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Page 1
Annan United Reformed Church
www.annanurc.btck.co.uk
February 2019 Newsletter
Page 2
FEBRUARY 2019 WORSHIP AT ANNAN URC
Sunday 3rd February: Communion Service - Rev Haydn Higton Prayer Leader: H Higton
Bible Readings: M Jones D Maxwell
Sunday 10th February: Morning Service - Mrs Lesley Richmond
Prayer Leader: H McNairn
Bible Readings: R Richardson J Murray
Sunday 17th February: Morning Service - Worship Group
short service followed by church meeting
Prayer Leader: N Maxwell
Bible Readings: H McNairn
H Higton Sunday 24th February: Morning Service - Mr Alan Dodds Prayer Leader: J Murray
Bible Readings J Pool
M Kerr
Note to Prayer Leaders and Readers: visiting Service Leaders have the option to choose their own theme and readings, and may wish to lead prayers themselves. Such information will be given to you as soon as possible.
Morning Service and Sunday Seekers weekly at 11:00am
Page 3
NEW MINISTRY FOR THE CHURCH
On March 3rd
our service will be led by Rev Helen Mee who is the Transition Minister appointed
by the Synod of Scotland to help churches as we experience fewer Ministers being available.
Helen wishes to provide time for discussion about what our church family wishes to see in
ministry, accepting that Annan cannot be a sole charge in the future – what are our aims and
expectations? The Elders ask that you should stay for about an hour after the service (lunch
and tea/coffee will be provided) and above all bring your ideas and be prepared to share them.
Note the date – be present – it is important!
Haydn Higton
ACTION REQUIRED?
Part of the discussions we had when the church family celebrated the Martin Luther
anniversary raised suggestions for consideration including:
Corporate worship at a different time
More involvement of members of the fellowship
Improved communication across the church family
Pro-active prayer
More involvement with other churches locally.
It was also suggested that younger people be consulted on what they would like and need, and
that contact with schools be revived, and initiatives such as Fridays in Faith need our active
support. We should have a long-term plan for the future of our church.
The anniversary was some eighteen months ago – what has been done to follow up the
discussions?
Haydn Higton
Page 4
FEBRUARY – MONTH OF NEW LIFE
The days get a little lighter, morning and evening
Bulbs start pushing through the ground
Spring and summer cannot be far away!
When winter holds us in its grasp
Spring seems so far away –
We feel that it will never come,
Then all at once, one day,
We spy a snowdrop peeping through
The cold, hard winter ground
And suddenly we dare to hope
The seasons have turned round.
The wind can hold a biting edge
As chilly winter lingers
But eager gardeners can feel
A tingling in green fingers!
And then it seems that life bursts forth
As springtime bulbs are seen,
And winter-fusty houses need
A really good spring clean!
New life is everywhere
And winter gloom is banished with
The warmth of mellow air.
If inward-looking winter is
A time of calm reflection,
Then gardens filled with daffodils
Show joyous resurrection
Church Gardener
Page 5
THE VALUE OF GIFTS
Grateful thanks to everyone that gave in our Gift Service so that the charity “Soul Soup”
received £136-40, and their thank you letter which is on the church display board says they are
incredibly grateful and cannot thank us enough.
The gift supports young people in Dumfries and Galloway suffering from emotional distress and
mental health problems. “Your kindness, generosity and good will is greatly appreciated”.
In the autumn 2018 the harvest gifts towards the work of Christian Aid raised £166-00, and each £1 became £5 thanks to European Union match funding. £830-00 to support Christian Aid work with and for the poorest communities on earth. The acknowledgement letter says “with your continued help we can make a difference”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY!
The church family has supported the Shoebox Appeal for some years, and again you are
asked to fill shoeboxes with toiletries, toys and small knitwear items for distribution this next
Christmas. If we start now, it takes less than fifty pence a week to buy the items.
Boxes are covered and can be obtained any Sunday – will you help?
PRAYER
You probably read Synod News regularly, but are you aware of the website of the URC National Synod of Scotland and the Prayer Cycle for Churches in Synod?
Synod can be found at www.urcscotland.org.uk. From the drop-downs, select resources and then click prayer and devotions. The prayer cycle is halfway down the page. Individual items are marked by a plus sign and clicking this expands the text.
For January 27th, a prayer was included, sent in by our elders:
“Pray for the church family in Annan as they continue to try to bring God and his love to the burgh, in reaching out to community groups, and youngsters attending Rainbow Tribe ecumenical choir, Spectrum, Sunday Seekers and the Girls’ Brigade.
Think of a church isolated in many ways from the Synod yet striving with other local churches to serve in a community devastated by the loss of a major employer and where re-generation is changing established patterns.”
Let us each make this our prayer for our church and community.
Page 6
Page 7
A WOW MOMENT
In church on Sunday 20th January, Mrs Maxwell talked about wow moments in our life,
perhaps involving art, music, nature or flowers. One of these wow moments was recently for
me at the Andre Rieu Cinema live New Year’s concert from Sydney, Australia, shown at
Annan Cinema.
The audience was treated at the start of the performance to Andre showing the wonderful
sights of Australia: as we shiver in the cold, they are basking in the sunshine.
Andre Rieu is someone whose friendly manner has you feeling you are actually there in the
concert. We were treated to many well-known pieces of music from Andre and his orchestra
and guests.
One which stands out was The Holy City; a beautiful piece sung by his soloists. He later
remarked that sadly Jerusalem was no longer a peaceful place, and if he was in charge, he
would give every soldier a violin instead of a gun, so they could make amazing music
together: how wonderful life would be if peace could be achieved that easily.
Other wow moments included the Canberra Pipes and Drums Band performing Highland
Cathedral, and the Australian dancers who waltzed as the orchestra played The Blue
Danube: a beautiful sight.
This was an evening with lots of wow moments: you leave the cinema feeling uplifted and
with a smile on your face after such a wonderful evening of music.
Fiona Glass
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME
As you can see on page 6, we are pleased to accommodate a Mums’ Group in the hall every
Tuesday morning (10:00 to 11:30). It is an initiative from the Annan GP surgeries in conjunction
with SHAP to provide a meeting place for mothers with new babies, their previous venue having
disappeared in council cuts. Please pray for them as a group and as families in our community.
The Tuesday morning Knit and Natter Group will now meet in the John Tweddle room.
Page 8
Note from Editor:
Financial details on this page are only published in printed paper copies
Page 9
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Page 11
FEBRUARY 2019 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Fri 1st ACT Fridays in Faith - 7:00 pm in The HUB, Ednam Street
Sun 3rd Communion Service and Sunday Seekers - 11:00 am
Mon 4th Floral Art Group - 7:00 pm in hall
Tue 5th Mums’ Group (SHAP) - 10:00 am in hall, and every Tuesday
Tue 5th Knit & Natter - 10:00 am in John Tweddle room, and every Tuesday
Tue 5th All Ability Games - 2:00 pm in hall, and every Tuesday
Tue 5th Rainbow Tribe and Spectrum - 6:00 pm, and every Tuesday in term time
Thu 7th Girls’ Brigade - 6:00 pm in hall, and every Thursday in term time
Sun 10th Morning Service and Sunday Seekers - 11:00 am
Wed 13th Arts & Crafts Group (SHAP) - 2:00 pm in hall
Thu 14th Soup & Sweet Lunches - 11:30 am to 1:30 pm in hall
Sun 17th Morning Worship and Sunday Seekers - 11:00 am
Sun 17th Church Meeting after service
Sun 17th Deadline for March Newsletter items to reach Ruth Mitchell, please, including your group meeting diary dates
Fri 22nd Friday Fellowship - 2:00 pm in church
Sun 24th Morning Worship and Sunday Seekers - 11:00 am
25th Feb to 10th March
Fairtrade Fortnight
A REMINDER TO GROUPS:
We are a Fairtrade Church.
We have committed to:
Use Fairtrade tea and coffee for all meetings for which we have responsibility
Move forward on using other Fairtrade products (such as sugar, biscuits, fruit)
Promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight – and through other activities whenever possible
Material from Commitment for Life now arrives in a new format which is supposed to be
Newsletter-friendly. Comments, please, to Ruth Mitchell, Editor.