1. family and parenting
2. children

October 2014
MEARNS KIRK
NEWS
Letter from Our Minister
Hi Folks,
This month we have a student in
training for the ministry beginning
with us. He and I met to see if we
would be a good fit. It's important
that we get on, as obviously it
makes for a good supervisor-student
relationship. Also, there has to be
enough going on so as to make
Mearns Kirk a good place to get a
broad experience of church life for
any student, and I'm glad to say
there is. But the most important thing
I told Bob about Mearns Kirk was
that the people there were good
folk; real down to earth lovable
people. If I couldn't say that then
there really wouldn't be any point in
him coming, and I certainly wouldn't
be here myself.
We say it often but we can't say it
enough : the church is people ! We
must remember that even before we
think of church as doing anything, it
is first and foremost a community of
human beings who share a faith in
Jesus. Church life is about how we
live that faith out in our relationships
with each other, and with the world.
This means, that we mustn't put any
emphasis on what are the nonessentials of church life to the detriment of loving people, which God
has called us to do in showing our
love for Him. As our life develops
here in Mearns Kirk, the test of how
real a church we are will not be
about how we worship or how presbyterian we are, or if I look like a
Minister, but how much we love one
another and the stranger in our
midst, which reveals how much we
love God.
As Bob comes into our church family, possibly for 27 months, and as
others come whose names we don't
yet know, I'm confident of them finding here a loving people, and that
because I know such love from you
myself.
In all that we are to experience
together, let us more and more, by
the grace of God, build our church
out of Christ's love, that love which
he revealed to be the very heart of
all life. Joe
Mearns Kirk - Charity Number SC007125
Mearns Kirk News
Page 2
At the Font
Baptisms: Jesus said: “Baptise in the name of the Father, and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.”
17 August
Max William Kirkwood, son of Graeme and Kelly
At the Altar
Weddings: Jesus said: "And the two shall become one."
23 August
Kirsty Brading and Olly Lloyd, London
6 September Heather Daniels and Jim Stewart, Giffnock
At Rest
Funerals: Jesus said: “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
18 August
2 September
2 September
8 September
Elaine McLellan, East Kilbride
Moira Shearer, Mearns
Alex Leckie, Mearns
Lorna McBain
Giving For Growth Campaign 2014
In early October your Elder will give you a
Members’ Pack. This contains an Appeal Letter
inviting you to review your giving so that
Mearns Kirk can bring its normal income and
expenditure back into balance and rebuild its
Fabric Fund. A letter from Joe and explanatory leaflets and forms are also included.
Please give the Appeal your serious consideration.
Please note the misplaced apostrophe in
Comment 2 in the Appeal Letter - "Minister's
salary/pension costs" should read "Ministers'
salary/pension costs" i.e. it refers to our contribution to the cost of Ministry of the whole
Church of Scotland.
Page 3
Mearns Kirk News
Church Services
Sunday 21 September
Traditional Early Service at 9.30
Main Morning Worship at 11.00
Wednesday 24 September
Midweek Service in Hall at 10.30
Sunday 28 September
One Morning Service at 10.30
Monday 29 September
Prayer Time at 7.30 p.m. in Hall
Wednesday 1 October
Midweek Service in Hall at 10.30
Sunday 5 October
One Morning Service at 10.30
Wednesday 8 October
Midweek Service in Hall at 10.30
Sunday 12 October
Traditional Early Service at 9.30
Main Morning Worship at 11.00
Wednesday 15 October
Midweek Service in Hall at 10.30
Sunday 19 October
Traditional Early Service at 9.30
Main Morning Worship at 11.00
Wednesday 22 October
Midweek Service in Hall at 10.30
Sunday 26 October
Traditional Early Service at 9.30
Main Morning Worship at 11.00
Tuesday 28 October
Prayer Time at 7.30 p.m. in Hall
Wednesday 29 October
Midweek Service in Hall at 10.30
Friday 31 October
Preparatory Service in Hall at 7
p.m.
Sunday 2 November
Communion Services at 10.30 a.m.
and 2.30 p.m.
The God Question
On 10 September a course started
on the relationship between science
and faith. In recent times the humanist/secularist agenda has been to
attack “religion”, seeking to undermine its credibility. One of the ways
it has chosen to do so is in relation to
a kind of either science or religion
approach, that is that you cannot
hold the two together. This course
will hopefully show that such an approach is nonsense as we enter into
the debate, listening to believers
who are to be found within the scientific world and other “intellectual”
believers, as well as atheists. Further
dates are in the hall at 7.30 p.m. on
16 September, 24 September, 30
September, 8 October and 14 October.
Mearns Kirk News
Page 4
Dates for your Diary
Sunday 21 September
Congregational Meeting after
11.00 Service
Sunday 28 September
One Morning Service at 10.30
Monday 29 September
Prayer Time in the Hall at 7.30 p.m.
Sunday 5 October
One Morning Service at 10.30 followed by Thanksgiving Lunch in Hall
Thursday 9 October
Contributions required for November ‘News’
Wednesday 29 October
Concert by Govan Citadel Songsters
in the Church at 7.30 p.m.
Friday 31 October
Preparatory Service in the Hall at 7
p.m.
Sunday 2 November
Communion Services at 10.30 a.m.
and 2.30 p.m.
News from the Kirk Session
 You will have noticed that an
area of the graveyard and retaining wall between the hall and church
is fenced off. This is for safety reasons and has been put in place by
East Renfrewshire Council. We are
hopeful that an application for funding which will allow the council to
explore the extent of the repairs
required will be successful.
 The church pew covers and the
curtains in the halls have been
cleaned and fireproofed over the
summer.
 Scottish Water will be installing
a very large tank under the glebe
as part of a flood national prevention programme. This work, which is
being carried out under statutory
powers, will take several months and
will be very disruptive, including restrictions to car parking. Exploratory
work will take place in September.
Further information will follow.
 The Congregational meeting
takes place in the church on Sunday
21 September after the 11 a.m. service. This is an opportunity to hear
about the annual accounts and ask
questions. All welcome.
Stonehouse Male Voice Choir
This Choir will be performing in Eaglesham Church on Wednesday 1st October at 7.30 p.m. See the poster in our church vestibule for more details.
Page 5
Mearns Kirk News
Sunday Duty Rota
Sept 21
9.30
11.00
Sept 28
10.30
Oct 5
10.30
Oct 12
9.30
11.00
Oct 19
9.30
11.00
Oct 26
9.30
11.00
Eleanor Boyd, Sandra McFarlane,
Ramsay Withycombe, Lesley-Anne Macrae
Heather Anderson, Norman Anderson, Anne Kerrigan,
Robert Paton, Louise Macaulay
Shona Clark, John Henderson, Jim Shaw, Mary Paton,
Arthur Gardner
David Arthur, Isobel Dawson, Laura Reid, Liz Ronald,
Marie Andrews
Isabelle Dyer, Ronnie Sinclair, Des Young,
Bea Young, Harriet Reid
Donald Fraser, Violet Kavanagh, Alan Wilkinson,
Jack McDougall, Elspeth McDougall
Kay Galloway, Tom Greig, Gordon Wilson,
Margaret-Anne Sutherland
Ann Campbell, Arthur Croall, Stewart Drummond,
Sandra McKay, Sandy Watson, Campbell Scouler
Heather Gilchrist, Bill Jenkins, Beth Seymour,
Jim Reid
Roger Eason, Christine Milliken, Anne Scott,
Gillian Eason, Irene Graham
Minibus Rota
The following are scheduled to drive
the minibus to the Main Service each
Sunday. It would be greatly appreciated if regular users of the minibus
could contact the driver if they will
not be at Church on a particular
September
21 John Revill (639 3860)
October
5
Des Young (534 5149)
19 Alistair Fyfe (639 6444)
Sunday, as this
will help to avoid
the drivers waiting at pick-up
points for passengers who are not
coming.
28
Clare Wilcock (639 8795)
12
26
Ann Campbell (639 9341)
Peter Boyd (639 7544)
Mearns Kirk News
Page 6
Church Flowers
Sept
21
Mrs N. Eason
28
Mrs S. McFarlane
Oct
5
Harvest
12
Mrs A. Paterson
19
Mrs B. Cruickshank
26
Mrs J. Laird
Arrangers’ Rota
Sept 21
Joan
28
Rosemary
Oct
5
All help please on Saturday 4th October at 10 a.m.
12
Adele
19
Margaret H
26
Jessie
Many thanks for the generous donation of £50 for the Flower Fund last
month. Please remember that volunteers are needed after the Harvest
Thanksgiving service on 5th October to deliver the flowers locally.
Rosemary Baillie 01560 600322
Margaret Withycombe 638 0672
Bereavement Support
This group continues to meet on the
first Tuesday of each month, so the
next meeting will be in the New Hall
at 7 p.m. on Tuesday 7 October.
These are very down to earth meetings where folks come together and
offer friendship in and through the
difficult experience of the loss of a
loved one.
Please, if you know of anyone who
would benefit from spending time
with folks who are going through a
similar experience, tell them about
it. People have found the Group
to be very helpful. Any questions,
phone Joe.
Service Recording DVD Covers
Each week we distribute over 20 DVDs containing a recording of the morning service, and, to protect them, these DVDs are put in plastic covers which
are to be returned to the church. Over the months it is surprising how many
covers disappear, so if you have a small collection of them at home, please
return them to the church as soon as possible.
Page 7
Mearns Kirk News
Woman’s Guild
As intimated in last month’s newsletter, on 20th September we hosted
the Age Concern Coffee Morning in
Clarkston Halls from 10 - 12 noon,
and wish to thank all those who contributed baking and support. It was
greatly appreciated.
We have three meetings in October to which everyone is cordially
invited. On 1st, there will be a talk
on VIP and Royal Security, and on
the 15th, the Silver Line help line
who give confidential advice and
assistance to older people will be
with us. Both of these meetings will
be in the church hall at 7.30 p.m. On
the 29th, we are proud to host the
Salvation Army Songsters who will
be singing in the church at 7.30 p.m.,
following which there will be tea
and home baking in the church
hall, so do come along and enjoy
them with us.
Finally we are still looking for gentlemen or ladies to drive the minibus
which is used to bring members to
our meetings, so if you can help
please contact Janne Farnham on
01355 500244.
Concert by Govan Citadel Songsters
(established 1918)
Wednesday 29 October 2014
At 7.30 p.m.
In Mearns Kirk
Tea and Coffee in Church Hall after Concert
All Welcome
Mearns Kirk News
Page 8
Jars of Grace
A very big thank you to everyone
who collected their small change
throughout the year.
We have managed to raise £431.
This is going to be topped up by a
magnificent donation from the Guild
of £250 which makes a total of
£681 being sent to Vis de Copil.
This will go a long way to help the
street children in Romania.
Our chosen charity for next year is
the British Red Cross. This charity
helps people in crisis, whoever and
wherever they are. They are part of
a global voluntary network, responding to conflicts, natural disas-
ters and individual emergencies. Within
the UK and
abroad they
help
vulnerable people
recover from
emergencies
within
their
own communities.
So please start filling your jars
again and when full, leave them in
the box in the vestibule.
Many thanks.
Pastoral Care
Please inform the Minister if you are
ill, in hospital or facing particular
difficulties. If the Minister knows
about your needs he will endeavour
to offer every possible assistance.
Contact him at the Manse or by
phone on 384 2218.
The Pastoral Group makes visits to
the elderly, infirm, housebound,
those in a care home etc. Please call
Jean Henderson on 639 3607 if you
know of anyone who should be on
our list. We will be delighted to
visit them.
Lunch Club for People Living with Dementia
The Lunch Club for those living with
Dementia continues to meet on Thursdays from 12 noon until 4 p.m. in
our halls. Lunch, afternoon tea, and
various activities, are offered to
people with the illness, and their
carers, if they wish to stay. Carers
can, in fact, "take a break" and go
off and do what they need to, during the Club. It is hoped that the
Lunch Club gives support to carers
as well as provide an opportunity
for social interaction for people who
have dementia. If you or anyone
you know might benefit from it,
please contact the office: 639 6555.
Page 9
Mearns Kirk News
The Praise Band Needs You
The praise band is looking to recruit
more singers and musicians. Many of
our young group are moving on to
pastures new. We are all very sad
to see them go, yet at the same time
delighted for them and send them
on with the love of the church and
our best wishes.
If you feel you would like to join
our merry band or you know someone who would like to come, please
contact Ann. We meet on a Tuesday
night in the church halls to practise
and perform at the new evening
worship services. Nothing ventured
nothing gained.
Contact Ann Richardson on 07940
519413.
Christian Aid Week 2014
A big thank you to all our volunteers
who knocked on the Parish doors this
year and everyone who donated so
generously.
We collected £4,410 this year in
the Mearns Kirk Parish and the Newton Mearns grouping which consists
of Mearns Kirk, Newton Mearns,
Maxwell
Mearns
a n d
Broom collected £14,815.
We have been informed by Christian Aid Scotland that Christian Aid
Week this year has raised over
£1.5m throughout Scotland.
Keep Fit Class
The class has now restarted, and meets in the hall on Thursdays at 10 a.m.
Margaret Macrae will lead the exercises until 2nd October, when May
MacIntosh will take over.
May MacIntosh (639 3650)
Prayer Time
The next Prayer Time meetings will
be in the New Hall from 7.30 to
8.30 p.m. on Monday 29th September (note change of date) and Tuesday 28th October. These are opportunities to draw apart from the
normal run of daily life, and spend
time, quietly, in the
presence of God. People who come find this time peaceful, refreshing, and faith enriching. It
is for everyone, and nothing is asked
of anyone at all but simply to come
and be still, be themselves.
Mearns Kirk News
Page 10
Govan Citadel Songsters
The Woman’s Guild is delighted to
be hosting a concert in our Church on
Wednesday 29 October at 7.30
p.m., given by the Govan Citadel
Songsters.
Since their formation in 1918, the
Songsters have been spreading the
gospel message through the presentation of choral music, travelling
throughout the United Kingdom, the
Netherlands, Norway and Ontario,
Canada.
There will be a retiring offering
after the concert and refreshments
will be served in the Church Hall so
donations of home baking will be
gratefully received.
We look forward to seeing you
then.
Tuesday & Friday Ladies’ Badminton Club
We meet on Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 until 12. It is
very informal, the emphasis being on fun with a bit of exercise thrown in.
Our session commences Tuesday 7th October until Tuesday
16th December. Play will resume on Tuesday 6th January.
Any queries contact Hilary Williamson on email [email protected] or telephone 01355302326.
Mixed Badminton Club
The new session has now commenced, and the next meetings are in the hall
at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesdays 24 September, 8 October and 22 October.
We look forward to welcoming you then.
William and Lyn Black
Blythswood Care
The Blythswood Care Round Scotland lorry will be stopping at our
church car park from 2.30 to 3 p.m.
on Wednesdays 15 October and 12
November to uplift donations of
clothing, bric-a-brac and small items
of furniture. Soft furnishings must be
labelled with a BS7177
coded tag, and Blythswood
Care are sorry they cannot accept
books, bikes, carpets, coat hangers,
gas or small electric appliances,
prams, tvs, exercise equipment and
wall units.
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Mearns Kirk News
Prayer Points
*Support and blessing on Joe as he works to help
others enjoy a deeper relationship with God.
*Support and blessing on all Elders in their work
to build up our church family.
*Support and blessing on all involved in the various groups within our
church.
*For members of our church family experiencing either physical or emotional pain.
*For a widespread spiritual outpouring leading to others coming to church.
*Thank God for the success of the Commonwealth Games in bringing nations together in a spirit of comradeship.
*For God’s healing to be in the Ibola outbreak in Western Africa.
*Help for the humanitarian mission of sending supplies to alleviate suffering
due to the desperate situation in Iraq.
*For peace in Gaza.
Make me remember,
O God that every day is a gift
and ought to be used according to thy command,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Samuel Johnson (1709-1786)
Ifumbo Collection
Another collection of goods for
Ifumbo is planned for October.
These items should be in good condition and should be left at the church
hall on weekday mornings, or at the
church on Sunday mornings during
the period from Tuesday 16th Sep-
tember to Friday 10th October. Lists
with details of the items required
are available in the church vestibule
or on the church website, and include
knitting, sewing and craft materials,
stationery, toys, kitchen equipment,
clothing, shoes and bedding.
Mearns Kirk News
Page 12
Sunday Club News
Our new session is well under way
and the children are having a great
time exploring “Bible Heroes.” Our
first characters are Samson, Elijah
and Noah. Our notice board will
show you which other activities and
heroes we have been working on.
We are delighted that Shona Clark
has agreed to play the piano for us
on a Sunday. This will enhance our
worship beautifully and thank you to
Shona for supporting us in this way.
The other big news is that we have
launched a Facebook page for Sunday Club. I can hear simultaneous
groans and cheers at this news. Under pressure I am dragging myself
into the 21st Century with this. However, I do recognise nowadays it is
one of the main ways that people
communicate with each other and
keep in touch with what is going on.
Please “friend us” and keep in touch
with what we’re doing.
We’re looking for 2 – 3 additional
helpers for Sunday Club. Enthusiasm
and maybe a sense of humour is all
that is needed. If you are able to
help, please speak to Fiona.
Fundraising
We are aiming for a mile of 20p
pieces as our first fundraising initiative. The children have all been
given a tube of Smarties and the
aim (once the Smarties have been
eaten) is for the tube to be returned
filled with 20p’s. This will run until
Sunday 30 November. Money
raised will go towards our own
funds. Please support us if you can.
Dates for your diary
Sunday 28th September – Holiday
weekend. One service at 10.30 a.m.
Sunday 5th October – Harvest Sunday. One service at 10.30 a.m.
Sunday 12th October – School midterm break. All age Sunday Club.
Sunday 19th October – School midterm break. All age Sunday Club.
10:10
10:10 got off to a great start with
worship on the Glebe. We were
blessed with a warm, sunny morning
and the young folks were served
rolls and sausage for breakfast.
One aspect of Youth Alpha is that
breakfast is served to them. If anyone would be willing to come along
to serve breakfast, please speak to
Sam Brooks or Fiona.
Praise Band
As some of our young folks move on
to pastures new, we wish them God’s
blessing. This unfortunately leaves us
with a huge gap in the band and as
a result we have had to postpone
our September praise service.
Please, if you love singing and can
hold a note, or if you play a musical
instrument, come along and join in
the fun. Speak to Ann in the first instance.
Page 13
Mearns Kirk News
ECO Congregation
At the Annual Gathering of ECO
Congregation Scotland, the keynote
speaker was John Ashton, now an
independent commentator and advisor on the politics of climate change.
From 2006-2012 he served as Special Representative for Climate
Change to three successive UK Foreign Secretaries spanning the current Coalition and the previous Labour Government.
John recently spent two days in
Lancashire meeting County Council
leaders to address the subject of
fracking for shale gas. Powerful and
wealthy interests are throwing enormous energy and effort to win support for the process, sponsoring
school football teams, buying equipment for schools and offering inducements to community leaders.
They argue that fracking will make
us less dependent on volatile international markets and oil-rich countries, and that there will not be environmental consequences. The other
side of the argument is that fossil
based industries have no place in a
low carbon economy, and that it will
take 15-20 years before significant
amounts of fuel will be released.
This prospect is causing enormous
concern in affected communities.
Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical
Officer for England, said recently
that in the view of the Medical Pro-
fession British teenagers are less
likely to live as
long as their parents. John felt that
a
fundamental
reason for this is a
failure in the way
the human race has been tackling
climate change, and as a result carbon neutral energy systems now
need to be built within a generation.
In the UK we have some of the least
energy efficient buildings in the
whole of Europe.
John also spoke about the struggle
to change, but that struggle is at the
heart of being alive. We need to
look beyond the present to the future, and realize that our interdependence means that our choices
affect people on the other side of
the planet. This is a moment of enormous tension for all living on this
planet, but if we rise to the challenge we will be asserting what it
means to be human.
John concluded with the words
from Romans 8 Vs 22-23. “We
know that the whole creation has
been groaning in travail together
until now: and not only the creation,
but we ourselves, who have the first
fruits of the spirit, groan inwardly as
we wait for adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies.”
Mearns Kirk News
Page 14
Stop the Traffik
The money donated by Mearns Kirk
to Stop The Traffik earlier this year
went a long way to help bring the
GIFT Boxes to Glasgow for the duration of the Commonwealth Games.
The Boxes, a joint initiative between
Stop the Traffik and the UN Global
Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking,
proved to be a fantastic way of
raising awareness of the problem of
human trafficking in Scotland
amongst members of the public. We
spoke with thousands of passers-by
and helped to open their eyes to
the different forms of exploitation
which are taking place around us.
An important part of the Boxes was
to then encourage people to take
action against trafficking. This might
take any number of forms - the fact
that they now know about trafficking enables them to respond next
time they see something suspicious.
More immediately, we offered them
the opportunity to sign a petition to
the Scottish Government. This petition called for support for the Human Trafficking (Scotland) Bill which
will hopefully be passed within this
parliamentary session. Specifically,
we asked for the inclusion of a provision on supply chains, asking companies to investigate where their
goods come from and to eradicate
any trafficking they find. Approximately 20,000 people stopped to
sign this petition.
Everyone at Stop The Traffik is immensely grateful for the very kind
and generous donation made by
Mearns Kirk which helped make this
project possible.
For more information about the
work of Stop the Traffik, please contact Euan Fraser at [email protected]
Sewing Bee
The new sewing bee is now up and
running and will take place on the
first Wednesday of each month
from 1.30 to 3.30 with a cup of
tea/coffee and home baking.
Everyone is welcome, whether you
sew, knit and/or are interested in
craft work, all to be sent to our
friends in Ifumbo when completed.
At the moment we are sewing knit-
ted squares together making blankets, toys, little purses and anything
else we can think of using knitted
squares. We will also be looking
into patchwork quilting and we have
a couple of ladies who have a great
deal of knowledge on patchwork
projects.
So come along and join in the fun.
Jean Duffus
Page 15
Mearns Kirk News
Friendship Club
The Club’s meetings continue as follows:
23rd September
Pete Christie and his Band in a Box
7th October
Jim and Maureen - Harmonise
21st October
Tunnocks - The History of the Company
We meet as usual in the Main Hall from 1.45 - 3.15 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays. All are welcome.
Aileen Fyfe 639 6444
Mearns Kirk News
Contributions for the next issue of the Church Newsletter should be handed
to Gordon Wilson or e-mailed to him on [email protected]
by Thursday 9 October. Magazines will be available for uplift by distributors on Sunday 19 October.
Distributors should contact the Church Secretary if they require to alter the
number of magazines allocated to them.