Dundee Methodist Church

30 August 2015

Next Sunday
6 September 2015

11 am
Annual Covenant Service led by the Rev Nick Baker
Communion Offering for All We Can (Methodist Relief and Development Fund)

We give the assurance of our thoughts and prayers to all who are unwell, awaiting or undergoing treatment, anxious, or grieving for the loss of loved ones.
As we look forward to the formal Welcome Service for the Rev Nick Baker, we again give the assurance of our prayerful support for him and all the family.

The Circuit's Welcome Service to Nick Baker and family

This will take place in Marketgait on Wednesday at 6pm, with refreshments available downstairs before from 5pm for those coming from a distance or direct from work, and then upstairs after the Service for everyone.

All are warmly welcome to this Service, which will also be attended by invited civic and ecumenical guests.

  • If you intend to come, please sign the sheet on the vestibule table or let Sue / Jenny know on Sunday.
  • If you can provide food for the refreshments before or after - please let Sue know by Monday.
  • If you can assist with the setting out of chairs (including bringing extra upstairs) and/or serving & clearing away of refreshments, please let Sue or Jenny know.

Dundee Open Doors Weekend

Copies of the brochure are now available, giving details of premises open during the weekend of September 19th and 20th - Marketgait is included therein. Our premises are to be open to the public between 10am & 2pm on the Saturday and between 12 noon (ie after worship) & 2pm on the Sunday, with displays by ourselves about “who we are what we do” and (hopefully) by our User Groups, with the serving of light refreshments.

Dewhurst Cotton Reels wanted!!

Beryl Cowling is making a request on behalf of Barbara Glasson to Methodist Women in Britain (MwiB) and all of us.
Barbara Glasson is a Methodist minister, now in Bradford, a city with a mix of ethnicities and religions where the interfaith Touchstone Project is expanding into premises once occupied by the Dewhurst family, famous for making thread and cotton reels.
As part of the fund-raising, Barbara and colleagues wish to amass as many old Dewhurst reels as they can (with thread or not) for (aiming for a whole set of D numbers if possible!). Please rummage through sewing baskets and other (un)likely places to see if you have any Dewhurst reels to donate. Please put them in the box on the vestibule table. Beryl will ensure they reach the project. Fuller details on leaflets on vestibule table or contact Beryl.

A first batch of reels from Dundee has been handed to Beryl but more will be welcome - keep looking!!

Meetings this week

Date & timeVenueDetails
Tuesday 1st September 2015, 2.15pm Our Lady of Good Counsel, 29 Westfield Road, Broughty Ferry. Broughty Ferry Churches Group
Tuesday 1st September 2015, 4pm to 6.30pm Steeple Church, Nethergate “Transforming Scotland” - A meeting to reflect on the Church in the nation of Scotland, using recent research. The event is free - further details / registration.
Tuesday 1st September 2015, 7pm Dundee Methodist Church, “L” Circuit Leadership Team
Wednesday 2nd September 2015, 6pm Dundee Methodist Church Circuit Welcome service for the Rev Nick Baker and his family; this will be led by Rev Dr David Easton, the Chair of the Scotland Synod.
This time has been arranged after due consideration of work commitments (for some), travelling times (for some), and the needs of younger people; apologies are offered to any who find the timing tricky. Refreshments will be available before and after to try to assist with this. Please let the stewards know if you intend to attend.

Support other Organisations

Scottish Bible Society

Our support via the Bible-a-Month Club is invited in September for work in Iraq. Our prayerful attention this week is drawn to

  • support for the work of the New Zealand Bible Society and its strong partnerships with the churches;
  • appeal for Faith Comes by Hearing audio programme in Ethiopia where 40% of the population is illiterate;
  • work of the Bible Society in Palestine, & the Christian community there;
  • use of the Kuna Bible in Panama, also the building of new facilities.

Dundee Food Bank

Dundee Foodbank logo Please continue to place items in the large bucket on the upstairs landing; clean plastic bags are also welcome. Liz Kay is our link person for this.

Hot Chocolate

Please also remember the request for donations of Hot Chocolate Tubs for the Project in The Steeple Church.

Forthcoming events

Date & timeVenueDetails
Wednesday 9th September 2015, 7pm Dundee Methodist Church Circuit Preachers' Meeting
Thursday 10th September 2015, 7pm Dundee Methodist Church Finance and Property Committee
Wednesday 21st October 2015, 10am (registration & coffee) to 3.15pm (departure). St Silas Episcopal Church, Park Road, Woodlands, Glasgow G4 9JE “We are a family: the changing face of family ministry” - a joint Methodist / ACTS one day conference.
The conference will be hosted jointly by the Methodist Church and the Scottish Churches Children's Group of Action of Churches Together in Scotland (ACTS). The report “We are a family: the changing face of family ministry” is the culmination of two years' ground-breaking research and consultation regarding the current shape of work with families across the Church in the UK undertaken by the Consultative Group on Children's Ministry (CGMC) and the Methodist Church.
The day will be led by Gail Adcock, the Family Ministry Development Officer for The Methodist Church in the UK; Gail has been the lead coordinator for this research project.
This day event will explore a host of different ways in which the Church works with familes and will seek to answer questions, such as:
  • How is the Church working with families today?
  • What does this ministry look like?
  • What training and resources are available for those working in this field?

Also experience the brand new ' Core Skills for Family Ministry' course developed to equip all those working with families and includes reflections from Carrie Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet. Delegates will receive a free edition of the brand new Core Skills Course book. Refreshments and lunch will be provided, a donation towards the catering costs would be appreciated.
For further information contact Gary Williams (Methodist Regional Learning & Development Officer, South); williamsg@methodistchurch.org.uk , tel: 01413323196 mob: 07799900464. Online registration.
Saturday 31st October 2015, 10am (registration & coffee) to 3.15pm (departure). City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, Nicolson Square “Ecumenical Opportunities for Mission”; arranged by the Church of Scotland Ecumenical Relations Committee and ACTS.
Speakers include
  • Mr Mervyn McCullagh, Executive Officer, Irish Council of Churches, - ecumenism in Ireland;
  • Dr Marcus Pound, Assistant Director, Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University, describing a Durham case study on receptive ecumenism - a project about local churches.
The programme will also include time for reflection on local contexts and sharing of stories; a light buffet lunch will be provided.
To book or for further details, contact Ros Milne, tel: 0131 225 5722 ext: 2370.

Prayer Points for this week

  • the President and Vice-President of Conference at Connexional new year services through the week;
  • the President at the Bolton & Rochdale Synod, Saturday;
  • ministers in new situations and places, their families;
  • in-coming and out-going office-holders in our circuit;
  • residents, staff and projects in the Sheffield District (Methodist Homes);
  • staff in the UK (Embrace);
  • Bible Society work in Iraq;
  • AFD assisting water provision in Ethiopia (Christian Aid);
  • flights in Papua New Guinea (MAF);
  • regional staff workers (The Leprosy Mission);
  • we pray with and for the peoples of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia (WCC);
  • we remember fellow Methodists in Chipping Norton and Stow (Northampton District) and in Greenock (Ayrshire & Renfrewshire Circuit).