9 September 2022, Weekly Update

1. Queen Elizabeth II

Our country is in mourning following the death of our Queen on Thursday.

St Andrew Blackaddder will be open until 4 pm on Friday and Saturday. Anyone who would like to sit quietly, to reflect and pray, is invited to make full use of the space the building offers to do this.

Today, Friday 9th, I will lead a short act of commemoration and prayer in the chapel at 12 noon and again at 4 pm. All are welcome.

Plans for services on Sunday have changed.  See below.

Various events are mentioned below. You will appreciate that this is a fast moving situation. The details are correct as at 9 am on Friday morning. They may change as the day unfolds.

 

2)  This Sunday 11 September.

We worship in church at 9.30 and and 10.30 am.  BOTH services will follow the usual format.

It had been planned to divide into discussion groups at the 10.30 service to consider how to take Growing Young forward. This will NOT happen this Sunday. It will be take place at a later date.

One of the services will be available in audio form on the church’s YouTube channel later on Sunday.

3)  Church Picnic – Canty Bay, Sunday 11 Sept from 12 noon.

At a time like this it’s good to be with people. It helps to have space to share memories and to talk about how we are feeling.  The church picnic at Canty Bay creates an opportunity to do this. Everyone is welcome. There will be no organised programme. It’s simply an opportunity to be together.  You’ll need to bring your own food, picnic, chair and rugs.  There are toilets.  Use the space Canty Bay offers to chat, to walk, to reflect.

Directions: Just after the Drift Café entrance and before Canty House there is a private road down to Canty Bay. A suggested contribution of £5/car to help cover the fee for hiring the site.

We had planned also to make Canty Bay available on Saturday 10. This has been CANCELLED.

4)  Gift Day: Sunday 18 September

Next Sunday is Gift Day – an opportunity to give something extra to express thanks to God for his many gifts. The target is £25,000. This will be used to fund a variety of projects.

One is local – to pay for a Belly Bin.  We want to care for the local environment. We want visitors to feel welcome in North Berwick. One way we can demonstrate this is by making a practical contribution to keeping the beach, the High St and the Lodge free from litter.  At the moment the litter bins do not have enough capacity to cope with the litter which people are trying to dispose of responsibly. A local groups, Sustaining North Berwick, have identified five places where Belly Bins might be installed. A Belly Bin is a smart bin. Using solar power it compacts rubbish, so it can take seven times as much litter. Once it is full it sends a message, ’time to empty me.’  We have offered to pay for one of these bins. The cost of this will be £5,250

Four other projects will also be supported through Gift Day. Full details are available in a leaflet, available in the church. Alternatlvely, reply to his email and Julie will send you a copy.

Please consider what you might be able to give to God. You can make it, either by bringing cheque/cash from Sunday 18 onward or by making an electronic payment to the Gift Day account. NOTE: this is a different account from the one used for regular offerings. For details please contact the church office

5)  Guild Annual Gathering – Postponed

This had been due to take place on Saturday 10. It has been postponed to a later date.

6)  Blythswood Shoeboxes

Every year, St Andrew Blackadder supports Blythswood Care by filling shoeboxes with Christmas gifts, which are sent to needy families in Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. On Tuesday 13 September, from 2.00pm to 4.00pm, we are meeting in the Chapel to wrap shoeboxes in Christmas paper. We would greatly appreciate any time you can spare to help. If you have any shoeboxes or Christmas paper to donate, could you please bring them to church and put them in Room 4? Thank you very much!

Knitted hats for Blythswood Shoeboxes. 

If you have been knitting hats, scarves and gloves for the shoeboxes, please bring them to the church and put them in the box in the St Andrew’s Street vestibule. They will then be available for people to pick up and put in their own shoeboxes.

7)  Spectacles for Africa

Rotary are collecting old specs which will be sent to various African countries, where they will be matched to people who can benefit from them. There is a box in the St Andrew Street entrance of the church

8)  Prayer Gathering

Each Wednesday on Zoom between for 30 minutes starting at 7 pm.

Please contact the church office for log on details

 

Neil

Rev Dr Neil Dougall
ndougall@churchofscotland.org.uk
St Andrew Blackadder Church of Scotland, North Berwick