www.scottishbaptist.com
Connect June 2016
@scottishbaptist
/scottishbaptist
@scottishbaptist
Dunrossness Celebrates
This past weekend I have been in Shetland celebrating 200 years of Baptist witness starting in the church of Dunrossness. In preparation for the weekend I did some research on what was happening in Baptist circles 200 years ago, long before the birth of our Union. In 1797 James Haldane, whose mission was to change the religious culture of Scotland, was extremely active over in Argyll. He and his colleagues perceived the Scottish culture to be one of “large scale ignorance of the first principles of religion.� This he blamed on the failure of the Church of Scotland and the controlling power of the moderate party within it. In his view, the mission and ministry of the Kirk were inadequate. The focus of his attention became those not attending church as they were failing to be reached by a church who simply waited for them to turn up. That not only affected what he would say, but how he would say it. He was not trying to attract people who would go to church if they got round to it. He was preaching in the fields to those distracted by their own search for amusement. Many of his fellow evangelicals at the time thought he had gone too far. He would use the town drum and bell to announce his preaching. He copied the French revolution technique of printing tracts and sending them ahead of himself, as well handing them out when he got to towns. Crucially, from a Baptist perspective Haldane was not a minister and he promoted preaching by those who were not ministers. The licensed Church of Scotland got rather upset but Haldane realised that you had to release more people into the harvest field than those who were full-time ministers. Around the same time in Shetland, Sinclair Thomson was born. He got into trouble for a lot of things in life but the Rev Alan Donaldson most interesting was that he also began to preach sermons for which he was kicked out of the Kirk; not because they were General Director bad but because he was not authorised. He was baptised by immersion in the loch by Donald Bain, a man from Haldane’s Baptist Union of Scotland church. Our forefathers, who in most cases were making things up as they went along, saw the many people who were not coming into church buildings and so they reached out to them.
These were leaders who saw that the new technique of distributing tracts in the politics of revolutionary France could be used for the gospel in Scotland. These were people who realised that Scotland could not be reached for Christ using clergy alone, using the established national church alone or using the established traditions of the church. So they crossed cultural boundaries to do a new thing for the sake of the spread of the gospel. At our Assembly last year we heard of the church planted by accident in Partick, birthing in an upper room of someone’s flat. Over 60 Farsi-speaking people eating together, celebrating Christ in their midst and being baptised in Loch Lomond to declare their faith. We heard of St Andrews Baptist Church going to a fruit farm with hundreds of Eastern European fruit and vegetable farmers, looking to place a Christian person on the farm living in a caravan, to make Jesus known. We heard of a coffee shop in London that is reaching out to 20-30 year olds, establishing ministries of justice amongst prostitutes, sex slaves and amongst young people who left church years ago and have now found a fresh way of being church. We listened to stories from Lebanon about how they have learnt to listen to Muslims, their enemy and persecutor. We heard how they now dialogue rather than debate with them, how they have learnt to call them to follow Jesus within an Islamic culture, and how many Muslims now call Jesus their Lord and Saviour. For many years some people have believed that there was no harvest to gather in Scotland. The nation had turned its back on the church. There was a huge amount of disrespect about. However, in a recent survey in Scotland, 69% of Scots said the church was a good thing to have in the community. The question which my visit to Shetland has made me face is this: are we willing to leave behind the
comfort of what we know, like those early Baptist pioneers, in order to refresh our witness for Christ in this nation? To go to those least reached areas, the lowest people, and those not interested in coming to the established church? To break through the boundary walls, to go into the gaps and proclaim life, freedom, forgiveness, hope, peace, joy and love to all those we encounter?
West of Scotland BMS Women’s Link - Summer Rally Monday 6th June 2016 at 7.15pm Mosspark Baptist Church, 155 Corkerhill Drive Devotions - Margaret Brown Main Speakers - Ken & Maureen Russell on their visit to Peru Singer - Mairi Warren We look forward to welcoming you to what is usually a good rally
Viewfield Baptist Church, Dunfermline The building which is home to Viewfield Baptist Church, was opened in 1884, and is in a great location – close to public transport links and the town centre. But the challenge which the Viewfield congregation have been grappling with for over 20 years, is how to make our historic building on its steeply sloping site, fully accessible and more flexible for current and future church life and ministries. Several feasibility studies, and architects’ plans have been prepared and discarded. Eventually, in May 2015, work began to extend and refurbish our building. Initially we had enough funds to do Phase 1 – replace the old toilet block with a bigger extension including a new entrance with ramp, accessible toilets and a lift to link the sanctuary to the hall. As the work progressed, further donations and promised grants allowed us to proceed with Phase 2 – to refurbish the sanctuary including removing the pews. Towards the end of 2015, the church took the decision in faith, to proceed with Phase 3 – a car park to allow disabled people to access the building with ease. On Pentecost Sunday, the Viewfield Family gathered for a service of commitment for the next stage of our journey with God. Then on 22nd May, Alan Donaldson was the guest speaker at our Opening Celebration, as we gathered to dedicate the building for its use by our ministries and to serve our community, and to thank God for providing the resources we needed to complete the project.
Currently Judy White is working with us for six months to help us to assess our ministries and the needs of our community, and we are looking forward with excitement and anticipation to “Phase 4” – not more building work, but moving forward with God and playing our part in building his Kingdom.
Do you have any registered nurses in your church...or are you one yourself? Then you might be interested in this.... The Bible gives us a model of health that includes physical, mental, community and spiritual wellbeing... whole person health. Yet often these things are divided up and provided for in separate ways. Parish nurses seek to do some joined up interventions for public health. Not dressings or injections, but health advice, advocacy and accompaniment. They are appointed or employed and line-managed by the local church, for one or more sessions a week, which can be on a paid basis or just expenses only. They follow their NMC professional code of practice. All of them have some community experience and many of them work in the NHS for the rest of the week. They build good relationships with other health providers in the area especially GP practices, and with the church’s pastoral team, offering extra help with understanding of medical conditions, risk factors and treatments.
Parish nursing enables the church to reach out to its community in a new way...through health ministry: helping people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy better health, to use the health services more effectively, to manage any chronic conditions they may have, to volunteer to help others, and to pray... sometimes for the first time.
The next four day introductory course is in Perth, Scotland, 9th—12th August 2016. Check out the website for Parish Nursing Ministries UK, www.parishnursing.org.uk. They also provide study days, resourcing, professional and coordination support for churches and nurses. Contact: Enquiries@parishnursing.org.uk 01733 233546
For more information and to register online visit our website: baptistassemblyinscotland.org
scottishbaptist #BUScot16
June Prayer Link June 5th
Chris Withers (Chaplain, 16 Signals Regiment) Praise God for the team of Chaplains we have at Infantry Training in Catterick, for the team Spirit and common desire to share Christ through all we do. Please pray that in the midst of our contact with new recruits and training staff that we will know the favour of God in good relationships and that Christ will shine through all we do. Elgin Baptist Church Ellon Baptist Church Erskine Baptist Church Praise Point: An upcoming Erskine Churches Together Praise event, Sunday 19th June 6.30pm to celebrate the work of individuals and Churches in the Erskine area over the Summer period. Prayer Point: For the success of”4 Weeks Of Fun” our summer outreach/ community program. For children and families of toddlers through nursery to primary school age incorporating Messy Play events, Olympic Crafts and Ready steady Go School, a nursery to school transition program. As well as inviting children to join us in Junior Church on Sunday mornings throughout July.
June 12th
Scottish Baptist Women’s Fellowship We praise God that SBWF members are able to serve Him in many diverse areas of church life. We pray for guidance and wisdom as we consider the way forward for the work of Scottish Baptist Women’s Fellowship. Falkirk Baptist Church Please pray for guidance for the leadership team in our time of vacancy. Give thanks to God for the new people who are coming around the church and for the enthusiasm about our partnering up with Go Youth Trust Forres: The Lighthouse Church Praise Point: Praise God that we have gained a number of people from the local community who are actively seeking Christ and wanting to know about Christianity. Prayer Point: Please pray that the people mentioned above have their hearts opened by the Lord and come into a living and eternal relationship with Him, in whom dwells fullness of joy. Fort William Baptist Church
Just 19th Scottish Baptist Lay Preachers’ Association Praise Point - Give thanks for the new members joining the Association, the value our mentoring programme has brought and for a good Conference in May with Doug & Sue Barnett. Prayer Point - Pray our initiatives around ‘Helping Smaller Scottish Baptist Churches’ would be helpful and ‘Identifying the Next Generation of Lay Preachers’ fruitful, and that our residential in September at Gartmore would be a meaningful time together. Fraserburgh Baptist Church Galashiels Baptist Church We give thanks for opportunities to establish relationships with those who attend our Parents and Toddlers, Lunch Club, Craft Club, Coffee and Chat and Friday Club. We pray that God might develop these relationships and we might see fruit from our efforts. We pray also for God’s guidance as we seek the pastor who will work with us to accomplish His purposes. Garioch Church
June 26th Beatrice Anderson, Finance Administrator, Pray for Beatrice as she administers the finance department within the BUS Offices and helps our churches with various enquiries. Gerrard Street Baptist Church Glenrothes Baptist Church Gourock Baptist Church ‘Pilgrimage March’ - On Sunday afternoon 26 June we shall be joining with folks from local congregations in a walk around Gourock’s five churches. At each church there will be about 15 minutes of praise and prayer. We give thanks for this great opportunity for united Christian witness. Please pray that it will effectively convey to our community God’s care for, and relevance to, people in 2016. Film/Video Shows- We have plans in the autumn to run a series of film/video shows for 7-9 year olds. Through this we hope to make contact with children in the local schools with which we are already developing good links. Pray for the Lord’s guidance in making all of the arrangements.