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Ferryhill Parish Church, Aberdeen FERRYHILL PARISH NEWS
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The Ferryhill Parish Church Site has now moved to: April 2001
WE'LL
SOON REACH THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY of the completion of the alterations that
provided superb new accommodation at the Parish Church. [Take a tour]
Since then the Foyer Coffee Shop has become a popular venue, and the number of community
groups using the various halls has mushroomed. We have welcomed music makers such as
Aberdeen Bach Choir, the RSNO Chorus and Aberdeen Chamber Orchestra. Theatre companies
using spaces in the church include Pro Arte, Phoenix Theatre and Aberdeen Women's Theatre.
Over 130 children regularly attend classes held by Phoenix Youth. Other regular users
include the Taoist Tai Chi Society, Healthy Transitions fitness classes, the Senior
Citizens' Lunch Club and a variety of pre-school children's groups. All that plus the
Community Council Art Exhibition, Line Dancing, Bridge, Badminton and Bowling, alongside
Brownies, Guides, Boys Brigade, Monday Fellowship and the Guild. We are delighted to
welcome all these, and there is room for more. If your group needs a place to meet, just
ask. THE SUNDAY GANG is the name we give to our Sunday activities for children. The boys and girls recently collected over 14000 used stamps for the Blue Peter Appeal. That appeal is now closed but the Gang want to continue collecting on behalf of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. You can help by putting all your used stamps in the box in the Church Foyer. The Sunday Gang also invites you to bring along your Evening Express Children 2000 tokens - they hope to be able to purchase educational materials through this scheme. Baptism
(Please note: There is no Sunday evening service in April) HOLY WEEK SERVICES Sunday 15th April - Easter Day 11 a.m. Worship for all ages. Tuesday 18th April Sunday 22nd April Sunday 29th April
WE STILL HAVE A BIG LOAN TO REPAY following last year's building programme. Please watch out for our fund-raising events and give them your support. We'll have a home-baking and sweetie table at the Community Centre's Fund-raising Day on Sunday 13th May from 1.00pm to 4.00pm. There will be a Silent Auction on Friday 18th May, a mini-sale on Saturday 2nd June and a Table Top Sale on Saturday 9th June. IT MAY SEEM A LONG WAY OFF, but we are already looking forward to the SUMMER CLUB for Prirnary School children that will run every morning from 6th to 12th August. If you would like to help contact Fiona , or come to the first planning meeting on Thursday 24th May. WORLD WAR ONE - did any relative of yours die in Belgium or France? Nigel Firth and his father will be visiting war graves in these countries in May. Through the Commonwealth War Graves Website he can trace the location of specific graves. E-mail Nigel if you would like him to try to visit and photograph a grave associated with your family. A GALA CONCERT by
candidates who have been examined by the Trinity College of Music will be held in the
Church on Saturday 28th April at 7.30pm. There will be music for strings, piano, brass,
woodwind, guitar and recorder. Come and enjoy the gifts of some of the regions most gifted
young musicians. Entry by programme and donation at the door. Refreshments available. |
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Dear Friends, Few sights are as beautiful as a field filled with fresh green young blades of winter wheat. But how strange is the process by which these come into being. The grain of wheat has to be buried in the cold damp earth as in a tomb. Then it has to die. But when it dies, from the grave of the old grain, a shoot of new wheat miraculously springs forth. It's an amazing paradox - life coming from death. Life is full of little 'deaths'. We taste death in moments of loneliness, rejection, sorrow, disappointment, and failure. We die before our time when we live in bitterness, in hatred, and in isolation. But these are not the last word. Every time we pass from one stage of life to another, something in us dies and something new is born. This is resurrection. And it is part of life on this side of death. When Jesus said, 'unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life,' he was not telling us to hate ourselves or our lives. We have to learn to love ourselves. Unless we do so we won't be able to love anyone else. Of course, we have to distinguish between true love of self and selfishness. To forget self, to transcend self - that is what it means to lose oneself, to deny self, to die to self. It is when we forget ourselves that we are most free and most happy. It is in getting out of ourselves, in dedicating ourselves to causes beyond ourselves, that we grow and bear fruit. What a poor world it would be if we each put our own personal safety, security, and selfish advancement first and last and if no one was prepared to go beyond that. It is because some individuals have been prepared to die to self-interest that the most precious things humanity possesses have been born. It is indeed often after a person's death that their true worth is recognised and they gain recognition and become influential. I am sure you can think of many such examples. Jesus was of course the example without equal. He gave his life in the service of God and of humankind. But he didn't find it easy. When the actual moment of death arrived, he was filled with fear. The way of love is the way of the cross, but the way of the cross leads to resurrection and such resurrection is as much a part of life on this side of death as on the other. It was only after his death that the significance of his life was recognised and the influence of his spirit felt. The power of that influence is still at work in the world helping to transform lives, helping to give new hope and life to people, inspiring individuals to do the courageous and selfless thing, to see beyond themselves to the needs of others and to act to bring new hope and new life to them as well. That's Easter! Have a Happy one! Ian Dick |
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| It is well known that
more people go to Church services than to football matches, but if you add in all the
other events organised by churches the contrast is even greater. Here is a selection from
Aberdeen Presbytery Events Diary for April, plus a few from Ferryhill Parish Church. April 2001 Monday 2nd to Friday 6th Easter Club for P6 to S1 pupils. 10.00am to 2.00pm Aberdeen YMCA Skene Terrace. Booking forms from Stiubhart Mac Choille (01224-643291) Wednesday 4th Ferryhill Parish Church Guild 7.30pm: Frances Notman (pharmacist) on Safe Use of Medicines. Wednesday 4th Connie Andrews speaks about the Rehoboth Homes in the Philippines 7.00pm Assemblies of God Church, King Street, Aberdeen Thursday 5th Christian Outreach Meal Evening 7.15pm Jarvis Aberdeen Hotel. Speaker: Mark Johnson, ex-coal miner. Book by Tuesday 3rd by phoning 01224-740017. Saturday 7th Guild Spring Tea at Ferryhill Parish Church Sunday 8th Songs of Praise featuring Aberdeen's Top Ten hymns and praise songs. 3.30pm Aberdeen Citadel, 28 Castle Street, AB11 5BG. Nominations for Top Ten accepted until 30th March. Tuesday 10th Three hour devotion, 12 noon - 3 pm, St Andrew's Cathedral, King Street, Aberdeen, led by Revd Kevin Franz. Wednesday 11th Congregational Board Ferryhill Parish Church Sunday 15th The King's Party' Easter praise celebration, 7.30 pm in Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen, a fast moving, challenging multi-media event. Tickets £3 from CLC and Wesley Owen bookshops. Wednesday 18th Ferryhill Guild visits Auchenblae Guild Thursday 19th World of Difference National Concert Tour for Christian Aid with Martyn Joseph, Stewart Henderson and Martin John Nicholls, 7.30pm Queen's Cross Church. Tickets £6 from Wesley Owen or the Church or Paul Clelland (01224-696410) Sunday 22nd 'Breathe' multimedia interactive event for teenagers, 7.30-9 pm, Ruthrieston West Church Hall. Tuesday 24th Feed the Minds meeting and AGM, 7.30 pm, in North Church of St Andrew, with the Acclamations Choir, Christian Charity Band, and Rubislaw Church young people. Wednesday 25th Guild AGM and
Storytelling Ferryhill Parish Church 7.30pm.
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| Top | Published by
Ferryhill Parish Church Aberdeen |
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| © Ferryhill Parish Church. Last revised: 07 April 2007. |
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BRING DAFFODILS