PILRIG St PAUL’S CHURCH FEBRUARY 2018
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2 Winter wall photo by Catriona Blackwood 2014
PILRIG St PAUL’S CHURCH FEBRUARY 2018 Sunday 4th February 11 am Morning Worship Sunday 11th February 11 am Morning Worship Tuesday 13th February 2 pm The Guild: Christian Aid Friday 9th February Community Cinema see page 9 Saturday 10th February Community Cinema see page 9 Sunday 18th February 11 am Morning Worship Sunday 25th February 11 am Morning Worship Tuesday 27th February 2 pm The Guild: Reminiscences of Leith PROVIDING FLOWERS IN FEBRUARY 2018 4th Feb - Kay & Millie Carroll 18th Feb - Evelyn Torrance
11th Feb - Hilda Winton 25th Feb - Maria Croall
Please speak to Aileen Fraser if you would like to provide flowers for the Church.
THE FOODBANK DONATIONS BASKET IS IN THE VESTIBULE. See back cover for full details and dates of volunteer meetings. Thanks to the hard work of the team, many of us were able to enjoy the Christmas Tree Festival. See page 10. We are collecting………Plastic milk bottle tops, blue or green with a 2 or 3 on them. Please give them to Maureen Eunson who will pass them on to raise funds for Borders General Hospital. Other colours and sizes of plastic bottle tops for craft making at the Beavers. Please see Evelyn Torrance who will give you a fuller list of ideas. Flower bags, particularly large size. Please hand them to the person sorting out the flowers after the service. 3
CHURCH ACTIVITIES
SUNDAY - 11am WORSHIP in the Sanctuary, followed by tea or coffee, and a chat, in the Session Room. There is a creche for younger children, while those of school age join the congregation, including taking an active part in the all age 'Time to Talk’. ACTIVITIES Alternate Tuesdays - The Guild 2.00pm Every Tuesday and Thursday 10.30-12.30 come to the open doorway for coffee, a chat, and quiet time in the sanctuary Wednesdays - Lunch club 11.30 Beavers, Cubs and Scouts 5 3/4 - 14 years The 5th Leith Scouts Edinburgh North East (Evelyn Torrance 552 1657) For Rainbows, Brownies and Guides please send all enquiries to www.girlguiding.org.uk . We have two groups associated with Pilrig St Paul’s THERE ARE MANY OTHER ACTIVITIES HELD ON OUR PREMISES, PLEASE SEE THE NOTICE BOARD IN PILRIG STREET (MIDDLE ENTRANCE) TO RENT OUR PREMISES, PLEASE CONTACT psp.halluse@gmail.com
OUR WHEELCHAIR ENTRANCES ARE IN PILRIG STREET
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From the manse…..
They think it’s all over! Dear All, I was listening to the radio on Boxing Day when the presenter declared that Christmas was officially over for another year. I was tempted to phone in and remind them and their listeners that Christmas was in fact a season and would continue until 6 January (Twelfth Night) – and may have done so had I not been for the fact that I was driving the car at the time. Not long afterwards the shops followed suit and all trace of Christmas was removed from window displays and shelves to make room for New Year sales offers. I even saw Easter Eggs on sale! As far as the secular world was concerned Christmas was over before the calendars changed to 2018. But as Joanne and I packed away our own Christmas decorations, cards and nativity sets I wondered if we too were declaring that Christmas was over for another year? When in reality it was only just beginning! Christmas is more than just a season. Christ’s birth was a new chapter in the continuing work of God’s saving grace for the whole world. And each subsequent Christmas we celebrate the continuation of God’s presence in our lives and the life of our world. The belief that God took human form and came and lived among us – is something that should affect our whole lives and not just the twelve days of Christmas. We may have packed our decorations away, but the story of God working in and through our lives is still continuing with fresh chapters already being written. 5
As 2018 continues to unfold may we continue to keep the message of Christmas alive and active in our lives and the life of our Church as we continue to witness to God’s presence here on earth. Shalom Mark The Magazine Thank you for the contributions to this magazine. A big thank you to those who are doing extra checks and support for me over this and the next month or two. Contributions for March should be with me by 16th February. Please use the magazine email at present, thank you. psp.churchmagazine@gmail.com Catriona Blackwood THANK YOU I would like to thank all my friends at Pilrig St Paul’s for my lovely Christmas gift, it is very much appreciated and lovely to think I am in your thoughts. My health is not as good as it was. I guess that’s like most of us my age, I can’t walk very far now and in pain most of the time. I am one of the lucky ones to have a great family around me it makes such a difference to know they are there any time I need them. So thank you once more for your kind words and gift at Christmas time. Dorothy Swanston Thank you very much for the flowers and also the Christmas present received recently. This is all much appreciated. Ann Gowans Thank you so much for the lovely flowers received by me last Sunday. They were very much appreciated. Jessie Bird. Thank you to Mark and all the members of Pilrig St. Pauls for the beautiful flowers I received on Sunday 17th December and thanks 6
to Madge who brought them. Thanks also to Ella for bringing me a lovely Christmas gift the next again week. Maisie Ritchie Thank you for my Christmas present from the Church and to Maria Croall for her lovely visit. I cannot get to the church now but I have fond memories of the Guild and other meetings. Chris Whelan Special thanks to Jeanette Sime, Fiona Rankin, Eric Fisher, Bill Wright and many others who came to my assistance when I took ill on Sunday 17th December. Alex Allan Thank you for the lovely flowers I received from the Church. Ina McRae Thank you very much for the flowers and card from the Church and all the good wishes, help and kind enquiries shown to us during my illness. Catriona Blackwood Thank you for the beautiful flowers I received after my stay in hospital. Thank you to Maureen and Ronnie for delivering them. They were very much appreciated as well as all the get well cards. Pat Murray
PASTORAL CARE A new year and a new beginning always provides the opportunity to reflect on things and make changes in our lives. The Pastoral Care Team will be no exception to this and will of course share the details of our plans with you after our next meeting. As ever, if you think there is anything we could be doing under the banner of Pastoral Care that we are not already involved with please let us know. Over the course of last year we sent out over 50 cards to those in need of our support, made numerous phone calls and visits and 7
we also delivered, with the support of our Flower Delivery Team, flowers from the services each Sunday. As you will see from the notes of thanks in the magazine each month these are all very much appreciated by those in receipt. We are always happy to reach out to those in our congregation or the wider local community so please do let us know if you are aware of someone who would appreciate and benefit from any of these contacts from us. Welcome Pack The pack has been prepared by Catriona to help anyone new to our congregation find out more about how things happen and who to speak with to find out more. The ideal opportunity to think about giving a Welcome Pack would be if you are part of the door duty team on Sundays or if you notice someone new sitting near you in the pew. It can be provided to anyone worshipping with us. Knitting Bee Thank you to everyone who helped us last year with donations of wool, knitted items or just encouragement for the work we do. We have been delighted to receive letters of thanks from North East Edinburgh Dementia and the Victoria Manor Care Home who appreciated the donation of Twiddlemuffs from us in December. We are also pleased that two residents from Victoria Manor are planning on coming along to our Knitting Bee. We have 4 Octopremmies ready with a further 6 in the final stages of being made up. These will be donated to Simpsons Neonatal Unit. The premature babies are comforted by the tentatcles as they provide a similar feel for the baby to their mother’s umbilical cord. Photos are available for those who are interested in knowing more about the Octopremmie. We are also working on blankets for premature babies. 8
Our first meeting this year was tinged with sadness as we marked our farewell to Nancy Maxwell who was a long-standing member. We opened our meeting reminiscing about Nancy followed by prayer and a poem. Nancy’s daughter has since given us Nancy’s knitting bag and materials. Ella is going to complete the baby’s cardigan that Nancy was working and it will form part of our project for this year. We also welcomed Christine Edington to our meeting who provided us with a super update on the work undertaken by CrossReach. In particular, we heard about the projects that they are working on in Edinburgh & Lothians. It was really interesting to hear about the ways in which they provide help and support to a wide range of people in need. Craftathon is a CrossReach initiative where congregations are being invited to make craft items and either sell them or donate them to CrossReach who will disperse them for use to relevant projects or sell them to raise funds for their work. Craftathon is going to form the basis of our work for the first half of this year, items can be knitted, crocheted, embroidered or simply hand made. If you would like to help us please feel free to donate any items you have made or supplies of wool or materials for the team to use. You are also welcome to join us for our monthly meetings, the next one is on the 22nd February at 2pm in the Open Doorway. Even if you would just like to pop in for a coffee or tea we would be delighted to see you. Leith Community Cinema Update Our final Community Screening last year was the film Elf when our team of 14 people welcomed an audience of 57 on Sunday 17th December to watch the film. Here are some of the comments left on our feedback sheets.
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Really great to see Elf at the LCC. Perfect way to spend the weekend before Christmas. Thank you very much. We really appreciated the snacks and the effort you’ve gone to. It was so lovely to have a cafe there and crafts for the kids. Very well run. Was clear how much effort was put into the event. Very much appreciated. Perhaps events for older kids and adults in the evening?
There were also offers from five people who would like to be involved in helping us with the running of the screenings each month. We were delighted to receive a further donation from Share Gift of £2,500 for the cinema. This will go towards to purchase of equipment. We held our Team Meeting in January and are working on the formation of our sub groups to support the running of the cinema this year. Please consider helping out at our screenings. Those who are regulars with us enjoy the opportunity to meet with other members of the team and engage with our audience. Even if you don’t want to see the film you could offer to help out at the café and crafting for children before hand. Or perhaps you could offer to help with the set up and clear away as we are always looking for some extra hands to do that. This is a perfect opportunity for us to engage with the wider local community and make connections through this outreach engagement.
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Our first screenings are in February when we are showing a film called Unrest about the condition ME and then we are testing a new time for screening children’s films with a Saturday morning slot. Full details and sign up sheets will be available in the Open Doorway and via our website and facebook pages. Helping Hands Please remember to let us know if you would like a visit or phone call from us or would like to arrange this for a member of our congregation you feel would appreciate this type of support. All you need to do is complete a Helping Hands form and pop it into the box in the Open Doorway of the Church or speak/call any of our team. Pastoral Care Team Mark Foster - Minister Catriona Blackwood – Elder, Safeguarding Co-ordinator and Magazine Editor Christine Edington – CrossReach Co-ordinator Ella Gilfillan Linda Gill – Elder and Pastoral Care Team Leader Michelle Muhammad – Congregational Board Member Cathy Purdie – Contact for Special Needs Fiona Rankin – Elder Jeanette Sime – Elder and Roll Keeper Linda Gill Pastoral Care Team Leader 669-7409 or helpinghands@pilrigstpauls.org.uk
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CHRISTMAS TREE FESTIVAL 2017 Our first ever Christmas Tree Festival took place in the church from 30 November to 2 December and culminated in a special service on Sunday 3 December. The event was a great success, which was due to the hard work, skills and abundant energy given by a core group of volunteers from the congregation who gave hours of their time to ensure the success of this new venture. We also could not have done it without the support of many individuals, organisations, and businesses (below) who either sponsored a tree and/or supported the event in other ways. We wish to thank them all again for their involvement and support. Over the three days of the festival we welcomed many new visitors across the threshold of the church to view the trees (and the church). Everyone was full of praise for the welcome and hospitality they received and expressed their delight in viewing the many trees on display. Visitors to the festival were invited to vote for their favourite tree and we had three clear winners who were: 1st - Dine Thyme; 2nd – Gaia (Italian Deli); 3rd – Garlands Florist. It was a difficult choice for folk to make as many of the trees showed great creativity and thought in their decoration. Our main hope was to reach out into the local community and help to foster an enhanced community spirit that celebrated the depth and breadth of the organisations and businesses that serve the local area. We are delighted that this event has allowed us to make so many new contacts and we hope to build on these in the future. We also hoped that the festival would help highlight the work and role that the church plays in the local community and we were equally delighted by the interest given and support offered from local businesses and members of the public in areas of our work, such as the Foodbank and the Open Doorway. 12
Finally we hoped that the festival might help to raise some muchneeded extra funds in support of our continued mission and outreach at Pilrig St. Paul’s. We still await a final figure at present, but know that the festival generated over £2,000 towards church funds. Tree Sponsors Leith Victoria Boxing Club; Moffat Wealth Management; Garlands Florist; The Bier Hoose; Minuteman Press; Dine Thyme; The Cutting Room; Botanic Financial; Epoca; Braid Vets; Gaia (The Italian Deli); Embo; Alzheimer’s Scotland (Heather); Crossreach; Safe Families; Destiny Student (Liberty Living); The Walnut; Folly Antiques; The Golden Ambal; Majestic Wine; The Conifers Guest House; Graham Cherrie (Butchers); Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Waverley Green Property; Honest Book (Robert McInnes); Restalrig Funeral Directors; Pilrig Scouts 5 Leith; Leith Community Cinema (SCIO)/Knitting Bee; Hipple People; Royal Mile Curios; Edinburgh Athletic Club; LRT (Welfare); Masons Bakery; Edinburgh Masonic Club; and Leith Festival. Other Donors and Contributors The Brass Monkey; The Bed Shop; The Carpet Shop; Craigroyston FC; Dean Jones Hairdressing; Leith Depot; Lochend Farm Shop; Owl & Deer; Peluquero; Pilrig Dental Practice; Leith ExServicemens’ Club; Lodge Friendship; Lodge C & L, L & C, No.5; Lodge Waverley; Pilrig St. Paul’s Guild; Mary and Isobel from EMBERS; Craig Douglas; James Lawrence; Katie Wexelstein; and several other individuals who wish to remain anonymous.
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Prayer Corner The Wexelstein family Norrie Frazer Emily Dickson and family Sybil Muir David and Lynn Cameron and family Frances Chambers The Davis family Murdo and Joy MacLeod Martha and Willie Cruickshanks Mrs Hunter and family Catriona Blackwood and family Elspeth Dixon Evelyn and Euan Robertson Frazer and Craig Garvey and families Doreen and Arthur Johnston Gary, Margaret and David Fraser Siobhan Newlands Catherine and Eric Fisher June & Douglas Halliday Jim and Jean Tait Joyce Loughlan June Welsh Isabel Pert Tom Gilzean Anne Dunn Isabel Fyfe Arthur Baxter Matthew Green Margaret Thomson The family of Nancy Maxwell Rev Kristina Ross Please let Roy Eprile know if you would like someone included in the prayer corner. 14
PILRIG ST PAUL’S CHURCH 1b Pilrig Street Edinburgh EH6 5AH www.pilrigstpauls.org.uk Church Office 0131 553 1876 MAGAZINE psp.churchmagazine@gmail.com MINISTER Rev Mark Foster (0131 332 5736) MFoster@churchofscotland.org.uk SESSION CLERK John Innes - (07802 917910) pilrig@btinternet.com THE CONGREGATIONAL BOARD Church address and phone number CLERK Aileen Fraser (0131 553 1876) ASSISTANT CLERK Maria Croall (07747 071545) pspcongragationalboard@gmail.com TREASURER and CHRISTIAN GIVINGS CONVENER Mark Wexelstein (0131 665 6881) mark.wexelstein@gmail.com ROLL KEEPER, GUILD CONVENOR Mrs Jeanette Sime – (0131 552 9652)
PASTORAL CONVENOR, CINEMA LEADER Mrs Linda Gill Linda Gill <lindagill365@sky.com> linda@leithcommunitycinema.com SAFEGUARDING CO-ORDINATOR, MAGAZINE EDITOR Mrs Catriona Blackwood - (0131 554 6183) cewblackwood@tesco.net PROPERTY CONVENER Eric Fisher (0131 552 8982) eric.fisher@hotmail.co.uk HALL LETS psp.halluse@gmail.com ORGANIST and CHOIRMASTER Colin Gray (07901 556 217) PRAYER CORNER, FOODBANK CONTACT Roy Eprile MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTION Mrs Margaret Cameron (0131 554 2139) LUNCH CLUB Alex Allan (0131 554 3174) Scottish Charity no. SCO07277 www.leithchurchesforum.org.
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The food bank is designed to help individuals and families in crisis through the provision of emergency food supplies. Local care professionals in the Leith area refer people, with a food voucher, to the Foodbank distribution point where they are given their food supplies. For further information, and to volunteer to help on a Wednesday, please contact Roy Eprile. FOOD BANK - VOLUNTEER MEETINGS 2018, SOUTH LEITH PARISH CHURCH HALLS , 7:30PM - 8TH MARCH, 10TH MAY, 13TH SEPTEMBER, 8TH NOVEMBER.
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