1 March 2015

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.

Lent and Easter Worship in Marketgait

The Worship Group agreed:

• the material for the Liturgy during Lent would be that prepared by Methodist Women in Britain (MWiB) on the theme “ The Tree of Life”; this is linked to the Easter Offering Appeal, traditionally made at this season to support the work of the church world-wide, for which envelopes will be distributed on Palm Sunday.
• the Easter Sunday Service, which will not this year include Holy Communion, would take the form of an “Easter Celebration in Hymns and Readings”. An invitation is given to everyone to bring on that day fresh daffodils to place in vases round the Church (rather than decorating a Cross as recently).

It was suggested that this would be an appropriate occasion for the dedication of the Vase to be purchased in memory of Jean McNab.

Broughty Ferry Churches Group; Lent

Methodists' support is warmly invited for any and / or all of these activities.

• Soup Lunches on Wednesdays (12.15pm to 1.30pm) to March 25th in the YMCA, Brook Street (opposite M&S), in support of Christian Aid. Soup & a filled roll, then tea or coffee will be provided, invited minimum donation of £3.
• Group meetings on Mondays (10.30am to 11.45am) and / or Tuesdays (7.30pm to 9pm) to 23rd/24th March in St Mary's Episcopal Church, Queen Street, Broughty Ferry, using material from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland on the theme Walking and Praying with Christians the Middle East. This week's area of focus is Israel, particularly focusing on Arab Christians who are both Palestinian and citizens of the State of Israel.

Visit of the Rev Nick Baker

Sue Marshall-Jennings and the Circuit Leadership Team are grateful for the assistance and support given during the visit by the Rev Nick Baker and his family last week. The process of purchasing a new Manse continues and the intention is to keep people as up to date on this as appropriate. Planning is also in hand for the Circuit Welcome Service in September - details to come in due course.

Preaching Plan: March - May 2015

The Plan for the next Quarter has been distributed to those on the email list. However if you have not received an expected copy, please advise David Easson: a recent computer repair removed emails and related data between 15th April 2014 and 28th January 2015, including the Plan database, and all names may not have been re-entered. There are some printed Plans on the glass vestibule table; if you wish a named copy of the Plan each quarter, also contact David.

Dundee Methodists and Food Banks - updates

• Our continued support for the Dundee Foodbank has again received thank from its organisers.
• Please place items in the large bucket on the upstairs landing - clean plastic bags are also welcome.
• Our thanks to Liz Kay - contact her for more information.

District Youth Weekend

This gathering for young people in Scotland Methodism is being planned for the weekend of 4th - 6th September at Dalguise, Perthshire. 2 subsidised places are available for each Circuit (offer open until Easter) and the District Advance Fund is also contributing towards the overall cost; a contribution of £25 is requested from or on behalf of each participant.

For more details contact

• Gary Williams (01413 323196)
• Hayley Gillies (01315 537877)

Please also let the Rev Mary Patterson know if you are interested so Circuit participation can be coordinated.

Churches Mutual Credit Union

The CMCU has now been launched by the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales, and the Methodist Church, offering a range of savings and loan products. At this stage, within the Methodist Church, ministers, employees and trustees (i.e. Church Council members) and other members of their households are eligible to join. For more information, see the website.

Meetings this week

Support other Organisations

Scottish Bible Society

Our support via the Bible-a-Month Club is invited in March for work in Kenya.

Our prayerful attention this week is drawn to

• work in Kenya to train pastoral support teams for schools;
• the Bible Society of Cambodia, hoping to resource the growing Church in this post-Communist country;
• the MacLellan Foundation, a grant-making organisation which supports Christian mission, and the meeting which takes place on Tuesday about its possible impact on Scotland;
• the women of Bahamas who have prepared the material for this year's World Day of Prayer service which is based on John 13 v12 “Do you know what I have done to you?”.

The Learning and Development Group invite anyone interested to join them in learning of the research work by / for the CofS, entitled “Faith Journeys Beyond Congregations” and “Investigating the Invisible Church”.

The meeting is in our Nicolson Square Edinburgh premises on Tuesday 3rd March from 4.30pm to 6pm, with light refreshments available on arrival.

Prayer Points for this week

• the President and Vice-President of Conference at the Connecting Disciples Conference from Monday to Thursday, and the President in the Darlington District next weekend;
• all involved in World Day of Prayer services on Friday;
• Montrose Church Council tomorrow<;
• the second half of the Fair Trade Fortnight, also World Book Day on Thursday (Christian Aid);
• work in Andhra Pradesh, in south east India ( The Leprosy Mission);
• work in the York and Hull District ( Methodist Homes);
• three key jobs needing to be filled in Kent viz Donor Development Executive, Business Application Manager and Analyst Programmer (MAF);
• Bible Society work in Kenya;
• East Jerusalem YMCA's work with ex-detainees and young people with disabilities (Embrace);
• we pray with and for the peoples of Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, and San Marino (WCC);
• we remember fellow Methodists in Holsworthy (Plymouth & Exeter District) and in Kirkcaldy (Edinburgh & Forth Circuit).

• 23 February 2015
• 8 March 2015

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