December 2000 - January 2001
Index
Christmas
Greetings from
Ferryhill Parish Church
We look forward to seeing you
at our special services
Sunday 17th December: 11.00am:
Presentation of the Christmas Story by the Sunday Gang
Christmas Eve:
11.00 am Worship for all ages
including the Christmas Cantata "Born a
King" by William Lloyd Webber. Creche available. After the service help us to make
Christingles!
6.30 pm: Christingle Service for all ages
11.00 pm: Carols by Candlelight (bring a
torch)
11.30 pm: Watchnight Service (bring a torch)
Christmas Day:
10.00am: Worship for all ages
(25 minutes only - bring a present you have received)
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From the Minister:
Dear Friends,
Journeys feature prominently in the Christmas stories as told in the
gospels of Matthew and Luke (the other two gospels, of course, having no Christmas
stories). Joseph and Mary travelled from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem for the
census, more than an inconvenience given Mary's condition. The wise men led by the star
seemingly made a prolonged journey by way of Jerusalem, in search of the child whom,
ominously to the ears of King Herod, they referred to as 'the King of the Jews.' Their
experience at Bethlehem seemed to have changed them and, as if to symbolise this, they
returned home by a different route. In comparison, the shepherds made a shorter if more
hurried journey from the region around Bethlehem to see what had taken place there,
subsequently returning to their fields glorifying and praising God. And because of Herod's
murderous activities, Joseph, Mary and the child had themselves to flee to the safety of
Egypt only returning after Herod's death to settle in Nazareth.
In her collection of liturgies called 'The Pattern of our Days' Kathy
Galloway says this: 'Journeys and journeying are powerful human symbols which
transcend division of religion, culture, history and geography. Home or origin, departure
and destination, travel and homecoming, speak a universal language. We can conceive of our
lives as a journey of pilgrimage, and stages on that journey are marked by ceremony, by
rites of passage. And pilgrimage does not need to cover a territory marked out in
kilometres. The journey to school or work on the first day may be very long indeed and
some of our most demanding journeys take place in the inner landscape of our lives.'
Before they were called 'christians', the earliest followers of Jesus
were known collectively as 'the way' or 'the people of the way'. Unfortunately, the word
'christian' has come to mean a good person or someone who has attained a certain moral
rectitude. But the church is not about moral perfection but about faith in the journey of
life, about coping with life, and about trying to make that journey easier for those who
are finding life's road hard. That's why I think the 'the way' or 'the people of the way'
is a much better description of what the church is all about, namely, people trying to
make the journey of life together mutually supporting and affirming one another, sharing
the search, sharing their insights and discoveries, sharing their successes and failures,
sharing the joys and sorrows, sharing the experience of life in all its change and chance.
So why not join Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men and the Shepherds and all the others who
will gather this Christmas to worship the God who came to share that earthly journey with
us in the child born at Bethlehem? It could be the beginning of journey of lifetime for
you!
Have a merry Christmas and a happy New
Year!
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PARISH REGISTER
BAPTISMS
Cherry Adel Hudson
Ashton Rhea Andi Hutchison,
Jonathan Ryan Irvine
Callum Milne Swapp
DEATHS
Helen Davidson
(South Anderson ACT) on 28.10.00
David Warrender on 3.11.99
Jean B Thomson
(North Anderson ACT) on 5.11.00
Jessie Ross on 15.11.00
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SERVICES IN DECEMBER
Sunday 3rd December (1st in Advent) 11 a.m. Worship for all ages.
Sunday Gang and crèche.
Sunday 10th December (2nd in Advent) 11 a.m. Worship for all ages. Sunday
Gang and crèche.
Sunday 17th December (3rd in Advent) 11 a.m. Worship for all ages.
Presentation of the Christmas Story by the Sunday Gang.
Tuesday 19th December 12.10 p.m. 15 minute service in Memorial Chapel.
Friday 22nd December 10.45 a.m. Ferryhill School Service.
Sunday 24th December (4th in Advent) See above
Christmas Day see above
SERVICES IN JANUARY
Sunday 7th January 2001 11 a.m. Worship for all ages. Sacrament of Holy
Communion. Crèche.
Sunday 14th January 11 a.m. Worship for all ages. Sunday Gang and
crèche.
Tuesday 16th January 12.10 p.m. 15 minute service in Memorial Chapel.
Sunday 21st January 11 a.m. Worship for all ages. Sunday Gang and
crèche.
6. p.m. Informal service with Holy Communion in the Memorial Chapel
Sunday 28th January 2001 11 a.m. Worship for all ages. Sunday Gang and
crèche.
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CHURCH EVENTS
December
3rd Seekers and Challengers party at Barracudas 1.45pm
4th Monday Fellowship 2.30: Hyldie and Bob entertain
6th Guild Party
9th CHRISTMAS FAIR
11th Monday Fellowship Christmas Tea
13th Congregational Board
16th Concert by Phoenix Youth - watch for details
17th Discoverers and Explorers Party in Halls 2.00pm
January
11th Coordinating Committee
15th Monday Fellowship: Charlie Mair's Concert Party
17th Guild: "Strength through God's Promises" (Revd Ian Dick)
18th Kirk Session
22nd Monday Fellowship: Ian Bryce on "Faraway Places"
29th Monday Fellowship: Patchwork Creations (Mary Milne)
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THE PENNY IS DROPPING!
The message is really getting through that the church facilities are here for everyone in
the parish. More and more people are enjoying visiting the building. The
coffee shop is busy Monday to Saturday from 9.30 to 11.30, and the Monday
cooked breakfasts are proving very popular. If you would like to help us pay off the loan
we took out to complete the recent refurbishment, please come along and support our Christmas Fair ON SATURDAY
9TH DECEMBER - better still, bake or make for the Fair or offer your
services to help on the day. Mary Notman (572539) will be thrilled to hear from you.
WE DON'T LIKE THINKING
about the fact that some children suffer from life-shortening illnesses. The people who
run CHAS (Children's Hospice Association
Scotland) do that thinking for us, and are now working hard to find a site for Scotland's
second children's hospice. The special offerings at our Christmas services will go to
CHAS. Be generous.
THE SAD NEWS is that
after 32 years of great service to the community, the Ferryhill
Playgroup has run out of children and is closing down. The Good News is
that the Twos group and the Mums & Toddlers will continue, and we are open to
suggestions from the community about how the accommodation released by the Playgroup may
now be used.
CONGRATULATIONS to Mary Marr on being awarded the Community Council's trophy
for outstanding service to the community. Well deserved. And congratulations to ourselves
on receiving an "Honourable Mention" from the Aberdeen Civic Society who like
the Foyer, Atrium and the new porch.
"A GOOD READ AND GREAT
PHOTOGRAPHS ..." comments like this have greeted the publication of "Showers of Blessings" which tells the
story of Ferryhill and its two churches. It makes an ideal Christmas present for
releatives and friends who have memories of the area. On sale at the Church price £9.95
or £10.95 including postage from Polmuir Studio, 24 Polmuir Road. Make cheques payable to
Ferryhill Parish Church. The video record of the 1999-2000 alterations is still available
price £5. Order in the Foyer.
[More Information]
OUR SUNDAY GANG is
supporting the Blue Peter annual appeal.
They are collecting used stamps to pay for the setting up of Health Posts in mountain
communities in Peru. Many villages are two days' walk away from the nearest basic health
care. Blue Peter will build, equip and train staff to work in the health posts. The Sunday
Gang want you to save your stamps (cut or torn off the envelope leaving a small border to
protect the stamp). Please put them in the collection box in the Foyer.
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Editor: David Haggart dhaggart@globalnet.co.uk
Distribution: Sandra Craigen
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