edward and 11am in Banff Evening Service in Banff at 6.30pm All welcome at any service or event. DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Tues Mar 4th 7.30 pm Banff Guild Group King Edward Community Special Tues Mar 4th 2.15 pm Service in Doo’cot View Thurs Mar 6th 12-1.30pm Monthly Lunch in Banff Fri Mar 7th 1.15 pm King Edward School Assembly led by Minister Fri Mar 7th 7pm World Day of Prayer in King Edward Hall Fri Mar 7th World Day of Prayer ;St Andrews Episcopal Church Sun Mar 9th 6.30 pm Evening Service led by Rev David Locke Tues Mar11th 3 pm Service in Airlie Gardens Sun Mar 16th 6.30 pm Evening presentation from Dr M Macdonald (P11) Wed Mar 19th 7.30 pm Banff Session Meeting Sat Mar 22nd 10-noon Buttery Morning in King Edward Hall (P10) Sat Mar 22nd 10-3pm Table Top Sale in Banff Parish Church Hall (P21) Sun Mar 23rd Deadline for April Bridge (Joint Easter edition) Sun Mar 23rd Banff Stated Annual Meeting after morning service Mon Mar 24th 7.30pm King Edward Session Meeting Tues Mar 25th 2.30 pm Service in Banff Care Home Tues Mar 25th 7-8pm Meet the Minister in Banff Church Hall (P22) Fri Mar 28th 5pm Messy Church in Banff Church Hall (P21) Sun Mar 30th 9.30am Communion in King Edward Parish Church Sun Mar 30th 11.15am Communion in Banff Parish Church Sun Mar 30th 6.30 pm Banff Evening Service - Rev D Ross former prison Chaplain Tues Apr 1st 7.30pm Banff Guild Group Wed Apr 2nd 7.30pm Banff Congregational Board Meeting 24 Wed Apr 2nd 11 am King Edward Easter Assembly in Church No 174 Banff & King Edward February 2014 Parish Churches BANFF PARISH CHURCH OF SCOTLAND - Charity No SC015501 Minister: Rev David I W Locke MA M.Sc., BD Tel: 01261 812107 D ear Friends in Banff and King Edward email:[email protected] My thoughts this month turn to the importance of talking Pastoral Assistant: Vera Lumsden Tel 07890865931 and listening and sharing together; the difficulties and the Session Clerk Mr Andy Taylor 812092 opportunities. Discipleship Co-ordinator Mrs Moira Gess 815147 For example, its good to share together our thoughts, experiences, joys and difficulties of faith and religion. We Outreach/Worship Co-ordinator Mrs Moira Gess 815147 completed recently our Christianity Explored course run Fellowship Co-ordinator Mrs Rosie Blanchard 861029 over 9 Sunday evenings. The sub title of the course was Service Co-ordinator Mrs Isabel Cook 815934 “One life. What’s it all about?” Which was a way of helping Communion Elder Mr Charlie Smith 815782 us question what is our own life about-what really matters Safeguarding Co-ordinator Mr Charlie Smith 815782 in life, and what do we need to do find a fuller life? The answer of course is to open up more to the One whose life, Roll Keeper Mrs Alice Hay 815902 death and resurrection transformed the world and can again transform our lives, Sunday Club Contact Mrs Karen Cumming 812790 whatever trials we may face. The video drew the parallel between an advert Church Officer/Property Convener Mr Gordon Mustard 861545 Ernest Shackleton put out before launching his explorations to the Antarctic. It Hall Keeper Mr Tom McLennan 815737 basically said do you want to go on a hazardous venture with constant hardship, Magazine Editor Mrs Janet Simpson 843221 difficulty and danger but the chance of amazing success? And hundreds Organist Mr Stephen Pratt 833113 apparently applied. How much more the invitation from Jesus which says: are Church Secretary Mrs Janet Simpson 843221 you looking for a meaningful life that makes a difference, life lived to your limits, with risk, difficulty, danger and yes death, but with the promise of finding the Life and Work Convener Mrs Moira Ingram 812393 best possible life, and sharing it with others? The course finished by inviting us to Flower Convener Mrs Pat McLennan 815737 follow Him, away from what drags us down and on to find a more meaningful Congregational Board Clerk Mrs Margaret Henderson 01888 551682 better life by putting Him and His guidance before life-weakening priorities. We Treasurer/Gift Aid Convener Mr Trevor Leuty 821282 finished by singing the old hymn sung often today to different words[!] Down in FWO Treasurer Mrs Moira Gess 815147 the valley with my Saviour I would go, Where the storms are sweeping and the dark waters flow; With His hand to lead me I will never, never fear, Danger cannot Guild Group Mrs E Rennie/Mrs L Kaczmarek 812919/ 815118 fright me if my Lord is near. Follow! follow! I would follow Jesus! Anywhere, Congregational Board Chairman Mr Ian Berstan 812579 everywhere, I would follow on! I would follow Jesus! Everywhere He leads me I Church Office [email protected] 818211 would follow on. KING EDWARD CHURCH - Charity No SC015077 As a way of sharing together some basic thoughts about life and Christianity our course proved helpful: people seem to enjoy the mixture of watching video, Session Clerk Mrs Margaret Brown 821316 singing and sharing together thoughts. We shared for example about what Roll Keeper Mrs Nancy Simpson 01888 568602 people are looking for in life; and the answers varied widely at first from obvious Treasurers Mr Albert Hay & Mrs Sandra French pleasures but then deeper things emerged as more important, like a good night’s Fabric Convener Mr Eric Wilson 832951 sleep, help to stick to the straight and narrow, a good life for loved ones and that Church Officer Mrs Carole Darnell 821235 they might know the love and life Jesus offers The importance of talking together and listening together is maybe a pointer Organist Mrs Eleanor Wilson 818240 for us all in many different situations For example, a group from Banff Parish Flower Convener Mrs Isobel Smith 821348 church met recently with council officials to see if we could informally Guild President Mrs Eleanor Wilson 818240 resolve the issues about our Church banners that had made newspaper Hall Committee President Mrs Jayne Pirie 821680 headlines and were due to go before the March meeting of the Sunday School Contact Mrs Caren Bowyer ———— 2 Aberdeenshire Council Infrastructures Committee. We talked and listened to ideas, and we may have come up with a compromise solution that church and We remember with sadness, those whose funerals council may be happy with. We have a bit further to go before that is agreed were conducted on behalf of Banff Parish Church. but talking outside the formal council, face to face may have helped. Mrs Marjory Raymond, Colleonard Road, Banff Talking and sharing thoughts about modern science: you will see an advert in th Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I this Bridge about the evening talk on March 16 led by the Policy officer of the will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they Church of Scotland Science, Religion and Technology project. This is a chance to comfort me. think through some ethical questions about the impact of science and technology on modern society, and think what contribution our faith has to make about for Ministry of Flowers example, energy changes, artificially modified, crops/animals/humans; end of life issues: what contribution Christianity has to offer. For me, science does not by We are grateful to the following who will donate flowers to beautify itself deny God or faith - it can help explain how God works in detail, and many Banff Church during March: scientists are Christians- but we need a dialogue so that the implications of new 2nd March Reid Family technology can be questioned and thought through. Do come along and bring 9th March Mrs Linda Kaczmarek your questions! 16th March Mr & Mrs T McLennan Listening helps I spoke recently at the Tuesday talks in Banff castle, about my 23rd March Mrs Isabel Cook voluntary work as a Street Pastor in Glasgow’s city centre on weekend nights. A 30th March Mrs Mary Alley key part of our role as we went about was to listen to people; as many people of The wrong names were given in the February Bridge for flowers all sorts, young and old, business men and women, prostitutes, drug addicts and donated during January . Sincere thanks to the following who dealers, rough sleepers, clubbers, all wanted someone to listen to them, and donated the flowers in January: Mr & Mrs G Youngson, Mrs Lorraine how sometimes fights, dangerous situations, problems or sheer loneliness could Robertson, Mrs M Connon and Mrs Margaret Hunt. be avoided by listening caringly. The city streets at weekends are strangely full of Flower Convener : Mrs Pat McLennan (Tel: 815737) people hurting in different ways who sometimes gather together as ways of ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ seeking companionship of any sort through their hurts. MEET THE MINISTER At the bowls at King Edward, my team recently had, I think, one of the heaviest Tuesday March 25th from 7-8pm ever defeats: 32-1! And the next week got beaten nearly as badly, again my opponents included Edith Hay. I was pretty despondent until talking with This is a time for anyone in our churches and communities to have an Margaret Gordon recently cheered me up. She said dinna worry about getting informal confidential chat with the minister. An opportunity to find out more beaten by Edith: ’abody gets beaten by Edith, for she is really good! And about the church or to chat about weddings, baptisms or anything.