Friends,
We asked you what you like best about Juniper Green Church. The answers fell into two broad groups. Some of you wrote about the quality of the friendship and the relationships that they find in the congregation; others wrote about the quality of the ministry that is being exercised in and through the congregation. These are big and important issues; it is good to see that the focus in your mind is clearly on the qualities of church life, the qualities that give the church its strength.
That question was part of the Shaping the Future consultation that we carried out in the autumn. Fewer people took part than I had hoped, but it has generated a great deal of material for us to consider as we try to shape the future of the congregation. The whole list will be posted on the Facebook page and on the church noticeboard; depending on space, it may also be inside this newsletter!
You have identified three main worship priorities. Worship should be family-friendly; preaching is a major focus; we should develop flexibility in the services we offer, developing different styles of worship from time to time. Perhaps the biggest challenge we face is deciding what “family-friendly” means in such a way that every part of the Church family is included.
“Caring for people – what could we do?” Well, the scribble sheets, on which you were asked to write down your good ideas, were fairly full. There is a long list of suggestions and ideas for us to work on. The challenge may be to pick one of these ideas and run with it to see how it works. Watch this space.
Looking to the future is tricky. The Kirk Session has given itself the task of looking at our buildings – are they fit for purpose for the next thirty years? That discussion will revolve around the question “how can our buildings support what we do in worship and mission?” In Church life, many people find it hard to look to the future in any meaningful way because there are so many uncertainties around, but we are trying to develop a positive vision for the future of the church in our community.
The season of Advent is about looking to the future, in three ways. First of all, we are looking forward to Christmas; by the time you read this two of our advent candles will be lit in church! Secondly, and connected to this, we often read the Old Testament passages that look forward to the coming of the King, the Messiah, writings which were fulfilled when Jesus came. The third sense in which Advent is a time for looking forward is to focus on the promise that Jesus made to come again to the world, as the glorious King, to judge the world and to create a new heaven and a new earth, full of perfect peace. Because of the first coming of Jesus, with His death and resurrection, this glorious future for the people of God is assured.
We look forward to Christmas, to discover its wonder all over again. Jean joins me in wishing you all a happy Christmas; may 2015 be a new year full of grace and peace.
Jim
Treasurer's News
Accounts for 2014: I have estimated that, once again, we will have a deficiency in the difference between Income and Expenses in our Accounts for this year. Unfortunately, our Givings are some £3,000 down on last year at present, although a good response in the last few weeks would make a difference. However, on the bright side, we have not required to take anything out of our Investment Finds or funds held by the Church of Scotland Trustees on our behalf, so we will have an increase in our investments.
Christmas Fayre: One way to improve our financial position is to support the fund-raising stall at the Christmas Fayre. Please look out any presents you have been given in the past but never used or good quality items that you have and you no longer require. We don’t want ‘junk’ but good quality new or nearly new items to sell as ‘last minute Christmas presents’ at the Fayre. Please bring these items along to Church or contact me so that I can pick them up from you
Douglas Buchanan
Treasurer
BIBLE READING
Booklets and a Daily Reading List are available in the vestibule at the front door of the Church to encourage daily reading of God’s Word.
The material available is as follows:-
· “Every Day with Jesus” Booklet
· “Our Daily Bread” Booklet
· “Word For Today” Booklet
· “Word 4u2Day” Booklet for Young People.
· 3 Year Bible Reading Plan “Every Word in the Bible” to take you completely through the Bible, reading every word. (Scottish Bible Society)
· “Gideon Bible Helps”
Taking, say, a Booklet, with daily readings supported by a commentary can be a way of opening up your spiritual journey or can be helpful in keeping you on that spiritual journey.
There is also the opportunity to join other people sharing a Bible Study at Church Wednesday led by our Minister
If you wish more information about Bible Reading Material please speak to Ian Aitken or Yvonne Hunter.
Nurture Team
“…,it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose.”
Philippians 2 v 13
Charles Godon
Church was always part of Chas's life. It took shape in leadership terms in Newton Mearns, where he was Sunday School Superintendent, and ordained as an elder in 1978. When Chas and Marilyn moved to Edinburgh from Newton Mearns, they became part of Juniper Green Church, and Chas was admitted to the Kirk Session in 1982. He took on various responsibilities as an elder, becoming Joint Session Clerk with Irene Thomson in 1996 and then on his own in 1999. He was so much more: his was the first face you often saw on a Sunday when he welcomed you to church and read the intimations; he was an occasional preacher; he learned to conduct funerals and many people were glad of his help; he was the prayer team leader, creating and managing the e-mail prayer group, inspiring people to join who might never have considered it; he was in the choir; he was the monitor of how warm the church was - was he wearing his scarf or not? Chas was appointed to represent Juniper Green in Edinburgh Presbytery in 1998 and that opened a door for him to serve the church more widely, in the city and beyond; he considered it an enormous privilege to be able to serve Christ and His Church in these ways. He died on August 30th, having been ill for 7 months. His death has left a huge gap in the life of the congregation and we continue to pray for Marilyn and their family.
Jim Dewar
READ IT AGAIN!
READ IT FOR THE FIRST TIME!
LISTEN TO AN AUDIO VERSION ON THE WEB SITE!
Did you want to read the Minister’s Sermon from last Sunday? Did you miss it? Were there bits of it you didn’t understand? Go to the Church website at www.jgpc.org.uk and follow the link to ‘sermons’ and you will find them there. Alternatively, go to the Library area for paper copies. There are also sets of Sermons from back to 2009 in titled folders for read and return. Or get a CD copy of a Morning Service from Sandra Paulin.
FRESH START
Many thanks for your continued support. We will have the usual January break and continue again on Sunday 1st February with Towels.
Marilyn Godon
Halls Cleaning
Cleaning is still being carried out by our six teams of volunteers, and the halls are kept clean and inviting for church groups and others who use them. We can always accommodate more team members, and would welcome anyone interested in helping. Two or three hours every six weeks is all that's required, and so please get in touch if you can spare the time.
Elaine Wilson
Decorate the Christmas tree
The Church Christmas tree will be up by December 14th. On that Sunday, bring with you a Christmas decoration to help decorate the tree; make it a Church family Christmas tree!
Communion Services
At a recent meeting of the Kirk Session, we reviewed the pattern of communion services that we offer. It was decided to stop holding afternoon communion services on the Sundays when we hold communion services in the morning, viz, the first Sundays of March, June and October. The simple reason for this decision is that people are no longer attending these services in the kind of numbers that make them viable.
There are lots of opportunities to share in communion in the congregation. We have a communion service every month; if it helps, you can come to church at 11.30am just for the communion part of the service. One of the values of the afternoon communion was that the service was shorter; this would be a way of replacing that shorter service.
The Thursday Service
For a few years now we have held this service in St Margaret's Court; it was originally intended for those who live in the sheltered housing complex and has been well supported by people from the community too. We have decided to re-brand this service: it will now be The Thursday Service; it will still take place in St Margaret's Court on a Thursday at 10.30am, but we want to publicise it more widely as an opportunity for other people to come. The hall space we use is warm and comfortable; the access is disabled-friendly; you can get a car almost to the door; the service lasts for half an hour with traditional hymns; there is a cup of tea or coffee afterwards. The next service there will be on December 18th at 10.30am. For more information, speak to Mr Dewar.
Advent Services
The gift service - bring a present for a child, leave it unwrapped, and leave it under the tree in church on December 14th. We give the presents to the Gorgie Salvation Army to give out to poor families across the city.
The Service for Remembering is a time for quiet reflection for people who have been bereaved. We offer readings, prayers and music as ways of helping people remember and find grace at Christmas. There's a cup of tea afterwards. The service is on December 14th at 3pm.
The Sunday before Christmas - the Christmas Extravaganza: the children of Kids' Church and Youth Group, the choir and musicians, a variety of readers will lead or worship on December 21st at 10.30am. It promises to be a fantastic coming together of every part of the church family to create a Christmas celebration that will live long in our memory.
New Session Clerk
At the October meeting of the Kirk Session, we appointed Ross MacKay as the new Session Clerk. The Clerk’s main job is to make sure the Session meetings work well and to take the minutes, although there are other things that go with the job. We wish Ross well in his new responsibilities.
LEPROSY MISSION
My goodness how time flies! Once again I would like to give you an update on the donations given by so many people from the Guild of Friendship at their meetings (held every other Thursday in Hall 2), donations handed to me personally in bags, others who fill the phials available at the front door of the Church, many friends in St Margaret’s Court and people outwith the Church. The total collected this year is £336.09 – another marvellous achievement. I know the excitement it gives me doing the counting and putting this in bags (the bank does not have a counting machine working yet but I have been told one is coming!) Bill then takes all those 1p, 2p, 5p and silver to the bank. Thank you Bill from all of us. A special thank you to everyone for your donations which are much appreciated. This goes a long way to help cure those affected in so many ways by Leprosy. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Sheena Blair
Remembering
History has always fascinated me and has fuelled my desire to find out more about the past.
With a visit planned to War graves in Belgium and France last Easter I began to give more thought to the Church War Memorials. There are 44 WW1 deaths recorded on these memorials - but they are only names. I thought it would be a good idea to find out more about these 43 men and 1 woman. I knew how to undertake the research into the past; I was in a position to visit some of the graves or memorials and I was keen to ensure the sacrifice made by these brave individuals was marked appropriately at the centenary of their deaths. With the agreement of the Kirk Session I began researching the first individuals on the memorials. This was helped by the pages on the church website. After putting the available info into chronological order I set out to find out about the first few men.