Houston Church of The NazarenePrayer GardenDuring lockdown, hearing daily on the news the affect that Covid-19was having on individuals and families and the losses being suffered,some members of Houston Church of The Nazarene felt moved toprovide somewhere for the Houston Community to be able to go andspend quiet time and reflect or remember.From this came the idea to set up a prayer garden in the grounds ofthe Village Hall.In recent weeks, Church members have been busy planting andpreparing the area to create a peaceful spot, sheltered slightly by thetrees, where anyone in the community can come and spend some quiettime and pray, think or simply be still and relax.If people want to place a plant or something appropriate tocommemorate a loved one, we would invite you to do this and we hopethe garden will be a space we can share with the wider community.Houston Community Quiltlocal community, local life ............... 30Continuing Despite LockdownHoustonDuring Lockdown, the congregation of Houston & Killellan Kirk& the wider Houston Community have been enthusiasticallysupporting the Renfrewshire Foodbank to the extent of over18,000 meals & this has been covered in a separate article.Lockdown is also not going to deter the generous folk ofHouston from continuing with initiatives undertaken in previousyears.For example, it has become traditional to have a Warm ClothesCollection in November for the homeless, or perhaps no longerhomeless, but in need of some warmth in the winter months.Generally the NEW clothes donated are passed to organisationssuch as the Simon Community for the vulnerable men & womenthey support. The plan this year is to accept donations withoutsocial contact at the West Halls, Main Street, Houston (Rear FireExit door facing the Manse), when open for the Foodbank onTuesdays during the month of November i.e. 3rd, 10th,17th &24th November – between 10am & 12noon & between 7pm &8pm.It should be stressed that, in the current COVID climate,only new items of clothing can be accepted. Such items aswarm underwear, t-shirts, warm nightwear, joggers, jumpers,waterproof jackets & trousers, woolly hats, scarves, gloves &socks, to keep these vulnerable men & women warm & dry, willbe welcomed.Another tradition has been to have a Christmas Gift Service inDecember to accept donations for vulnerable children. Againthe gifts are to go to CrossReach, the social work arm of theChurch of Scotland, supporting the families of prisoners at Perth& Polmont Prisons. This year the plan is to accept these also atthe West Halls, again when they are open for the Foodbank buton the first two Tuesdays of December i.e. 1st & 8th December.Further details will follow next month & on the Kirk Facebook &web site www.houstonkillellankirk.org.Calling all Houston residents to share something positive that is helping them through the covid-19 pandemic and becomepart of Houston’s history.The Houston and Killellan Kirk are launching a COVID-19 Lockdown Quilt Project to help combat the isolation and lonelinessthat many of us might feel over the winter months given the current restrictions. If you live in Houston, we would love youto share just one word or short phrase that sums up what is helping you get through this period of restriction. It might besomething like “neighbours” or “walking in the woods”.Once we have gathered all of the words we will be looking for people who are able to sew these different words or phrasesonto a square of fabric which will then be gathered and sewn together to form a large community quilt to show ourresilience and community spirit.When the quilt is finished, we hope that it will take pride of place in one of the indoor public spaces in Houston, to beadmired by many generations to come.If you have a word or phrase to share, please email Frankie on: familyandcommunity.houstonkirk@gmail.com If you wouldlike to assist our quilting team in sewing the words or phrases on a piece of fabric, please let me know by email, and I willget in touch with you.20-35 NEWS 310 OCTOBER 2020.indd 30 24/09/2020 11:29:34
e: info@advertizer.co.uk | www.advertizer.co.uk | October 2020 3120-35 NEWS 310 OCTOBER 2020.indd 31 24/09/2020 11:29:37