 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
During morning worship on Remembrance Sunday, not only was a wreath laid in the church garden but, in this centenary year, the children from JAM Club released red balloons - one for each person from the area who died in the fighting during World War 1.
Later the same day, at the informal service held at Dickson Court, a single red balloon was also released in memory of all those who had died in battle over the last 100 years.
(See the gallery for further pictures)
The minister will NOT be in attendance this week at Polbeth Harwood on Tuesday 18th Nov nor at West Kirk on Wednesday 19th Nov.
She will be available again the following week.
At morning worship on Sunday 2nd November at Polbeth Harwood Church, Sandra McCabe and Jessie Kelly were ordained as elders in the Church of Scotland
It was with great pleasure that the congregation witnessed these two ladies, who have already given years of work and support to their congregation, commit themselves further to the service of the Church here at Polbeth Harwood.
We wish them every blessing in their new role.
On Sunday 2nd November, as part of morning worship, Alan Redmond was admitted to the eldership at West Kirk and welcomed by the minister, his fellow elders, and the congregation. We are delighted to welcome Alan to our session and wish every blessing on him and his family as he takes on this responsibility and service in our midst.
Alan had been ordained previously in another parish prior to transferring with his family to West Kirk.
At morning worship on Sunday 19th October, Gordon Erskine was presented with his Church of Scotland long service certificate.
Gordon was ordained as a deacon in 1964, and two years later, in 1966, he was admitted as an elder in the Church - officially serving for 50 years.
Congratulations, Gordon. What a record!
And he still takes a very active role in Polbeth Harwood Church, where he holds the post of Fabric Convener and in West Lothian Presbytery, where among other activities he is presbytery elder for Polbeth Harwood.
Dear Congregations
The four of us we went to the Netherlands for the October break, and we had a lovely time. We ate lots of cheese and caramel wavers, walked for miles alongside the canals, and then, of course, we laughed a lot!
Nehan’s favourite thing was the Dutch clogs – he desperately wanted me to buy him a bright orange pair… But after much deliberation he settled for orange clog look-a-like slippers (which he put on straight away and never took off until we arrived home)!
Henro was fascinated with the windmills. I’ve never been inside a windmill before, and it was very interesting to see how it works. If the wind doesn’t blow, nothing happens. But as soon as the wind picks up, the machinery inside the windmill starts working and continues to work as long as the wind is blowing.
And standing outside a huge windmill, looking at the big arms turning in the wind, I thought that God works through us in a very similar way. He sent us his Spirit, and through his Spirit we are able to be the people he wants us to be and to do the things he wants us to do. The Holy Spirit is our “wind”, and interestingly the word used for “Spirit” in the Old Testament can also be translated as “wind”. We can’t see the wind, but looking at the arms of a windmill, we can easily see the effect of the wind.
We can’t see God’s Spirit either, but we can see the effect of his Spirit when we are able to handle things, say things and do things that we thought impossible. The only difference between the wind and the Spirit is that where we do get days when it’s not windy at all, God’s Spirit is always with us. We don’t have to wait for a good day to work hard and make a difference, like a miller who is dependent on the wind; we can accomplish anything we want to, every day, because the Holy Spirit empowers us non-stop (Acts 2:1-13).
So let’s not waste any of the energy given to us by God. If the wind can make a windmill change grain into flour, just imagine the change we can bring here on earth if we all work together!
May God bless you all,
Nanda
Have you got your shoebox ready yet?
Boxes must be handed in to either church by SUNDAY 2ND NOVEMBER.
If you haven't got your box, already wrapped shoeboxes are available at both churches for £1.50 and leaflets are on hand giving you details of goods acceptable for including.
West Lothian presbytery has given us the following dates for locally organised safeguarding training courses.
Monday 17th November at Boghall parish Church at 7pm
wednesday 26th November at Livingston United Parish Church, Carmondean at 7pm
These courses are for anyone wishing to work within the church environment with children and young people. Anyone interested in attending either of these courses, please get in touch with a Safeguarding Co-ordinator - Kathy Black for West Kirk and Eleanor davidson for Polbeth Harwood.
Our minister, Rev Dr Nanda Groenewald, now has regular "office hours" once a week at both churches.This is an opportunity for people to meet her locally.
She extends a very warm welcome to members of the congregations and the communities who wish to meet with her for an informal chat or just pop in to say ‘hello’ over a cuppa.
Funerals permitting, Nanda will be available as follows (except in school holidays)
Polbeth Harwood Quiet Room on Tuesday mornings 10.30am— noon
West Kirk vestry on Wednesday mornings 10.30—12 noon
This arrangement will be reviewed after December 2014
Dear Congregations
Change. Something most of us aren’t very fond of… But where there is no change, there is no growth either.
This time of year lots of changes take place in nature – the leaves start to change colour and fall down from the trees, it’s starting to get much cooler outside and the nights are drawing in. Walking my boys to school the other morning, I said (with a sigh in my voice): “Winter is almost here guys – I can’t believe the summer is over!” But I guess when you are 5 or 7 years old, you are still able to see the positive in every situation, because they jumped with joy and said: “That means Christmas is getting closer!!”
Summer, autumn, winter, spring. Change.
In order to grow as people, we need to change too. In order to grow as Christians, we need to allow God’s Spirit to change us. But that’s not always easy. Just like nobody is keen to put their sandals away and look out their gloves and scarves again, nobody really likes to change old habits. But this is the time of year to let go of all the things that shouldn’t be part of a Christian’s life. We should let go of these things like a tree sheds its leaves in the autumn. And then we should bear the fruit of the Spirit – all year round.
In Galatians 5:22 we read that “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
With the Scottish Referendum now behind us – this is not only a time for change within us, but also for change around us. Because we are all on a new journey now – a journey towards our future together. Let us be the bearers of the fruit everybody around us need to sustain them on their path ahead!
May God bless you all in this season of change.
Nanda