PILRIG St PAUL’S CHURCH
SEPTEMBER 2018
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INFORMATION re PILRIG St PAUL’S MAGAZINE We welcome articles and thank you letters from members and friends. These are published in both the printed magazine and online, unless otherwise arranged with the editor. (eg where personal information is concerned, including the names in the prayer corner, it would normally be omitted from the on-line version.) All contributors must provide their name, please, which is normally attached to the article. We reserve the right to edit articles. Changes other than spelling or grammar will, where possible, be discussed with the contributor. Some copies of the printed magazine are available to the public in the open doorway. The views expressed are those of individual contributors and not necessarily those of Pilrig St. Paul’s Church or the Church of Scotland.
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PILRIG St PAUL’S CHURCH SEPTEMBER 2018 Saturday 1st September Congregational outing see page 6 Sunday September 2nd Morning Worship 11am Friday 7th September 6.30pm Leith Community Cinema see page 9 Saturday 8th September 11am Leith Community Cinema see page 9 Sunday September 9th Morning Worship 11am Wednesday 12th September Leith Churches Together Ecumenical Service 1pm St Mary’s Star of the Sea Thursday 13th September 7.30pm Congregational Board, Session Room Foodbank volunteer meeting South Leith Church Halls 7.30 pm. Sunday September 16th Morning Worship 11am Thursday 20th September Knitting Bee 2pm see page 6 Saturday 22 September Foodbank collection at Tesco see page 4 Saturday 22nd September from 11.00 am Scottish Churches Disabilities Group AGM see page 10 Sunday September 23rd Morning Worship 11am Sunday September 30th Morning Worship 11am PROVIDING FLOWERS IN SEPTEMBER 2018 2nd Nancy and Alex Fleming 9th Lily Gilhooley 16th Fiona and Mark Wexelstein and Martha Cruikshank 23rd Antje Armstrong 30th Marjory McMahon and Betty Lauder Please speak to Aileen Fraser about providing Church flowers. THE FOODBANK DONATIONS BASKET IS IN THE VESTIBULE Particularly requested for September: tinned fruit, tinned vegetables and tinned meat, thank you.. We are collecting………Plastic milk bottle tops. Blue or green with a 2 or 3 on them, please give to Maureen Eunson who will pass them on to raise funds for Borders General Hospital. Other colours and sizes of plastic bottle tops are good for craft making at the Beavers, please give them to Evelyn Torrance, who also has other ides of things to collect. Flower bags, particularly large size. Please hand them to the person sorting out the flowers after the service.
Stamps: see page 7 for details 3
CHURCH ACTIVITIES AND INFORMATION
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 4
From the manse … Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. – 1 Peter 1: 8-9 Dear All, William Ashley Sunday was an American baseball player who, after being a popular outfielder in the National League during the 1880’s, went on to become the celebrated and influential evangelist ‘Billy Sunday’ during the first two decades of the 20th Century. He is quoted as saying, “The trouble with many [people] is that they have got just enough religion to make them miserable.” And, “If you have no joy in your religion, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere." As Scots Presbyterians we tend to be serious about our religion (which is a good thing) but in a dour way (which is not). We know a good deal about duty and tradition; but joyfulness is an absent stranger for many of us. Some critics of Jesus thought he had the opposite problem - he was just too joyful. Jesus and his followers did not fast as often as others did. In fact, Jesus relished food and drink so much that some accused him of being a glutton and a drunkard (Matthew 11:19). To many of the Religious leaders of the day, Jesus seemed to be having too good a time when it came to his faith. There had to be something seriously wrong with that, they concluded! The author C.S. Lewis wrote, "Joy is the serious business of heaven." Jesus obviously thought that joy was the serious business 5
of the living, as well. Sadly, somewhere in our history, we sprung a leak in the Church and let much of the joyfulness of our faith escape. The good news is that it’s not gone, for we still have the source within us: “I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15: 11) As we return from our summer holidays to start the new sessions of work, school, and church life – may we plug up some of our leaks and let the joy of Christ’s presence fill our lives again. And if it pours out in future, may that be from overflowing and not leaking! Shalom Mark FOOD BANK We have a single day Saturday 22 September at Tesco Leith to invite customers to donate food. Our massive stock from Christmas has largely seen us through to now so this donation day just ahead is very timely. Date for your diary: our 2 days at Christmas time at Tesco are Fri 30 Nov and Saturday 1 Dec. Arthur Mathieson Pilrig St Pauls’ and St Margaret’s Easter Road are sharing a spot 12noon - 2pm. If you can help, please contact Maria Croall. The Magazine Thank you for all the items I have received this time. Please see the information on the inside cover re articles for publication in the magazine. Please may I have items for the October edition by Wednesday 19th September? Thank you Catriona Blackwood 6
THANK YOU Many thanks to everyone who helped with the cleaning, opening up the halls and admin while I was on holiday. As always, it's greatly appreciated. Maria Just wished to say thank you so much for the beautiful flowers provided by John Brown and delivered by Mark our Minister. Jimmy Fergie Dear Friends, Thank you for the flowers. It is very nice of you to think of us. Donald has had 2 eye operations and is doing well. Thank you to Eric for his visit. Eileen and Donald Fraser I would like to thank the minister and friends for the lovely card and beautiful flowers I received from the Church for my special birthday. A special thanks to the two ladies for bringing them to me. Eileen Gilhooley Many thanks for the flowers you sent to Walter and me. It was very thoughtful. Best wishes to all my friends at the Church. Marion Thank you for the lovely roses I received earlier this month. I appreciated receiving them very much. Margaret Cameron Thank you all for the many cards I received and the good wishes on a recent birthday which I tried to keep quiet. Many thanks for the beautiful flowers also. Blessings to all. Roy Eprile.
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Knitting Bee We are very much looking forward to our fist meeting of the new session on Thursday 20th September at 2pm in the Open Doorway. Our plans are also progressing for the second half of this year that will take the form of ‘random gifts of kindness’ gifted to people attending our services over Christmas as well as Foodbank and Open Door visitors. This year we welcome donations of small wrapped chocolates to include with our Christmas gift. If you would like to help with this, please see Linda. Thank you to everyone for their continued donations of wool and materials – they will all be put to good use over the coming weeks and months. Church Outing – Botanical Gardens Cottage Plans are progressing for our outing on Saturday 1 st September to the Community Cottage when we will visit the latest exhibition in the Gallery, be given a tour of the Cottage Gardens and a short presentation from a volunteer who will tell us about the engagement work going in with the local community. We will also enjoy lunch together in the upstairs room at the Cottage. Linda Gill A huge thank you to the people who work in the creche every Sunday, and a special thanks to those who are now giving this work up after many years of service. This is an important part of our work and we are recruiting. For full details please see Marjory McMahon. Postcard Search 2018: The theme of this year's search is "Animals in the Bible". Send in a card that shows an animal that is mentioned in the bible and write the bible verse where it appears on the back of the card. Please send entries to the Church Office (1B Pilrig Street Edinburgh EH6 5AH) by Sunday 23 September. 8
World Mission 2018 Stamp Appeal. The proceeds of this year's appeal are going to The Reformed Church in Ukraine, where they will be used to help support day care centres for young children with disabilities. Used postage stamps should be cut out (leaving a 1 cm margin) and handed to Maureen Eunson. Thank you.
THE GUILD We will be starting again on Tuesday 9 th October at 2 pm, with afternoon tea in the Session Room. We hope to see all members – and some new ones! For more details contact Jeanette Sime Using text to make your offering You can make your offering by texting PSPC10 £5 to 70070 (You can change the £ amount as preferred). To receive our news (Intimations) by email every week please visit: http://eepurl.com/bXxvVn Doing on-line shopping?
See the notice board outside the Session Room 9
Helping Hands We would like to thank everyone who supports us in our pastoral care of those in our congregation and the wider local community. We often hear about phone calls made, cards posted or visits made to those who are ill or in need of some support. The delivery of flowers from our service each Sunday is also much appreciated by those in receipt as you will probably have seen from the lovely thank you messages we receive on a regular basis. 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 to any of our team. Pastoral Care Team Mark Foster - Minister Catriona Blackwood – Elder, Safegaurding Co-ordinator and Magazine Editor Christine Edington – CrossReach Co-ordinator 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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Leith Community Cinema Update In June we held a screening of The Glenn Miller Story which was a dementia friendly screening however it as open to all who wanted to be there. The weather was windy and wild so our number were low however those who made it along had a great time. July was a double screening of Early Man in collaboration with Leith Creative and funded by both Film Hub Scotland and ÂŁeith Chooses. We had a great attendance in the main upstairs hall and were delighted to welcome Tailor Ed back again to support us in hosting an autism friendly screening in our new accessible screening space in the Session House. We were also delighted to receive both a private donation and funding from Baillie Gifford towards our running costs totalling ÂŁ3000. This has allowed us to purchase new equipment for the cinema and will also cover the cost of funding licences for the accessible screening room. Our next screenings are being held on Friday 7 th September at 6.30pm when we are screening Dunkirk and Saturday 8 th September at 11am when we are screening Coco. Tickets can be booked via Facebook or Eventbrite for these. Linda Gill Prayer Corner Please remember in your prayers members and friends of the congregation who are ill or infirm at this time. A full list is available in the printed version of the magazine. Please let Roy Eprile know if you would like someone included in the prayer corner and also make sure Roy knows about any changes, thank you 11
SCOTTISH CHURCHES DISABILITIES GROUP Earlier this year I approached Mark Foster and asked if Pilrig St Pauls would be prepared to host the AGM of the Scottish Churches Disabilities Group. Mark came back to me and agreed that our church would be delighted. The AGM will be held on Saturday the 22nd September from 11.00 am until 2.00 pm in the afternoon in the Sanctuary. The keynote speaker will be Jeremy Balfour MSP who is Chairman of the Cross Party Group on Disability at the Scottish Parliament. Jeremy - I hope I can say this - is a "well kent face" at Pilrig St Pauls having given a very touching and heartfelt speech at The Roofbreakers meeting we hosted earlier in the year. Jeremy is always "good value", himself an ordained Baptist Church minister as well as a qualified lawyer. The Chairman of the group is the Rev Dan Harper, a friend of our own minister Mark and his good lady, and the President is exmoderator Angus Morrison. If you want to come along or feel you want more information about the Group then let me know or contact me. In essence we are seeking inclusion within the church for any people - irrespective of colour, creed or indeed faith who are suffering from any disability whatsoever, whilst, as we should all remember, that not all disabilities are visible. The programme will encompass opening worship, some discussion before a break for refreshments and the final session will be the AGM itself. First year in my three year term so it would be nice for some support from those I see most Sundays God grant you all good days. Scott Gillies Secretary - Scottish Churches Disabilities Group 12
CONTACT DETAILS 1b Pilrig Street Edinburgh EH6 5AH www.pilrigstpauls.org.uk
PILRIG St PAUL’S CHURCH
Church Office 0131 553 1876
MINISTER Rev Mark Foster (0131 332 5736) MFoster@churchofscotland.org.uk SESSION CLERK John Innes - (07563 248 722) pilrig@btinternet.com THE CONGREGATIONAL BOARD Church address and phone number CLERK Aileen Fraser ASSISTANT CLERK Maria Croall 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@leithcommunitycinema.com SAFEGUARDING CO-ORDINATOR, MAGAZINE EDITOR Mrs Catriona Blackwood - (0131 554 6183) catriona6849@gmail.com 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.uk
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