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Minister's Update

Covid 19

  • 18 March 2020
  • nanda.groenewald

You will all probably be aware that the Scottish Government has advised that people should minimise social contact by avoiding crowded areas and large gatherings, including religious congregations, and smaller gatherings, listing areas which were of concern.

Notices will be put up outside the Church as well as on our website and Facebook page. However, it would be very helpful if you would let people know who may not see these notices or notifications.

Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you need any kind of support during this time.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."   (Romans 15:13)

God bless,

Nanda

March 2020 Letter

  • 4 March 2020
  • nanda.groenewald

Dear Congregations,

My gran once said to me, 'joining the journey of Jesus is a starting line, not a finish line.' What did she mean by these words? Well, I think she meant the faith journey leads us into a lifetime of contemplation and action; a lifetime of growing spiritually. So here is a question for each of you - In what ways has the journey of faith challenged you to grow as a Christian? The answer to the above question will be different for each of us in every season of our life, for the joy of the faith journey is that it is forever changing us. the challenges that come to us in our twenties and thirties will be different to those that we meet in our forties, fifties and sixties... and in every decade of our life.

Just recently I have been having to make a lot of extra journeys for various reasons. But the thing about journeys is that they are never quite the same; there is always something new to see, something new to notice. There is always something that has changed on a journey no matter how many times you have driven or walked that same route before. Things that you need to be aware of and take notice of because they can have an effect on the outcome of our journeys.

on our journey through Lent, 26th February to 9th April, these 40 days, we will journey with Jesus as he travels towards Jerusalem with his disciples, teaching them as he goes and then as he faces rejection, is arrested, tried,convicted and executed and then the joy of Easter morning.

We travel this journey together and as we do, we look for new things that we are suddenly aware of, things that we might not have noticed before or heard before, things that speak to us again of the grace of God. The truth for us is that at the end of the journey we will be transformed; transformed by opening our eyes again to the wonder of our God, our God who lived and died for us - for you, for me and asks us that we journey with him.

Shalom

Alison.

February 2020 Letter

  • 31 January 2020
  • nanda.groenewald

Dear Congregations,

January 2020 was an extremely busy month, a month filled with sadness - we lost 7 people from our congregations.It was also a month filled with worries - a lot of people became unwell or are fighting illness, but we should never allow hardships like these to bring us down.

In Matthew 6: 25-34 we read the beautiful passage entitled: "Do not worry." In this passage Jesus says: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about  your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will waer..."

or about absolutely anything else, for that matter.

"But seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

I read this quote recently:

"Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles. it takes away today's peace."

And that is so true. i think that is exactly what Jesus is trying to tell us in Matthew 6.

Amid all the busyness, questions, and tears, i wouldn't want to be anywhere else but where I am - a part of our 2 congregations.

Someone who went through a very difficult health journey recently told me that she wouldn't have been able to get through it, if it hadn't been for the love and support that she received from our church people.

At Betty Short's funeral I was reminded of this very same thing again. Betty was blessed to live for 100 years. When Betty looked back on her life, the thing that was the most important to her was her faith, her church.

Let's carry on supporting one another, carrying one another, loving one another this year. The one thing that is stronger than pain and sorrow is hope, and that is what we find in the church.

So, instead of worrying - let's hope. When we hope, whether our journey is easy or hard, long or short, we'll be able to walk it with our heads held high, because we know exactly what our destination is.

May God bless you all,

Nanda

December 2019 Letter

  • 6 December 2019
  • nanda.groenewald

Dear Congregations

Although a WHITE Christmas is something I’ve only ever seen on the telly and on Christmas cards before I moved to Scotland, I knew very well it existed; but BLACK ice is something I have never heard of before settling down here! And if I can be completely honest, I don’t like driving when the temperatures plummet, because I’m always so scared my car will skid on the ice.

But children look at things through completely different eyes… When we had our first wee cold spell of the winter a couple of weeks ago, our paving was completely covered in black ice. I heard my boys giggling outside and I thought I should better go tell them to be careful they don’t slip and fall, but when I went out to see what they were doing, I couldn’t help but smile. They were “ice skating” on the paving, having the time of their lives as they entertained each other and tried to stay on their feet.

And while I was standing there, looking at them, I thought that we grown-ups should look at life through children’s eyes more. Because we always try to do the right thing, I think it can happen that sometimes we only focus on the dangers of something, and in this way miss out on the fun altogether.

So let’s go into Advent and Christmas and the New Year like children: filled with anticipation, hope, and excitement. Because God wants us to see the beauty and experience the magic of his Son’s birth, and the start of another new year.

And when the “roads of life” get icy, let’s try not to skid, but rather to skate. Let’s make the most of every situation we find ourselves in!

I hope to see you all at the Christmas Eve Family Service on the 24th of December, at Polbeth Hardwood, 6:30pm; and/or at the Watchnight Service at the West Kirk on the same night at 11:30pm.

May you all have a happy Christmas and a blessed 2020!

God bless,

Nanda

 

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