BOFA - Magazine May-June
Please enjoy our Bridge of Allan Parish Church Magazine for May and June.
Please enjoy our Bridge of Allan Parish Church Magazine for May and June.
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M A Y - J U N E 2 0 1 8
P A G E 2 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
FROM THE<br />
MANSE<br />
Easter Sunday has passed and I am beyond making forlorn<br />
weather predictions. However, I am hopeful that as you are<br />
reading this you have had the chance to stand outside, at least<br />
once, without hat, scarf and gloves to augment our hefty<br />
winter/spring coat. Whatever the current weather, I think it is<br />
fair to say that this winter has felt colder and longer than many<br />
in recent years.<br />
There are two possible questions that arise from what felt like<br />
an unusually long and cold winter.<br />
We must acknowledge that this change in winter weather is part<br />
of a large pattern of climate change, and look into our own<br />
actions. Looking to see how we can live in a way that reduces<br />
our impact on the global climate shift. And, more so, how can<br />
we lobby those in power to move our nation to be more<br />
sustainable and ecologically minded in our production and<br />
delivery of power and resources.<br />
We must also ask ourselves if we reached out in the cold to<br />
those who feel it worse than we did. When the snows fell did<br />
we do enough to ensure our vulnerable neighbours had food and<br />
heat enough? When it remained cold and wet for a long period<br />
did we check on those near-by who might have not felt happy<br />
about leaving the house and been stuck at home for days and<br />
weeks on end?<br />
We must also ask ourselves if we reached out in the cold to those who feel it worse<br />
than we did. When the snows fell did we do enough to ensure our vulnerable<br />
neighbours had enough food and heating? When it remained cold and wet for a<br />
long period did we check on those near-by who might have not felt happy about<br />
leaving the house and been stuck at home for days and weeks on end?<br />
Dan
P A G E 3 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
STEWARDSHIP<br />
WHY WE GIVE, WHAT WE GIVE &<br />
HOW WE GIVE<br />
Throughout the month of April we are looked at<br />
stewardship. That difficult and often avoided topic that<br />
looks at what we do with our money, with a particular<br />
focus on giving to the Church.<br />
This is a topic that is easy to avoid and hard to bring up.<br />
It is not something that we like to talk about and is<br />
something that most of us consider to be a matter<br />
between ourselves and God. This is of course true.<br />
However, it is important that we are intentional and<br />
considered in our giving and what we do with our<br />
money, and this period of looking at stewardship is<br />
about facilitating that thinking and recognising that<br />
whilst money is not the point of what we do, money is<br />
needed to facilitate us doing the work of God in our<br />
Parish and as a Presbytery and National Church.<br />
In examining this we need to explore three areas;<br />
namely, why we give, what we give and how we give.<br />
WHY DO WE GIVE TO THE<br />
CHURCH?<br />
From a pragmatic point we could list in detail a number of<br />
clear and matter-of-fact reasons for contributing<br />
generously and realistically to the work of the Church.<br />
We all know that bills have to be paid and the general<br />
work of the Church, both at home and abroad, is year<br />
upon year hit by ever increasing costs which like<br />
everything else are subject to inflation. Costs rise but bills<br />
still need to be paid and through that lens it is<br />
easy to think of stewardship as a euphemism for<br />
fundraising. But stewardship is not about fundraising.<br />
Stewardship is about us actively thinking about how we<br />
use the time, talents and resources that we have been<br />
given by God. Stewardship is a spiritual discipline that is<br />
based in gratitude, and how we respond with gratitude to<br />
what God has given us.<br />
Why do we give? We give out of love and thankfulness<br />
because of what God has done for us in Christ and in<br />
creation.
P A G E 4 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H<br />
C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
WHAT DO WE GIVE TO THE<br />
CHURCH?<br />
This is maybe the most difficult of the three questions<br />
to answer. Some will answer this question by saying<br />
10%, a tithe on your income. There is precedent in the<br />
Old Testament for such an amount, paying<br />
compulsory taxes to both the religious and secular<br />
courts. However, if we are giving out of gratitude then<br />
a rigid amount to give does not allow for a true<br />
response. Furthermore, if this is the case the parable<br />
of the widow giving her two coins, all she has in the<br />
world, being more generous than the rich, giving<br />
large amounts for show but with no personal impact,<br />
is lost.<br />
What we give is a matter for each one of us to<br />
prayerfully consider, for each of us to look at our own<br />
circumstance and respond. Taking the example of the<br />
widow in Jesus’ parable it is suggested that our giving<br />
should be sacrificial and not just out of our spare<br />
change. However, when we think of giving we should<br />
be thinking about what give in terms of not just<br />
money but also our time and our talents.<br />
All of our circumstances are different, and the levels<br />
of income we all have are different, and therefore it is<br />
maybe worth thinking of our offering being a<br />
proportion of our income and potentially going up<br />
with inflation, rather than a fixed sum of money or a<br />
rigid 10%. If our offering is truly a response to God’s<br />
giving to us, it will be a generous, and possibly even<br />
sacrificial, proportion of our income.<br />
What do we give? As much as we feel we can.<br />
HOW DO WE GIVE TO THE<br />
CHURCH?<br />
The answer to this (insofar as it relates to<br />
money) is comparatively straightforward.<br />
We give through the open plate on a<br />
Sunday morning, we give through standing<br />
order and freewill offering envelopes and<br />
we give through legacies and one off<br />
donations. We also give of our time and<br />
talents!<br />
The easiest way to give to the church is<br />
through standing order, it takes small<br />
amount of time to set up and then it is<br />
done. This also allows for an easy pathway<br />
for recovering Gift Aid, if you are a UK tax<br />
payer, adding a further 25% to your<br />
donation.<br />
With the banks in Bridge of Allan closing<br />
and cash transactions decreasing, giving to<br />
the Church through standing order is easy<br />
and secure and to be encouraged.<br />
How do we give? In a number of different<br />
ways, but preferably by standing order<br />
with a Gift Aid declaration signed.<br />
NEXT STEPS...<br />
Please review your giving to the Church in a prayerful and biblical way. The following Bible<br />
verses are useful in considering your own giving. Deuteronomy 26: 1-11; Psalm 116: 12;<br />
Matthew 28: 16-20; Luke 12:13-21; Luke 18:18-25; Luke 19:1-10; and Luke 21:1-04.<br />
To increase what you donate through envelopes and the open plate simply give more.<br />
To increase an existing standing order you need contact your bank.<br />
To set up a new standing order you need to contact your bank.<br />
To make a Gift Aid declaration, adding 25% to your donation if you are a UK tax payer, then<br />
please contact the Church Office, details on the back of the magazine.
P A G E 5 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU<br />
GIVE £10 TO BRIDGE OF<br />
ALLAN PARISH CHURCH<br />
KEPT BY BRIDGE OF ALLAN PARISH CHURCH<br />
(for maintaining the building, mission, worship<br />
and supporting church groups etc.)<br />
MINISTERS ACROSS THE CHURCH OF<br />
SCOTLAND<br />
(Including our own)<br />
MISSION AND DISCIPLESHIP COUNCIL<br />
CHURCH AND SOCIETY COUNCIL<br />
CARE THROUGH CROSSREACH<br />
WORLD MISSION COUNCIL<br />
SUPPORT SERVICES<br />
(inc. legal advice, accounting and safeguarding<br />
etc.)<br />
GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND MODERATOR<br />
SPECIAL CONTRIBUTIONS<br />
£4.20<br />
£4.88<br />
£0.08<br />
£0.05<br />
£0.09<br />
£0.12<br />
£0.45<br />
£0.06<br />
£0.07<br />
TOTAL<br />
£10.00<br />
Figures approx and provided by Church of Scotland
P A G E 6 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
GUILD<br />
For our last meeting in February we were delighted to welcome<br />
our very own Janet Cameron (Dad Willie came to support), to tell<br />
us about something she knew a lot about, The MS Therapy<br />
Centre in Stirling. Many of you will remember when it used to be<br />
in Bridge of Allan. It was an extremely fascinating and very<br />
entertaining talk from Janet whose Mum Christine made use of<br />
the Hyperbaric Chamber on a regular basis. Also Janet’s Dad,<br />
Willie is an ‘award winning volunteer’ having volunteered for<br />
over 30yrs. Thanks Janet for sharing some very interesting facts<br />
about the MS Therapy Centre. You were a star performer!<br />
Unfortunately the World Day of Prayer on Friday, 2 March had to<br />
be cancelled due to the weather. So much snow!!! It was such a<br />
shame as a lot work had been put into the planning of this event<br />
but hopefully we may use some of that service, written by the<br />
women of Suriname, at one of our Guild meetings in the future.<br />
Our final speaker of the session was Iain Craig from the Haiti<br />
Project, Mission International. A short quote from ‘Haiti Project’<br />
sums up the importance of fundraising for these projects; “The<br />
involvement of the Guild as a partner with the Haiti Project is a<br />
real answer to our prayers. As a result we plan to help a<br />
community devastated by poverty and crisis by building a multi<br />
purpose building.”<br />
Our AGM went well. Unfortunately I couldn’t be there as I was supporting Scotland in the<br />
last game of the 6 Nations in Rome but I have such a fantastic committee that I was more<br />
than happy to leave everything to them.<br />
Finally, a massive thanks to the committee and friends for the huge success of the Daffodil<br />
Tea on Saturday, 7 April. Thanks also to everyone who supported the event by baking, by<br />
their donation and by coming along on the day. We raised a fantastic £762 which will go to<br />
our Project partners.<br />
Our last event is The Guild Summer Trip. We are heading back to Pitlochry Theatre on<br />
Saturday, 2 <strong>June</strong> to attend the matinee performance of Chicago followed by High Tea at the<br />
Theatre. Really looking forward to this and hopefully the sun will shine for us!<br />
Whose we are and whom we serve.<br />
The Guild Project Partners for the next 3 years have been announced. They are;<br />
Malawi Fruits, Boys Brigade, Scotland, World Mission Council, Free to Live, CrossReach,<br />
and Sailors Society<br />
More information about these will follow.<br />
Dorothy McGowan
P A G E 7 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
THURSDAY NIGHT<br />
GROUP<br />
Unfortunately our meeting scheduled on 1 March was<br />
cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions. We look<br />
forward to having Shelley Batty from the Sunlite<br />
Community Cafe next session.<br />
We were delighted to have Karen Somerville from ‘Angels<br />
Share Glass’ as our guest on 15 March. Karen and her<br />
father, Tom Young, started this business in recent times,<br />
working from Tom’s garden studio after Tom’s retirement.<br />
So successful has this become, they have not only had to<br />
move to larger premises, they are now exporting their<br />
specialised items to many countries throughout the world.<br />
The Session ended with a lovely meal in Vecchia Bologna<br />
on 29 March.<br />
It just remains for me to thank the committee and members<br />
for all their help and support, resulting in a most successful<br />
and enjoyable session. Thanks also to our excellent<br />
Speakers for so willingly giving of their time.<br />
Enjoy your summer break and let’s hope we have some<br />
lovely summer sunshine to look forward to.<br />
Please look out for details of our next syllabus in the<br />
September issue of the magazine.<br />
Mary Gairns<br />
KNITTING GROUP<br />
The amazing ladies of the knitting group have to date<br />
supplied Larbert Hospital with 2,938 hats and 650 jackets<br />
for the new born babies. Added to that they have knitted<br />
40 Twiddlemuffs for Dementia patients and our latest<br />
challenge was 150 Easter Chicks with chocolate eggs which<br />
were donated to Strathcarron Hospice Shop for sale raising<br />
more than £300.<br />
The ladies, one of whom is in her nineties, love to knit hats<br />
for the newborns, and they also rise to the different<br />
challenges which I throw their way.<br />
If you wish to join us, all items have very easy patterns,<br />
just get in touch with me. As always we will be glad of any<br />
donations of baby wool<br />
Linda Stuart
P A G E 8 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
MUSIC & DEMENTIA<br />
As some of you may remember, I recently asked for the<br />
congregation’s help with a school project, called a Scottish<br />
Baccalaureate project, on the effect of music on those living<br />
with dementia. I recently completed this project and thought<br />
you may be interested to read the results.<br />
I conducted two surveys for the project, one of care home<br />
managers and one of relatives of those with dementia to<br />
gather their thoughts on whether music benefited them. The<br />
results overwhelmingly showed that people have observed<br />
that music helps those with dementia in many ways, such as<br />
improving mood, awareness and engagement with others. As<br />
this was a science-based project, I read scientific journal<br />
articles to see if current research supported my findings. The<br />
articles seemed to find the same effect, however, the<br />
research is ongoing as to why this is the case. One GP which I<br />
spoke to suggested it could be due to endorphin hormones,<br />
which have a healing effect on the body, being released when<br />
participating in musical activities - especially when singing<br />
in a group during a church service! I was able to find out<br />
about many different initiatives in the local area designed to<br />
help those living with dementia using music. I have produced<br />
a leaflet, that can be found in the church, which details<br />
these, if you are interested.<br />
I really enjoyed doing this project and I would like to thank<br />
everyone who helped me with it as I am in no doubt that it<br />
will benefit me in many ways through life and my future<br />
studies in psychology.<br />
Emma Macrae<br />
SUNDAY SCHOOL<br />
Last year our Sunday school collections went to Guide Dogs<br />
for the Blind. On 18 March Bob Thornton came to talk to us<br />
about the amazing work Guide Dogs do. He brought two of<br />
his dogs with him. Bob is a puppy walker who helps to raise<br />
future guide dogs by looking after and training pups until<br />
they are just over a year old. They then go on to Training<br />
School before finding a new owner.<br />
The Sunday School Prize Giving will be on 17 <strong>June</strong>. This will<br />
be a Family Service with the children from all the Sunday<br />
School groups taking part in the service. This will be our<br />
last Sunday School for the session. Sunday School will<br />
resume on 26 August when any new children will be made<br />
most welcome.<br />
Annette Steele
P A G E 9 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
GENERAL ASSEMBLY<br />
The General Assembly 2018 opens on Saturday 19 <strong>May</strong> and<br />
closes on Friday 25 <strong>May</strong>.<br />
The General Assembly has the authority to make laws<br />
determining how The Church of Scotland operates. It is also<br />
the highest court of the Church in which cases can be heard<br />
in matters of litigation. The other courts in the Church are<br />
the kirk session and the presbytery.<br />
The Assembly comprises around 850 commissioners who are<br />
ministers, elders and members of the diaconate.<br />
Commissioners are sent from the Church's parishes and<br />
presbyteries. Debates can be long and complex, sometimes<br />
resulting in many votes having to be taken in respect of a<br />
particular motion or amendment.<br />
Each year there is a live webcast of the Assembly and<br />
regular updates online on each day's business, as well as<br />
reports and other information -<br />
http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk<br />
FRIENDS OF BRIDGE OF ALLAN<br />
PLANT SALE AND COFFEE<br />
MORNING<br />
The annual plant sale and coffee morning organised by Friends of Bridge of Allan will be held in<br />
the Church grounds and Chalmers hall from 10.00am-noon on Saturday, 19 <strong>May</strong>.<br />
A variety of bedding plants will be available. All profits from this event will be used to support<br />
the work of the Friends who plant and maintain the baskets and planters in the village<br />
throughout the summer.
FOR THE SPIRIT<br />
GOD GAVE US<br />
DOES NOT<br />
MAKE US<br />
TIMID, BUT<br />
GIVES US<br />
POWER, LOVE<br />
AND SELF-<br />
DISCIPLINE<br />
2 TIMOTHY 1:7<br />
P A G E 1 0 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E
P A G E 1 1 | B R I D G E O F A L L A N P A R I S H<br />
C H U R C H M A G A Z I N E<br />
PHOTOS<br />
If you have any images of the church and<br />
Bridge of Allan you feel would be<br />
appropriate for the magazine, please<br />
submit them to the church office –<br />
office@bridgeofallanparishchurch.org.uk<br />
DATES FOR THE DIARY<br />
SUNDAY 13TH MAY SERVICE AT STRATHALLAN COURT 2:00PM<br />
SUNDAY 13TH MAY<br />
SUNDAY 3RD JUNE<br />
SUNDAY 10TH JUNE<br />
MONDAY 11TH JUNE<br />
SUNDAY 17TH JUNE<br />
FRIDAY 29TH JUNE<br />
CHRISTIAN AID SERVICE<br />
FOLLOWED BY TEA AND COFFEE<br />
AROUND THE TABLE<br />
COMMUNION SERVICE<br />
COMMUNION<br />
JULY/AUGUST MAGAZINE<br />
DEADLINE<br />
SUNDAY SCHOOL END OF<br />
SESSION & SUNDAY<br />
SCHOOL PICNIC<br />
BRIDGE OF ALLAN PRIMARY END OF<br />
TERM SERVICE<br />
5:00PM<br />
6:30PM<br />
11:00AM<br />
6:00PM<br />
WEEKLY EVENTS<br />
SUNDAYS<br />
COFFEE FELLOWSHIP<br />
12:00PM<br />
THURSDAYS<br />
STREETS AHEAD COFFEE MORNING<br />
10:00AM
Minister - Rev. Dan Harper<br />
dharper@churchofscotland.org.uk<br />
01786 832753<br />
Church Office - Catherine Morton<br />
office@bridgeofallanparishcurch.org.uk<br />
01786 834155<br />
Youth Worker - Lynda Young<br />
bofachurchyouthworker@gmail.com<br />
www.bridgeofallanparishchurch.org.uk<br />
Bridge of Allan Parish Church<br />
BRIDGE OF ALLAN PARISH CHURCH - SCO15171