MISSION GROUP
The Mission Group has two main aims - one to work with organisations within Kilsyth Burns & Old and secondly to reach out to the local and worldwide community.
Mission Group Members:
John Comrie, Evelyn Hay, Janet Kidd, Lora Morrison, Maureen Bathgate, Mary Paterson and Janette Marshall.
NOVEMBER 2024
Wednesday Tea Bar
Just a reminder that the Tea Bar wil continue to run on a Wednesday from 10.00am until 12.00 noon up to and including Wednesday 27 November. After Christmas it will restart on Wednesday 9 January and will run up to and including Wednesday 26 March.
No matter what the weather is like, you can be assured of a warm welcome at the Tea Bar; please come along and bring your friends too.
Gardening Group
Autumn is the time of falling leaves and the church grounds have more than their fair share to clear up. The gardeners have been working hard and have cleared a huge amount of leaves already from the grounds but there is still some work to be done. If you are able and have some free time, we would appreciate any additional help in clearing the remainder of the leaves. Thank you.
Forthcoming events and plans
Carols and Reflections by Candlelight - Sunday 15 December at 11.00am
The Mission Group is continuing to work with Rev Sandra Farringon to prepare this service and we hope you will be able to attend.
Ongoing work of the Mission Group
Recognising the importance of mission for the present and future wellbeing of the church, the Mission Group is working hard to identify how we might take this forward appropriately in a time of reduced sources. We are small in numbers, so would welcome any ideas you may have regarding mission and outreach.
While we often talk about mission in the church it's not always easy to say exactly what we mean. The following 'Five Marks of Mission' are designed to focus the life and work of the church:
Five Marks of Mission:
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To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom.
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To teach, baptize and nurture new believers.
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To respond to human need by loving service.
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To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation.
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To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
There is no suggestion that any one individual or indeed any one congregation might achieve all of these at any one time, but we hope you would agree that they do reflect much of the work going on in in our church already.
If you have any thoughts or practical suggestions for mission and outreach, please speak to any member of the Mission Group, We continue to value the support of the Kirk Session and the congregation as a whole in everything we do.
October 2024
Wednesday Tea Bar
The Tea Bar has gotten off to a good start again this year, and we have been pleased to welcome a few fold from outwith our congregation, including a resident from Craig-en-Goyne Care Home. The Tea Bar will run up to and including Wednesday 27 November. After Christmas, it will start on Wednesday 9 Janauary and will run up to an including Wednesday 26 March.
Please do continue to come along on a Wedneday between 10.00 and 12.00 - tell others about it and bring them along.
Forthcoming Events
On Sunday 1 December the Strathcarron Singers will perform in the church at 2.30pm along with Croy Silver Band. Look out for posters around the town and see the flier included in this month's Contact.
On Saturday 7 December, there will be a Christmas afternoon tea in the church hall at 2.00pm with entertainment by Harmony.
Please come along and enjoy the opportunity to hear live music in our church and hall and to enjoy fellowship over tea on 7 December.
On Sunday 15 December, we will have our Reflective/Candlelight Service at the usual time of ll.00am in the church. The Mission Group is working with Rev Sandra Farrington to prepare this service and e are most grateful for her input and inspiration.
In the spirit of outreach, the Mission Group will distribute leaflets inviting church members and the local community to attend these events.
As always, we welcome your thought and ideas - please speak to any member of the group or contact us via the website.
September 2024
After a break for the summer, the Mission Group met on 9 September to begin planning for the next few months. A coffee morning for Mary's Meals was held on 14 September and sincere thanks to all those who contributed and supported this very worthy cause. (See more under Mary's Meals page.
Wednesday Tea Bar
Many of you have been askng when this will start again and we are pleased to announce that the weekly tea bar will resume on Wednesday 2 October from 10.00am until 12 noon in the church hall. Please come along on your own or with friends and be assured of a warm welcome over a cup of tea or coffee and goodies. We look forward to sharing this time of fellowship with you.
As part of our church's commitment to mission, we plan to extend invitations to the Tea Bar to the wider community. Look out for flyers, possters and a new banner advertising the Tea Bar. Please help us to spread the word.
Reflective/Candlelight Service
Following the success last year of combining the Reflective and Carols by Candlelight services, this year's service will be held in the church on Sunday 15 December at 11.00am. The service will be led by Rev Sandra Farrington and the Mission Group looks forward to working with Sandra on this service.
Peace Garden and Church Grounds
While our own gardening team will carry out the usual autumn tidy of the Peace Garden and surrounding area, we recognise that further help is required to tidy and maintain the church grounds, ensuring that paths are moss-free and safe to use. This matter will be addressed at a future meeting of the Kirk Session.
The Mission Group welcomes your input and ideas as always - please speak to any member of the group.
SUMMER 2024
Eric Liddell Centenary
Having initially planned the service to celebrate this centenary on 23 June, it would be fair to say that the commemoration of this special event developed in ways we could not have imagined.
Eric Liddell Centenary Service - 23 June 2024
We hope everyone would agree that this was a very memorable and uplifting occasion thanks to the combined expertise, spiritual input and insights of Rev John McGregor, Rev Jim Patrick and Thomas Chalmers. Thanks to all those who were able to attend or listen to the service on Conferoo.
"Beyond the Chariots" - 14 July 2024
The second part of our celebration came about as a result of a chance conversation in Paris between Rich Swingle, an American film and screen writer, and Thomas Chalmers. When Thomas realised that Rich would be in Edinburgh the following weekend, he took the opportunity to invite him to perform his one man play about Eric Liddell's life as a missionary in China. The play, which has been performed in Paris, Frankfurt and other locations in Europe and the Far East, was performed in our church on the afternoon of 14 July. This intense and powerful drama was very well received by those who came along. Thanks to wide publicity locally and on social media, we had visitors from Kirkintilloch, Bishopbriggs, Easterhouse, Airdrie and Uddingston.
Visit to Eric Liddell Centre, 15 July 2024
The final part of the celebration of Eric Liddell's life and legacy took place on Monday 15 July 2024. Three members of the Mission Group - John Comrie, Lora Morrison and Mary Paterson along with Rev Jim Patrick were very warmly welcomed at the Eric Liddell Centre in Edinburgh. The group were given a tour of the ground floor of the centre which displays photographs, memorabilia and a wealth of information about Eric Liddell's life. The upper floor of the converted church is used as a centre which provides a wide range of activities to support dementia sufferers and their carers. The group handed over a cheque for £685 for the Eric Liddell Community, thanks to he generosity of tthe congregation an a donation of £100 from Mission Group funs.
The Mission Group thanks everyone who supported the celebration of Eric Liddell's life by joining us for the special service, for the one man play and by giving so generously to the retiring collections.
The Peace Garden
Like your own garden this year, the Peace Garden has faced its challenges with the wet and windy weather throughout the summer. On the whole, it has still managed to put on a lovely colourful show with the many perennials which are now well established in the flowerbeds as well as annuals displayed in the surrounding pots and troughs.
Thankfully, the signage both in and around the Church grounds has had a positive impact on the dogwalkers and there has been a decline in mess in the flowerbeds which has been a welcome relief.
Once again in June, the gardeners endeavoured to meet up in the garden with the sole purpose of enjoying tea. As you can imagine, this didn't come to fruition but the gardeners and friends did enjoy an afternoon tea in the creche hall and came out very briefly for a photo opportunity. Thank you to everyone who continues to support the garden. It is always heartening to hear how many of you are appreciative of the space to sit in. This also applies to the many people who live in the surrounding area as well as church members.
It has also been great to hear (and see) from many of you who purchased the filled pots from the Church Fair back in May. So glad they have been "blooming lovely" and are still going strong.
Fundraising
As you may remember, £300 was raised from the mid-week tea bars earlier in the year. This has now been allocated; £100 was added to the congregational donations for the Eric Liddell Community, £100 to The Leprosy Mission Great Britain, when we had a speaker for the charity and the last £100 will be added to our annual autumn fundraiser for Mary's Meals.
This year's fundraiser for Mary's Meals will take the shape of a Coffee Morning on Saturday 14 September from 10.00am - 12.00 noon in the Church Street Hall. Please come along and enjoy a cuppa and home baking as well as the friendship an fellowship which is always present when we come together. Looking forward to seeing you - all welcome!
MAY 2024
Eric Liddell Centenary, Service on 23 June 2024
As mentioned previously, the Mission Group is in the process of planning a special service to celebrate the centenary of Eric Liddell. Our meeting this month was devoted to planning this service, and we are very pleased that the Rev John McGregor will lead the service, and that Thomas Chalmers and the Rev Jim Patrick will also participate. We are very grateful to each of them for their time, effort and collaboration.
Further information is available in the form of a flyer in this month's edition of "Contact" and you may also see posters around the town. We hope that as many of you as possible will join us at 11.00am on Sunday 23rd June to celebrate the life and lasting legacy of Eric Liddell. We hope that it will be a very special occastion - one not to be missed!
SPRING GARDEN FAIR
Our Spring Garden Fair held on Saturday 4 May was a great success. A big thank you goes to all the people who contributed items to our stalls and home baking for the tearoom. We would also like to thank those who generously donated money towards this fundraiser.
Our thanks also to the volunteeers who either "manned" the various stalls or worked in the kitchen and was up to their elbows in teapots and Fairy Liquid!
The tremendous total so far is £2,160.00. THANK YOU to everyone who came to support us.
APRIL 2024
Outreach Tea Bar
The Outreach Tea Bar which ran from January to March was once again a popular and worthwhie venture which was appreciated by many of our congregation and friends. Tea and coffee were served with home baking and good conversation in a warm and friendly atmosphere. A week did not go by without someone donating items to ensure we always had a treat on a Wednesay morning! Thank you to everyone who helped in the running of the Tea Bar in so many ways. The kind donations over the course of the months amounted to the wonderful sum of £365. It was not our intention to use this venture as a fundraising platform, however it allowed us to provide lunch on Palm Sunday and also make donations to charity which will be detailed in the next issue of Contact as well as here on the website. We look forward to welcoming familiar as well as new faces when the Tea Bar recommences in the Autumn. Many thanks again for your support.
Peace Garden
Sincere thanks are due to all those involved in continuing the good work to keep the Peace Garden tidy. The group also has plans for the Spring Garden Fair on Saturday 4 May.
We are pleased to advise that our designated dog warden has now visited the Peace Garden and is working closely with us to keep it free from dog fouling. You may already have spotted the additional notices she has put in place, and she continues to monitor the situation regularly. We are very grateful for her support.
Eric Liddell Centenary
As mentioned previously, we plan to mark this centenary at morning worship on Sunday 23 June 2024. We are delighted to be working with the Rev John McGregor who will lead our worship that day. The Rev Jim Patrick, already known to many of us, will also participate in this special service to commemorate a Scotsman whose Christian faith directed each step of his life. KEEP THIS DATE IN YOUR DIARY - SUNDAY 23 JUNE.
We continue to appreciate the support of congregation and Session - many thanks to those who have passed on ideas; please continue to do so by speaking to any member of the group.
MARCH 2024
Outreach Tea Bar
The Mission Group would like to thank members of the congregation and their friends who have so kindly supported this new venture over the autumn and winter months. If you did not manage to come along over the past few months, please do join us when the Tea Bar re-commences in the autumn. We hope that you will enjoy tea/coffee and fellowship.
Thank you to everyone who donated their time as well as goodies to make the teabar a success and such a worthwhile venture. We hope to have more of our congregation and friends join us for a cuppa on it's return in the autumn.
Peace Garden
Don't you agree that our Peace Garden is looking particularly beautiful just now with a splendid array of spring flowers? It certainly gladdens the heart in these cold, gloomy days. We are extremely grateful to all those who continue to keep the Peace Garden looking so lovely despite the inclement weather and ongoing issues with dog fouling. We hope that the designated dog warden will soon visit the garden and be able to offer us support in this matter.
Palm Sunday Lunch
We hope that you were able to come along and enjoy the food and fellowship at this event held on Palm Sunday. We are grateful to all those who helped prepare and serve the food and for those who worked behind the scenes in the kitchen. Here ae a few photos to remind us of a lovely lunch (remember to open up).
Eric Liddell Centenary
We plan to mark this centenary at morning worship on Sunday 23 June 2024, more details will follow.
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We continue to appreciate the support of congregation and session and welcome any thoughts or ideas you have. Please speak to any member of the group.
FEBRUARY 2024
Outreach Tea Bar
We are holding a "Pancake Wednesday" on 14 February; we hope you will be able to attend and enjoy the fellowship and delicious fare. The Tea Bar will continue to run each Wednesday between 10.00am and 12.00 noon up to and including Wednesday 20 March 2024. We will then resume in the autumn. Please continue to come along on a Wednesday to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee; remember that this is open to everyone, so bring your friends too!