Dundee Methodist Church

14 February 2016

Next Sunday
21 February 2016
Lent 2

11 am
Worship, including Holy Communion, conducted by the Rev Nick Baker
Communion Offering (plate at entry into church) for Methodist Homes

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.

Observance of Lent

Worship in Marketgait will include a responsive Lenten Liturgy at or near the start of the Service. There will be no flowers upstairs but there will be a symbolic arrangement on the Beechwood Table in the porch. We are invited to bring fresh daffodils on Easter Sunday.

Our friends in Meadowside St Paul's have sent a warm invitation to the annual ecumenical Lent Study series in their church halls at 7.15pm on Tuesdays (from 16th February) using material from 40ACTS 'do Lent generously'.

The Broughty Ferry Churches Group issues a warm invitation to the following:

  • Study Group on Monday mornings (22nd February yet to be confirmed) in St Mary's (Queen Street, near Post Office Bar) from 10.15am to 11.45am, using the CTBI Pilgrimage material;
  • Soup Lunch on Wednesdays (12.15pm to 1.30pm) 10th February to 16th March inclusive 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.
  • Reflective Act of Worship on Wednesdays at 7.30pm in St Mary's (Queen Street) based round the CTBI Pilgrimage material.

Church Council résumé

On Tuesday the Council received reports, held discussions and agreed the following:

  • Safeguarding measures for children extend for the whole of Sunday morning, including security by keeping appropriate doors locked and adult presence in any room where particularly the under-school age children are;
  • “Marriage” feedback to be forwarded to Andrew & Belinda Letby;
  • finance and property matters including Circuit assessment payments and arrangements for the required Quinquennial Inspection;
  • the number of “coming forward Communions” to be changed from 4 per year to 6 per year ('alternating');
  • suggested date of General Church Meeting to be Sunday 5th June;
  • next Council meeting to be on Wednesday 28th September at 7pm, with possibility of a June Council, details to be arranged.

Community Bible Experience

The congregation of St James' Church Broughty Ferry are to undertake a planned reading of the Bible during 8 weeks from 17th April, under the above Scheme, and have invited others to join them.

The Scheme provides for daily reading of a specially-produced Bible (books arranged more chronologically, without internal subdivisions) and shared conversation with others in “Book Club”-style groups. To know more, contact David or Jenny Easson before Monday 21st March; register with St James' by Monday 21st March (Registration forms on table)

Meetings this week

Date & timeVenueDetails
Monday 15th February 2016, 10.15am to 11.45am St Mary's (Queen Street, near Post Office Bar) Ecumenical Lent Study using the CTBI Pilgrimage material.
Tuesday 16th February 2016, 7.15pm Meadowside St Paul's Ecumenical Lent Study using material from 40ACTS 'do Lent generously'.
Wednesday 17th February, 12.15pm to 1.30pm. YMCA, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry Soup Lunch in Lent; soup & a filled roll, then tea or coffee will be provided, invited minimum donation of £3. Profits to Christian Aid.
Wednesday 17th February, 12.15pm to 6pm. Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation, High School Yards, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh “Understanding the 2015 General Election result in Scotland”, a team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Professor John Curtice and ScotCen Social Research, will present the results of their study into the 2015 General Election in Scotland for the first time. The research has been conducted under the auspices of The Applied Quantitative Methods Network (AQMeN).
Contrasting long-run changes since the advent of devolution with recent changes in voting behaviour and political attitudes will provide deep insights into the reasons underlying the outcome of the vote. It will also offer insights into Scotland's political landscape as it prepares for Scottish Parliamentary elections in May 2016.
The event is open to the public and free to attend, but registration through Eventbrite is required as places are limited. Full programme.
Wednesday 17th February, 12.15pm to 1.30pm. St Mary's (Queen Street) Reflective Act of Worship based round the CTBI Pilgrimage material.
Wednesday 17th February, 2pm. Dundee Methodist Church, “L” Circuit and Church Treasurers Meeting

Support other Organisations

Scottish Bible Society

Our support via the Bible-a-Month Club is invited in February for work in Togo. Our prayerful attention in the coming weeks is drawn to

  • translation of the Bible into Kara by the Bible Society of Chad;
  • distribution of Scriptures and related material to marginalised children in Benin;
  • forthcoming SBS fund-raising appeal to support the work of the Bible Society in Malawi.

Forthcoming events

Date & timeVenueDetails
Tuesday 23rd February 2016, 7.15pm Meadowside St Paul's Ecumenical Lent Study using material from 40ACTS 'do Lent generously'.
Tuesday 23rd February, 7pm. Dundee Methodist Church, upstairs Circuit Leadership Team
Wednesday 24th February, 12.15pm to 1.30pm. YMCA, Brook Street, Broughty Ferry Soup Lunch in Lent; soup & a filled roll, then tea or coffee will be provided, invited minimum donation of £3. Profits to Christian Aid.
Wednesday 24th February, 12.15pm to 1.30pm. St Mary's (Queen Street) Reflective Act of Worship based round the CTBI Pilgrimage material.
Saturday 27th February, 2pm to 4pm St John's Methodist Church, Ponderlaw Street, Arbroath Heritage and Mission discussion and talk led by Dr Jill Barber, Vice President of Conference; it is hoped to launch a Scottish Methodist History Group. All are warmly welcome.
Thursday 10th March, 10.30am to 3.30pm. Salvation Army, 1 Houldsworth Street, Glasgow G3 8ED ACTS: Scottish Churches' Children's Group. A conference to explore “The Sexualisation of culture: a Biblical response”. Refreshments including lunch will be provided with a suggested donation of £5 towards costs. Register online

Prayer Points for this week

  • The President of Conference at the Forces' Chaplains Conference, the Vice-President in Shetland;
  • Methodist “heritage and mission” in the Scotland District;
  • Circuit and Church Treasurers and their work;
  • work in Manchester and Stockport (Methodist Homes);
  • effects of last summer's monsoon flooding in Burma, India and Pakistan (Christian Aid);
  • planting olive trees in the West Bank (Embrace);
  • work in Botswana, D R Congo and Zambia (The Leprosy Mission);
  • work in Arnhem Land and Mareeba, Australia (MAF);
  • Bible Society work in Togo;
  • we pray with and for the peoples of Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Malta (WCC);
  • we remember fellow Methodists in the South Fylde Circuit (Lancashire District) and all in Granton United Church (Edinburgh and Forth Circuit).