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St Mary’s-Greyfriars’ Parish Church Minister: Rev David Logan

Tel 01387 270128 www.stmarysgreyfriars.org.uk

Scottish charity no SC009432

Come and join the Sunday Kids!Our Mabie BBQ plans Page 5

june/july 2016

Chrystal Chronicle June/July 2016 www.stmarysgreyfriars.org.uk

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Induction celebrations

Rev David Logan, who was invited to the pulpits after a unanimous vote by members, was welcomed into St Mary’s-Greyfriars’ and Caerlaverock congregations at a special service led by Moderator David Gibson, Rev Fiona A Wilson and Presbytery clerk Rev William T Hogg on Friday April 15.

Rev Logan joined the ministry in 2005 and was ordained as minister for St Margaret’s Parish in Forfar in 2009 after graduating with a Bachelor of Divinity with honours at St Andrew’s University.

During a hectic few years since joining the clergy both on Tayside

and in the Channel Islands he has been a parish minister, an army chaplain with the rank of captain, officiating chaplain to RAF Leuchars, schools’ chaplain in a primary, secondary and special schools, workplace chaplain with Asda in Forfar and hospital chaplain in Jersey General Hospitals.

After the service Rev Logan and his wife Catriona, a parish nurse, were treated to a welcome social in the church hall during which gifts of appreciation were presented to them and to Rev Colin Sutherland who has been Interim Moderator and also to his wife Myra.

A couple of deckchairs and a rocking chair are available to a good home. We’re not quite sure how or why these items were in the upstairs room of the church halls! Any dona-tion would be most welcome – enquiries to Tommy Jar-dine on 257691 or any member of the fabric and property committee.

Take a seat …


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From the ManseDear friends,

In this, my first pastoral letter, I have so much to say that it would fill the entire Chrystal Chronicle several times over! It has been said that a “week is a long time in politics” – well I can assure you that it is even longer in Ministry!

It will soon be two months since I returned to these shores and two months since Ca-triona and I moved into the Manse.

It seems much longer as I have attended so many meetings, visited so many homes and met so many people that it cannot possibly have been achieved in such a short timescale!

From day one, we knew that we were going to be happy here. Containers of hot soup being brought to us as we were unpacking. Electrical appliances being replaced when it became evident that they were faulty, all without demur or argument. A genu-ine expression of delight from the congregation in greeting their new minister, and who could possibly forget the joyous occasion of my induction! Thank you to all who have made us so welcome. Now it is time for us to get to work for, there is much to be done.

I once described taking over a new church as being like the captain of a ship that has been moored against a quayside. While in port, without a captain, the ship is made fast to huge metal bollards. When it is due to set sail the engines are started and one by one the mighty hawsers are let go and the ship starts to move, slowly, oh so slowly, at first, but move she does. At first her steering is ineffectual until she picks up speed and then she picks up the course to take her to her destination. At St Mary’s-Greyfriars’ we have just let go the ropes and even now are beginning sail onto our new course.

We have our Jesus Christ as our captain and, as first mate, it is up to me, along with you, to see that we get our precious cargo safely delivered.

Changes? Yes, there will be changes with any new minister, but you cannot have a church that never changes; that is a museum not a church! Our future is ahead of us not behind.

I look forward to meeting all of you in due course. My telephones are on 24 hours a day and they are there for your convenience so please do not hesitate to call, day or night.

Having been quite poorly recently, I thank you all for your good wishes and understanding. I am pleased to report that I am feeling much better than I was.

With every good wish and blessing,David

Manse telephone: 01387 270128Mobile (24 hours): 07793 542411

Email: [email protected]


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Church register

What’s on …JuneTuesday 7: Guild outingSunday 12: Flower service with children taking part, in the church at 11.30am followed by family BBQ at Mabie forest. See separate article on page 5Monday 13: Buzz, Celebrating the QueenWednesday 15: Garden Club outingMonday 27: Buzz outingThursday 30: Communion and soup, 12.15pm in the hall

JulySaturday: Coffee morning, 10am to 12 noon in the hall

AugustMonday 8: Buzz, Folk Museum, Bill Holland

Baptisms: “Let the little children come to me”April 3: Amelia Jacqueline McCleary April 10: Ava Margaret Diamond

Deaths: “I am the resurrection and the life”April 12: Mr P James, Galloway, GlencapleApril 14: Mrs I Robson, 6 Backrow, Gasstown

Change of address: “We have moved”Mrs Marchbank, from 19 Knowehead Road, Locharbriggs to Allanbank, Bankend Road

Please let me know of any changes of address: Marion Bennett, 2 Wolfgill Drive, Dumfries DG1 4XY. Tel: 263106.

I would like to thank all the distributors who over the years have came forward each month and helped to make sure every member of the congregation received the Life and Work and maga-zines within a few days. My job was made easy with your great support. I hope you will all con-tinue to give Gillian and Margaret the same kindness shown to me. Thank you all very much.

Helen McEwan

Distributor thanks


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About the magazine Useful contactsThe deadline for our August/September is-sue is Sunday July 24 for items through the church – and 3pm that day for those sent direct. Please include your name with all submissions.

Editor: David BennettWrite: 2 Wolfgill Drive, Dumfries DG1 4XYCall: 01387 263106Email: [email protected]

Minister Rev David Logan ..... 270128/07793 542411

Session Clerk David Matheson .............................. 252042

Treasurer Stewart Williamson ......................... 261257

Gift Aid and freewill offering envelopes Billy Simpson ................................... 252278

Summer services

Flower service

Sunday Kids outing

Our flower service is always one to enjoy, with the church bedecked in a beautiful display of the colours and shapes and scents of many blossoms.

This year’s event is shaping up to be a real treat – not only do we have the flowers to look at but the Sunday Kids are taking part of the service, which has the overall theme of “joy”. We’ll be using some material from the Guild for readings and prayers, watching a short sketch, singing very happy songs and hymns and we’ve also got greetings being read by the Pastor of our twinned church in Arpad Ter in Hungary. So you definitely want to be there– we guarantee that at 12.30pm you’ll come out the church smiling!

The Sunday Kids outing is being held at Mabie forest after the service on Sunday June 12. The kids extend an invitation to all members of the church family to join with them enjoy fun, fellowship and friendship – hopefully in the sun. We need to know numbers attending for catering purposes. If you wish to come along and enjoy yourself and let your hair down please contact either Janet McSherry on 264973 or Lyn Kuehnel on 264375 by Wednesday June 8.

The St Mary’s-Greyfriars’ summer services will be taking place in the hall on Sunday morn-ings throughout the school holidays, at 9.30am. We are again delighted to bring you our early informal services in the church hall, 30-40 minutes of singing, praying, reading and thinking followed by Fairtrade refreshments and fellowship.

This year’s theme will be the environment and we’ll be looking at various topics includ-ing water and ocean; land and food; air and sky and so on! You can join us instead of, or as well as, the 11.30am morning service. We look forward to giving you a warm welcome!


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Going greenWe’re making good progress in our eco-congregation work – at the March Kirk Session meeting various ideas were agreed for individual Committees to take forward. So through-out this magazine and future editions you’ll find various articles about reducing our use of the earth’s resources and increasing our use of environmentally and fairly produced goods and services.

This month we’re featuring a new supplier of very local milk, Traidcraft and the ben-eficiaries of our stamp collecting. And of course our summer services also have an “eco” theme. If you’d be willing to take part in any aspect of this work please get in touch with the Session Clerk, David Matheson.

Moosflash!The Roan family have been milking cows at Barnbarroch, near Dalbeattie since 1898. It’s available at a few selected shops in the local area – in Dumfries you can get it in Parry’s Farm Shop in the Vennel and also at Kilnford Barns and also delivered to your doorstep.

To place an order contact 01556 620374 or email [email protected]. There’s also a website, www.fresherthantheudders.co.uk! By using this local milk you are reducing food miles, as less fuel is needed to transport it; supporting our farming community; and getting a product that comes from “truly proper free-range cows”!

TraidcraftTraidcraft is the UK’s leading fair trade organisation and is dedicated to fighting poverty through fair trade. Have a look at www.traidcraftshop.co.uk or contact any one of our rep-resentatives on the Dumfries Fairtrade Group (David Matheson, Stan Tanner or Anne Twiname), or its Facebook page, for a catalogue.

Here come the Hungarians!Twelve visitors from Debrecen will be visiting the Dumfries and Kirkcudbright Presbytery from June 6-13.

In this group will be Pastor Janos Veres and his wife Aniko from our twinned church Arpad Ter.

They will be with us in church on Sunday June 12, when it is hoped Pastor Janos will bring greetings from Arpad Ter.

They are very excited about their visit and we are sure that they will receive a very warm welcome from the members of Caerlaverock and St Mary’s-Greyfriars’ churches.

Stan and Liz Tanner


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Stamp appeal

Dear friends,How can I begin to express my thanks for the generos-

ity and kindness that has been shown to me by the gifts I received at the Induction Social?

The chair is by far the most beautiful and comfortable imaginable. I will enjoy using it day by day as I prepare sermons for the services I take in the future.

The bicycle is something that will always be a re-minder of those early Sunday Mornings going to and from Caerlaverock. David Matheson never fails to come up with the unexpected and most appropriate of gifts.

I will need to think very carefully as to what I will purchase with the very generous cheque.

Thank you for all your kindness and support it has been my privilege and pleasure to lead you over those last years.

May God’s richest blessing be with you all. Your “retired again” IM and Locum,

Colin

This year, the stamp appeal will support the Church of South India’s Othara Eco- Spirituality Centre.

“God created all living and non-living things to co-exist in a rhythm and equilibrium, which we often call ecological balance. Ecologically disasters befall us when this balance is lost,” says Bishop Thomas K Oommen, Deputy Moderator of the Church of South India.

The Church of South India (CSI) has recently opened the Othara Eco-Spirituality centre near Thiruvella in Kerala. It is a place where people can come to learn about climate change and the importance of conserving the earth God has given us.

This year the stamp project will support some of their ecological innovations including the harvesting and reuse of rain water, the establishment of a biogas plant to power the kitchens and the development of a small dairy and chicken farm for native breeds.

Through retreats and conferences, CSI hopes that the knowledge people gain at the centre will inspire them to live sustainably and encourage others in their community to do likewise. They want to encourage people to appreciate and understand that “caring for the earth is not only a calling, but a lifestyle”.

Please continue to bring your used stamps to church.Stan and Liz Tanner

‘Thank you’ from Rev Colin Sutherland


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Notes of thanks

June 12 .................................. Flower serviceJune 19 ........................................ A GemmillJune 26 ............................................... VacantJuly 3 ............................................. M WilsonJuly 10 ...............................................H LittleJuly 17 ......................................... D EdwardsJuly 24 ................................................ VacantJuly 31 ................................................ J SwanAugust 7 ............................................. M Coy

Anyone wishing to donate flowers please contact:Norna Francis ....................................250199Moira Cannon ...................................720394Betty Jardine......................................257691Margaret McCafferty ........................268673Margaret Thomson ...........................253484

Flower rotaThank you for all cards, letters, flowers, and visits over the past few months. All very much appreciated. Helen Holland

Many thanks for the lovely flowers I have received from the church. They were very much appreciated. Joe Robson

I should like to thank all friends from the church for the beautiful flowers given to me and also their good wishes. Margaret Dickson

Thank you very much for the flowers and good wishes on the occasion of our Golden Wedding. Thelma and Gavin Templeton

Please convey my thanks to all who have contacted me by phone, card and visits since my brief spell in hospital. Your kind thoughts were a comfort to me. I’m pro-gressing well and hope to be back in church soon. Lorma Bell

Mary Burns would like to say thank you for the flowers received following her recent bereavement.

Many thanks for the lovely flowers, cards and messages which we have received following the passing of our dad, Peter James. Thanks also to those who attended dad’s funeral and to David for leading the ser v ice. Pam Taylor and Mar tin James

Sincere thanks to the church for the lovely bouquet of flowers we received reently after our spell of illness. Fay and Jim Calder

May I use the church magazine to pass on my thanks to Freda for her very welcome visit and for the beautiful flowers which she brought with her. Both the flowers and the visit helped to brighten up the day. Nessie Glendinning

Would you pass on my thanks to the church for the lovely bunch of roses and carnations I had delivered. I am on the mend after feeling unwell for the last few weeks. Annie McCaig

I have also been asked to pass on thanks for flowers from Margaret Clark, Alison Fair, Margaret Franks, Freda Hunter, Maureen Kerr, Sandra Rae, Audrey Rogers, Mrs Thom and Lorna White.


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PS …This month’s prayer is inspired by the Christian Aid theme “Love Thy Neighbour”, and the fact that we have new people in our church, in our region and in our country that we want to give a warm welcome to.

Dear Lord our God,

We pray for the world around us, our neighbours in humanity, especially for those refugees who don’t know if they will have a home tomorrow, who don’t know if they will have food tomorrow, who are making new lives for their families in unfamiliar places.

We hear Your call Lord, help us to love every neighbour on this earth.

We pray for our Christian neighbours in our twinned church of Arpad Ter, our sister church at Caerlaverock and the other churches in Dumfries, that we may be united in your love, challenged by your spirit to change, stirred by the Spirit to act.

We hear Your call Lord, help us to love every neighbour in our faith.

We pray for courage for our new MSPs, and for all the politicians who represent us, and for the world’s business leaders, to push for what is right, for boldness to forge a path to climate justice, for wisdom to make decisions that are fair for all.

We hear Your call Lord, help us to love every neighbour in this region.

We pray for all neighbours in our parish, especially for those who are sick, lonely, tired or grieving. May we show them the light of Your love and the comfort of Your care.

We hear Your call Lord, help us to love every neighbour throughout this town with our celebration of ‘Guid Nychburris’ the perfect theme.

We pray for our new Minister David, the Kirk Session and all who work for the glory of Your Kingdom. Help us to be even more than loving neighbours – empower us to share the Good News of redemption and eternal life through You with everyone we meet!

We bring this prayer to you through Christ - our Guide, our Strength and our Redeemer.

Amen


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From the Treasurer Mar/Apr 2016 Mar/Apr 2015 8 Sundays 9 SundaysOpen Plate £ 1487 £ 1362Weekly Freewill Offerings £ 4410 £ 4888Banker’s Orders/Cheques £ 3708 £ 3569Collection Boxes £ 173 £ 228Total £ 9778 £ 10,047Average weekly collections £ 1222 £ 1116Annual total to date £ 18,068 £ 17,282

Stewart Williamson, Treasurer

From the Buzz

Christian AidThis year’s Lent Lunches raised over £5000 for the first time – £5019 after expenses – com-pared with £4973 last year. Thank you to all who contributed.

By the time you receive this magazine, Christian Aid house-to-house collection will have been completed – amounts raised will be available in the next edition. A total of 32 mem-bers and friends have been involved in all aspects of collection, and we give thanks for the wonderful support and for everyone who has donated.

Dates to note are Sunday June 26’s New Abbey Safari (gardens open afternoon), when a proportion of the money raised is dedicated to Christian Aid, and Saturday September 17, when we have the annual Christian Aid coffee morning in “The Usual Place”.

On March 21 we welcomed Liz Tanner telling us all about the spring equinox, when day and night are equal lengths. We heard about the different celebrations in different countries.

At our meeting on April 4 Bill Holland gave a talk and a film on the upper reaches of the Thames. We saw narrowboats on the river and a whole host of other attractions.

We welcomed Mark Jardine on April 18 as he talked to us about The People’s Project, which aims to make Dumfries and Galloway a better place to visit through community in-volvement. A lot of great work has already been done and many more things are on the cards!

On May 2, Helen Gray and Isobel Evans gave us a tour around Scotland, with some great tunes to accompany stories of towns and cities all across the country.

At our meeting on May 16 we welcomed Duncan Ford, the ranger from Hoddam, who told us about edible plants that can be used in cooking – he even brought some recipes for us! We learned about a different way of cooking.


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In the gardenOn 30 March, Colin Watret described projects he has been involved with in Forestry Com-mission and RSPB which usually involved ringing, examining and fitting transmitters to birds. He played the “churring” of the nightjar and showed a presentation of catch-ing and recording nightjars, red kites, hen harriers and peregrines, as well as showing rings, transmitters and tracking devices. The raptors are now in a greater and more viable concentration in our area than they previ-ously were.

Colin was warmly thanked for his pres-entation and his answers to our many ques-tions. He was given a £20 donation for the South of Scotland Wildlife Hospital.

On 13 April we had quizzes. Marie Derby circulated one where answers sounded like parts of the human body. She had us scratch-ing our head as we battled to find them. When they were corrected there were many groans – but some groups performed very well.

Jimmy Kirk produced one in three parts of 10 questions each – based on flowers, veg-etables and general. Some were easy, some educational and a few quite obscure. The results were enlightening and sometimes

revealed our mistaken ideas. Again there were some very good performances.

On April 27 we had a visit from Ian Warner of Bankhead Nursery. He spoke of the weather and the problems it’s posing for growing and hardening of plants. He dem-onstrated taking geranium cuttings, sowing seeds, pricking out and striking begonia rex cuttings. He filled a hanging basket and the items he produced were given to some of the members. After tea Ian entertained with accordion music. Throughout he was warm and knowledgeable in his presentations.

Bill Holland

Our monthly coffee mornings are still going strong with a wonderful array of home bak-ing and an endless supply of hot and tasty Fairtrade tea and coffee. It’s fantastic value at only £2.50, not to mention the fellowship and friendly service.

Our April servers are pictured right (and there were other helpers lurking in the kitchen and busy elsewhere on the cake,

Time for a cuppa?

book and lucky dip stalls). So if you haven’t been for a while, make a date in your diary for Saturday July 2 and come along!


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Over two weeks in October the Sunday Kids reflected on the journey taken by Cleopas and Judith on their way from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The story can be found in the Gospel according to Luke chapter 24 verses 13 to 35.

On Communion Sunday, April 24 (when we have more time), we walked into town and thought about how it would have felt to be on the walk that day. We had a very interesting discussion and at the same time as part of our commitment to becoming an eco-friendly church, and to help The People’s Project, we picked up litter which had been carelessly dropped and spoiling the beauty of our town.

Litter-pickers extraordinaire!

The main picture shows us having picked up litter at the church steps, before we continued to do so all along the pavements into town and putting it in a bin in the High Street. The smaller picture shows us having a well earned treat of hot chocolate at Costa.

Isobel Evans

come and join the sunday kids! - st mary’s-greyfriars ... · come and join the sunday kids! ......

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