Dundee Methodist Church

7 February 2010

Next Sunday: 14 February 2010

11 am
Worship led by Jenny Easson

We give the assurance of our thoughts and prayers to all who are unwell, awaiting or undergoing treatment, or anxious or grieving for the loss of loved ones.

Latest News from 'Fife Fellowship in Africa'

“Hear that Andy and Denise are now back in Fife and missing the 32 degrees! They had a traumatic last couple of days with missing baggage. The library was completed before they left and we copied the first Swahili science books on Friday. We are taking copies with us to Mwanza and Bukoba. Returned to visit the children at Upendo leprosy village yesterday and a dish was installed so that the children can enjoy the 'George Willington' television. We had also set up a computer for the older children and our first student had a tentative go. Leave for Mwanza tomorrow and are now sorting out the specialist supplies for the albino children. Best wishes. Alan”

Haiti

Donations for the Methodist Appeal for the Haiti Earthquake may still be given to the Church Treasurer, David Easson. The current total for donations from Dundee is £167.50 and the total raised nationally by Methodists is “over £270,000”.

“Towards a Round-Table Church”

A Resource Workbook has been produced under the auspices of EMU to provide “resources for exploring the ministry, vocation and gifts of the whole people of God”.

David Easson has a copy obtained at the recent signing of the EMU Statement of Partnership between the Scottish Episcopal, Methodist and United Reformed Churches. Please ask David to see the workbook, or contact Bill Reid or Helen Wareing via the District Office, for more details.

Muslim-Christian Perspectives

A series of meetings is to be held between 11th-13th February when Steve Bell, Director of Interserve in England and Wales, is to be in Dundee. A welcome is given to any or all of these:

  • Thursday 11th February : Dundee University Tower Extension Lecture Theatre at 7.30 pm;
  • Friday 12th February : Dundee Central Mosque, 6 Milne Street, at 6.30 pm;
  • Saturday 13th February : Dundee Central Mosque, 9.30 am to 1 pm, followed by lunch.

See poster on noticeboard for details.

Date & timeVenueDetails
Monday 8th February, 7.15 pm Meadowside St Paul’s Lower Hall Guild Meeting - 'Project - Israel and Palestine Conflict', led by Mr Fraser Ritchie.
Thursday 11th February, 7.30 pm Dundee University Tower Lecture Theatre (building 1 on Campus Map) Muslim-Christian Perspectives: a series of meetings when Steve Bell, Director of Interserve in England and Wales, is to be in Dundee. A welcome is given to any or all of these.
Friday 12th February, 12 noon - 1.30 pm YMCA 151 Brook Street, Broughty Ferry (opposite “M&S Food”) (map) Broughty Ferry Churches Group Christian Aid lunch. Soup - a good selection each week - is served with bread & cheese, followed by coffee for £2, in support of this ecumenical aid, relief and development charity. There is also opportunity for meeting old friends and making new ones. A warm welcome is extended to Ferry Folk, people popping out from Dundee, and other visitors.
Friday 12th February, 6.30 pm Dundee Central Mosque, 6 Miln Street DD1 5BZ Muslim-Christian Perspectives: a series of meetings when Steve Bell, Director of Interserve in England and Wales, is to be in Dundee. A welcome is given to any or all of these.
Friday 12th February, 7.30 pm Dundee Methodist Church Finance & Property Committee
Saturday 13th February, 9.30 am to 1 pm, followed by lunch Dundee Central Mosque, 6 Miln Street DD1 5BZ Muslim-Christian Perspectives: a series of meetings when Steve Bell, Director of Interserve in England and Wales, is to be in Dundee. A welcome is given to any or all of these.

Support other Organisations

Scottish Churches House Prayer Network

Daily prayers are led at 9.00 - 9.15 am, with Network members particularly asked to join, if possible, on Wednesday mornings.

Prayers are invited this week for those using the House, including The Artists Way, and a Local Wildlife Group (Tuesday), Methodist Church (Thursday & Saturday), The Dunedin Consort (next weekend).

Dundee University CU Outreach Events

Tom P has drawn our attention to Dundee University Christian Union's week of outreach events for which bookmarks have been prepared. Our prayer support is requested that “the outreach will go well and the Good News shared with other students on campus”.

Scottish Bible Society

Our support through the Bible-a-Month Club is invited in February for work in Thailand. See noticeboard for more information. Our prayerful attention is drawn this week to

  • continuing work of the 'Bibles and Bandages for Brazil' Project;
  • progress with new translations and HIV / AIDS projects, and the literacy project in Senegal;
  • translation of the Old Testament into modern Estonian;
  • continuation of work by the Bible Society in Lithuania, especially in the current recession.

Forthcoming events

Date & timeVenueDetails
Thursday 18th February, 5.15 pm Younger Hall, North Street, St Andrews (map) James Gregory Lecture by David Wilkinson - “God and the Big Bang”. The Rev David Wilkinson is a Methodist Minster and Principal of St John's College, University of Durham. His background is research in theoretical astrophysics, where he gained a PhD in the study of star formation, the chemical evolution of galaxies and terrestrial mass extinctions. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and also holds a PhD in Systematic Theology.
The James Gregory lectures are a series of 12 public lectures by eminent national and international speakers held at the University of St Andrews over a 4-year period on a wide range of contemporary issues in Science and Religion. All the lectures are open for all without tickets or registering.
“The basic aim is to encourage constructive and open dialogue and an exchange of ideas on many intriguing points of contact between Science and Religion. At this time of a rise of unhealthy fundamentalism, there is a need to increase understanding, so that we may be better informed about the nature of the scientific enterprise and of religious thought. Both Science and Religion have key insights about our human nature, our creativity and our possible future.
Thursday 18th February 2010, 7.30 pm Matthew and Hilary's home Fellowship Group: “The cross is the most famous symbol of Christianity. We have one on the outside of our church, at the front when we worship, and some wear a cross as jewelry. But why did Jesus die on the cross? Was it a cruel miscarriage of justice, the execution of a dangerous rebel or something more? Join us at fellowship group as we look at the meaning of the cross. All are welcome. (If you need a lift let Tom P know and one can be arranged.)”
Friday 19th February 2010, 7.30 pm Dundee Methodist Church Church Council

Prayer Points for this week

  • The President and Vice-President of Conference in Leeds District from Thursday;
  • Poverty Action Sunday, observed today;
  • Planning for District “Holiness and Risk” Event, incorporating Synod, Bridge of Allan, 17th - 18th April;
  • preparations for observance of Lent from Ash Wednesday (17th February) in Broughty Ferry & Dundee City Centre;
  • Outreach Events Week to students in Dundee;
  • projects and people in Nicaragua (Christian Aid);
  • provision of primary education to 350 students at the Arab Evangelical School, Hebron (BibleLands);
  • schemes in the East Anglia District (Methodist Homes);
  • Bible Society work in Thailand;
  • The Leprosy Mission's work in central India, and in Nepal and Uzbekistan;
  • we pray with and for all the peoples of Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands (WCC Prayer Calendar);
  • we remember fellow Methodists in Abertillery (S Wales) and in Shettleston (Glasgow Circuit).