CHRONICLES

St. Blane's Church

Dunblane

AUGUST 2008 Number 163

 

Dear Friends,

Over the summer we have had a number of visitors and each of them has commented on how friendly St Blane's Church has been. One group of visitors said it was the presence of a greeter outside the church door which really encouraged them to enter. In some ways it seems strange to even comment on the friendliness of church people; after all we are meant to be ambassadors of Christ. Yet to the Scottish public the Church is often perceived as being a cold building inhabited by cold people who resent you sitting in their seat.

The Kirk Session through its Strategy Committee has been considering how we might be more effective in our life and witness as a congregation. Some changes have already been made in the way we do things e.g. time of service, tea and coffee every Sunday etc. We are continuing to look to the future and what else we need to do in order to have a greater impact upon the community around us. We have been working to three basic principles

Family – we are part of the family of God, so fellowship, friendliness, belonging and celebrating our Saviour are all part of what we do.

Inclusive – we seek to cater for all age groups, to let everyone find a place within our fellowship.

Outreach – proclaiming the gospel to our community in effective ways.

As part of our quest to be a more effective and a family centred church we are planning an envisioning day sometime later this year in which you can participate to help to shape the future vision and direction of the Church. Just as the friendly welcome is not down to one person or to the office bearers but to the whole congregation so it is for the mission of the church.

We have to keep asking ourselves what God would have us do in the future. How can we provide the right environment so that our congregation will meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world? What should St Blane's Church be like in 10 or 20 years time? How do we share our faith effectively with a world that is becoming increasingly secular?

Please continue to pray that we as a congregation may be faithful to our calling as followers of Jesus Christ, to be welcoming to all who come among us.

Yours sincerely

Alex Mitchell

 

 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Alan Kimmit who has now been accepted as a candidate for the ministry of the Church of Scotland. He will take up his studies at Edinburgh University at the end of September.

 

Young Leaders

Shona Campbell and Hazel Dunlop attended a Scripture Union young leaders training event in June.

 

Placement at St Blane's

Mr Andy Macmillan a student for the ministry has been attached to St Blane's and will take up his placement at the beginning of October. This is his second placement and he will be with us until June 2009. We look forward to welcoming Andy and his wife in the autumn.

 

Speaker at evening service at St Blane's

We will have a speaker from Wycliffe Bible translators speaking at the evening service on Sunday 30 th November. Eddie Arthur is the Executive Director of Wycliffe and will be at Scottish Churches House for a weekend conference.

 

Prayer Meetings.

Pray for Scotland meetings will be held in St Blane's on the third Saturday of the month Sept –> June at 9.30 a.m. Our own prayer meeting will take place in the church on the 2 nd and 4 th Sunday after the evening service.

 

Alpha

I am looking to hold another Alpha programme this autumn. Alpha is a

great introduction to the Christian faith for either ‘don't knows' or those

who would like to consolidate and strengthen their faith. If you would like

to take part in an Alpha programme please speak to the minister.

 

Home study group

Tuesday night home study group will also be resuming this autumn at 41 Montgomery Crescent .

 

Sign of the times

A mother was teaching her little girl the Lord's Prayer asking the child to repeat each phrase after her. One evening the little girl announced proudly that she could say it all by herself and began with great gusto. She recited

the prayer perfectly until she came to the line ‘And deliver us from evil'. Instead she said, “And deliver us some e-mail”!