- Thanksgiving Service for the Queen
The East Lothian Service of Thanksgiving for The Life of Her Majesty the Queen will take place in St Mary’s Parish Church,Haddington on Friday 30th September at 6pm. All are welcome. This is the service organised by the Lieutenancy for the county. It is an ecumenical service.
2) Sunday 2 October
There are three services this Sunday.
Services at 9.30 am and 10.30 will be in the building, with the 10.30 also streamed on YouTube. Both services will explore Identity, picking up chapter 5 of A Place for God by Pete Nicholas. If you haven’t yet got a copy, click here for the cheapest place I’ve found to buy your copy this week.
Messy Church runs from 4 to 6 pm. Please spread the word. It’s particularly suitable for families. Do you have neighbours or friends who might like to come? Might they find it less daunting if you offered to come with them the first time? A large team is always needed to help it run smoothly. If you suddenly discover you are available and could help, please contact Alison Singleton (details in Church Directory) or talk to her on Sunday morning. She would love to hear from you.
3) Harvest Sunday, 9 October
Food prices are rising fast but at least we have food in our shops, and enough money to buy the basics. Harvest is one opportunity we have to thank God for his generous provision. Our harvest gifts are used to help those not as fortunate as us. I invite you to think if you might be able to contribute to one, or both of the following two organisations.
East Lothian Food Bank helps local people who are struggling to feed themselves. A message from Lisa at the foodbank said that at the moment gifts of Instant rice / noodles, Meat pastes, Longlife Fruit juice (apple /orange), Longlife Milk, Diluting Juice, Coffee, Tinned Veg and Fruit, Tinned Meat (stews, chilli, corned beef, ham etc), Pasta sauces would be particularly appreciated. Please bring any of these items to church next week – 9 October.
Tearfund supports churches and communities in the developing world. They not only feed the hungry, they also provide equipment and information so people are able to feed themselves. Please bring cash (or cheques made out to Tearfund) next week, 9 October. Alternatively, you can make a donation online here.
4) Gift Day 2022
You have given very generously towards this year’s Gift Day. The target was £25,000. To date your gifts amount to £31,505. That is an amazing figure. I am continually amazed at the way the people of St Andrew Blackadder give.
The total of £31,505 conceals a complexity. A few people have made some large donations to two of the five projects. It means that the Malawi Orphan Village and Scoughall Campsite will get double the figure mentioned in the leaflet. That is not a problem. I am delighted when people identify with particular projects and express that in generous giving.
One consequence is that the other three projects, East Lothian Foodbank, Belly Bin for North Berwick, and Ife Bible Translation are each about £1000 below what I’d hoped we might be able to give. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were able to give these projects the full sum too?
5) Growing Young
The discussions at the 10.30 service on Sunday 25 September all went really well. Thank you to everyone who participated by going to one of the five groups or by praying for the discussions.
The outcomes from the five groups are varied. For some it’s an evolution of what’s happening, some have identified an immediate first step, and others require further discussion.
Mission Trips: Commission is run by SU Scotland. It is intended to equip 16-23 year olds to serve on mission with children and young people. Wouldn’t it be great if young people in StAB participated in this? A next step is to see what might be done to support and encourage this, while other ideas are explored further. (Chris Finlayson)
Supporting Parents: Care for the Family produce material to help with parenting which could be offered in StAB. A next step is to see if there are sufficient people in the congregation who are able to commit to running this ministry. A second approach is to a create a drop in space for parents of pre-school children. This is as well as not instead of Little Angels. Little Angels already does a great job. It is a parent and toddler group – which is really important for parents. The additional group we might create will be different because it will have a creche which allows a different kind of support to be offered. A next step is to see if there are sufficient people in the congregation who are able to commit to running this ministry. (Mary Leckie)
Worship outside the Church: The group agreed that something like Forest Church might work in North Berwick. The next step is for a group to get together to plan one or two events to see if this is the case. (Niki McKenzie)
Social Media: StAB is already on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and YouTube. Considerable development has taken place in the last few weeks. The group identified some next steps to continue this development. (BG Hill-Jowett)
Groups in the High School: There are things the High School would value help with, and people in the congregation are keen to help. The next step is for Andrew to develop a clearer picture of what would help the school most and what people in the congregation can offer. (Andrew Duncan)
If you were in one of the groups on Sunday and are keen to continue to be involved, please let the person leading that group know – their names are in brackets. If you weren’t able to join a group on Sunday and would like to be involved, the person leading each area would love to hear from you. If you are not sure which group is best, please contact Tommy Nelson. Everyone’s details are in the Church Directory or you can contact them through the church office.
6) The Guild
There will be a Guild meeting on Tuesday 4 October at 2.30pm in the Chapel. Barbara Reid will be telling us how she climbed North Berwick Law for Tree Aid. Everyone is welcome!
Guild Annual Gathering
The Guild Annual Gathering will be live-streamed to the Chapel on Saturday 8 October from 10.30am to 2.30pm. Please drop in to share in worship and to hear about new charity projects; Blether with BEAT and Starchild Uganda.
7) Prayer Gathering
Each Wednesday on Zoom between for 30 minutes starting at 7 pm.
Please contact the office if you would like log on details.
Neil
Rev Dr Neil Dougall
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