PILRIG St PAULS CHURCH KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH MEMBERS AND FRIENDS DURING CLOSED DOORS
EASTER 2020 1
INFORMATION re PILRIG St PAUL’S MAGAZINE
Cover by Catriona Blackwood
We welcome articles and thank you letters from members and friends. Articles are published in both the printed magazine and on-line, 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. 2
PILRIG St PAUL’S CHURCH As you are probably aware, the Church of Scotland has asked all its places of Worship to suspend public services and activities meantime. We have most of the usual articles and information, but much of this magazine is devoted to telling you how we will keep in touch when we can’t meet, and how everyone can continue to be an important part of our Church family, including financial giving, see page 8. Thank you for all the input for this different magazine. Please may I have information and articles for May by 18th April? These should be emailed to: magazine@pilrigstpauls.org.uk or phone me on 0131 554 6183 Please also get in touch if you know of someone who would like a magazine posted to them, so I can arrange for them to post me a copy of their address and 3 stamps (standard 1st or 2nd class – only about 30g). Keep safe and well. Looking forward to hearing from you, perhaps with some anecdotes of how you are coping. Please supply me with your name, but these will not be shown on the online copies. Please say if you prefer them to appear unnamed on the printed copy too. Catriona Blackwood
CHURCH ACTIVITIES and INFORMATION Please watch our website and facebook page for up to date information. Foodbank: see page For information regarding Girl Guiding and Scouts, please contact: www.girlguiding.org.uk hello@scouts.scot 3
From the Manse By the rivers of Babylon - there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our harps. For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!" How could we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? – Psalm 137: 1 – 4 Dear All, These are unprecedented times for Pilrig St. Paul’s, The Church of Scotland, and our country as a whole. The rapid spread of Coronavirus, COVID-19, throughout the population has resulted in the cancellation of all church services and activities until further notice. A small group set up by the Kirk Session is looking at ways in which we might remain ‘connected’ as a congregation and how we might continue to serve and support our members and the community (especially the Food bank) during this difficult time. The work of this small group will be on-going for as long as required. We will be making more use of technology to keep in touch with you and offer some alternatives to Sunday morning worship. So we encourage those on Facebook to ‘like’ and follow the church page for news and updates. If you have an email account then please let the Minister or Session Clerk know, and we can add you to our mailing lists for news updates and electronic versions of the magazine. You will find details of all these contacts and links elsewhere in the magazine.
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For all those of you who are not able to access these technologies we will be continuing to communicate by phone and post whenever we can. We will need your help and support in this, and we would ask that everyone makes an effort to contact those who sit nearest to them in church as well as their usual friends in the congregation. After the siege of Jerusalem in 597 BC the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Judah were deported to Babylonia, where they were held in exile for many years. Psalm 137 is a communal lament expressing the anguish and yearnings of the Jewish people during their time of exile. They questioned how they would be able to continue worshipping God without access to the Temple in Jerusalem: “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” Many of us will be asking similar questions at this time – ‘How can we celebrate Easter without the use of our building and the companionship of fellow worshippers?’ ‘How can we express our faith in such strange and challenging times?’ Like the Jews during their time in exile, we too must learn new ways of worshipping God and expressing our faith during this time of temporary disruption. In my last pastoral letter (March 2020) I encouraged you to join in prayer for one another every Wednesday at 1 pm during the season of Lent. I now encourage you to keep doing this until we can meet again for worship in person. I also ask you to keep the Planning Team of John Innes, Aileen Fraser, Maria Croall, and Catriona Blackwood in your prayers at this time along with Mark Wexelstein who has been involved in his capacity as our Congregational Treasurer. I wish you all a blessed Easter when it comes and hope to welcome you back to church as soon as possible. Mark 5
PASTORAL CARE ARRANGEMENTS Whilst we remain under the current restrictions all pastoral support will be offered by phone, mail, and email. We are in the process of setting up some “Telephone Trees� so that we can continue to keep in touch with members on a regular basis. You should receive a call soon from one of the team of volunteers listed below. They will keep in touch with you to see how you are keeping; update you on any church news; and will also be happy to share a prayer with you if you wish. If you do not receive a call it may well be that we do not have your phone number. Please contact the Minister, Catriona Blackwood, or Aileen Fraser if you wish to add your phone number to our records. MFoster@churchofscotland.org.uk magazine@pilrigstpauls.org.uk pspcongragationalboard@gmail.com
SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING AND REMEMBRANCE
Our Service of Thanksgiving and Remembrance will take place later in the year. This short service is held especially for all those who have experienced the death of a family member or close friend in recent years. 6
WORSHIP ARRANGEMENTS We are no longer able to access our building for worship, but are setting up other ways to share and express our faith together and as individuals. We will be using our Facebook Page to provide some items for personal reflection as well as our normal news updates. We have also launched a WordPress site at https://onecfl.wordpress.com/ where you will find prayers, reflections and other items provided by the Ministers from the four Leith churches. Below you will also find a list of radio, TV, Internet Audio and Visual clips, as well as some live streaming worship services that you can listen and watch from the comfort of your own home. We hope that people will be able to find sources that will help supplement their own prayer and bible study routines. Thought for the Day: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00szxv6 BBC Radio Four Sunday Worship: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnds Livestream Church Service: https://greenbankchurch.org There will be a recorded service every Sunday via the Church of Scotland website as well as transcripts which can be printed and delivered to those who are not able to access online resources. Songs of Praise: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006ttc5 Recommended Podcast: https://robbell.com/portfolio/robcast/ In addition if you wish to follow the readings that we use in church each Sunday you can access them at https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu// 7
News Updates We will continue to keep you updated via the following links: Church website: http://www.pilrigstpauls.org.uk Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pilrigstpauls/ You can also subscribe to receive the church magazine at LINK and weekly intimations at LINK. Life and Work is available for subscribers. The magazines are in my house and I can keep them meantime. If you want to pick up your copy, please phone me to arrange this. As they weigh nearly 200g, posting is probably not an option. Catriona Blackwood
As soon as we have dates for our groups to re-open, the plans will be published in the magazine and on the appropriate website.
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On 17th March Rev Ian May, Chair, NE Edinburgh and Leith asked us to pass on: Help needed during Corona-virus Crisis – the foodbank will stay open!! We are all affected by the coronavirus situation, most acutely will be those who use and will have to use our foodbank. We want to encourage all our donors and members of the community not to forget to continue to support us through these challenging times. We could not do what we do without the support and help of volunteers and the many within our community who give food, money and their time to the foodbank. The recent response and support we have received recently have been most humbling, from one donor who gave us £10,000 to ensure we can buy food and continue to do what we do, we have received numerous food donations and people within our community are continuing to offer help in whatever way they can. What we need now is for all in our community to continue to give food to us and we especially need the following: Tinned Vegetables UHT/Longlife Milk Tinned fruit Tinned meat Tinned fish Breakfast cereals All food donations can be handed in to our distribution centres and in particular, North Leith Parish Church, 1a Madeira Place, EH6 4AW any Monday night between 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm or Tuesday morning from 10am to 12noon, or 9
South Leith Parish Church Halls at 6 Henderson Street, Leith, EH6 6BS Mon to Friday from 9 am to 1 pm. Thank you so much for all the support and we will continue to do remain open during this crisis. Pilrig St Paul’s Foodbank is, unfortunately, not able to staff our facility as many of our volunteers are considered vulnerable and are self isolating or shielding. If you would like to help the Foodbank in another Leith Church, please contact JMay@churchofscotland.org FROM THE TREASURER I am aware this is a stressful time for everyone and hope you, family and friends manage to stay safe and well during the coming weeks and months. Even before the Church of Scotland had said we couldn’t open the premises we had taken the decision to cancel the regular group bookings in the halls to ensure the safety of our members and the people using the halls. This has been shown to be the right thing to do with decisions made since then by the Church and the governments. Until we can safely open again there will be no income from the hall rents, our largest income stream and our weekly offerings will be down as there is no service on a Sunday. Some of our costs will reduce such as gas and electric costs but many of the fixed costs like insurance will continue. We will also have to continue to pay our Ministry and Mission and this is the largest cost we have as a congregation. If you or someone you know is shopping online we are a registered charity with Easyfundraising and Amazon Smile. By 10
using these and selecting us as the chosen charity we will get a donation for the purchases made. Easyfundraising Over 4,000 shops and sites will donate to us when you use easyfundraising to shop with them – at no extra cost to yourself! The church will receive a donation (plus Gift Aid) for every confirmed purchase. We don't see what you've bought, just the donation amount returned. These donations really mount up and make a BIG difference to us, so we’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment to sign up and support us. It’s completely FREE and only takes a moment. You can find our easyfundraising page at https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/psp2/?utm_camp aign=raise-more&utm_medium=email&utm_content=fm-e1 Amazon Smile On your first visit to smile.amazon.co.uk you need to select a charitable organisation to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. We will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make at smile.amazon.co.uk will result in a donation. AmazonSmile will occasionally contact you about donation amounts disbursed to your chosen charity or about the programme. You can change the organisation you are supporting at any time. Regular Offerings If you want to continue making your offering while the church is unable to meet, then you could consider making your payment by standing order. You are in control of the amount paid, the frequency it is paid and the date it is paid. You can amend or stop the amount at any time and the church cannot claim any money from your bank account. 11
A standing order mandate has been included with printed versions of this magazine and will be attached to the electronic versions. If you want to start to make a regular donation this way you can complete the from and send it to your bank or if you have online or phone banking you can set it up through this with most banks. If you have any questions about the items above or about the finances of the congregation please contact me. Regards Mark Wexelstein treasurer.pspc@gmail.com THANK YOU We have received thanks from many members for prayers, flowers, cards, visits, phone calls, texts and support received following celebrations, bereavements and accidents.
Prayer Corner Please remember in your prayers members and friends of the congregation who are ill or infirm at this time. Please let the minister or me know of someone to include in this section. Catriona Blackwood CONTACT DETAILS PILRIG St PAUL’S CHURCH 1b Pilrig Street Edinburgh EH6 5AH www.pilrigstpauls.org.uk SORRY, WE ARE NOT TAKING HALL BOOKINGS AT PRESENT Scottish Charity no. SCO07277
www.leithchurchesforum.org.uk
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If you can, please continue collecting……… Plastic milk bottle tops: blue or green with a 2 or 4 on them, Plastic tops and lids with other colours and sizes Flower bags Stamps: used postage stamps should be cut out (leaving a 1 cm margin) These will be gratefully received once we are up and running again. Thank you
If you would like to make a donation to the church by PayPal then scan this QR code or go to https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_sxclick&hosted_button_id=W44KU9QNUB6AL&sourc e=url
PILRIG St PAUL’S CHURCH TAKES PART IN…..
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CHRISTIAN AID WEEK IS 10TH – 16TH MAY 2020
FROM THE CHRISTIAN AID WEB SITE We are working on alternative plans that will allow people to take part in Christian Aid Week in different, creative ways – by post, by text and online that strengthen our communities during this challenging time. Christian Aid Week is our single most important fundraiser, so we would welcome your ideas on how we can creatively show love for our neighbours at home and abroad, as a community.
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