How are you and yours?  I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continuing support, care and prayers for one another and those in the church family and community of KPPC during this lockdown time.  I extend particular thanks to the Business Committee; Janet Grant, Alex Steven, Alex Dempster and Bill Caldwell for their leadership.  It was good to hear from both Janet and Bill about the ‘telephone tree’ which seems to be working well.  Thank you to Eleanor Hamilton and her team for the ‘lockdown edition’ of ‘Reflections’.   I hear too that the members of the church choir and their friends are ‘meeting’ online through ‘Zoom’ to sing and put together some worship pieces for us all to share, thank you in advance. And finally sincere thanks to Allan Hamilton for his work on the church website and Facebook page.

 

Online Worship

There is a link on the church website for worship this coming Sunday being led by the Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland.  Unfortunately this will not be on television with access only through the web.  I am working with Alex Ferguson, Allan Hamilton and Mike Higgins to bring together an offering of worship which will be uploaded onto the church website for next Sunday, 7 June.  Thank you to them for all their efforts.  Bear with us, it takes considerable work and effort.  We will review how Sunday 7th goes and would welcome any comments you might with to make.  Please email me and I will pass them on.

 

‘Meeting’ together

Whilst it is good to be able to participate in different worship services online, to use ‘zoom’ to meet and indeed sing, this is of course only helpful for those who have access to the internet and technology/skills to participate in this online world.  I am very aware, as you will be, of many in our congregation who are excluded from this.   It looks as though our church building will be closed for some time and even when it does open things will not look the same or be the same.  ‘Meeting online’ will never replace the joy of being physically with one another, in the meantime any other safe ways to communicate with one another are so important.

 

Thank you again for your support, care and prayers for me and my family.  It is good to be back with you all again.

 

And finally… please be sure you are not forgotten God loves you and always will.  Whatever has been or is still to be ‘God watches over our coming and going’

 

God Bless and keep you

Fiona

 

Rev Fiona Maxwell

Hello,

 Rev Fiona Maxwell has recorded an address to you on the above subject and I commend it to you for viewing.  This may herald our approach to future Services and addresses to you and we hope that many take the opportunity to look at it and you can give us feedback. 
It can be found under the Recorded Services tab. For your ease we’ve also posted here on this page.

Please see below the link below which in the invitation for joining in the special service the Moderator is hosting online next Sunday.  We are encouraged to publicise this as widely as possible.

moderator-to-host-church-wide-pentecost-service

You may recall that Graeme sent us a video earlier showcasing his beautiful garden in Girvan.  He has sent us a little update which I hope you enjoy. Try clicking on either of the links to see it.

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ap5xP1rjCKhthXxkVQXUuVwe5-1w-

 

Graemes garden;25 may

Yellow Ribbon

‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon’ by Mark Cridland

Some of you will now be humming or singing the song, ‘Tie a Yellow Ribbon’ first released in 1973. I remember my Gran singing along to the Brotherhood of Man version.

I noticed on Facebook that the congregation of Dalziel St Andrews in Motherwell have been encouraged to tie a coloured ribbon to the railings of their church and offer a prayer. Other churches and groups are also doing similar things.

I would like to encourage the church family and community around Kay Park to do the same and tie a piece of coloured ribbon to the railings at the front of our building, of course only if it is safe to do so and part of your daily routine takes you in that direction. If you are unable to get to the church to do this why not tie a piece of ribbon to your own front door handle or to a tree or plant in your garden, and again offer a prayer.

We are unable to be together in the one place but may this simple act be…

a sign of the common humanity we share

a sign of trust in the God who always welcomes us

a sign of hope that one day we will welcome one another again

warmest good wishes, Rev Fiona.

This is for Prayers in connection with Christian Aid and to enable Donations to be made also.  To view the full page you can highlight the url below and open the link. At the foot of this page there are two other links which may help you in the same regard.

https://www.christianaid.org.uk/pray/churches/coronavirus-prayers

 

Bcc-ed to:  All Church of Scotland ministers

Dear All,

This is a note to tell you about two upcoming, on-line worship services which are for the whole Church of Scotland.

Saturday 16 May, 11am – live on the Church of Scotland website and our Facebook page

The Revd Dr Martin Fair will be installed as Moderator of the General Assembly.  The ceremony will take place in the Assembly Hall with only a few people physically present because of the COVID-19 restrictions, but followed by thousands of people across Scotland and around the world.  The service will be captioned and there will be the option of BSL interpretation.  Join us for an historic occasion and a clear statement that the Church is alive and active in these difficult days.

 

Sunday 31 May, 10-10.30am – Pentecost – streamed on the Church of Scotland website and Facebook page

The Moderator will lead a service to mark the birthday of the Christian Church, with contributions from many different places.  Like the disciples on that first Pentecost, here is the invitation to step confidently into whatever the future holds.  We would like to invite you to make this the service for your congregation on that Sunday, so that as much of the Church of Scotland as possible will be gathered in fellowship and praise.

Wishing you every blessing, 

Rt Revd Colin A M Sinclair

Moderator 

Scottish Charity No SC011353

Dear Colleague

 

Heart and Soul 2020 – Sunday, 17th May – 2:00pm – 4:20pm

 

I am certain that by now you will have heard of the very special service to install Rev Dr Martin Fair as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on Saturday, 16th May at 11am. This will be a very special moment in the history of our Church, and will also be an event where we can be assured of hope and inspiration in these challenging times.

 

We’re delighted to announce, as part of that ‘Big Weekend’ for the Church of Scotland, a special ‘Heart and Soul 2020’ event will take place (online) on 17^th May 2020. The current crisis has meant that the original event, scheduled to have taken place in Princes Street Gardens on that day, has had to be cancelled.

 

However, a number of features from the event in Princes Street Gardens can be transferred into an online format, and we’re going to screen an abridged ‘Heart and Soul’ at 2.00pm on 17^th May – when the original event would have taken place. The programme will run until about 4.20pm. A recording of the event will be available soon afterwards. You will be able to watch the event live on the Church of Scotland website (www.churchofscotland.org.uk) and live on the Facebook page (fb.me/churchofscotland).

 

Hosted by our usual presenters, Rev Ken Froude, Seonaid Knox and Rev Justin Taylor, the event begins with a replay of the service of installation for the new Moderator, Rev Martin Fair. Without giving too much away, the event features a mix of worship, music, stories and some exciting ‘In Conversation’ guests.

 

Heart and Soul regulars ‘Fischy Music’ will lead a special segment for all ages, and we hope that you’ll join in all the actions from home! Spread throughout the afternoon will be some very special conversations: Hugh Pym will be in conversation with Prof Jason Leitch and Viv Dickenson from CrossReach, discussing how they have all been tackling Coronavirus and also how their own faith has helped them. Very Rev Susan Brown will be in conversation with Ross Greer MSP and Tara Shannon from COSY discussing climate justice. Prison Chaplain Anne Stewart will be in conversation with Hospital Chaplain Mark Evans talking about chaplaincy as a career and the impact of Coronavirus in their places of work.

 

No Heart and Soul would be complete without some hearty singing, and we’ve chosen some highlights from the archive over the last ten years of Heart and Soul, the Guild Big Sing and the General Assembly to round things off.

 

Attached to this email is an image that we would ask you to make use of in any social media channels you have access to (for example, congregational and presbytery Facebook pages). If you are broadcasting a service of worship this weekend, perhaps you could consider using the image as part of your ‘online intimations’ and encouraging people to join us. This could be done both this Sunday, and next.

 

These are difficult times for many in our Church and communities. We hope and pray that ‘Heart and Soul’ might be a place where people can see that the Church of Scotland is still active, still open and providing hope for our nation. I hope you can help us publicise, and join us, during our very special ‘Big Weekend’.

 

With prayerful best wishes

 

Rev Bryan Kerr

Convener, Heart and Soul Project Group.

HELP OFFERED: Michael and Jennifer Steven are both key workers but, although working throughout the lockdown, are in a position to assist anyone who is selfisolating, shielding etc by picking up medicine food or any other essential items. If you need help or wish to offer help, please contact Michael on 07791 143782 or email m_steven@sky.com

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