Autumn 2015 Edition I hesitate to use the "S" word. It seems a bit a Kirk Session has been ordained to their
odd. I mean it hasn't actually happened yet and this is the September magazine. Well it hasn't happened here yet - Summer, that is. I saw this picture on Facebook recently which sums it up—
ministry, and as a result, accepts the privileges and responsibilities of office. Elders are expected to be active in the life of the congregation and have a key responsibility in regular attendance at Kirk Session meetings. (emphasis mine)
It is particularly important that all Elders take responsibility by setting a positive example in attending services, visiting, praying, welcoming people to church and, as much as possible, getting involved in the life of the congregation. Other members have a responsibility to support and encourage the Elders in their work. One of the things that If you managed to get away somewhere for makes a congregation attractive is how faith a bit of sun please don't go on about it, you'll is lived out, and if the message that comes across is that the leaders are active in service just annoy everyone else. and backed by a supportive membership people are more likely to come and get Seriously though, in most of our churches involved themselves. To that end we have a things stop for the summer because the committee structure with five leaders, planners and helpers need a rest. We need to recharge our batteries for committees covering the life and work of the church: Pastoral Care, Fabric and Finance, a new session of activities. We are very Outreach, Discipleship and Worship. Each fortunate to have lots of people who one has a different area of responsibility and volunteer and I want to take this we are looking for members to get involved opportunity to say thank you. We really in these committees to help share the load need people to run the CIA, Young Church, and also bring new ideas. BB and GB and other organisations, as well as door and count duty, making tea and Each committee is responsible for ensuring coffee and doing all the small jobs that so there are people in place to do the work— often go unnoticed. not necessarily to do it themselves and a brief summary of their different areas of AS Interim Moderator at Fisherton and responsibility follows: Kirkoswald I am trying to encourage the Board and Session to think through how they Pastroal care: Organise and m anage could engage in mission in their parishes, congregational visitation; Prepare and and how they might take things forward in implement annual Stewardship Campaign; the absence of a minister. Arrange quarterly church events; Oversee I want to quote from the Church of Scotland Lunch Clubs, after church tea/coffee. Chair: book 'Eldership' (pg 40): Jim Riach Congregation leadership is a collegiate Fabric and Finance: Bank ing; R ecord responsibility given to the Kirk Session, NOT Safe-keeping; Monitor investments;
SIMPLY TO THE MINISTER. Everyone in Monkton & Prestwick North Parish Church of Scotland
Scottish Charity Number: SC004271
Budgeting; Purchase supplies; Regulate all fundraising; Maintain and repair facilities and equipment. See Robert Gibson
however, the mandatory training would need to take place over four Saturdays in November from 10am-3.30pm, which is a big commitment to ask of people so close to Outreach: All aspects of m ission; Christmas. To establish if this is possible it Communication strategy – advertising, was agreed that we have the Launch on website, church magazine; Seasonal and Thursday 24th September. It would take event specific advertising; Provide mission the following form:opportunities; Supervise Christian Aid. See 4pm Press Launch with Police, SAC, Church Margaret MacBain Leaders and Ascension Trust. It is hoped that there would be a number Discipleship: P rom ote regular personal signing up at the meeting devotions; Promote Bible study; Develop 7pm Public Launch to allow people who small group ministry in the congregation; cannot come in the afternoon. It would Develop ways to involve young people in follow the same format. Sunday worship; Support existing leaders, and train new leaders. Chair: Sam Gilmour To establish if a December go live is possible, people would be asked on the Worship: Encourage people to m eet 24th if they could commit to the training for worship; Recruit and maintain a rota of taking place in November. If enough say members to assist in reading and praying; yes we would work for a December go live. Provide planning and practical help for If not the training will take place in January weekly, special and seasonal worship for an Easter go live. A minimum of 16 services; Operate and manage AV people are required to sign up for the equipment; Train new AV operators. project to go ahead. Age is no barrier to Chair: Scott Wardrop volunteering, in fact grannies & granpas are more effective than those nearer the age of If you have skills which you would like to the clients as they are more respected and offer one of these please let the relevant listened to, as well as not being a perceived person know or contact the office if you’re threat! More details to follow. sure who these named people are. _________________________________ So, having recharged your batteries, the challenge is to work together to make this a We have been asked to advertise and great year and our prayer is that the support a meeting about Street Pastors on congregation will grow in faith and in Thursday 24th September. Street Pastors numbers. are trained volunteers from local churches who care about their community. They patrol in teams of men and women, usually from 10 p.m. to closing time on a Friday David and/or Saturday night, to care for, listen to and help people who are out on the streets. A street pastor is someone who is… a Christian and is part of a local church; concerned for society and their local community; willing to engage with people, whatever their perspective on life and wherever they hang out; happy to work in a team and with other agencies and projects, both statutory and voluntary. The Police and South Ayrshire Council (SAC) met local church leaders with a view to forming teams in Ayr and Prestwick. In fact, they hoped that Street Pastors would be on the streets by Christmas. It was agreed that this was a laudable aspiration,
1st PRESTWICK BOYS’ BRIGADE COMPANY
1st PRESTWICK BOYS’ BRIGADE Our Annual Display was held on Friday 8 May and was well attended by parents, friends and Church family. Our Inspecting Officer was Rev. George Fiddes from St. Nicholas Parish Church, Prestwick. During the first half of the evening, the Inspection took place with Rev. Fiddes taking time to speak to the boys and officers. The boys then took part in Marching, Games and P.T., all of which they performed with great enthusiasm. The second half of the evening was dedicated to the presentation of Awards, Badges, Prizes and Certificates. These awards together with the presentation of the Steven Muir Memorial Award and the Valerie Greig Trophy were presented by Mrs Fiddes. One of our Company Section boys also attained their Queen’s Badge this is the highest award in the Boys’ Brigade and our congratulations go to Jason McClymont. In his closing remarks Rev. Fiddes praised the boys for their hard work and enthusiasm which he said had showed in all the events throughout the evening and he hoped it would continue into next session. 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 two weeks later and the boys enjoyed a varied programme of events including walking in the countryside, sports, football, rounders and trips to the sweet shop, toy shop and boating lake, 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 4 September 2015 at the following times: 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 aged 5 years and upwards can enr ol 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
Monkton & Prestwick North Parish Church, 10 Monkton Road, Prestwick, Ayrshire, KA9 1AR Captain: Sam Gilmour, 22 Angus Avenue, Prestwick, Ayrshire, KA9 2HZ Tel: 01292 470614 Chaplain: Rev. David Clarkson, Craigard, 40 Monkton Road, Prestwick, KA9 1AR Tel: 01292 471379 Object: The advancement of Christ’s Kingdom among boys and the promotion of habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-Respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness. Registered Charity No: SC033197
“OPENING UP YOUR HOME” I had the real privilege to be able to offer accommodation to four of our visitors from Arizona. This was a big decision for me as my husband has a brain injury and severe memory problems. How would Ian cope? Would it cause stress? Worry worry worry, anxious thoughts, negative thoughts! Do I never listen to what God is saying to me? God doesn’t want me to live a life full of anxious and negative thoughts and I had to trust that God knows my situation. Well what a wonderful time both Ian and I had. Dinella, Jayne, Jesse and Colin arrived as strangers and left as family. Ian unfortunately can’t remember any of the visit but in that moment in time he had a love time chatting and getting to know our four new family members. There were emotion times for Ian when he realised he hadn’t remembered they were in the house or when we were sharing our faith Together Ian could not cope with his emotions. However I think the positives to both our lives were amazing. “Opening up your home” does involve opening up your life—the not so good and and the good bits. Our visitors arrived as visitors but left as family—God’s family. Irene Smith.
LUNCH CLUBS AT PRESTWICK AND MONKTON Our Autumn Session is about to commence and we are looking forward to seeing our regular lunch Clubbers and hopefully a few new faces. Dates and menus are as below and I hope you can come along and join us. September
Prestwick 2nd
Monkton 17th
Cottage Pie & Strawberry Mousse
October
7th
22nd
Chicken Ham & Leek Pie & Apple Crumble
November
4th
19th
Soup & Sausage Casserole
December
2nd
Jeanette Munro
10th
Christmas Chicken & Trifle
1ST MONKTON AND PRESTWICK GIRLS BRIGADE. The Junior Outing was a fantastic trip to the Sea Life Centre at Loch Lomond with a sleepover under the glass tunnel with baby sharks and eels overhead. This was followed the next week by a Youth Event at Prestwick Beach with camp fire songs and BBQ. Our Display on the 11th May was extremely well attended and everyone had a super time. We were proud to be able to present our chosen charity, the Foodbank with a cheque for a £100.00 which was received by Liz Ewing who officiated at the Display by kindly presenting the prizes. With four new girls joining the Junior Section we now have 16 on our roll and as we will have 11 Explorers when we start back, I have made an appeal for new volunteers to help us and the appeal has been published in the Prestwick edition of Going Out magazine this month and which is distributed to every home in Prestwick. At the time of writing this I have already received some encouraging responses with an offer of assistance from a new volunteer.
Our service badge work this year includes knitting poppies the proceeds of which go to the Poppy Appeal, and we are also sewing small square cotton bags to cover infusion pumps, for our chosen charity, which this year is Cancer Research. I have arranged for instructors for both these activities to come along and participate in helping the girls with their knitting and sewing. In our new 2015/2016 programme we will be devising keep fit routines and looking at healthy eating regimes in the session up till Christmas. Our Company sleepover takes place on Saturday 26th September at St Meddans Church Troon which we are all looking forward to. We start back on Monday 7th September at 6.30pm to which I warmly welcome all girls old and new. Susan Christie: Captain Lesley Keenan : Lt--- Brigader Section age 11-18 (S1-S6) Gayle Reid: Aux-- Junior Section age 8-10 (P4-P7) Lesley Yuill : Lt Explorer Section age 5-7 (P1-P3)
GOD WITH US CONCERT.
Confirmation has just been received that the “God With Us” Choir from Glasgow will be making a return visit to our Church in November (probably 1st November but subject to confirmation). Those who attended on the last occasion found that this was definitely a “not to be missed” event. We will be extending an invitation to all other local Churches but it would be great to have a full turnout from our own congregation. Last time many said that, if they had known how good their presentation, they would have been there. So don’t make that mistake again! Jim Riach
We have had a busy few months at Messy Church. We are very happy to welcome Catherine McCormick to the Messy Church Team and grateful for her fresh ideas and enthusiasm. In June we had an extra session in order that our American visitors could experience the fun, mess and celebration that is Messy Church. Prestwick Prom should have been the day before but was unfortunately cancelled due to the weather, another authentically Scottish experience! This meant that the Western themed photo booth and crafts could come to Monkton and they were extremely popular. The rescheduled Prom day in August was a great success with much improved weather, if sadly without our American friends. We will be having another extra session on 6th September when our Malawian visitors are here. This is a great opportunity to spend some time learning about their culture and a chance to share how and why we have Messy Church. Messy Church is a fresh way of being church for families, involving fun and is now found around the world with 2975 Messy Churches currently registered. Messy Church is an opportunity for us to show our community the unconditional love that Jesus offers. Jesus first let individuals know that they belonged – that he loved them regardless of their behaviour, lifestyles and choice to follow Him or not. Something that followed naturally from receiving this unconditional love was that people believed. They didn't have to believe in Jesus before they were shown His love and compassion. Rather, they believed because of it. Why not come to Messy Church and show our community that we love them and that we all belong to Jesus. How else will we have a chance to reach the many who do not yet believe? We cannot expect people to come to us, we have to do as Jesus did and get out among the people. Messy Church is on every 4th Sunday of the month from 4-6pm at Monkton Community Church and there are lots of photos on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MPNchurch.
Finance update At the Congregational meeting held in March, we reported that our offerings have educed considerably mainly due to bereavements. We said that if every member would give an extra £1 per week it would alleviate the financial situation in our Congregation. Many of you have already responded by increasing your offerings and on behalf of the Kirk Session I want to thank you most sincerely. At this time, our Ministries & Mission contributions to The Church of Scotland are up to date. From January - August this year we have paid £9767 for gas/electricity. We can only achieve financial stability by the grace of God, hard work by the finance team and the continuing support of YOU the Congregation. We thank you for your ongoing support and would welcome any thoughts on stewardship and fund raising. Your Brother in Christ Robert Gibson Treasurer
Easyfundraising If you are one of our 30 supporters, a big thank you for raising £465.32 of funds for our Church. If you don’t use easyfundraising, please take a minute to consider supporting us through this website. Did you know that whenever you buy anything online - from your weekly shop to your annual holiday - you could be raising a free donation for Monkton & Prestwick North Church? There are nearly 3,000 retailers including Amazon, John Lewis, Aviva, the trainline and Sainsbury's, who will donate a percentage of the amount you spend to Monkton & Prestwick North Church to say thank you for shopping with them. It's really simple, and doesn't cost you anything. All you have to do is: Go to www.easyfundraisinq.org.uk/causes/monktonprestwicknorthchurch Sign up for free Get shopping - your donations will be collected by easyfundraising and automatically sent to Monkton & Prestwick North Church. It couldn't be easier! There are no catches or hidden charges and Monkton & Prestwick North Church will be really grateful for your donations. Thank you for your support. A free and easy way to generate donations whenever our supporters shop online.
ASHGROVE HOME IMPROVEMENTS. Kitchens, Bathrooms, Bedrooms and Marble Fireplaces, Stockists of Wall Panels and floor.
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www.ashgrovehomeimprovements.co.uk
THANK
Y O U.
Many thanks to our congregation for the many cards and visits during my recent stay in Ayr Hospital (June 1st—9th July) with Pulmonary fibrosis. Quite a long haul so visitors from the Church family and our minister were very welcome. Home now under Margaret’s tender care but permanently on oxygen—so keep away from naked lights! Visitors welcome to Caerlaverock Avenue. God Bless you all— Jim Goodlad
A few words from Max Lucado (The Applause of Heaven).
He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 23:3. It’s hard to see things grow old. The town where I grew up is growing old ... Some of the buildings are boarded up. Some of the houses are torn down ... The Old movie house where I took my dates has “For Sale” on the door .... I wish I could make it all new again. I wish I could blow the dust off the streets ,, but I can’t. I can’t. But God can. “He restores my soul,” wrote the shepherd, He doesn’t reform; he restores. He doesn’t camouflage the old; he restores the new. The Master Builder will pull out the original plan and restore it. He will restore the vigour. He will restore the energy. He will restore the hope. He will restore the soul.
Elaine’s Childminding Services Registered Childminder 23 years experience in Early Year Education Open Days available on request Contact:Elaine Wardrop 155 Adamton Road South Prestwick 01292 670513 Mobile 07526128194 wardrop.elaine@gmail.com
F L O W E R DATE
L I S T.
DONATED BY
DELIVERED BY
6 September
Jim & Hazel Ann McLauchlan
Margaret Thomson
13th September
Lynn Richmond
Leslie McCarrell
20th September
Mary Yuille
Elaine Wardrop
Ann Shelton
Jim McLauchlan
4 October
Valerie Greig/Vicky Parker
Jan Armour
11th October
Tricia & Kevin Harkness
Carrie Lamont
18th October
Jessie Muir
Tom & Lily Dougan
Elspeth Manson/Mary Yuille
Morag Hamil
1 November
Marie Cuthbert
Nan Dagostino
8th November
Emily Kerr
Susan Campbell
15th November
Pat Simpson
Marion Balish
November
Lily & Tom Dougan
Elizabeth Ewing
29 November
Christmas Flowers
1st Sunday of Advent
6th December
Christmas Flowers
2nd Sunday of Advent
13th December
Evelyn McHarg/Mrs I Sheilds
3rd Sunday of Advent
20th December
Christmas Flowers
4th Sunday of Advent
27th December
Christmas Flowers
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th
th
27 September th
th
25 October st
nd
22
th
Our MP held a surgery at Monkton recently and Robert managed to get her details if anyone needs to contact her.
I have always believed and known that the power of prayer is beyond measure and also sometimes beyond our understanding knowing this has never stopped me from talking to God my Heavenly Father and Jesus my Precious Brother—recently due to my dear husband and best friend passing away—I discovered that prayer was difficult. This is the time in our lives that the prayers of family, friends and Church Family are so important and I thank you all from the depths of my heart for supporting me. Your friend—Valerie.
Your friend—Valerie. CHRISTIAN AID WEEK 2015
Christian Aid week this year was held between 10th -16th May. The following events were held:The Annual Fun Day held on Satur day 9th May was hosted this year by the St Nicholas Church and was well attended considering the weather on the day. The total raised was £1265.28 Songs of Praise Service, led by the Salvation Ar my Band, was held in our own Church on Sunday 10th May. A collection taken at the service raised the sum of £227.07 Door to Door Collections & Penny Jars, The sums r aised by Monkton & Prestwick North in respect of Door to Door collections and Penny Jars were £1810.50 and £237.29 respectively. The overall total collected by Prestwick Churches for Christian Aid week was £11634.20 The committee would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who contributed to the success of Christian Aid Week. In particular those who took part in the door to door collections and also those who gave their time to assist with the counting of envelops and penny jars. Your continued participation and support of Christian Aid allows the charity to continue it’s mission to provide life changing support to some of the poorest people on earth. Margaret Ferguson Treasurer—Prestwick Churches Christian Aid Committee
THE
G U I L D.
We look forward to the new Guild Session which starts on Thursday 1st October at 2pm in the small hall. We will welcome any new members who wish to join us. Our recent new members have brought friendship, enthusiasm and new ideas – all much appreciated. We are a friendly group who meet once a fortnight, on Thursday to enjoy talks, music and fun. We also provide support for each other. I have benefited from this support this summer – thank you all. The Guild theme this session is ‘Be Bold Be Strong’ and the theme is ‘Go in Peace’. The World’ certainly needs peace today. The Guilds of the three Ayrshire Presbyteries have organised ‘The Big Sing’ at St Nicholas Church on Thursday 19th November at 2pm. This should be special so make a note of the date. The Syllabus until Christmas. 1st October 8th October
2pm 7.30pm
Music and Memories Autumn Rally in St Columba’s Church
15th October
2pm
15th October
1.30pm
28th October
10.30am 3.30pm 2pm 2pm 2pm 2pm 2pm
The History of Nursery Rhymes Christian Education Meeting In Auld Kirk Halls
29th 12th 19th 26th 10th
October November November November December
Irene Smith Linda Young National Convenor Catherine Mills
Project Partners - Fund Raising Projects Aberlour Trust Morag McGowan The Rev Abi Ngunga THE BIG SING - St Nicholas Church—all Guilds invited. The Bring and Buy Sale Christmas Party and Allocation of Funds
Please come and join us on the 1st October at 2pm. Margaret Goodlad.
A few thoughts from God’s Little Acre. Tears are prayers too. They travel to God when we can’t speak. A true friend sees the first tear, catches the second and stops the third. Charity begins anywhere and should have no end. A Christian is a living sermon whether or not he preaches a word. The world looks brighter from behind a smile.
Monkton Pioneer Café
Do you want a relaxed place to meet up with friends for coffee or lunch? Do you want to be served by friendly, helpful staff? Do you want a bit of company or someone to chat to? THEN LOOK NO FURTHER! ! ! The church café offers all this and food! Homebaking, Homemade Soups and a range of lunchtime meals
We’ll be there Mon-Fri 10am – 3pm – so when will you be there?
D I S C O V E R Y. Discovery Walking Group The Discovery Walking Group continues to meet on the first Sunday of each month, after morning worship. We enjoy a nice warm bowl of soup together before setting off on our walk. This really is for everyone, so please come and join us, enjoy fellowship whilst keeping fit. We leave by 1pm and return to the church by 2pm, it really is a “wee” walk (just ask our American friends, they had a Scot’s language lesson when they joined us on our June walk!)
Cooking Group Our new beginners class have completed a 3 week taster course, preparing sandwiches with fillings, baked potatoes and vegetable soup. Over the next couple of months we have an additional class open to our advanced and beginners, a coffee morning and plans for our advanced class to achieve their certificate in food hygiene. Our cookery class worked in the kitchen all morning to provide a wonderful Afternoon Tea for our American friends when they visited. Well done to everyone.
We would like to thank all our wonderful helpers, to our walkers, soup makers, cooking ladies and kitchen assistants, Sutherland House volunteers and our prayer warriors, these fantastic opportunities to partner with the wonderful people from Sutherland House just wouldn’t be possible without you. Thank you. May we just ask that you continue to keep all these activities and our friends from Sutherland House in your prayers. Thank you for your continued support.
Supporting local people in crisis
Sat 19 September 2015
10 - 1p.m.
Monkton & Prestwick North Church Halls
(Opposite Brysons Garage)
Don't Miss It!! Bargains Galore!! Entry Fee At Door - Please Bring a Tin of Food!
"w and Nearly new"
Clothes 'n' thingsNe
. KidsZone. Bouncy Castle, Balloon Artistry, Face Painting and lots more! Quiz Entries Drawn on Day! Scottish. Reg. Charity SCIO45322
Our Friendsheep Knitting Group meets every Tuesday from 2.30-4.00pm in the Session House at MPN. We enjoy a cuppa and biscuits while we knit/crochet and chat together. We are a mixed age, mixed ability group, we share fellowship whilst sharing our skills. Over the last couple of months we have held a stall at MPN Summer Fete and Prestwick Prom Day. We knit squares which are sewn together to make blankets, when completed, they are placed in a box in the Session Room, the CIA Foodbank Volunteers are able to access the boxes to take blankets or knitted clothing to people where needed, they are also able to request any items needed for families they meet and the knitting group will knit and supply the items. Later this month, the Knitting Group are going into one of the local secondary schools in partnership with The Ark, to share skills with the young people, we are looking forward to this opportunity. We are so grateful for all the generous donations of wool/ needles/ patterns/ crochet and other craft items and we would like to say a heartfelt thanks for this and for your prayerful support. Please come along and join us, there is no need to commit to every week, just anytime you are able, you will be made so welcome. If you know of anyone in need of knitted items, please let us know or leave us a request in the Session Room in the basket and we will try our best to provide. For more information or any suggestions please see Catherine McCormick or Elaine Wardrop or call 01292 857153
I was given the great privilege and pleasure of driving the minibus for our friends from Arizona during their recent visit. Each day was different, we visited different places near and far, took part in different activities and met new people together, but each day brought the simple pleasure of just sharing stories and experiences and building friendships with each other. It was i nteresting to learn about the huge differences in our lifestyle but also surprisingly, to learn of the many similarities in our church and faith lives. I don’t know what I expected, but that really surprised me. I learned new things each day and I can honestly say, when we took them to the airport I felt I was saying goodbye to friends. Last year, Elaine, Kieran & Erin went out to Arizona, they came home with many stories and photographs, and told me how the friendship part of it was so powerful. It was so good this year to have that opportunity to get to know the people that they had met and to get the opportunity to build those same friendships. Elaine also described how refreshing Margueritas were when she was out in Arizona, let’s just say I wouldn’t describe my experience of them when the Americans were here as refreshing! I think we’ll leave that there for now!!! Scott Wardrop
FAIRTRADE Spotlight on Swaziland Swaziland is a beautiful small country bordering South Africa and Mozambique. It has a population of 1.4 million and they have to contend with many problems – poverty, poor healthcare, and the awful grip that HIV has on society. Traidcraft works with a number of Fairtrade companies which provide secure and fair employment. This is very important in a country where unemployment is very high. 3 of these companies are ‘Black Mamba’, who make a range of chilli and pesto sauces, curry sauce and chutney; Swazi Candles and Baobab Batik – they make a range of handbaticked homewares. All three really care for their workforce – making sure their staff have proper healthcare, that their families are getting enough food to eat, that they are getting financial advice on how to save for the future and manage their salaries. Swazi Candles has a large vegetable garden with a full time gardiner provding free food for the workforce. Swaziland has the world’s highest HIV infection rate -26% of adults are known to have the virus. The Fairtrade companies ensure their employees have enough medicine and they provide emotional support. Because so many 20, 30, and 40 year olds die of HIV Aids – there is a missing generation, leaving Grandmothers to look after young children. A group of these grandmothers are supported by ‘Black Mamba and they now grow organic chillies in small pieces of land near their homes. The income they get helps them care for themselves and their grandchildren. Their organic chillies are used in Black Mamba’s chilli sauces. The number of Fairtrade companies in the country is increasing which is of great benefit to the people. I have some products from Swaziland on my monthly stall and they can be seen and then ordered from the Autumn Catalogue. They are on pages14, 17, 34 and 91. Ordering through me saves you carriage. Please support Traidcraft to help people work their way out of poverty. Every little helps. Margaret Goodlad LaGuardia airport is one of American’s busiest. It was named after Fiorella LaGuardia, the Mayor of New York during the Great Depression. Acting as a judge in one of the poorest parts of the city in the winter of 1935, he found himself forced to pass sentence on a grandmother who had stolen bread to feed her starving grand children. He felt sorry for her but fined her ten dollars. Then he paid the fine himself and fined everyone in the courtroom fifty cents for living in a city where such a thing could happen! The grateful woman went home with nearly fifty dollars. Mayor LaGuardia exemplified the difference between sympathy and compassion: “Sympathy sees and says ‘I’m sorry’, compassion sees and whispers, ‘I’ll help’.”
MINISTER Rev. David Clarkson Telephone : 01292 471379 Email : minister@mpnchurch.org.uk
BIBLE STUDY Wednesday 10.30 am Margaret Thomson Telephone : 01292 477045
SESSION CLERK James U Riach Telephone : 01292 476458 Email : james@jriach2.fsnet.co.uk
BOYS’ BRIGADE Friday pm (Various) Pat Simpson Telephone : 01292 477289
TREASURER/HALL BOOKINGS Robert Gibson Telephone : 01292 479248 Email : property@mpnchurch.org.uk
GIRLS’ BRIGADE Monday 6.00 pm Sue Christie Telephone : 07751219601
ORGANIST David Watson Telephone : 01292 314867
GUILD Thursday 2.00 pm Margaret Goodlad Telephone : 01292 470903
CHURCH OFFICE Telephone : 01292 678810 Email : office@mpnchurch.org.uk KIRK SESSION COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES Discipleship Sam Gilmour Telephone : 01292 470614 Fabric & Finance Outreach Pastoral Care Jim Riach Telephone : 01292 476458 Worship Scott Wardrop Telephone : 01292 670513
MONKTON BROWNIES Thursday 6.30 pm Monkton Community Church Irene Boyle Telephone : 01292 478376 KIDDIEWINKLES Monday 10.00 am Elaine Gilbert Telephone : 07734806812 TOTS-TOWN Wednesday 10.00 am Monkton Community Church Leigh Flanagan Telephone : 07545050190 THE YOUNG CHURCH Sunday 11.00 am Lesley McCarrell Telephone : 01292 477779 Duncan Campbell Telephone : 01292 435020