The training session planned for Tuesday 5th June 2018 has been cancelled.
Those who need to attend with be contacted to find a more suitable date/time.
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Solas Festival 22 – 24 June 2018
The Solas Festival 2018 takes place at the Bield in Perth between June 22nd and June 24th. Solas is an arts festival with a focus on justice. It has its roots in the Christian tradition and we Methodists have had a presence at the festival for a number of years, focused mainly on our tent which provides space for reflection, conversation and welcome.
This year is no different and if you would like to volunteer at the festival and receive a free day or weekend ticket in return, please contact Lorraine Darlow, darlowl@methodistchurch.org.uk to find out more. A limited number of free day tickets for first-time festival goers are also available, as are a number of free tickets for young people and youth leaders.
To find out more about Solas, visit www.solasfestival.co.uk
Jonah in June – worship & exploration
As part of a Connexional initiative, the Circuit congregations will focus on looking at the Old Testament book of Jonah during worship in June / early July.
It is also planned to hold supporting Group meetings in each church; in Dundee these will be on Wednesdays 6th and 27th June at 7pm in Marketgait. Everyone is warmly invited to share this time of further exploration and deepening of our knowledge of the Bible.
Safeguarding Refresher Training: Foundation Level
Foundation Level refresher training is mandatory for the following groups of people.
- all ministers and deacons, except those not in active ministry
- workers with children or young people
- workers with vulnerable adults
- pastoral visitors
- church stewards
- circuit stewards
- local preachers, worship leaders and trainees for either of those roles
If you belong to one of these groups, and did not receive the training last year, you should make every effort to attend now.
The sessions, however, are open to all, regardless of membership of these groups.
Sessions will be held as follows
Marketgait Tuesday 5th June 2.30pm to 4.30pm
St John’s Arbroath Thursday 7th June 2pm to 4pm
SCYD, Blairgowrie Friday 15th June 1pm to 3pm
Scott Street, Perth Tuesday 26th June 1pm to 3pm.
Please let Marcia Mackenzie know if you intend to attend one of these sessions.
Pastoral letter May 2018 – Jonah
Dear Friends,
Is it a whale? No, it’s a fish but it was at least as big as a whale… Fishing stories have had a habit of growing – the one that got away was how big? In the month of June the Methodist Church is encouraging us all to engage with the fishy story of Jonah. It is a wonderful story involving a huge fish (nobody ever says it’s a whale), cows and sheep putting on sackcloth and a human being rather fed up with life, God and everyone!
Over 4 Sundays we will consider each chapter in Jonah (there are 4 chapters) with a couple of opportunities to sink deeper into the story with time for conversation. How does God speak to us today through the Bible? Have stories like Jonah got any relevance for the world and my life today? Just how do you get a herd of cows into sackcloth? I encourage you to ask questions as we share in this journey together, to enjoy the humour and discover the connections between the ancient world, the world today and God.
The circuit preachers have all freely given of their time attending a conference and a training day as we worked out together how we might share the story creatively and with a sense of coherence. This circuit is very blessed to have this group of preachers and I encourage congregations to repay this work with enthusiasm and willingness.
As we set off on this journey together I offer this quote which was shared in the training. It is from the book ‘Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters’ (1982) written by Annie Dillard:
“Why do people in church seem like brainless tourists on a package tour of the Absolute? Does anyone have the foggiest idea of what sort of power we blithely invoke? It is madness for ladies to wear straw hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Stewards should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.”
Have fun!
Love
Nick
Preaching Plan June to August 2018
Gaming review
Churches, including the Methodist Church, have welcomed the government’s response to the review of fixed odds betting terminals. But they also note that, “In welcoming this proposed action, we want to make it clear that in addition to the major challenge presented by FOBTs, there are also wider issues associated with gambling that require serious political commitment to address.”
Read more>>>
Preparing for the General Church Meeting
The annual General Church Meeting will be held at 10.30am on Sunday 3rdJune. In preparation for this, the Minister and Church Stewards draw attention to the following points and invite us all to consider, prayerfully, the issues involved:
- we need to appoint at least 3 church stewards – it is essential that there is at least one appointed Steward named on duty each Sunday;
- holding a Service of Worship covers a range of tasks, not all of which need to be (or currently are) done by Church Stewards – it is right and good that these are shared out as far as possible and appropriate;
- a sense of “teamwork” is the right approach – whatever anyone can and does do is valuable and valued, whether they hold an “official” position or not;
- being able to offer help once or just a few times is useful – it is not necessary to be present always or often to be ‘part of a team’;
- our current numbers and other factors mean that we need to be flexible and realistic about what must, can, and cannot be done;
- representation to the Church Council is also an agenda item;
- between now and 3rdJune, further thinking and conversations will be taking place to help the GCM reach its decisions.
If you have comments or suggestions to make ahead of the GCM, please do so to Nick, Jenny, Graham, or Sue M-J. Thank you!
Progress in our redevelopment
Sue reports that we have now had a visit from the Structural Engineer and detailed plans have been drawn up. These have now gone to the Quantity Surveyor and we are waiting to hear back on rough costings which will enable us to start our fundraising in earnest!
Can you help on Sundays?
Worship on a Sunday morning requires input from more than the preacher, the steward and the organist.
Have you considered offering to help in one or more of the following ways?
- Greeting people at the door
- Serving tea and coffee after worship
- Assisting in the counting of the collection(s)
Please contact Jenny or one of the stewards if you would like to find out more.
Solas Festival 22 – 24 June 2018
The Solas Festival 2018 takes place at the Bield in Perth between June 22nd and June 24th. Solas is an arts festival with a focus on justice. It has its roots in the Christian tradition and we Methodists have had a presence at the festival for a number of years, focused mainly on our tent which provides space for reflection, conversation and welcome.
This year is no different and if you would like to volunteer at the festival and receive a free day or weekend ticket in return, please contact Lorraine Darlow, darlowl@methodistchurch.org.uk to find out more. A limited number of free day tickets for first-time festival goers are also available, as are a number of free tickets for young people and youth leaders.
To find out more about Solas, visit www.solasfestival.co.uk
Jonah in June – worship & exploration
As part of a Connexional initiative, the Circuit congregations will focus on looking at the Old Testament book of Jonah during worship in June / early July.
It is also planned to hold supporting Group meetings in each church; in Dundee these will be on Wednesdays 6th and 27th June at 7pm in Marketgait. Everyone is warmly invited to share this time of further exploration and deepening of our knowledge of the Bible.
Safeguarding Refresher Training: Foundation Level
Foundation Level refresher training is mandatory for the following groups of people.
- all ministers and deacons, except those not in active ministry
- workers with children or young people
- workers with vulnerable adults
- pastoral visitors
- church stewards
- circuit stewards
- local preachers, worship leaders and trainees for either of those roles
If you belong to one of these groups, and did not receive the training last year, you should make every effort to attend now.
The sessions, however, are open to all, regardless of membership of these groups.
Sessions will be held as follows
Marketgait Tuesday 5th June 2.30pm to 4.30pm
St John’s Arbroath Thursday 7th June 2pm to 4pm
SCYD, Blairgowrie Friday 15th June 1pm to 3pm
Scott Street, Perth Tuesday 26th June 1pm to 3pm.
Please let Marcia Mackenzie know if you intend to attend one of these sessions.
Pastoral letter May 2018 – Jonah
Dear Friends,
Is it a whale? No, it’s a fish but it was at least as big as a whale… Fishing stories have had a habit of growing – the one that got away was how big? In the month of June the Methodist Church is encouraging us all to engage with the fishy story of Jonah. It is a wonderful story involving a huge fish (nobody ever says it’s a whale), cows and sheep putting on sackcloth and a human being rather fed up with life, God and everyone!
Over 4 Sundays we will consider each chapter in Jonah (there are 4 chapters) with a couple of opportunities to sink deeper into the story with time for conversation. How does God speak to us today through the Bible? Have stories like Jonah got any relevance for the world and my life today? Just how do you get a herd of cows into sackcloth? I encourage you to ask questions as we share in this journey together, to enjoy the humour and discover the connections between the ancient world, the world today and God.
The circuit preachers have all freely given of their time attending a conference and a training day as we worked out together how we might share the story creatively and with a sense of coherence. This circuit is very blessed to have this group of preachers and I encourage congregations to repay this work with enthusiasm and willingness.
As we set off on this journey together I offer this quote which was shared in the training. It is from the book ‘Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters’ (1982) written by Annie Dillard:
“Why do people in church seem like brainless tourists on a package tour of the Absolute? Does anyone have the foggiest idea of what sort of power we blithely invoke? It is madness for ladies to wear straw hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Stewards should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.”
Have fun!
Love
Nick
Preaching Plan June to August 2018
Gaming review
Churches, including the Methodist Church, have welcomed the government’s response to the review of fixed odds betting terminals. But they also note that, “In welcoming this proposed action, we want to make it clear that in addition to the major challenge presented by FOBTs, there are also wider issues associated with gambling that require serious political commitment to address.”
Read more>>>
Preparing for the General Church Meeting
The annual General Church Meeting will be held at 10.30am on Sunday 3rdJune. In preparation for this, the Minister and Church Stewards draw attention to the following points and invite us all to consider, prayerfully, the issues involved:
- we need to appoint at least 3 church stewards – it is essential that there is at least one appointed Steward named on duty each Sunday;
- holding a Service of Worship covers a range of tasks, not all of which need to be (or currently are) done by Church Stewards – it is right and good that these are shared out as far as possible and appropriate;
- a sense of “teamwork” is the right approach – whatever anyone can and does do is valuable and valued, whether they hold an “official” position or not;
- being able to offer help once or just a few times is useful – it is not necessary to be present always or often to be ‘part of a team’;
- our current numbers and other factors mean that we need to be flexible and realistic about what must, can, and cannot be done;
- representation to the Church Council is also an agenda item;
- between now and 3rdJune, further thinking and conversations will be taking place to help the GCM reach its decisions.
If you have comments or suggestions to make ahead of the GCM, please do so to Nick, Jenny, Graham, or Sue M-J. Thank you!
Progress in our redevelopment
Sue reports that we have now had a visit from the Structural Engineer and detailed plans have been drawn up. These have now gone to the Quantity Surveyor and we are waiting to hear back on rough costings which will enable us to start our fundraising in earnest!
Can you help on Sundays?
Worship on a Sunday morning requires input from more than the preacher, the steward and the organist.
Have you considered offering to help in one or more of the following ways?
- Greeting people at the door
- Serving tea and coffee after worship
- Assisting in the counting of the collection(s)
Please contact Jenny or one of the stewards if you would like to find out more.