Forum Focus Dec 2011 by Pilrig St. Paul's Church

FORUM FOCUS The magazine of Leith Churches Forum

December 2011 Vol. 40/11

From the Chair John M. Tait As I continue as Chair of the Forum Coordinating Team the watchword continues to be one of change. At the moment, Leith St. Andrew’s Church is set to join South Leith in the status of vacancy as Elizabeth Youngson has been accepted as minister by Mastrick Parish Church Aberdeen. Also as some of you know Duncan Scotland has faithfully served the Forum as its Treasurer over many years now. Duncan has now indicated that he wishes to resign this post and at a recent meeting of the Coordinating Team, he was warmly thanked for all his help and work in support of the work of the Forum. My own retirement will take place in 2012, however I have officially agreed and intimated that I will continue a little longer than originally planned and will now retire at the end of October 2012. Meanwhile South Leith continue through their Nominating Committee to work towards securing a new Minister. The Forum has appointed two people to represent it on the South Leith nominating committee- Nikki Macdonald of Pilrig St Paul’s and Anne Lamont of North Leith. We continue to wish South Leith well in their vacancy and look to support them in every way we can and also to share with them fully in the life of the Forum over the coming months. I know how much all of you enjoy sharing in our Forum united worship services. Our next united service will be the United Epiphany Communion Service on Sunday 8th January 2012 at 11.00am in Pilrig St Paul’s Church. I hope to see you there!

The Forum Focus team wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas & New Year.

As we prepare to celebrate afresh the coming of the infant Jesus into our world with all his promise of hope and joy and peace, may we all look forward, with renewed joy and hope to the changes and new opportunities that lie ahead for us to engage with together, as we serve God and proclaim the Good News of God’s love in all we do. May God bless you all and all whom you love!

Ministry Team Jennifer Stark We continue to meet monthly, more recently courtesy of Alex and Louise at the North Leith manse. With, Alex’s arrival, Ian Gilmour’s departure and Elizabeth’s move to Aberdeen later in December, the team is going through considerable change! While we do usually have an agenda, the meetings are, more than anything, a chance to worship together, exchange news, and ‘oil the wheels’ of a ministry grouping. So often it’s these informal conversations that help to keep things moving in the right direction, or ensure that small problems don’t become big misunderstandings. This will be even more important over the next months, as Leith St Andrew’s joins South Leith in vacancy. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief at John Tait’s decision to stay till next October. His experience, wisdom and many skills will be invaluable over the next months. We welcome Kirk Session representatives from South Leith and Leith St Andrew’s to help continuity and communication. Elizabeth’s departure, like Ian’s, will leave a big gap in our group, as well as at Leith St Andrew’s. My personal memories centre round her beautiful garden – I remember sitting there exchanging bits of our life stories when we first met, and enjoying her hospitality there for other meetings. Since then I’ve learned a lot from seeing her at work in Leith St Andrew’s – in Messy Church, in the Oasis worship group, and with parishioners. Others will be able to say much more about her contribution to church life in Leith but I’ve particularly appreciated her sense of humour, thought-provoking worship and friendship. Elizabeth, we wish you and Graham health, happiness and fulfilment in Aberdeen

Outreach Team Roy Eprile The Outreach Team have met twice since the end of August, on 1st September and 13th October. Both meetings were almost entirely taken up with the topic of John Bell's visit as guest speaker at the St Andrew's Night at South Leith Halls on Saturday 26th November at 7pm for 7.30pm. There was be a buffet meal by South Leith's chef Scott with tickets costing £8. We hope to have an “invite a friend” Sunday before the end of the year. Farewell from Elizabeth Youngson Dear folks, I have thoroughly enjoyed living and ministering in Leith. Over the past five and a half years, I have felt very much at home in Leith St Andrew’s, and I have felt loved and supported by the congregation. It is not easy moving on but I am sure that moving back to my home town of Aberdeen to be nearer family is the right thing for me to do. I am looking forward to getting to know the folks at Mastrick Parish Church and anticipating new challenges. Challenges are something we all face. I give thanks for the challenges that the churches in the Forum have faced and the new challenges ahead. I have enjoyed working with colleagues and have fond memories of ministering alongside Ian, Louise, John, George and Ken; the clergy team when I arrived and of course most recently with Norman, Jennifer, Pauline and Alex. I have enjoyed getting to know folks in the other congregations and wider Leith too. I have particularly appreciated all the joint worship events. Epiphany Communion Services have been uplifting and seeing how much was raised together for Christian Aid was humbling. Seeing everyone work together on the tea tent at the festival also bears witness to the churches working together. I will never forget the time I took part in the Forum Team at ‘It’s A Knockout.’ Although it was great fun, it was gruelling! I thought I was dying the next day and vowed never to enter anything like that ever again! A big thank you to all who have made me feel so much part of Leith. The community of Leith and the churches will always have a special place in my heart. May the Churches vision for Leith continue to unfold with God’s guidance. Every blessing, Elizabeth 4

Behind the Christmas Tinsel Wilson Black Behind the Christmas tinsel, that sparkles on the tree, away from decorations, there's more for all to see. Apart from Christmas parties, with music, dance and fun, there is the old old story of Mary and her son. We share our Christmas dinner, with crackers and good fare, give thanks for all provided, and bless the meal with prayer. An angel watched from heaven, a guiding star so bright, so simple was the setting, on that first Christmas night. Much more than Christmas presents, our cards and Santa Claus, there is that Yuletide message, that gives us time to pause. We wonder at that first night, a stable dark and bare, the greatest gift from heaven, lay in a mother's care.

An American family hosted a Russian rabbi on an exchange programme and took him to a Chinese restaurant. After the meal the waiter presented everyone with a small brass Christmas tree ornament and one at the table pointed out that it had been made in India. The rabbi had tears in his eyes and said that he was happy to be in a country in which a Buddhist gives a Jew a Christmas gift made by a Hindu.

A healthy Church: Part 1 Sara Embleton (Locum minister at South Leith) If you were asked to describe your congregation I wonder what you would say. When the members of two Church of England congregations were asked this question they replied as follows: Our church is like a wheelbarrow: nothing moves unless you push it. Our church is like a boat: some people are rowing very hard but not making much progress, because others do not like the direction the boat is going in so are back-rowing, while others are not rowing at all, but only interested in painting the inside of the boat. Yet others are simply trying to find how to make it to shore. I have recently been reading a book entitled The healthy churches’ handbook by Robert Warren. This book is offered by the Church of England’s Board of Mission as a tool to help congregations assess the health of their church and to identify where work needs to be done in order to help that church to be more effective. Church leaders and members are invited to reflect on the life of their congregation in the light of 7 marks or signs. The 7 marks of a healthy church are as follows; energised by faith. outward looking focus. seeks to find out what God wants. faces the cost of change and growth. operates as a community. makes room for all. does a few things and does them well. The key to this approach is the ability to reflect honestly on the life of your congregation. Some of us find this difficult and become defensive. Some of us find change threatening and want to hold on to the way that things have always been done. Some of us haven’t recognised yet the fact that the Church is slowly dying and must find new ways to be the Church if the message of God’s love is to reach out to “non-Church” people. So we need to pray for a Spirit of openness. Then maybe we can say with one of the pilot churches in England

Our church is a jazz church. There are common and repeated themes that we are all familiar with but you can never quite tell where the harmonising will go next. There is plenty of participation and plenty of surprising developments coming from almost anywhere in the life of the church. To be continued in the next issue!

It's Your church Are you an active member? The kind that could be missed? Or are you just contented that your name is on the roll? Do you attend church services and mingle with the crowd. Or do you stay at home and grumble long and loud? Do you ever visit someone who is sick or sad, or leave the work to just a few and talk about the cliques? Come to church more often and come with an open heart. Don't just be a member, but take an active part. Think this over member. You know the right from wrong. Are you an active member, or do you just belong?

An Affirmation of faith We believe in God who brought forth light from chaos and darkness. We believe in Jesus who faced the darkness of the grave and rose from death to life and glory. We believe in the Holy Spirit who walks with us in darkness and light. We believe that we are surrounded always by a great company of saints and angels. We believe that we are called to share and proclaim the justice and wonder of God.

Some services & events in the Forum congregations that you are welcome to attend. Joint LCF Epiphany service Sunday 8th January at Pilrig St. Paul's @ 11am. Leith St. Andrew's 19th December 7pm - Coffee & Carols in the Easter Road Hall 24th December 6.30pm Family Christmas Eve Worship and 11.30pm Christmas Eve Service 25th December 11am - Christmas Day Celebration 1st January - New Year's Day service Messy Church: Last Thursday of the month from 5 - 7pm; A family friendly, fun and noisy, messy time of games, crafts, stories and worship and a light tea. Oasis of Peace meets in the Church sanctuary each Wednesday at 10.15am for a time of worship and prayer, followed by coffee and chat. Young At Heart - For anyone with a senior's bus pass on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month from 2-4pm in the Easter Road Hall at Leith St Andrew's. All are welcome for coffee, chat and fun! St Andy's Teeny Tots - change of meeting time : We meet on Wednesday afternoons in the Easter Road Hall at Leith St Andrew's from 2pm 3.30pm for fun for babies and toddlers and their parents/carers. Cost is ÂŁ1 per session which includes tea/coffee for parents and a healthy snack for the children. We now have a waiting list so if you want to join the list please email us at standysteenytots@gmail.com Pilrig St. Paul's 11th December 11am - Gift Service 18th December 11am - Service of Lessons and Carols 24th December - Christmas Eve Services -6.30pm a family style service for all ages and our traditional Watch-night service at 11.30pm 25th December 10am - Christmas Day service

South Leith Worship at One at South Leith church every Thursday at 1pm – prayers for the community and the world. Mid week services at South Leith halls at 7pm. on second Tuesday of the month. Short alternative services. Fair Trade Tea & coffee afterwards and a chance to chat & discuss the service. 11th December 11am: Morning worship for the third Sunday in Advent and 2.30: Advent communion service th

15 December 7pm: “An Advent Celebration of Carols, Readings and Poems” with St Mary's Star of the Sea in South Leith Parish Church".All churches and friends are welcome to this joint Service Tea, coffee & mince pies afterwards. 18th December 11am: Morning worship for the 4th Sunday in Advent with participation from the young people and Sunday groups. 24th December 6pm: Christingle Service and 11.30pm: Midnight service th

25 December 11am: Worship for Christmas day Pilrig St. Paul's Open Doorway Tuesdays and Thursdays 11am to1pm. Serving tea, coffee & biscuits (donations welcome). Fairtrade goods on sale. Church is open and all are welcome. It's that time again - Christmas of course Ho! Ho! Ho! Why not come along to the panto at South Leith Parish Church Halls from 19 - 23 December (no show 21st) and join the cast of Snow White and the seven Leithers. I's sure you'll enjoy yourselves. Contact Marion on 554 2578 re tickets.

Pilrig Chorus Christmas concert : Sunday 11th December at 4pm in Pilrig St. Paul’s church Martin Ritchie, Director of Music, Pilrig St Paul’s Everyone in the Forum congregations is warmly invited to join us for our festive charity concert when our community chorus will lift the spirits in a selection of fantastic Christmas music. There’ll be carols for everyone to join in and our Forum youth choir –Singchronicity – will be taking part too. Proceeds from the concert will be shared between the Christian Aid Christmas appeal and the Pilrig Chorus music fund. Tickets are £10 (full price) and £8 (concessions – OAP, students,). Children under 16 go free. Festive refreshments afterwards are included in the ticket price. To book tickets contact Martin Ritchie, Director of Music for the Chorus on 01383 889 195 or mobile: 07984 466 855 or email him on martinsritchie@gmail.com Looking forward to a great concert – thanks for your support.. Singchronicity update – and a call for help! In the last issue I outlined our plans for the second season of our Forum Youth Choir, Singchronicity. We have changed the age range, and the group is now for Primary 6 to Secondary 3 aged children. We meet on Wednesdays from 4-5.30pm at Pilrig St Paul’s church halls and rehearse in parallel with Vocal Vibes (primary 3-5). I’m delighted to report that we have around 20 very keen and talented children in Singchronicity this term and we’re working towards both taking part in the Pilrig Chorus Christmas concert on 11th December and our own production of Grease on Saturday 24th March 2012. We’d particularly appreciate some extra adults helpers to be around at rehearsals and generally ensure that everyone is ok and looked after. If you could help with this, please get in touch with me. This is a Forum sponsored project, but at the moment all the helpers come from Pilrig St Paul’s congregation. It would be really great if members of other congregations in the Forum could start to be part of this important means of building new links with the community of Leith. Thank you for your support! Martin Ritchie, Director of Music, Pilrig St Paul’s Mobile: 07984 466 855 ; Email: martinsritchie@gmail.com

Port Chaplain Tim Bell In October I went to the annual Service and Meeting of the Sailors’ Society at the Church of Scotland, Pont Street, London. As ever, it was good to meet my colleagues from around the country, as well as the office staff from Southampton and some of the sponsors and volunteers on whom the society depends. As a free-standing charity with no parent church, these are difficult times and the Society certainly appreciates the partnership here, with Leith Churches Together. Adrian Plass (who was here a year ago) gave a reflection which powerfully re-interpreted the shipping forecast as the emotional chart of a sailor: ‘squally showers… poor visibility… approaching depression… losing its identity…’ Time and again I find that these strong, resourceful men greatly appreciate a little act of kindness, a relationship of trust, or even just a friendly conversation with someone new. A team from LCT managed to visit nearly all of the cruise liners that came into Leith over the summer – about thirty in all. One volunteer ran a seafarer into Leith to do some essential messages – he was sending extra money home – and on his next visit he was bowled over to be given a fine new ship’s jacket as thanks! As Fr Dennis (from St Mary’s Star of the Sea) said, that’s a poor man’s gratitude. It seemed nothing much to the volunteer, but it was everything to the seafarer LCT is undertaking to make up and wrap almost 500 Christmas parcels for seafarers. It is a joint project with Sailors’ Society, Mission to Seafarers and Apostleship of the Sea. Many people have contributed, in kind or with their time. We are printing our own Christmas card, from a design by a girl in St Mary’s RC School. It’s marvellous that Leith is showing it hasn’t forgotten the basics of hospitality and gratitude. Leith Churches Together / Port Chaplaincy Greed! A young man once asked God how long a million years was to God. God replied, “A million years to me is like just a second to you.” The young man asked God what a million pounds was to him. God relied,”a million pounds to me is like a penny to you.” The young man got his courage up and asked, “God could I have one of your pennies.” God replied,”Certainly – just wait a second.”

Gifts for seafarers @ Ocean Terminal Jennifer Stark and Tim Bell Our ‘parcel wrapping in public’ for seafarers in Scotland over Christmas took place on 3 and 4 November in Ocean Terminal, and we’re delighted both with the result – over 460 parcels – and the publicity it generated for seafarers’ welfare and our joint work in Leith. Ocean Terminal gave us an excellent spot, just outside Costa’s Coffee, and many passers-by stopped to write a friendly message on our Christmas card or wrap a parcel or two. As some of you will know, we had some excellent publicity from the Edinburgh Evening News, and local STV. Links to the articles, plus photos of the event, will be on the LCT website in due course –

www.leithchurchestogether.org.uk Visitors included Mark Lazarowicz MP, Malcolm Chisholm MSP and Councillor Marjorie Thompson but the real celebrity was 9 year-old Eleanor Horton of St Mary’s Primary School, who had designed our special Christmas card. We were delighted with her drawing which we felt brought together Leith, Scotland, the sea, humour, and the message of Christmas in a lovely way (it will also feature as the Leith Churches Together Christmas card). Some of the messages written on the cards by Eleanor’s schoolmates were heart-warming in their concern for sailors who are far from their homes and families at Christmas. The event was jointly supported by the Sailors’ Society, the Mission to Seafarers (Episcopal Church), the Apostleship of the Sea (Roman Catholic) and the Mission to Deep-Sea Fishermen, as well as LCT. The Ship Visitors team, including volunteers from several Leith churches, formed the core organising group and their commitment and hard work made it happen, along with that of the other volunteers who joined us in Ocean Terminal. There were the inevitable logistical challenges on this ‘dry run’ and we couldn’t have overcome them without the flexibility and enthusiasm of everyone involved. Thanks especially to North Leith Parish Church and St Mary’s Star of the Sea, who provided storage and working space when we needed it. In Loch Leven there is a small island with a Gaelic name meaning 'Isle of discussion' where people who quarrelled were sent with a minimum of food and water. They weren't allowed off until they had settled their differences!

South Leith Vacancy News Dawn Birkenshaw In September the South Leith Kirk Session enjoyed its annual conference, which was held at Stockbridge Parish Church. It was a good time to gather together to reflect on our next steps forward. We were joined for the first part of the conference by members of the Advisory Committee, led by Rev. Joanne Hood. They helped us to start to think about the type of person that we are looking for as our new Minister as well as talking us through some of the procedures that we would have to follow – including the election of our Nominating Committee. In the second half of the morning we looked at the draft Parish Profile that was being worked on. We then enjoyed a period of discussion when in smaller groups we were able to explore further the kind of person we thought would be a good fit for us, as well as attempting to describe the style and type of ministry that we thought summed up South Leith. Our conference ended with the celebration of Communion and a lunch, and we thanked our Interim Moderator Rev. Dr .Anne Logan for leading us through our time together and for her kind hospitality. The day after our conference the South Leith Congregation elected its Nominating Committee which, supplemented by two representatives from the Forum, has now met twice. The Parish Profile is complete and can be downloaded from the South Leith website. The birth of Jesus is announced The angel came to Mary and said, “Peace be with you !The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!” Mary was deeply troubled by the angel's message, and wondered what his words meant. The angel said to her, “Don't be afraid, Mary; God has been gracious to you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end!” “I am the Lord's servant”, said Mary; “Let it happen to me as you have said”. And the angel left her. (Good News Bible: Luke ch 1 v28-33; 38.)

Snowy Rocky Road â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a sweet treat for Christmas, ideal for a home made gift. Ingredients 400g white chocolate, chopped. 25g mini marshmallows. 50g desiccated coconut plus some for sprinkling. 50g dried cranberries. 50g pistachios. 50g ginger nut, chopped. Silver balls to decorate, optional. Method Line a 15 x 20 cm cake tin with cling film. Melt the white chocolate gently, in a bowl over but not touching simmering water. Stir until smooth then remove from the heat. Add all the other ingredients and mix gently but thoroughly. Empty into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut and silver balls. Press the balls into the soft mixture or they will fall off when you try to cut the finished product. Chill until firm, then cut into squares. A Christmas Alphabet Stuart Duffus (from A Christmas A B C by Renee Forsyth and Jeanne Griffiths)

A is for Angel; B is for Bethlehem; C is for Christmas; D is for donkey; E is for East; F is for Frankincense; G is for God; H is for Holy; I is for Inn; J is for Joseph; K is for King; L is for Love; M is for Manger; N is for Nativity;O is for Ox; P is for Peace; Q is for Quiet; R is for Romans; S is for Swaddling Clothes; T is for two thousand years;U is for Us; V is for the Virgin Mary; W is for Worship; X is for eXtra-ordinary.

The Birth of Jesus At that time the Emperor Augustus ordered a census to be taken throughout the Roman Empire. When this first census took place, Quirinius was the governor of Syria. Everyone then, went to register himself, each to his own town. Joseph went to the town of Nazareth in Galilee to the town of Bethlehem in Judea, the birthplace of King David. Joseph went there because he was a descendant of David. He went to register with Mary, who was promised in marriage to him. She was pregnant, and while they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have her baby. She gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manager â&#x20AC;&#x201C; there was no room for them to stay in in the inn. (Good News Bible: Luke ch 2 v1-7)

Your Representatives Co-ordinating Team

Outreach Team

Stuart Duffus

Andrew Campbell

Lily Gilhooly

PSt.P

Colin Cunningham

Norman Lindsay

Alex Edington

PSt.P.

Stuart Lithgow

Lst.A

Roy Eprile (chair)

PSt. P

Valarie McIntosh

LSt.A

Ewan Lawson

LSt.A

Rev John Tait (chair) PSt.P

Jennifer Stark

Mark Wexelstein

LCT

PSt.P

Rev Elizabeth Youngson LSt.A

Forum Focus Team Joanne Baird Ian Bethune

LSt.A PSt.P

Stuart Duffus (editor) SL Isobel Evans

Jimmy Hudson

Sigrid Lithgow

LSt.A

Dawn Moloney

LSt.A

Feedback or articles and information for the March Focus should be given to your representative by 21st January for the editor. Alternatively e- mail to the editor at stuart@duffus.org.