Autumn 2018 Magazine

Monkton & Prestwick

MAIN CONTACTS MINISTER

David Clarkson

01292 471379 / dclarkson@churchof scotland.org.uk

SESSION CLERK

Lesley Keenan

07754327561/ LesleyKeenan@tkinternet.com

North Church Magazine

TREASURER/HALLS

Robert Gibson

01292 479248 / property@mpnchurch.org.uk

Autumn Issue 2018

CHURCH OFFICE

Sandi Munro

01292 678810 / office@mpnchurch.org.uk

Income & Expenditure - June, July, August £25,563

2018

£25,854

£34,984

2017

v

£32,650

£-

£5,000

£10,000 £15,000 £20,000 £25,000 £30,000 £35,000 £40,000

Expenditure

Income

‘A farmer planted seed. Some fell on good earth and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.’

Matthew ch.13

From the Minister…

They tell me it was a good summer. In fact, the best for many years. I missed it. Well most of it anyway. Contrary to the suggestion of a colleague I did not sleep through it! I was in Australia for five weeks and it is winter there. Of course, winter there is like a normal summer here so we did see some sunshine. Before you think that five weeks is a ridiculous length of time for a holiday I should say that Linda and I were working for two of those weeks.

I was able to visit churches and talk to ministers in the Sydney area to try and find out what they were doing that allowed them to grow or, at least, stand still in members. I talked with people from churches where there are five services of 3,500 people to one with 140 people. One quite traditional Anglican congregation has sent 50 people to plant a new congregation in their area – but they do that with another 50 people every 18 months and the church continues to grow.

On the surface they are not doing anything we are not doing. Some are very programme driven with a multitude of courses and others have similar activities to ourselves. They do Alpha, engage with the community etc.

HARKNESS TREE SERVICES ALL KINDS OF TREE WORK UNDERTAKEN REMOVAL / REDUCTIONS / PRUNING / THINNING /

So, what makes the difference? I suspect there are lots of things but some of the things I noticed are: 

   

They all have a traditional theology that emphasises the importance of personal faith in Christ, and personal spiritual growth.

Music and service styles are very different but there is a clear emphasis on worship.

They all promote ‘Welcome’ as of vital importance.

They encourage members to invite others.

They all emphasise the importance of membership BUT they also have high expectations of members – they do not understand the idea of having members who never turn up.

STORM DAMAGE CITY & GUILDS QUALIFIED FULLY INSURED/FREE ESTIMATES

Phone Archie on 01292 265037 / 07816146974

If you are interested in advertising in the Grapevine, email Irene at magazine@mnpchurch.org.uk for details.

Thank you for the donations you gave during FAIRTRADE Fortnight for the Traidcraft Exchange’s appeal Hidden Entrepreneur. The total sum raised by Traidcraft was £548,530 which the Government doubled to £1,097,060 which will help large numbers of needy people.

Some of this money will be spent in Kenya which is a very poor country. Traidcraft Exchange, through local partners, have helped people like Julia, who live in one of the poorest areas which is greatly affected by drought and malnutrition – 63 % live in poverty. With training in water conservation, different methods of agriculture, business skills and collective negotiation, Julia and her fellow farmers can adapt their methods to cope with climate change and come together to negotiate a fair price for their produce.

When Traidcraft brought advisors to help Julia, she was a shy woman who had struggled to make a living - unable to give her children enough to eat or to send them to school. Julia has worked very hard every day for a year and things have changed. She has gained new farming skills and knowledge to complement her intelligence and industry. Her farm has become so successful that she is now a respected community leader – heading up the local farmers’ cooperative. Her children are now well fed and regularly attend school There are many ladies like Julia in Kenya. Fifty per cent of all women in Sub-Saharan Africa work in agriculture. The money raised by the “Hidden Entrepreneur” appeal will help others like Julia achieve success.

Thank you for the support you give to Traidcraft, it really does help people work their way out of poverty.

Margaret Goodlad



o Members are expected to engage in personal devotions, small groups, bible study and prayer times during the week and the small group is where they are held accountable for their own spiritual growth. o All members are expected to find a way to serve in the congregation o Members are expected to make attendance a priority.

They have very clear ‘next steps’ so that people know what is available for the next stage of their personal growth.

Over the next few months the Session will be thinking through some of these issues to see what we might learn. Alongside that we will be thinking about the future shape of the Church of Scotland in Prestwick and there are some significant decisions to be made.

It’s good to see what’s happening elsewhere and what we can learn but we also give thanks for all of the good things that are already happening in the life of the congregation. All of our organisations are starting up again and there are plans for different events in the lead up to Christmas.

We give thanks to God for spiritual growth and new members, and look forward to all God still has to do.

David

Hi everyone, I have spent this summer working at Crescent Lake Bible Camp in Wisconsin. I've had so much fun working with the kids there. The theme for this year was ‘Mission to the Unknown’ Acts 17:28. The idea being that God is unknown to many people. It was such an honour being able to have an impact on the kids’ lives and getting to teach them about our Lord. I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. They were very much appreciated.

Ross

1st PRESTWICK BOYS’ BRIGADE Ladies’ Day Back by popular demand we are holding another ‘Ladies’ Day’ on Saturday 6th October at Monkton Community Church 9.30am – 3.30pm.

The theme is ‘Women Who Dare’ and the two sessions are about Hannah and Eve. We will start with coffee & croissants, followed by a time of worship led by David Watson. This will, hopefully, inspire us as we move on to listen to a recording of the bible teaching by Sue Gilmore, a lecturer at Capernwray Bible College in Carnforth, England. This will be followed by group discussions on what we have just heard.

The Ladies’ Day is a great opportunity to get to know each other, and what better way to do it than over our planned lunch break of soup and sandwiches. The afternoon session will follow the same format as the morning. Tea and scones will be served during the afternoon break.

This has been a popular event on the last two occasions, so please contact me on lesleykeenan@tkinternet.com / 07754 327561 or in person ASAP. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to be with God and meet with friends on 6thOctober 2018.

Lesley Keenan

Our Annual Display was held on Friday 4 May 2018 and was well attended by parents, friends and Church family. Our Inspecting Officer was Mr Robert Smith, Retired Police Inspector, Police Scotland. After the inspection took place the boys then took part in Marching, Games, P.T. and various other activities with great enthusiasm.

The second half of the evening was dedicated to the presentation of Awards which, together with the presentation of the Valerie Greig Trophy and Steven Muir Award, were presented by Mrs Smith. In his closing remarks Mr Smith praised the boys for their hard work and enthusiasm and how the Boys’ Brigade helped to develop confidence in the boys as they progressed through the Company. He also paid a fitting tribute to the officers. Our thanks to all who helped make our evening such a success.

The Junior Section camp to Moffat took place from 18 – 20 May and the boys enjoyed a varied programme of events including walking in the countryside, sports, football, rounders and trips to the shops all of which proved very popular.

We meet in the Monkton & Prestwick North Church Halls, Monkton Road, Prestwick (opposite Bryson’s garage) on Friday evenings and our new session commences on Friday 7 September 2018.

Anchor Boys – (Primary 1 - 3) - 6.00 p.m. – 7.00 p.m.

Junior Section (Primary 4 - 7) - 6.30 p.m. – 8.30 p.m.

Company Section (Secondary School) - 7.15 p.m. – 9.45 p.m.

Please note that boys in Primary 1 can enrol when they reach their 5th birthday and we would invite any boy who thinks he might be interested to come along and join us for a night of fun, games and fellowship. Please contact Pat Simpson on 01292 477289 for further details.

Sgd.: Sam Gilmour, Captain

Lunch Club- Autumn Session 2018 Hillsong Conference – Sydney “ There Is More “

As Brian Houston took to the stage at the Qudos Bank Arena to introduce various speakers, bands and singers taking part at Conference ...... the place was totally electric, filled with anticipation and excitement. It is difficult to explain the experience of worshipping in one place with 30,000 Christians from all over the world from 9.30am 9pm for 4 days without going through many personal, physical and spiritual emotions all at different times ..... sometimes a little out of my comfort zone.

Inspirational speakers including Judah Smith, John Gray, Stephen Furtick, Chris Hodges, took to the stage along with global Hillsong Pastors. Whilst each of them were very charismatic, funny, and related personal stories ...... there was absolutely no doubt you were listening to spirit filled, no punches held, Bible based passionate men of God. Each carried the theme of “There Is More” from prophecy, dreams and visions, judgement & repentance, are you outward but not really inward, dig deep, do you really want more? How much more can you take? What do you do when God wants to give you more and you’re not ready / able / willing? How obedient are you? What about the missed opportunities?

What are you going to do when you leave Conference and so much more.

With the mixture of singing from Hillsong United, Y&F and Chris Tomlin, an opportunity to attend workshops, meet and talk to loads of people, pray with thousands and in small groups I had the most uplifting time, learned a lot and know I am ready for a few more challenges and opportunities.

What a beautiful summer we’ve had this year but the nights are drawing in and it’s time to look forward to getting together again for lunch with friends old and new. Although it had been proposed that the Monkton Lunch should be discontinued, we have been requested to keep it running until Christmas at least, as although numbers have been small those who attended have enjoyed the fellowship.

The dates for both lunches are as follows and if anyone wants to bring a friend please do so as the lunches are for anyone who cares to come along.

PRESTWICK 5th September 3rd October 7th November 5th December

MONKTON 20th September 18th October 15th November 13th December

Janette Munro

Friendsheep Knitting Group meet each Wednesday from 2.30pm4.00pm in the Session House at MPN Church. We are a mixed age, mixed ability group, we enjoy a cuppa and friendship whilst sharing our skills.

All welcome, please pop along and join us, we'd love to see you!

For more information, please contact Jean Wilson on 01292 263327

Coffee

Buddies

We continue to meet in Sainsbury’s café every alternate Thursday 2pm – 3pm. Our next meeting will be on 20th September. This is a very informal friendly time to share a cuppa, cake and fellowship.

You are guaranteed a warm welcome.

CHRIST IN ACTION FOODBANK

We continue to have a very high demand for our services and we are desperately looking for more volunteers, especially car drivers and those willing to go out with a driver.

Autumn brings the decline of the wonderful garden flowers which have given us such pleasure this summer. However, Autumn brings its own new beginnings - the start of many and varied winter activities.

The Guild is looking forward to our new session beginning on Thursday 27th September. It is also the beginning of the new Three Year Theme One Journey Many Roads. There are six Projects which the Guild have chosen to support, three oversea projects and three in Scotland. In the previous three years the Guild donated to the projects £754,000 which was an amazing amount.

This year the Guild are going to support Malawi Fruits – Growing the Future. This is a small Scottish charity which supports young people in Northern Malawi to grow and market fruit. The Home charity is The Sailors’ Society – A Chaplain for our Ports. Being a sailor in a strange port can be a very lonely and difficult experience.

Our meetings cover a range of topics and everyone is assured of a warm welcome. We meet at 2pm every second Thursday in the small hall. There are many opportunities to visit other Guilds when they have special meetings. Our meetings are as follows: 27th Sept.

11th Oct. 25th Oct. 8th Nov. 22 Nov. 6th Dec. 13 Dec. Margaret Goodlad

Get Together and Registration Malawi Fruits, Growing the Future Life in an Ayrshire Village WW1, Irene Howat Craft Day/ Fairtrade Sutherland House Churches I Know by Jim Riach Christmas Party

YOU ARE A TREE IN FULL BLOOM

God has made you to be like a tree in full bloom; you are anointed and called to be a safe place for many. God is the place to run to but He has given you the ability to be His hands and feet to those who are hurting, who are in pain and often need physical arms to hold them, in Jesus' name. You will be a shelter to them in a time of storm; a place to get out of the wind and the rain, where you can be healed and set back on the right path. You are called to be a place of refuge and of sending out.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in times of trouble.

1 Corinthians 12:27 All of you together are Christ's body and each of you is a part of it This really spoke to me recently and I felt I should share it. Hope it speaks to your heart too!

Elaine Wardrop

We are extremely grateful for all the donations we receive, however, we especially need the basics of tea, sugar, coffee and also main meals.

Your donations of money and groceries go towards making a huge difference to peoples’ lives.

I would like to say a sincere thank you to our volunteers who work tirelessly in the background to make the foodbank work.

If you would like to volunteer or just find out more about the foodbank, please speak to myself or Anne.

Many thanks Peter Wilson & team

Some thoughts from Conference that made me think…

Creators’ Club.

From 3yrs upwards the children and young people will be re-writing bible passages in their own words and acting/animating/singing to create a video of the passage. If you would like to join us, the club meet in the small hall at 10.50am till 12 noon each Sunday.

Crèche Our church runs a crèche for babies up to their 3rd birthday.

For more details, contact: Erin Wardrop: 01292 857153 or Pat Simpson: 01292 477289.

Messy Church meets on the 4th Sunday of the month in Monkton Community Church, Main Street, Monkton.

If you've never been to Messy Church, please come along and try it, we can guarantee you and all the family a very warm welcome and lots of Messy Bible Fun. Hope to see you there!

Are you attending Church...... or planted in Church?

If Church was a reflection of your spirit.....what would it be like?

How do we follow Jesus?

Don’t minimise what your gift is Our sounds of worship are what God longs to hear... don’t contain your worship Let the community see your love for God Challenge yourself Stop tiptoeing in the Spirit I had a fabulous experience, so glad I went... but no matter whether in Sydney or Prestwick the message remains the same… it just depends what we do ... when we hear it, speak it, act it, think it and live it There is More!

Elaine Wardrop Jan

Pioneer Café at

Monkton Community Church Main Street, Monkton Open: Mon – Wed 10am – 3pm Providing hot and cold lunches, home-baking.

All served with a warm welcome

Got Questions? Try Alpha.

Our next Alpha Course will start on Sunday 23rd September -at 7pm.

This is a great opportunity to invite family and friends along to explore the meaning of life, in a friendly informal environment. For more details contact the church office.

Just for Fun Andrew’s Swindon Gap Year

This year I'm doing my gap year!! For those who don't know, over the next year I'm going to be serving as part of Youth For Christ's gap year programme - 'The Year Out'. My year is going to involve moving to Swindon for 11 months where I'll be given the incredible opportunity of bringing the good news about Jesus Christ, relevantly, to young people and seeking to have a positive impact on their lives. I'm taking a year out to do this because I'm passionate about the good news and I'm passionate about people. I believe that it's incredibly important that young people have the opportunity to see that the gospel is a personal, relevant, unprejudiced, essential gospel.

I will be serving within a local church throughout the year as well as within local schools, running clubs and Christian unions, giving lessons and assemblies on relevant issues for young people providing an environment where they can explore the Christian faith and their own spirituality while building relationships. I'll also be serving within the Swindon area outside of schools and churches where I'll be meeting young people where they're at, serving them and building relationships with them while sharing the good news and that'll include running things like youth clubs and sports events.

I'd love if you could support me on this journey!!! If that's something you'd like to do, then there are a few ways of doing it. Firstly, let me know if you'd like to receive my monthly newsletter, sharing my news and asking for relevant prayer. Secondly, I believe that prayer works and is really important and - please pray for me - and let me know how I can be praying for you!

With the help of Sara Crumlish, there will be a regular Young Person’s page soon to come. Sara would love to hear from the young people in the church.

Although this issue is aimed at younger children, Sara would love to hear from all ages sharing information or ideas for the church. For example: favourite music, places to visit etc. If you would like to contribute to this page, send your ideas to Sara on: magazine@mpnchurch.org.uk

Thank You Page 1st Monkton & Prestwick Girls’ Brigade At the Prestwick Prom Day we had one of our new puppets helping us give out treats to the children, fishing for ducks, which was great fun and we had our Busy Bee invitations to give out to new members which was a great success. At our registration evening on 3rd Sept. we had several new girls enrolling and we now have twenty girls on the register. Our first night was Monday 10th September and we have a full and exciting programme planned for this session.

Explorers

P1-P3 6.30pm – 7.30pm

Juniors

P4-P7 6.30pm – 8.00pm

Brigaders

S1-S5 6.30pm – 8.00pm

Margaret MacBain

Prestwick Prom Day was another great success. People enjoyed the free hugs and the children enjoyed the craft table run by Messy Church. This was a great opportunity for outreach into the local community.

Thanks to everyone involved.

Wilf Graham, a regular customer at the Pioneer Café has kindly donated funds to purchase staff aprons.

Wilf has been a supporter of the café for several years and has on occasion volunteered his services to the cafe. This is much appreciated.

We would like to thank everyone for their kind donations for Breast Cancer UK in memory of our daughter Sharon. We have been overwhelmed with your generosity and your support.

Anne & Peter Wilson

Elaine & Volunteers

Thanks to Roberta Morrison who has kindly donated two children’s booster seats to the church. This is very useful especially in emergencies if children have to be transported in a hurry. One will be kept in the bottom of the coat stand in the hall at Prestwick and the other will be available at Monkton Community Church.

FROM THE SIMPSON FAMILY

Dear Friends We wish to thank you all for your prayers and support during the recent sad loss of Bobby. Thank you also for the many cards, flowers and gifts which were much appreciated and a great comfort to us.

Thank you all once again for your kindness.

God Bless Pat, Tom, Linzie & Family

Recipe Page Our recipe this time is ideal for using up your windfall.

This apple chutney has a tangy, sweet flavour which is perfect with cheeses such as cheddar, cheshire or white stilton.

Ingredients         

225g/8oz onions, chopped 900g/2lb apples, cored and chopped 110g/4oz sultanas, raisins or chopped dates 15g/½oz ground coriander 15g/½oz paprika 15g/½oz mixed spice 15g/½oz salt 340g/12oz granulated sugar 425ml/¾ pints malt vinegar

Finally, I would be unbelievably grateful if you could support me financially - the cost of the programme that I have to pay is £2600 and I also have day-to-day living costs on top of that which means any financial support would go a long way to helping me in the coming year. This would be an amazing way of serving not only me but the young people I will have the opportunity of working with. If you would like to support me financially then there are a few possible ways of doing this. I can provide the appropriate bank details; or support me on my page which will be uploaded on the Youth For Christ website (go into the website and search my name in the search bar) where you can either give a one-off payment or set up monthly giving; also I will be running some fundraisers in the future which I will let you know about.

Thank you so much. I'm incredibly excited to see how God will move and work and ultimately show His love in the coming year.

Email: atfraser@live.com Mobile number: 07944933533 YFC website: https://yfc.co.uk/ Andrew

Method

Prayer Chain 1. Put all the ingredients into a preserving pan. Slowly bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Simmer for 1½-2 hours, stirring from time to time to stop the chutney sticking to the pan.

3. When it is very thick and you can draw a wooden spoon across the base of the pan so that it leaves a channel behind it that does not immediately fill with liquid, the chutney is ready.

4. Turn into sterilised jars, seal and cool.

5. Store in a cool, dark cupboard for two to three months before eating

Do you, or anyone you know need prayer? The church has a prayer chain where requests for prayer are sent to a prayer team by email or text and prayer begins immediately. This is a great opportunity to serve others and see the power of God working. Prayer requests will be handled with confidentiality. For requests, or if you wish to be part of the prayer team please contact: Tricia Harkness 07974690489 or Maureen McCreadie on 0756130058

Welcome‌

Congratulations to Shona Armour & Jose Andres Alava Linares on their Engagement at Wedding Cake Rock, Sydney on 23rd July 2018.

On 9th September we welcomed two new members, Anne Dempsey and Julie Mullen. Both ladies gave wonderful testimonies and have now become part of our church family.

Congratulations to Kieran and Heather who were married on Saturday 23rd June at Riverside Evangelical Church in Ayr.

Home Group – There are currently two home groups who meet regularly where you can explore God’s word in a friendly, homely atmosphere where you are supported and encouraged by each other. Meeting informally in someone’s home is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy fellowship, while developing your faith through bible study and prayer.

Prayer & Praise – On the 2nd Sunday of the month at Prestwick Church Hall, we invite you to join us for a time of informal worship from 6.30pm – 8.00pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to spend time in prayer with each other and to praise God’s name.

Growing with God - We have three Growing with God groups (Monday afternoon 1-3pm and Monday and Thursday evenings 7.309 pm) which will meet once every four weeks. The aim is to give people the opportunity to learn together through reading, praying and chatting. It is a safe space where questions are welcome, even if answers are not guaranteed.

Bible Study - We meet every Wednesday in the session house at 10.15am for tea & chat then we commence at 10.30am. This is a great way to study God’s word in a friendly, informal way.

This session we will be looking at Evangelism, using the Bible Life Builder books. A warm welcome awaits. For further details contact: Lesley Keenan: 07754327 ‘All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching for reproductive, for correction and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.’

2 Tim 3 v