St Andrew's Scots Church, 210 Old Bakery Street Valletta

St. Andrew’s Scots Church

Valletta

Crossroads

Summer edition 2017

St Andrew's Scots Church, 210 Old Bakery Street Valletta,

VLT 1451, Malta, Sunday service 10.30am

Service of Holy Communion is usually on the fourth Sunday and

Bring & Share Lunch on the first Sunday of each month

MinisterRev Kim Hurst; 21415465

Session Clerk Ms. Diana Nye: 99768603

SafeguardingMrs Dot Hunter; 21522730

TreasurerMrs Hazel Dunlavy

Junior ChurchMrsSharon Abbot; 21376115

MusicMrs Lisa Bonello; 21370769

Pastoral network MrsMarion Chessell

propertyMr Clement Okoro; 99093200

HouseholdMrs Ria den Heyer; 23263409 or

Mrs. Christa Wiegand

MissionsMr Norman Alexander; 21382506 r

Mrs Christa Wiegand 99839469

Sunday SheetsMr Norman Alexander

Crossroads Mrs Pat O’Neil; 21423135

.

Malta MicrofinanceDeputy Chairman Rev. Kim Hurst

for Ritianna

English Teachingt.bd.

From the Editor

Dear Friends.

I think most of us are getting into “holiday mood” at the moment but how about a little time for reflection on the past few months since the last edition of “Crossroads”.

Again we had a very successful “Pasta Night” in aid of Tugwashanye, Zambia, which raised over 2,400 euro. A very good result and special thanks to Norrie & Marie and all their helpers, too many to name, and also all those who attended on the night or gave donations.

At the church meeting I asked that anyone with contributions to the magazine to let me have them as soon as possible and not wait for the deadline.

The earlier I get any information the better chance there is of it being included.

Thank you to those who heeded my request and please keepthe articles coming.

This is the one and only way that our house-bound members can keep up to date with what is happening in St. Andrew’s

Pat.

From the Manse

Dear Friends

My mum’s favourite film was “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” and even though it was released almost 10 years before I was born I can remember watching it as a child with my mum on many occasions. My mum died over 30 years ago and yet still today when I watch the film or even just hear a song from it I am taken back almost 50 years to the child watching with her mum.

One of the songs in that film is called June Brides and the chorus goes “they say when you marry in June you will always be a bride”. I had a wedding on the 20th May and have another on the 2nd June and during the summer about 4 more. My prayer for each bride is that she will always be a bride, but is that a realistic prayer? She may not always have the butterflies in her stomach that she has on her wedding day but I pray that she will grow to love her husband more and more and that through the years when she looks back on the day it will not be the end of a glorious courtship but the beginning of a life of love and unity. That the love, trust and respect they have for each other will grow and deepen and that she will never lose that sense of excitement you get when you think about the one you love. I still vividly remember my own wedding day and a piece of music or a thought can take me back to that day and I remember all those feelings. Have they changed over the years? Yes they have, they’ve grown up and deepened. We loved our Wedding Day but we can’t just stay there we have to move on in our relationship just as I couldn’t stay as that child watching the film with her mum. It was good to be there and good to remember but we must move on and grow up.

So what about our relationship with God do we still have that flush of excitement we had when we first believed? Has our love for Him grown up and deepened or are we still infants in the faith? Do certain hymns and pieces of music remind you of significant dates and people in your faith journey? It is good to look back with thanks but don’t long for the past look to the future and expect to grow to love God more each day. Like a marriage if you are not careful it can become stale. We mustn’t let our relationship with God become stale we must be constantly refreshed by prayer and praise. We must seek to get to know him deeper each day so that our love for him grows and develops as we grow up into Him. May we all know God’s love and may our love for him continue to grow and deepen day by day. GodBless You! Love and Payers, Kim

Family News

Congratulation to two of our younger Church members.

Megan Bonello whose 18th birthday was on 30th March and Tilly Abbot whose birthday was on 31st May.

Best wishes to them both from all the members and Friends of St. Andrew’s.

Snippets from Jenny Psaila

A few months ago Jenny gave me some little verses that had been written by a young man who was severely disabled.

Here is one of them and you will find others over coming issues.

….then

listen to the trees:

behind every leaf

you’ll find a reasonto cry,

but also two reasons to smile

Reflections on the District Synod

Methodist South East Region April 2017

Synod this Spring was in Brighton and it was good to be able to walk along the Promenade- albeit in the middle of a refurbishment, on a mild, dry day!

The Business of Synod was completed rapidly and decisions were as expected but a few things of interest to note – Helen Richardson, District Safeguarding Officer is retiring before the next Synod and her successor has been appointed. Rev Rose Westwood, who most of us know well because she has been assistant Chair with responsibility for oversight of Malta, is leaving the district for Oxfordshire and will be succeeded by Rev Deborah Cornish. The District is in need of a Prayer Coordinator as AnyaGoldsmithhas retired from the post.

The District is presenting a Memorial to Conference this year, concerning the ways complaints against Presbyters and Minsters are dealt with. It was agreed unanimously recognising that accountability of both complainant and complainee and that speedy resolution should be sought showing justice, reconciliation and healing.

The theme of the day was – ‘and I will Build my Church’ – and worship, preaching, and discussion was based around this. The Rev Adrian Roux spoke passionately about the reasons or not for having a church building, calling his keynote speech A Theology of Church Building Use. He explained how in the past the Temple’s importance grew from its replication of the Ark of the Covenant- the visible sign of God’s invisible presence, and in some sense this continues today. But he believes that the real mission of the Church occurs outside the buildings and the challenge for us today is to find the balance whereby the building is used in the very best possible way to serve God’s purpose and bring the people to God.

As the day progressed it became clear that there are many congregations in the district which are having to make some hard decisions about their buildings as they wrestle with the needs of people versus the upkeep of old and expensive buildings. Some take the great leap of faith selling up and moving out into local community centres whilst others find innovative ways of utilising their buildings and bringing the community in, so they are able to upgrade and modernise and make their churches fit for purpose in the 21st century.

All this led me to think about the decisions recently taken here at St Andrews, enabling us, with grant money to rewire the building, refurbish our hall and modify the International Centre as it evolves and takes shape for the needs of the groups which use it. The decision to remove the choir pews to make a prayer area will allow us to get a feel for the church should the pews ever be removed but it is important to my mind to make it an attractive, restful, spiritual area where people feel they can talk and listen to God as He guides them through their daily lives. It was once said that God doesn’t demand that we must live with second best when we change and renew things – God’s house is not the ‘be all and end all’ of our faith but it is the visible evidence that we as Christians are here and that God is in this place, and to me it is appropriate that it should be as attractive and welcoming as possible.

Our building has changed dramatically in the last 10 years to meet the needs of our witness, and now there is opportunity for further development –we must be mindful of God’s purpose for St. Andrew’s as we take yet another step into the future.

Dot. Hunter

Synod Representative.

Financial Report

When we had our Annual Congregational Meeting on the 1st April there was great concern that for the third successive year our Income from Cash Collections had decreased. In 2016 the amount was almost half of that in 2015, the Church cannot sustain such a decline and still maintain its life and ministry. Our general running costs have decreased year on year but not to the same extent as the giving. Although in 2017 our income from lettings will increase we will no longer have grants from the Methodist Church and the Church of Scotland towards the cost of ministry, in fact we will have to increase our contribution towards our parent churches significantly. In 2016 our contribution was about 1,800 euros and in 2017 it will increase to 4,000 euros and this will increase year on year until our contribution to both churches totals 10,000 euros per year.

The church needs approximately 1,000 euros per week just to cover its running costs and so far this year our offerings have been between 200 and 400 per week. This speaks for itself.

St Andrew’s Income and Expenditure for the last three years.

Income201620152014

Cash Collection 22,70741,24948,603

Sundry Income/Interest 3,4314,412 3,596

Donations, Fund Raising 5,1113,613 2,244

Rental Income8,02713,82816,590

39,27763,102 71,033

Expenditure

Manse Expenses 10,239 10,84114,273

Ministry & Stipend Exp. 16,461 20,19828,100

Church Expenses 11,777 9,5989,829

Other Expenses: 4,6135,51810,068

Depreciation2,669 3,9774,481

45,76050,13266,751

Profit -6,48312,970 4,282

In light of this information we are asking members and friends to pray and review their giving to see if they can afford to give more to support the life and ministry of our Church. Thank You!

Just for Laughs

I read this in a magazine and thought this might give readers a chuckle.

“I was brought up to respect my elders.

Now that I am ninety-six years old, I’m finding this more and more difficult with each passing year!”

It is sometimes difficult to follow the old values of society.

FoodbankUp-Date

Since our last edition of Crossroads people have continued to be very generous towards the work of The Foodbank. Many schools have collected and Rev Kim has been invited to take assemblies and collect the food stuff. Both St Paul’s Bay and Sliema branches of the Lions Club have been very generous to us.

Several wholesalers have sent us short dated items and we now have three companies who give us regular donations on a weekly or monthly basis. More supermarkets are agreeing to have collecting boxes and these boxes will be donated by Green Skip and made specially for the work of The Foodbank.

The number of clients has doubled since Christmas and in our busiest week we fed 65 families.

We had a very successful morning for new volunteers and 15 new people joined our Team, Thank You and Welcome on Board. Anyone else interested in helping in this way please email Rev Kim

Please do not to send us out of date products. We have recently had items donated that have been more than 4 years past their best before date.

Service Themes & Preachers

DateThemePreacher

4th JunePentecostRev Kim Hurst

11th JuneRev. Kim Hurst

18th JuneAll Age WorshipRev. Kim Hurst

25th JuneHoly CommunionRev. Kim Hurst

2th JulyRev. Kim Hurst

9thJulyRev. Kim Hurst

16st JulyAll Age WorshipRev. Kim Hurst

22th JulyHoly CommunionRev. Kim Hurst

30th JulyMr. N. Alexander

6th AugustMrs. A. Catherall

13th AugustRev. Kim Hurst

20h AugustAll Age WorshipRev. Kim Hurst

27th AugustHoly CommunionRev. Kim Hurst

3rd SeptemberMr. P. Slater

10th SeptemberRev. Kim Hurst

17th SeptemberAll Age WorshipRev. Kim Hurst

24th SeptemberHoly CommunionRev. Kim Hurst

When ever possible the Rev. Kim plans to have Monday as her rest day so please try to refrain from contacting her on a Monday unless it is an emergency.

Thank you for your understanding

Duty Elder

4th JuneDavid O’Neil 2nd July David Pritchard-Griffiths

11th JuneClement Okoro 9th July Dot hunter

18th JuneChrista Wiegand16th July Clement Okoro

25th JuneSharon Abbot 23rd July Diane Vella

30th July Sharon Abbot

6th AugustMarion Chessell 3rd Sept Diana Nye

13th AugustBrenda Pleasance10th Sept John Lejman

20th AugustDiana Nye17th Sept David O’Neil

27th AugustChrista Wiegand24th Sept Christa Wiegand

Door Elder & Greeter

4th JunePat O’NeilPaul Slater

11th JuneJenny PsailaAdam Pleasance

18th JuneAnne CatherallDiana Nye

25th JuneMary Pace BardonDoreen Portelli

2nd JulyJenny Psaila David Smith

9th JulyClement OkoroPaul Slater

16th JulyDiana NyeFranklin Wilmot

23rd JulyNorman AlexanderAdam Pleasance

30th JulyDavid Pritchard-GriffithsAnne Catherall

6th AugustDoreen PortelliMary Pace Bardon

13th AugustDiana NyeAdam Pleasance

20th AugustJenny PsailaDavid Smith

27th AugustClement OkoroPaul Slater

3rd SeptemberPat O’NeilFranklin Wilmot

10th SeptemberDavid Pritchard-GriffithsAnne Catgherall

17th SeptemberPat O’NeilNorman Alexander

24th SeptemberDoreen PortelliMary Pace Bardon

Readers

First ReaderSecond Reader

4th JuneDoreen PortelliDianne Smith

11th JuneJenny PsailaPaul Slater

18th JuneJune P-GriffithsRia den Heyer

25th JuneSallie RedmanAndy Redman

2nd JulyJenny PsailaSteve Hurst

9th JulyDot HunterBill Hunter

16th JulyPaul SlaterClement Okoro

23rd JulyDiane VellaDiana Nye

30th JulyJohn LejmanSharon Abbot

6th AugustNorman AlexanderMarie Alexander

13th AugustAdam PleasanceBrenda Pleasance

20th AugustFrancois MifsudRafael Pascual-Leone

27th AugustDianne SmithAnne Catherall

3rd SeptemberDoreen PortelliDianne Smith

10th SeptemberJenny PsailaPaul Slater

17th SeptemberJune Pritchard-GriffithsPat O’Neil

24th SeptemberNorman AlexanderMarie Alexander

If you are unable to do your duty please find a replacement and change the lists in the vestibule & hall

Deadline for Autumn Edition is 18th August 2017

A prayer chain is a group of like-minded people who wish to pray for people and their situations that arise during our daily lives. It is also used for praise.

This started in our previous church also called St. Andrew in Cardiff 34 year ago. When it was started there it was all done by phone as no one had a computer back then.

A Coordinator was informed of a person who needed prayers. There would be about 4 or 5 "Chain Leaders" who would each receive the message, and they would then contact the person underneath them on the chain, who would thencontact the next one on the list, and so on, there may 6, 7, or even more hence the chain. So with the exception of the Coordinator no one had to call more than one person. It was a wonderful feeling to know that people were praying you’re your situation.

With the advent of computers being owned by lots of people now, it was suggested to me a couple of years ago that I might want to move with times and bring the prayer chain into the 21st century by using email as well. It made a tremendous difference, as people who had odd working hours and/or used their computer a lot were able to participate more easily. Of course there are people who don't have a computer, or just prefer a phone call which is fine.

The power of prayer is truly amazing.

If anyone would like more information or to join the prayer chain, please don't hesitate to contact me.

My details are as follow: June Pritchard-Griffiths,

Landline: 21311277 / Mobile: 7951 1406

Email:

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Malta Microfinance is also on Facebook and the website is:

Lombard Bank Malta plc, 67 Republic Street, Valletta VLT 1117

SWIFT/BIC code LBMAMTMT

Our account is St Andrew's Scots Church,St Andrew's House, 210 Old Bakery Street, Valletta, Malta

Account number 0144010357901

IBAN MT18 LBMA 0500 0000 0001 4401 0357 901

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ST ANDREW'S SCOTS

Church of Scotland / Methodist

St Andrew's Scots Church, Valletta, is a Local Ecumenical Partnership between the Church of Scotland and the Methodist Church of Great Britain. A Methodist church has existed in Valletta since 1824, when Rev John Keeling founded the first non-Roman Catholic Church in Malta. A Presbyterian church has existed on our site since 1843 and our present building was built in 1857 through the efforts of a Presbyterian minister, Dr George Wisely.