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Annan United Reformed Church

www.annanurc.btck.co.uk

February 2019 Newsletter

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FEBRUARY 2019 WORSHIP AT ANNAN URC

Sunday 3rd February: Communion Service - Rev Haydn Higton Prayer Leader: H Higton

Bible Readings: M Jones D Maxwell

Sunday 10th February: Morning Service - Mrs Lesley Richmond

Prayer Leader: H McNairn

Bible Readings: R Richardson J Murray

Sunday 17th February: Morning Service - Worship Group

short service followed by church meeting

Prayer Leader: N Maxwell

Bible Readings: H McNairn

H Higton Sunday 24th February: Morning Service - Mr Alan Dodds Prayer Leader: J Murray

Bible Readings J Pool

M Kerr

Note to Prayer Leaders and Readers: visiting Service Leaders have the option to choose their own theme and readings, and may wish to lead prayers themselves. Such information will be given to you as soon as possible.

Morning Service and Sunday Seekers weekly at 11:00am

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NEW MINISTRY FOR THE CHURCH

On March 3rd

our service will be led by Rev Helen Mee who is the Transition Minister appointed

by the Synod of Scotland to help churches as we experience fewer Ministers being available.

Helen wishes to provide time for discussion about what our church family wishes to see in

ministry, accepting that Annan cannot be a sole charge in the future – what are our aims and

expectations? The Elders ask that you should stay for about an hour after the service (lunch

and tea/coffee will be provided) and above all bring your ideas and be prepared to share them.

Note the date – be present – it is important!

Haydn Higton

ACTION REQUIRED?

Part of the discussions we had when the church family celebrated the Martin Luther

anniversary raised suggestions for consideration including:

Corporate worship at a different time

More involvement of members of the fellowship

Improved communication across the church family

Pro-active prayer

More involvement with other churches locally.

It was also suggested that younger people be consulted on what they would like and need, and

that contact with schools be revived, and initiatives such as Fridays in Faith need our active

support. We should have a long-term plan for the future of our church.

The anniversary was some eighteen months ago – what has been done to follow up the

discussions?

Haydn Higton

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FEBRUARY – MONTH OF NEW LIFE

The days get a little lighter, morning and evening

Bulbs start pushing through the ground

Spring and summer cannot be far away!

When winter holds us in its grasp

Spring seems so far away –

We feel that it will never come,

Then all at once, one day,

We spy a snowdrop peeping through

The cold, hard winter ground

And suddenly we dare to hope

The seasons have turned round.

The wind can hold a biting edge

As chilly winter lingers

But eager gardeners can feel

A tingling in green fingers!

And then it seems that life bursts forth

As springtime bulbs are seen,

And winter-fusty houses need

A really good spring clean!

New life is everywhere

And winter gloom is banished with

The warmth of mellow air.

If inward-looking winter is

A time of calm reflection,

Then gardens filled with daffodils

Show joyous resurrection

Church Gardener

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THE VALUE OF GIFTS

Grateful thanks to everyone that gave in our Gift Service so that the charity “Soul Soup”

received £136-40, and their thank you letter which is on the church display board says they are

incredibly grateful and cannot thank us enough.

The gift supports young people in Dumfries and Galloway suffering from emotional distress and

mental health problems. “Your kindness, generosity and good will is greatly appreciated”.

In the autumn 2018 the harvest gifts towards the work of Christian Aid raised £166-00, and each £1 became £5 thanks to European Union match funding. £830-00 to support Christian Aid work with and for the poorest communities on earth. The acknowledgement letter says “with your continued help we can make a difference”.

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IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY!

The church family has supported the Shoebox Appeal for some years, and again you are

asked to fill shoeboxes with toiletries, toys and small knitwear items for distribution this next

Christmas. If we start now, it takes less than fifty pence a week to buy the items.

Boxes are covered and can be obtained any Sunday – will you help?

PRAYER

You probably read Synod News regularly, but are you aware of the website of the URC National Synod of Scotland and the Prayer Cycle for Churches in Synod?

Synod can be found at www.urcscotland.org.uk. From the drop-downs, select resources and then click prayer and devotions. The prayer cycle is halfway down the page. Individual items are marked by a plus sign and clicking this expands the text.

For January 27th, a prayer was included, sent in by our elders:

“Pray for the church family in Annan as they continue to try to bring God and his love to the burgh, in reaching out to community groups, and youngsters attending Rainbow Tribe ecumenical choir, Spectrum, Sunday Seekers and the Girls’ Brigade.

Think of a church isolated in many ways from the Synod yet striving with other local churches to serve in a community devastated by the loss of a major employer and where re-generation is changing established patterns.”

Let us each make this our prayer for our church and community.

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A WOW MOMENT

In church on Sunday 20th January, Mrs Maxwell talked about wow moments in our life,

perhaps involving art, music, nature or flowers. One of these wow moments was recently for

me at the Andre Rieu Cinema live New Year’s concert from Sydney, Australia, shown at

Annan Cinema.

The audience was treated at the start of the performance to Andre showing the wonderful

sights of Australia: as we shiver in the cold, they are basking in the sunshine.

Andre Rieu is someone whose friendly manner has you feeling you are actually there in the

concert. We were treated to many well-known pieces of music from Andre and his orchestra

and guests.

One which stands out was The Holy City; a beautiful piece sung by his soloists. He later

remarked that sadly Jerusalem was no longer a peaceful place, and if he was in charge, he

would give every soldier a violin instead of a gun, so they could make amazing music

together: how wonderful life would be if peace could be achieved that easily.

Other wow moments included the Canberra Pipes and Drums Band performing Highland

Cathedral, and the Australian dancers who waltzed as the orchestra played The Blue

Danube: a beautiful sight.

This was an evening with lots of wow moments: you leave the cinema feeling uplifted and

with a smile on your face after such a wonderful evening of music.

Fiona Glass

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WELCOME

As you can see on page 6, we are pleased to accommodate a Mums’ Group in the hall every

Tuesday morning (10:00 to 11:30). It is an initiative from the Annan GP surgeries in conjunction

with SHAP to provide a meeting place for mothers with new babies, their previous venue having

disappeared in council cuts. Please pray for them as a group and as families in our community.

The Tuesday morning Knit and Natter Group will now meet in the John Tweddle room.

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Note from Editor:

Financial details on this page are only published in printed paper copies

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FEBRUARY 2019 DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Fri 1st ACT Fridays in Faith - 7:00 pm in The HUB, Ednam Street

Sun 3rd Communion Service and Sunday Seekers - 11:00 am

Mon 4th Floral Art Group - 7:00 pm in hall

Tue 5th Mums’ Group (SHAP) - 10:00 am in hall, and every Tuesday

Tue 5th Knit & Natter - 10:00 am in John Tweddle room, and every Tuesday

Tue 5th All Ability Games - 2:00 pm in hall, and every Tuesday

Tue 5th Rainbow Tribe and Spectrum - 6:00 pm, and every Tuesday in term time

Thu 7th Girls’ Brigade - 6:00 pm in hall, and every Thursday in term time

Sun 10th Morning Service and Sunday Seekers - 11:00 am

Wed 13th Arts & Crafts Group (SHAP) - 2:00 pm in hall

Thu 14th Soup & Sweet Lunches - 11:30 am to 1:30 pm in hall

Sun 17th Morning Worship and Sunday Seekers - 11:00 am

Sun 17th Church Meeting after service

Sun 17th Deadline for March Newsletter items to reach Ruth Mitchell, please, including your group meeting diary dates

Fri 22nd Friday Fellowship - 2:00 pm in church

Sun 24th Morning Worship and Sunday Seekers - 11:00 am

25th Feb to 10th March

Fairtrade Fortnight

A REMINDER TO GROUPS:

We are a Fairtrade Church.

We have committed to:

Use Fairtrade tea and coffee for all meetings for which we have responsibility

Move forward on using other Fairtrade products (such as sugar, biscuits, fruit)

Promote Fairtrade during Fairtrade Fortnight – and through other activities whenever possible

Material from Commitment for Life now arrives in a new format which is supposed to be

Newsletter-friendly. Comments, please, to Ruth Mitchell, Editor.