CHATTERBOX - Lochwinnoch

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The Kelpie's Song Calder Drama would like to thank everyone who helped in any way to make the Christmas Panto such a resounding success. We would also like to thank the audiences on both nights for their participation and interaction which helped to create such a lovely warm Panto atmosphere. It was obvious from your applause and laughter that this locally orientated story by Franceska Ewart went down well with everyone who saw it. We would like to wish the People of Lochwinnoch the compliments of the season and we look forward to seeing you at our next Production which should be held during the Lochwinnoch Festival in March. King Kelpie Flooding on 29th November 2011 Hayley Douglas Hayley Douglas 4
From the Parish Church Always a night from old to new! Night and the healing balm of sleep! Each morn is New Year’s morn come true, morn of a festival to keep. All nights are sacred nights to make confession and resolve and prayer; all days are sacred days to wake new gladness in the sunny air. Only a night from old to new;  only a sleep from night to morn. The new is but the old come true; each sunrise sees a new year born. Helen Hunt Jackson This year’s Christmas play at the school, angels took us on a journey around the world to see how different countries celebrate Christmas. At the end of the play, one of the angels commented that while each different country had their own traditions, each family also had their unique way of celebrating. Another angel pointed out that in our differences, there was unity in that all people who celebrate Christmas are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, who for Christians is also known as Immanuel – “God With Us”. That knowledge that God is with us gives Christians so much strength, especially when facing unknown or uncertain futures. If it is true that around the world different countries and families are united in different ways of celebrating Christmas, it is especially true for New Year. While some countries and cultures follow a different calendar, the Gregorian Calendar is now accepted at least as the international civil calendar and as such is celebrated around the world. Perhaps it is because New Year is not associated with any particular faith group that it is seen as a truly international festival. Yet each family has its own traditions. When I was growing up, no matter what your plans for the wee small hours after Stuart Mitchell Financial Services East Lochhead Self-Catering Cottages the bells, new Year had to be brought in at home. At 10 to midnight my father would ensure that everyone had a drink and then we had to stand and hold it, not daring to drink from it until the Big Ben struck the hour of midnight and we had all shared New Year greetings. As a child I found New Year profoundly moving – I still do. When I was living with my parents, we always either listened to Radio 4 or switched on BBC 1 for the countdown to New Year. I always found the gap between the end of Westminster Chimes and the start of the midnight chimes to be very frightening – what if the New Year didn’t come, what would happen if time stood still? As an adult, working for the BBC, I learned that there is always 10 seconds between the two. Yet as we stand on the cusp of a New Year, we do experience mixed emotions do we not? There may well be regrets from the past year, there may well be concerns for the New. That is why I so like the poem quoted at the top of the page. While New Year is not a specifically Christian festival, it does remind us of the new start we are offered every time we realise that we could have 35 Gates Road Lochwinnoch PA12 4HF Independent Financial Adviser and Mortgage Broker (Established 22 years) For a Free Initial Consultation please call us on 01505 843044/ 07870462798 Mortgages and Remortgages Or email smfs@btopenworld.com Savings and Investments Protection Pensions and Retirement Planning Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. For mortgage advice, we can be paid by commission or a fee of typically 1% of the loan amount. 5 Contact JANET ANDERSON East Lochhead Self-Catering Cottages Kilbirnie Road, Lochwinnoch Renfrewshire PA12 4DX Tel: +44(0) 1505 842610 Mob: 07885565131 admin@eastlochhead.co.uk www.eastlochhead.co.uk done something better, made a mistake or have regrets. New Year is a time to put the past behind us and start afresh. However we don’t need to wait a whole year before having another opportunity for a fresh start. Each new day, we can try again. That is one of the many comforts of the Christian faith, the promise of forgiveness, the promise that God forgets the past and allows us to begin each year, each day, each moment afresh. That is after all why we make New Year resolutions, we take the opportunity to begin again, to reorder our lives in a better way. Yet we should be careful not to set out sights too high – we are only human after all. Small changes can make a big difference. As many of you may know by now, this New Year will be our last in Lochwinnoch. The Presbytery of Greenock and Paisley have decided it is time for us to explore pastures new. We will, of course, miss Lochwinnoch – we have made so many good friends here and have had such a wonderful time living and working in the village. Just as we all may have regrets and concerns for the future at the beginning of a New Year, so, as a family, we have regrets and concerns as we face a new start and new future. That said, God guided us to Lochwinnoch and we are confident that God will lead us to a new challenge. As I said at earlier, at Christmas we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God With Us, so we know that where ever we go, God will be with us. Our prayer for our friends in Lochwinnoch is that you too will know the presence of God this New Year. May God bless you all with peace and health. Yours,
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