connect june 12
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Published by the Baptist Union of Scotland, 48 Speirs Wharf, Glasgow, G4 9TH, [email protected]. Charity Registration No:SC004960
June 2012
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The Forfar Files ...
Lacking the exuberance of Christmasor the solemnity and joy of Easter,Pentecost tends to pass us bywithout fuss. Yet Pentecost marks anextraordinary day in the history ofthe world, a day when a bit more ofGods audacious plan to build hiskingdom through frail human beingswas revealed.
To have been in Jerusalem,witnessing the events of the day,must have been life-changing. Manypeople would have been in the cityto attend the annual festival markingthe giving of the Mosaic Law. Whatmust it have been like to see thepower of Gods Spirit come on thedisciples with tongues of fire, to feelthe wind of God shaking the room,to hear the gospel preached in a
multitude of languages, to witness3000 people turning to Jesus andbeing baptised?
Following Jesus means living inthe light of this extraordinary day,because the Holy Spirit enablesevery believer to live with power andin holiness. God has entrusted uswith the message of salvation, andHe has given us the power to deliverit. But often we are so battle-wearyand beaten down by our culture thatthe last thing we feel is powerful. Weare so adrift in a sea of atheistic andapathetic ideas and values that it can
be hard to know how to live asPentecost people.
It probably helps to start with theunderstanding that not all culture isbad. Taking what God has given us innature and making something goodout of it is a God-ordained thing.
Thats why people enjoy beingcreative - theres a satisfaction andrightness when we knit, or bake, orpaint, etc. Thats also why werecognise and affirm the good inactions and attitudes that bless andencourage even when they dontcome from Christians. We were madeto create and cultivate.
But not all culture is good, and welive with the reality of brokenness,sin and separation. Its evident whenpeople desperately try to leave theirmark, make it alone, or find true lovein defiance of God. The world isbursting with people in need of thelove of a Saviour who choose toreject Him, or spend their livescasting around in total ignorance ofHim. The resulting culture is a
terrible reflection of the emptiness oflife without God.Knowing that culture is both
magnificent (think of your favouritesong, a beautiful painting, an act ofunprovoked kindness) and terrible(think of the blame culture, theculture of underage drinking, theatrocities of war) can leave Christiansconfused as to what to do.We can tryto shut it out - create our ownChristian sub-culture and ignore theworld - but in reading the gospels itquickly becomes clear that this nothow God wants us to live.
Take the example of thePharisees. In the light of the NewTestament they get a bad press butbasically they were sincerely tryingto live the way they thought Godwanted them to. They opted out ofany culture other than their own, and
used rules to define what was goodand what was not. In their attemptsto be holy, they forgot to love andhad no room for those who fell shortof their standards. By condemningthe surrounding culture, they endedup stifling creativity and entirelymissing the point.
Its easy for us to see where theywent wrong, but we have to stop andask how we might have felt about the
hordes of prostitutes, tax collectorsand known reprobates that Jesushung about with. Would we havecaught ourselves wondering how thisbehaviour was affecting his holiness?Jesus example shows condemnationis not an option.
So, maybe the answer is toimmerse ourselves in whatever theworld comes up with next - to ridethe cultural wave and hope that westay afloat. Surely this makes usmore relevant to the people aroundus? When I was younger, I used totake great pride in knowing that mynon-Christian friends could see that Iwas no different to them. The olderIve become, the more I cringe at thatattitude, and the more thankful I amfor Gods gentle perseverance withme in my folly.
Were in the world, we cant escapeit, but we must never be so oftheworld that we lose distinctiveness.People should know that we aredifferent, not because we condemnthose around us, but because ourlives are radically different by theirgrace, love and purity.
Culture is shaped and influencedfor good or for bad. God has given usresponsibility for cultivating our littlepatch of ground, our community. Butshaping the culture doesnt have tomean becoming Prime Minister, or
directing a movie. It can simply meantreating our colleagues with kindness,inviting people into our familyroutines, doing our jobs withintegrity or finding a way of livingthat blesses others. And it certainlymeans praying for the good of theplace in which we find ourselves,helping create opportunities for theHoly Spirit to work.
When the Holy Spirit is presentpeople are intrigued and captivatedby Jesus and, as we learn to speakthe tongues of our culture and usethem to proclaim Jesus, we will
witness God at workin our communities.Unexpected.Creative. Powerful.Life-changing.Fiona Stewart
Morningside Baptist
Living in the Light of Pentecost
Works Underway
on the Church
Premises! Pray that all
goes smoothly.
Stephen andJulie havent
yet been able
to sell their
house in
Buckie.
Please pray particularly
about this.
The first meeting of the steeringgroup of Forfar Community
Church took place at the end of
April, there were encouraging
reports from the small
leadership team of Rev Oliver
Velacott, Rev Stephen Oyarzabel
and Mr Jim Lees at the way God
has led to this point and a
sense of excitement and
anticipation for the future.
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Published by the Baptist Union of Scotland, 48 Speirs Wharf, Glasgow, G4 9TH, [email protected]. Charity Registration No:SC004960
Even the Children are quite new at St Marys!
St Marys Community Church:
The newly extended and
refurbished church building wasopen for the community to lookround on the Saturday and onthe Sunday Alan Donaldson ledus in dedicating both thebuilding and the congregation tothe Lords service in thecommunity. We were joined byrepresentatives from localchurches and community groups
including the residentsassociation and primary school,all expressing the support whichwe appreciate so much.God has made the way for us tohave a beautiful multi-purposebuilding as a base for ourservice to the community of StMarys, and Alan challenged usto go forward with the rightattitude: Will you keep it or willyou give it away? The heart ofGod is to give, and he is callingus to give what we have,remembering it is here to beused for the community and notfor ourselves. Most important,we have to give ourselves for thiscommunity which God loves.
The work has only begun andsometimes we feel like twelvedisciples faced with 5,000people and hearing Jesus sayYou give them something toeat. We know we cant do it but if were willing we will seewhat He can do. Praise God withus for what He has done, andpray with us as we develop theministry and seek Godsguidance for the way ahead.Toddler group has started backin the new church hall; caf isto come and who knows whatother activities will develop,whether we do them ourselvesor in partnership with others.
Richard Toller, Pastor
There have been many
wilderness years for Erskine
through the 80s and 90s but a
few years back a renewed vision
and sense of purpose led thechurch to call another minister.
But what do you do when you
are small and lacking funds call
a pastor to work bivocationally
and ask the Union for a grant!
Our anniversary weekend
connection with the church
through activities such as FM2
(Friday Mornings For Men)
with its thriving guitar band and
cooked breakfasts. For others it
has been the Craft Group on
Wednesdays where one lady
said Ive never been in this
church before and now Im
going home to embroider
crosses! Our new singing group
(not a choir) has been a turning
point for one member in
recovering from losing a spouse
and then a serious motoring
accident.
In all these the evidence is of the
way people come to Sunday
church having established a
sense of belonging through
these community activities. It
may be that the path to
discipleship will be a long one
but many are taking their first
steps.
As this is written we are
preparing to launch a toddlers
group in the Autumn again
reaching the needs of the local
community and bringing Gods
grace in to it. We sow; we water;
but God gives the increase.Peter Dick, Pastor
brought many folks to a social
evening on the Saturday and to
the special Sunday service,
many of whom had been
connected with EBC in the pastand Alan Stoddarts ministry. It
was good to have the first
student pastor, Jim McGillivray,
there on Saturday. What was
really significant were those who
attended and have made
In the beginning was a newcommunity and a group ofBaptists who wanted to plant a
church in this new community.
So the Baptist church became the
first church in Erskine and on 20
May 1972, Rev Alan Stoddart,
previously at Glenburn Baptist,
was inducted as Initial Pastor.
t was therefore with delight that
we have been able to celebrate
our churchs 40th anniversary by
having Alan come and preach
again in the church on 20 May
2012....40 years later to the day.
As he preached on Acts 1 Alan
spoke of the 40 days when the
Lord appeared to his disciples
hen ascended having
commissioned them to go andmake disciples; for them the
work was just beginning. For us
his anniversary brought many
memories for some but we were
eminded and challenged that
he work is still unfinished.
Rev Alan Stoddart
- back in Erskines pulpit
for this special Anniversary
St Marys Community Church a new beginningAfter several years planning and
ongoing fundraising; after ahuge amount of hard work bymembers and friends; nearly ayear after we moved out to atemporary home in thecommunity centre and thebuilders moved in, St MarysCommunity Church in Dundeehad a weekend of celebrationon 21st-22nd April 2012.
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Published by the Baptist Union of Scotland, 48 Speirs Wharf, Glasgow, G4 9TH, [email protected]. Charity Registration No:SC004960
June 2012
An appreciative client!
PLEASE NOTE: The events advertised in our publications or on our website cover the wider Christian scene in Scotland and do notnecessarily reflect the involvement or endorsement of Baptist Union staff or any specific knowledge about content.
Notice
Board
Mission Praise WantedDoes your Church have copies of
Complete Mission Praise (up to
No 1021 hymns) which you do
not now use? If so, Largo Baptist
would be happy to have them!
Please contact Ina Caldwell on
[email protected] if you
can help. It would be much
appreciated and arrangements
could be made for their collection.
National
Parenting InitiativeSome of our churches are signingup for an initiative called NPI
(national parenting initiative), a
website for parents enabling them
to find parenting courses near
them. Over 500 churches across
the denominations have signed up
so far, using a variety of course
materials. All of these courses are
church based. Interested? Sign up
at www.thnpi.org.uk.
Eleven Lanarkshire faith
communities have become the first
in the country to unite to publicly
pledge their commitment to work
with See Me, Scotlands national
campaign to tackle the stigma and
discrimination of mental ill-health.
The See Me campaign aims to
form partnerships with companies
and organisations across Scotland to
take positive mental health messages
into local communities. See Me is
committed to empowering people to
speak openly and confidently about
mental ill-health and break down the
associated barriers.
The 11 Signatories of the Pledge
Representatives from the faith
communities publicly signed the
pledge and agreed action plans to join
with See Me in these objectives by
taking action as community
stakeholders.
Participants were Baptist
Churches of North and South
Lanarkshire; Hamilton and Lanark
Presbyteries of the Church of
Scotland; Lanarkshire Hindu Welfare
Association; Islamic Education
Trust, Cumbernauld; Central
Mosque Lanarkshire, Mossend;
Lanarkshire Circuit of the Methodist
Church in Scotland; Roman Catholic
Diocese of Motherwell; Lanarkshire
Regional Council of the Scottish
Episcopal Church; the United
Reformed Church in Lanarkshire;
North Lanarkshire Muslim Womens
Association.
Suzie Vestri, See Me Campaign
Director, said: We welcome the
commitment of Lanarkshire faith
organisations and look forward to
working with them to break down
the barrier that stands in the way of
people talking about mental ill-
health. Mental health problems canand do affect people from all walks
of life. Its the reaction and support
of family, friends and colleagues that
can make a huge difference to
recovery. ...
Rev Stephen Younger, of the
Baptist Churches of North and
South Lanarkshire, said: Baptist
Churches are deeply committed to
Jesus as Saviour and Lord, revealed
in Scripture, and seek to emulate His
healing ministry to the whole person
body, soul, spirit and mind. Faith
sees Gods peace brought to the
Whole Person and sees that every
person is loved and valued by God.
For more information on signing
the See Me pledge visit:
www.seemescotland.org
Rev Stephen Younger
Rev Stephen Younger, minister of High Blantyre Baptist
Church, with Suzi Vestri of See Me.
Faith Communities Unite in Pledge to Tackle Stigma The Payne MemorialEssay CompetitionThe Payne Memorial Essay
commemorates the life and
work of Revd Dr E.A. Payne
(1902-80), General Secretary of
the Baptist
Union of Great Britain and
Ireland, a President of the
World Council of Churches and
President of the Baptist
Historical Society.
This year the subject matter
for the competition was: LocalChurch, Associations of
Churches, National Unions,
Continental and Global
Organisations.
The winning essay for 2012
was submitted by Rev Ian
Birch, lecturer in Biblical
Studies and Baptist History and
Theology at the Scottish
Baptist College. The title of his
essay was:
The Counsel and Help
of One Another.The Origins and Concerns of
Early Particular Baptist
Churches in Association
Congratulations Ian!
For more details please
contact Alan Donaldson.
leaders for the future. Startingin September and meeting oneSaturday a month until Junethe course will cover areassuch as discipleship,leadership, mission, baptistidentity and biblicalinterpretation.
This fresh initiative willenable participants to developinter church relationships for
future support, new missionalmodels to reach our nation forChrist, a deeply rootedunderstanding of church andpersonal growth as a discipleand servant leader.
For more details pleasecontact Alan [email protected]
Have you ever wanted to grow
as a local church leader? Tohave a chance to think throughyour beliefs and practice? Toreflect on the way you dochurch and imagine how yourlocal Baptist church mightgrow in its ability to reach outin this era of change?
The Baptist Union ofScotland and the ScottishBaptist College have united toproduce a new 10 sessioncourse to develop church
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Published by the Baptist Union of Scotland 48 Speirs Wharf Glasgow G4 9TH admin@scottishbaptist org uk Charity Registration No:SC004960
Sunday 3rd
Rev Carol Campbell: Healthcare
Chaplaincy, Clyde Area. Please pray for
personal spiritual growth and Christlikeness.
Also wisdom and guidance for the daily task
of caring for others. Thank you.
Rev Anne Dougall: Chaplain, West
Glasgow Hospitals. I work full time as a
chaplain in Gartnavel General Hospital,
Western Infirmary, Beatson West of Scotland
Cancer Centre, Blawarthill Hospital,
Drumchapel Hospital, and the Glasgow
Homoeopathic Hospital. I would appreciate
prayers for good health. Please pray that I willknow God's leading and guiding as I go round
he hospitals to visit patients, staff and
visitors. Give thanks to God for the
opportunities that I have to pray and to bring
a word of hope and encouragement.
Please pray for safety when I am travelling
between the hospitals sites, particularly when
am on call for all the Glasgow and Clyde
Hospitals during an evening or a weekend.
Sunday 10th
Helensburgh. We give thanks to the Lord for
his care and provision for us as a Church
during our vacancy. Please pray for wisdom
and discernment for the vacancy
committee,deacons and membership as we
eek a new Minister. At present two young
mothers in our fellowship are seriously ill in
hospital. Please pray for Audrey and Trish
hat they will be restored to full health and
trength and that we will show God's love and
compassion as we try to support these
families.
High Blantyre: Rev Stephen Younger.
While the cessation of our BU grant hasbrought severe challenges, God is good and the
Church continues its mission to the local
community. We are determined that financial
constraints should not limit our witness or our
faith. There are so many encouragements too.
Our schools are our mission field and we
continue to have an open door and great
opportunities. Our Junior SU group continues
o grow from contacts in schools and our
Senior SU group has maintained its presence in
he local secondary school. The Bubblegum
n Fluff Christmas presentation and the
Easter Code materials written for our
Primary schools are now in their fourth yearand have been taken up by over 80 schools
across Scotland. The Rights Respecting
Award material the Church contributed to for
use in Calderside Academy is also set to
become a model for secondary schools. The
Pastor also currently serves in South
Lanarkshire Councils Religious Observance
Group (forming the policy for all schools across
the region) and on the facilitating team for
Glasgow Universitys Religious Observance
training qualification for Teachers and Chaplains.
The Church has also re-established an
Evening Fellowship time led by members of the
congregation. This has been a real joy and
blessing for everyone involved. The relaxed
format allows greater participation and flexibility
and variety and open discussion. Already we are
seeing some on the fringes coming more regularly
and finding this new format more comfortable.
Prayer points:
pray for the Pastors on-going research for
his PhD in Education, focussing on spiritual and
moral development within the Curriculum for
Excellence. The intended outcome is a manual
for Scottish Schools.
rejoice with us in a baptism earlier in May,
our first in many years.
pray for Graham, one of our members, inprocess of applying for accreditation and
currently completing his second year at the
Scottish Baptist College.
Sunday 17th
Hillhead, Glasgow: Rev Catriona Gorton. At
Hillhead there is a real sense of gratitude and
hope as our faithful God leads us forward in our
mission and ministry in the vibrant and diverse
West End of Glasgow. We rejoice in a steady
increase in number of students, home and
overseas, undergraduate and postgraduate, who
are making Hillhead their Glasgow church, andrecently were richly blessed as a group of them
led worship for us. The whole of life is reflected
in our fellowship: we rejoice in new life,
engagements and marriages, stand in solidarity
with those who face illness or uncertainty, and
weep with those grieve and mourn. At the
moment we are really excited at the prospect of
our first Baptism for some years (which will be
a sea Baptism!) as well as a number of folk
seriously considering entering formal
membership with us. June is a very busy time
for us as we participate in the West End
Festival, offering a range of events for all ages
and stages, ranging from story-telling to cupcake
decorating, an indoor beach party to a choral
communion, and lots more besides. Please pray
that we will continue to demonstrate, in all we
say, do and are, the unfathomable love and
endless grace of Big-hearted God in whom we
trust (see also www.bighearted.org.uk ) and live
out more fully our strapline that all are
welcome in this place.
Hillview Community Church, Aberdeen:
Please pray for the church and its pastors Revs
Martin Clarke and Andrew Hayes.
Sunday 24th
Hopeman. Please pray for the church,
currently in vacancy.
Inverkeithing: Rev Ross Brown. Since the
disasterous flood of two years ago and almost
Engagement Diaryfor June
2 The Baptist Sports Day takes place at
Stirling University.
6 John Greenshields visits the churches in
Thurso and Wick over the next two days..
7 Our Unions Trustees meet thismorning, followed by the National Team
meeting
8 The Joint Assembly Planning Group
meets today.Training forStep Outleaders
is scheduled for over this weekend.
10 Mo Gibbs preaches at Inverkeithing
Baptist Church and Judy White preaches
at Westwood Baptist Church, East
Kilbride, today.
12 The Scottish Baptist Ministers
Fellowship conference is on until 14th at
St Andrews, beginning today with the pre-
Accredited ministers conference.
18 The two-day meetings of the Board ofMinistry begin today. Alan Donaldson and
Judy White attend the Mission Forum.
21 Alan Donaldson attends a lunch for
Church Leaders at the Royal Highland
Show.
22-24 Step Outtraining weekend.
seven months out of our building worshipping in
the local high school, the congregation settled well
into the newly refurbished premises.Each week
since then we have had a constant stream of
visitors looking for a spiritual home, a number
have remained with us and are integrating well into
church family life.
Our "Haven" Church cafe on a Thursday
morning has been a beacon light to the community,
which coupled with our very
successful parent and toddlers group gives us a
low key contact with our wider community.
A number from these groups have come along to
our special events.
This past few months we have seen more
young folks come along to worship, for which we
praise God, and we are now taking increasing
numbers to the monthly "Powerpoint" youth
event in Edinburgh.
Over the past 13 years we have been given favour
by the Head staff in the local high school, twonurseries, and two primary schools, to go in and
take assemblies, special "times of crisis" services,
as well as classroom teaching times. These have
raised the profile of the church and given many
opportunities to share the gospel with young
people.
Our Pastor's wife's has been unwell for some
time and recently the illness progressed affecting
her mobility profoundly. Due to
this the church have taken the step of faith to
place the present manse on the market and we are
seeking to raise 50,000 over and above the value
of the present manse, to enable us to purchase a
more suitable property with safe and level access.Please pray for us as we seek to honour the
Lord in every sphere of church life, and for a swift
resolution to the manse crisis.
Prayer Linkfor June