THE MAGAZINE OF BOTHWELL PARISH CHURCH ‘SCOTLAND’S OLDEST COLLEGIATE CHURCH’

Registered Scottish Charity No: SC0 9819

Minister: The Revd. J. M. Gibson, TD. The Manse of Bothwell, 4 Manse Avenue, Bothwell, G71 8PQ Tel: 01698 853189. Email: jamesmgibson@msn.com Church Office Tel: 01698 854903 ( Tuesday, Thursday & Friday mornings) Email: bothwellparishoffice@btconnect.com h Church Centre: 854987 Chapterhouse Café: 858566

Autumn 2008 Sept / October

Minister’s Letter Page 1. Parish Register 2. Open Church Thanks 2. Statement of Purpose 2. Car Treasure Hunt 2. Allovus 3. Give With A Will 3. Women’s Guild Update 3. Living the Questions 4. Pakistan Flood Appeal 4. Christian Aid Thanks 5. World Mission Stamp Appeal 5. Human Sexuality and the Ministry 6. Harvest Thanksgiving 6. A Short History of Bothwell 7. Allovus Visit to Summerlee 7. Rota Page 8.

September October 2010

FROM THE MANSE ….

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September. Already? The beginning of the church year. Yes, I know that’s really Advent – but that’s the ‘theological’ year; I’m talking about the ‘practical’ one, when organisations begin again, the winter routine falls into place and Christmas looms large on the horizon. It’s only three months away (shops are already full of its stock!) but before we reach that point there’s much work to be done.

I do hope you enjoyed the summer and have not allowed yourself to become too depressed with all the rainfall. Let’s hope it’s not over yet for a little bit of June’s sunshine would not go amiss just now. If you were fortunate in travelling, then I trust you enjoyed the journey, whether explored again or for the first time. Hopefully, you have returned home refreshed and enthused, ready to take up old activities or new interests.

125th Anniversary of SSAFA Forces Help

Several events of special interest are planned to take place during the autumn. The first is the above Service to be held at 2.30pm on Sunday 31st October 2010. SSAFA (Soldiers, Sa i lo rs and Ai rmen Fami l ies Association) has a long and honourable history of providing much needed financial and material help and support to former members of our Armed Forces and, especially, to those whose career has been cut short by injury or d isab i l i t y caused in conf l ic t . Lanarkshire boasts a very active and successful SSAFA branch and they have requested the celebration of their anniversary within our church. This will be essentially a Civic and Military

Interdenominational Service, with British Legion Standards and Brass Band, to which the congregation and friends are most welcome.

450th Anniversary of the Reformation in Scotland

Another Service of special interest is that being held at Bothwell at the request of the Presbytery of Hamilton commemorat ing the Scott ish Reformation in 1560. Arguably, no other event has had more, or lasting, effect on the evolution of Scottish history, culture, politics and religion. T h i s , t o o , w i l l b e a n Interdenominational Service, open to the public. It will be held at 2.30pm on Sunday, 21st November 2010.

Living the Questions

For some time now I have been concerned about the strengthening of what I regard as a fundamentalist understanding of Christian theology with the Church. I do not recognise in its interpretation the teaching of grace and graciousness which characterised so much of Christ’s dealing with ordinary folk. Instead I believe it to be a dangerous 20th century invention responding to rapid social changes brought about by modernity and globalisation. Dogmatism, which is divisive and deaf to the opinion of others, is of little use to any society and has no place within the Church nationally or locally. On Thursday evenings throughout September and October we are therefore launching a new programme of discussion opportunities called

Living the Questions. It is a DVD-based programme exploring contemporary themes of Christian faith. Designed for the countless people who suffer in silence as the voices of fear and certitude claim Christianity for themselves, it’s purpose is to allow people to ask the questions they’ve always wanted to ask but have been afraid to voice. The programme is an open-minded alternative to those courses which claim to have ‘all the answers’. Instead of providing easy answers, it is a resource for people who are prepared to search, discuss and learn from one-another about the mysteries of faith and life as so share together our adventure in what the great Christian thinker Soren Kierkegaard calls “objective uncertainty”. Why not join us ? Give the church Secretary a ring to confirm attendance. ( Please see article on page 5. for date / timing of meetings.)

Continued on page 2.

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Statement of Purpose

Bothwell Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland and is part of the worldwide family of people belonging to the Christian Faith, worshipping God through Jesus Christ. In response to the love of God for all, we seek to serve our community through worship, friendship, care and education; and to promote Christian values of concern for others, forgiveness, healing and justice.

Baptisms: “By water and the Holy Spirit” May 30th Raine Multizar Miller McCallum, daughter of Charlie and Nicola McCallum, 46 Minister Park, Kittochmuir, East Kilbride

June 6th Joshua Mathew Hanson, son of Mark and Karen Hanson, 33 Castle Gate, Uddingston July 4th Finlay William Borthwick, son of Scott Borthwick and Emma McRoberts, 25 Hamilton Park South, Hamilton

August 22nd Harry James Wells, son of Neil and Gemma Wells, 5 Topaz Avenue, Bellshill, ML4 2PD

Marriages: “Whom God has joined” May 29th Deborah McCann & James Mitchell, 43 Rosebank Terrace, Bargeddie, Glasgow

June 11th Suzanne Hannaway & Gavin Hunter, 28 Drumbonnie Crescent, Salsburgh

July 3rd Gillian Reid & Brian Douglas, 31 Cameronian Place, Bellshill

July 16th Elaine Wardrop & Stephen Renwick, 39 Whiteford Court, Hamilton

July 23rd Nicola Gordon & Tony Mckinnell, 1 Rose Cottage, Upper Easton Green, Coventry

July 24th Mary Brown, & Neil Carslaw 64b Broderick Road, London

August 21st Jade Houston & David Roddie, 2 Rosebank Place, Uddingston

Funerals: “confident of Life Everlasting”

The Minister invites the prayers of the congregation for the family and friends of the following who recently received Christian funeral: June Emyr Williams Esq. 10 Old Bothwell Road Mrs Jean Bowie, Cambuslang (formerly Elmwood Park) William Grimmond Esq. 7 Gailes Park John (Stan) Wardrop, 14 Clyde Avenue

Over the summer months, a great deal of thought, discussion and imagination has been expended on the future nature of our work with children attending Sunday School Clubs in order to make it even more relevant and appealing. Alastair and Hazel Scott organised a super Summer Club where youngsters really enjoyed having their brains activated solving puzzles on our laptop computers, playing games and generally having such a great time that they didn’t want to go home when parents called to collect them after church! We are now going to develop some of those activities into the programme used weekly in our Sunday School Clubs. To help in this, both the Kentigern and St Ninian rooms in the church Centre will be redecorated and refurbished making them child fr iendly, whi le maintaining a multifunctional use. Colourful information fliers have been sent out to parents and so we’re hopeful in seeing our discussions resulting in lots more of happy, challenged and excited youngsters!

Jim Gibson

Minister of Bothwell

FROM THE MANSE CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE

Children’s Sunday Clubs

THANK YOU A big thank you to all our volunteers who over the summer months gave time and enthusiasm to ensuring the church was open once more to public and tourists. Each summer, visitors come from far flung places as well as nearer home and enjoy the beauty of the church and marvel at its history or simply appreciate some moments of peace and q u i e t w i t h i n t h e b u i l d i n g . This is an important aspect of our ministry and outreach; and allows us the privilege of sharing the inheritance of our stewardship with folks from around the world.

Congratulations go to

the McMurdo family

worthy champions of the 2010 Bothwell

Parish Church Car TreasureHunt.

Thanks to John and Sara Crichton for their planning and

organisation of a day thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Church Web Site

www.bothwellparishchurch.org.uk

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Give With a Will

a legacy to the Church

Did you realise that Bothwell parish Church is a registered Scottish Char-ity? Did you know that giving a LEGACY is one very important way by which you can continue to support the work of Bothwell Parish Church after your death? A LEGACY may be a specific sum of money, a property, share in a company or the residue of your estate.

Through a LEGACY you can ensure that funds are available for the

Worship Outreach

and Service of your Church here at Bothwell.

LEGACIES are exempt from Inheri-tance Tax and may provide vital funds for a particular project of our Church or may be invested to produce annual income for ongoing work. All LEGACIES are only used in ac-cordance with the donor’s wishes.

So why not speak with your Solicitor … and give with a will?

ALLOVUS

Meet within Church Centre

11.00am till 1.30pm 1st & 3rd Thursdays each

month.

Fellowship, fun and interest for ALL housebound/ elderly

members and friends.

Come along and join us!

September 2nd Special Guest 16th Beetle Drive & Raffle October 7th Competition Day 21st Halloween Theme November 4th Film Day 18th Darts & Raffle December 2nd Skittles 16th – Christmas Lunch

News From The

Guild

The Aim of the Guild is to invite and encourage

men and women to commit their lives to Jesus Christ

and enable them to express their faith in worship, prayer and action.

Greetings to all our members and especially to anyone who may be thinking of joining us. The Guild is open to anyone, male or female and new members can be assured of a very warm welcome. Our Re-Dedication Service will be held within the church on Monday 4th October at 7.30pm and will be conducted by the Minister Rev. James Gibson. We meet every second Monday evening in the St.Bride Suite within the Church Centre and 7.30pm. Tea is served at approximately 8.30pm with the evening closing at around 9pm. Please do come along. Oonah Lambert Mary Williamson Joint Secretaries Tel: 850948

1911—2011 Bothwell Parish Church Guild’s Centenary Year

Special Request for Memorabilia

The Committee and members of the Guild are looking for help

from Bothwell Residents in tracing old Guild Memorabilia such as

photographs, brochures, press-cuttings, pamphlets, tickets and in

fact anything which would help in tracing the Guild and its

members down through the years. Please note that all articles

will be returned. With our thanks.

Guild Diary Dates

October 18 New York, New York—Mr Bill Wilkie November 1 Stage Struck—Ms Yvonne Waring November 15 Guest Night—The Singing Policewoman November 20 Guild Week—Bric-a-Brac (Saturday 1.30pm)

New & improved

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Church Flower Calendar

Chancel War Memorial SEPTEMBER: 5th Mrs E Forrest Mrs M Jaap 12th Mrs S Crichton Mrs M Maillie 19th Mrs J Marsh Mrs G Whitton 26th Mrs I Glen Miss M Gordon OCTOBER: 3rd (Harvest) Mrs J Provan Mrs M McMurdo 10th Mrs M Yuill Mrs J Crichton 17th Mrs E Braidwood Mrs F Lorimer 24th Dr K Chisholm Mrs J Young 31st Dr G Ritch Mrs P McAulay NOVEMBER: 7th (Communion) Mrs H Bryce Mrs A Freeland 14th(Remembrance) Mrs J Lee Mrs E Somerville 21st Mrs M Miodek Mrs D Gibson 28th Mrs D Abercromby Mr J Thomson

SUNDAY WELCOME / DUTY ROTA Officebearers unable to be present on allocated Sundays should arrange cover.

Elders on duty are expected to arrive at Church before 10.00am.

SEPTEMBER 5th M Clark S Cook D Craig J Crichton 12th J Cumming J Dalziel E Dempsey Dr Fairlie 19th B Gillespie J Gilmour T Goodsir S Greenshields 26th K Hamilton J Hart I Henderson J Henry OCTOBER 3rd L Horn M Hutchison M Jack D Lee 10th G Moore S Mowat H Marsh J Marsh 17th L McLean C McMurdo C MacQueen Dr Ritch 24th R Robertson B Sharp J Shaw K Simpson 31st E Terrace E Somerville B Somerville Dr Thompson NOVEMBER 7th Communion Arrangements 14h A Watt G Whitton E Buttery J Carson 21st M Clark S Cook D Craig J Crichton 28th J Cumming J Dalziel E Dempsey Dr Fairlie

SUNDAY COFEE ROTA

As usual, volunteers are asked to please swap any inconvenient dates with each other. New volunteers are most welcome to join the list and should please contact

Sara Crichton - 854421.

SEPTEMBER: 5th Mrs M Cumming OCTOBER: 3rd Mrs H Gilmour NOVEMBER: 7th Mrs J Hamilton 12th Mrs N Carson 10th Mrs E Dempsey 14th Mrs M Cumming 19th Mrs A Thomson 17th Mrs C Cahill 21st Mrs N Carson 26th Mrs E Buttery 24th Mrs J Craig 22nd Mrs A Thomson 31st Mrs S Crichton

.

SEPTEMBER: 5th Janet McDougall Jaynie Craig 12th Pat Maxwell Gillian Ormiston 19th Elspeth Hamilton Elizabeth French 26th Eleanor Barr Elaine Gibson OCTOBER: 3rd Suzanne Smith Shirley Frew 10th Eleanor Terrace Nan Carson 17th Janet McDougall Jaynie Craig 24th Pat Maxwell Gillian Ormiston 31st Elspeth Hamilton Elizabeth French NOVEMBER 7th Eleanor Barr Elaine Gibson 14th Suzanne Smith Shirley Frew 21st Eleanor Terrace Nan Carson 28th Janet McDougall Jaynie Craig

Sunday Crèche

Living the Questions is a study for the countless people of faith who have suffered in silence as the voices of fear and certitude claim to profess the unchanging truth of Christianity. Its purpose is to provide a resource for the discussion o f what I a lready believed by many faithful people still holding on within institutional

Living the Questions

A new programme of learning for anyone who wishes to explore faith In a stimulating and open way.

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re l ig ion, whi le harbour ing a conviction that what the church teaches isn’t the whole story. It is an open-minded alternative to courses that attempt to give people all the answers and instead it strives to create a safe environment where people have permission to ask all the questions they have always wanted to ask but have been

afraid to voice for fear of being thought a heretic. It is intended not only for church members, but also for those who may consider themselves “believers in exile” - those who have left the Church because pf its refusal to take their questions seriously.

How does it work?

Living the Questions (LtQ) is a DVD-based programme exploring themes of Christian faith. We will be looking at the first unit of 7 sessions “Invitation to Journey” . Each section lasts about 20 minutes, featuring many prominent teachers and theologians and supplemented by participant guides with weekly reading and discussion questions (go to YouTube and type in “living with questions” for a useful taster!) Our meetings will be quite informal, built around a simple supper and sharing our responses to what we have watched. The Minister will lead each session.

What does it involve?

♦ Thursday evenings—September 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th; then October 7th and 21st. All meetings within Church Centre.

♦ Each evening will begin at 7.30pm with coffee and will end by 9.30pm at the latest.

♦ For this first programme there will be space for 20 people, on a first-come basis—it is hoped to repeat the programme at a future date and so provide further opportunity to take part.

♦ Those wishing to take part are asked to commit to the whole series (inevitably there will be unavoidable absence, but the intention should be to attend all 7 meetings).

♦ The programme is expensive to purchase. There will be a charge of £10 per person for the whole course.

If you are interested…. Please give your name and contact details, as soon as possi-ble, to the Minister (Office 854903 / Manse 853189 or email bothwellparishoffice@btconnect.com).

Disclaimer: The producers of LtQ say this programme is NOT for: ♦ those who personal faith requires them to believe that the Bible is the inerrant and infallible word of God. ♦ those who believe that the doctrines of the church are sacrosanct and never to be questioned. ♦ those who believe the reason the mainline churches have been losing members is because they haven’t been teaching

‘orthodox’ Christianity or preaching the true Gospel.

Living the Questions does not try to provide easy answers, but to be a resource for people who are in the midst of a life-long conversation about the mysteries of religious faith and life.

Pakistan Floods Appeal

Give now to save a life

0370 60 60 900

www.dec.org.uk

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SAVE

STAMPS

PLEASE

Top 10 Reasons Why Eve

Was Created

10—God was worried that Adam would frequently become lost in the garden

because he would not ask for directions.

9—God knew that one day Adam would require someone to locate and

hand him the remote.

8—God knew Adam would never go out and buy himself a new fig leaf when his wore out and would therefore need

Eve to buy one for him.

7– God knew Adam would never be able to make a doctor’s, dentist or haircut appointment for himself.

6—God knew Adam would never

remember which night to put the gar-bage on the kerb.

5—God knew if the world was to be

populated, men would never be able to handle the pain and discomfort of child-

bearing.

4—As the Keeper of the Garden, Adam would never remember where he left his

tools.

3—Apparently, Adam needed someone to blame his troubles on when God caught him hiding in the garden.

2—As the Bible says, it is not good for

man to be alone!

1—When God finished the creation of Adam, he stepped back, scratched his head, and said “I can do better than

that!”

From the magazine of Bromley Parish Church

World Mission Stamp AppealWorld Mission Stamp AppealWorld Mission Stamp AppealWorld Mission Stamp Appeal How it Works Used stamps are gathered in, sorted and sold to collectors for cash. The selling is done by an agent who has been involved in the World Mission Stamp Appeal for m a n y y e a r s . T h e s u c c e s s o f t h e s c h e m e depends on the support given to it be congregations, organisations and individuals throughout Scotland who regularly send or deliver packets of used stamps.

Previous Year’s Projects ♦ 2009: outreach work by the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren amongst

the Roma people

♦ 2008: the Scottish University Missionaries Institution (SUMI) in Kalimpong

♦ 2007: children in Chinese orphanages with physical or mental disabilities. This was done through the work of Amity and the Scottish Churches China Group

♦ 2006: the Church of Bangladesh’s Golden Jubilee Project which looks after elderly people who have been abandoned by their families

This year’s Project Support for the Girls’ Hostel at St.Columba’s Religious Training Centre, Sialkot, Pakistan.

Christian AidChristian AidChristian AidChristian Aid————ThanksThanksThanksThanks

A big thank you to all who contributed to Christian aid—our total collected this

year was £467.82. We hopefully will have our annual soup / roll Sunday morning in October, time to be arranged. My personal thanks to Ellen Buttery for her help with the count.

Eleanor Terrace

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HUMAN SEXUALITY AND THE MINISTRY

The Kirk Session’s Response to the Consultation of the Special Commission.

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland asked all Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions to consider the matter of ordination of homosexuals and to send their response to the Special Commission it has established to report on this matter. The Commission has the remit to ‘consult with all Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions and to prepare a study on Ordination and Induction to the Ministry of the Church of Scotland in the light of issues (a) addressed in the Report welcomed by the General Assembly of 2007: “A Challenge to Unity—same-sex relationships as an issue in theology and human sexuality; and (b) raised by the case Aitken et al v the Presbytery of Aberdeen, and to report to the General Assembly of 2011”. It is important that everyone associated with our congregation is informed of how our Kirk Session responded to this consultation. A document, comprehensive in its content, was prepared by the Special Commission. This contained several questions to be answered, some of which were in the form of descriptive sentences with Elders being asked to indicate which one corresponded most closely to their own point of view. Most of these responses were to be made in a secret ballot to ensure that everyone’s opinion could be freely expressed. As the questions were often lengthy and complex, it is not possible to reproduce them all here. However, perhaps the responses to two of the most central questions may suffice to give a clear indication of the Kirk Session’s mind on this matter. A.

Nil believed that homosexual orientation is a disorder; 2 believed that, while such orientation is a given, homosexual behaviour is sinful 13 believed that homosexual behaviour is equivalent morally to heterosexual behaviour; 12 believed that homosexual orientation is a given part of God’s creation.

B. YES NO Should a person in a same-sex relationship be permitted 24 10 to be ordained as a minister? Should a person in a civil partnership be permitted to be 28 7 ordained a minister? Should a person is a same-sex relationship be permitted 28 6 to have a leadership role? Should a person in a civil partnership be permitted to have 31 2 a leadership role?

If anyone wishes more information, or would like to talk about these issues with relation to the Church of Scotland, please do not hesitate to contact the Minister who will be pleased to try to help.

.

Harvest Thanksgiving—Sunday 3rd October

Please remember special offering for Christian Aid.

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@ Short History of Bothw_ll

By great good fortune, Mr Gibson has discovered a bound volume of ‘Bothwell Parish Supplements’ dated from January 1928 to December 1933. It would appear they belong to the Reverend R J Thomson, Minister of (the then) St Bride’s Parish Church. It appears that the articles by Mr Thomson were written by him but based on research into the history of the Bothwell Church by a previous Minister of St Bride’s, the Reverend S J Hamilton. Mr Hamilton died suddenly, leaving notes of his historical research in the form of draft manuscripts. These Mr Thomson used as a basis for what follows. We hope to print them in serial form in forthcoming magazines.

1. th_ \ritish or w_lsh p_rio^

“Christianity must have been introduced amongst the British people inhabiting the rich valley of the Clyde at a very early time, and it is probably that one of the earliest settlements was at Bothwell. The command ing pos i t ion o f Bothwell—in the centre of the valley, at the ford of the river, and easily accessible from all directions—marks it out as an inevitable place for a church. It is even believed that it may have been the site of Druid worship before it became the site of a Christian church. However that may be, the evidence points to the existence of Christian churches in the Clyde valley from the fourth century at the latest. Christianity does not seem to have entered the valley of the Clyde in the first instance by formal missionary effort, but by a process of natural

expansion. The missionaries were traders and captives, and perhaps Roman soldiers. As in the days of St.Paul, so for long afterwards, Christianity travelled along the Roman roads. Now, the roman road from Carlisle to Dumbarton ran along the hillside to the east and north of Bothwell. Besides, there was a Roman camp at the point where the road crossed the South Calder, below Orbiston House, near what is popularly known as the Roman br idge. In add i t ion, i t is possible tha the hill in the centre of Bothwell village, which is known as Camphill and which commands an extensive view of the valley, marks the site of another camp; at any rate, tradition says that it does and that the Romans planted orchards in the neighbourhood. But whatever may be

the origin of the name and the value of the tradition, it is not improbable that the Romans in accordance with common custom settled a colony of discharged soldiers at this strategic position to guard the ford of the river and protect the road to the east of it. Some of these soldiers may have been Christians. If so, they would meet for Christian worship, and they would be ardent propagandists of their faith, not only among their fellow-soldiers, but among the native population. Besides, there would be camp-followers, some of whom would almost certainly be Christians, who would join with the soldiers in worship and also in propagating their faith. Thus may have been founded in Bothwell in a little church whose candle-stick has never been removed.”

Allovus Visit to Summerlee, Coatbridge—May 2010