Church NewsWomen's Fellowship Wednesday, 3 December - Talk by Bishop John Crook on the subject of "Winter Birds". This is an open meeting and all are welcome. Wednesday, 14 January, 2009 - Lunch at the Hollybank Wednesday, 4 February, 2009 - "Sailing from Moscow to St Petersburg" an illustrated talk by Liza Green. Book of Remembrance We are very grateful for the donation of a Book of Remembrance, by the son and daughter of Marjorie Clegg, whose funeral was conducted by the Rector. It will be kept in the Memorial Chapel in a cabinet made by Jim and Brian Shanks, and names from the Burial Register will be inscribed by Sarah Shaw at the appropriate date. The Book was blessed at the All Saints service on 2 November. Christians Together meeting - Monday 17 November at 7.30 p.m. Christians Together in Christmas Fair – Saturday 29 November 10.00 a.m. - 12 noon The Christmas fair will be held on Saturday 29 November from Sermon discussion – Sunday 30 November There will be an opportunity to discuss the sermon and the issues it raises on Sunday 30 November after the service in the Hall. This is now tentatively planned for the fifth Sunday in the month – i.e. next year: 29 March, 31 May, 30 August and 29 November 2009. Christmas cards Christmas cards of the Nativity scene in the West window will be available for sale shortly. Start Up We are urgently looking for a new rep. in the congregation for Start Up, the Stirling-based charity that makes up starter packs for the newly-housed homeless. This would involve keeping the congregation informed about what is needed and making sure that donated goods get to the Start Up unit. If you are interested, please speak to the Rector, or to David Brown who has given several years of service to this cause. Weekend away at the Bield: 8 - 10 Please indicate you interest in going to on the list in church, or contact the Rector. Trainee Lay Reader on placement at Holy Trinity We are delighted to welcome Geoff Headden who will be spending some time with us over the coming weeks and months as a trainee Lay Reader on placement. Geoff is a doctor in Kinlochleven, and is in his second year of training. He is hoping to share in our church life and worship, and so broaden his experience. Please introduce yourself to him and help him make friends at Holy Trinity quickly. Introduction to Buddhism - Saturday 8 November There will be an all-day trip to Kagyu Samye Ling Tibetan Buddhist Monastery at Eskdalemuir on Saturday 8 November. Pantomime – Saturday 13 December The pantomime trip to the MacRobert to see Mother Goose will be on Saturday 13 December at Looking (quite a long way!) ahead: Provincial Conference: 2 - 4 October 2009 The Scottish Episcopal Church Conference is held once every 3 years, and the next one is on 2 - 4 October 2009, in Aviemore. The theme is the Five Marks of Mission, focussing on Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading, is the keynote speaker. These conferences are a really good way to learn and to experience our church gathered together. It would be marvellous if Holy Trinity could sponsor (at least) one or two delegates to the conference. If you are interested, please speak to the Rector. FORUMFollowing on from the successful Central Scotland Interfs planned some future events that we would warmly invite you all to attend. The group decided that it would be very good to meet in both formal and informal settings and with this in mind informal 'discussion evenings' have been planned in faith community members’ homes and a formal public event is planned for Scottish Inter Faith Week in Stirling. It is also planned to have a mid-winter interfaith children's party. If you are interested in going to any of these events, please follow this link so that adequate catering can be arranged. Notices by e-mailThe Sunday School leaders receive the Sunday notices by email, as they would otherwise miss them. If you also would like to receive them in this way, please follow this link and we will add you to the list.
The Traidcraft stall, run by Brian, Carol and Robbie Renwick, offers a wide range of fairtrade groceries and gifts. It is in the Church Hall after the All-age Eucharist on the third Sunday of each month. Start Up The demand for donations has risen steeply as more starter packs are being issued to homeless people. The latest requests are for:
The Salvation Army has also asked us to provide, via Start Up, a regular supply of toiletries for the people they help on a daily basis. The items they need are:
Note: The ratio of need for toiletries is roughly double the number for men as for women. For latest Start Up news, please follow this link. For background information on Start Up and on homelessness in Stirling, please follow this link. We're grateful for any donations you can make. We meet at 3 p.m. in the home of one of our members, pray for about an hour, read some Scriptures and sing some songs. Then we have a cup of tea together. There is no set agenda for our prayers. We pray in the light of the Scriptures, just as the Spirit leads. Everyone can pray about whatever is on their heart. If you are not accustomed to this kind of informal prayer, you can soon feel at home in it. You can join in the prayers in whatever way comes naturally. Everyone is different. The words need not be eloquent, for the Lord looks not upon the words but upon the heart. But the words do need to be audible, otherwise we lose the whole point of praying together. If you are free on a Thursday afternoon, do give us the pleasure of your company. To find out the venue, please contact us using this link. Explore the diocesan website at www.standrews.anglican.org . It has lots of up-to-date news and photographs. Imkerhof Children's Home and School now has a live website at Mothers' Union Mary Kenyon was admitted as a member of the Mothers' Union at our service for Mothering Sunday. The Values and Mission of the Mothers' Union are: "Our vision is of a world where God's love is shown through loving, respectful and flourishing relationships. Our aim is to demonstrate the Christian Faith in Action by the transformation of communities worldwide through the nurture of the family in its many forms. To achieve this vision, our Mission is:
News from the Vestry Finance The positive results of the stewardship campaign are becoming clear in the accounts. In the first half of the financial year 2007-8, income is slightly ahead of budget, and running costs are broadly within budget. We have lost one hall user, so do please make the hall known to any potential new customers – the income from this is important to our finances. Restoration Phase II The scaffolding is now in place and Phase II has at long last started. Work being done includes the chancel, organ and porch roofs, which will be stripped and reslated. The work of examining the stonework is in progress. The pinnacles and buttresses will if necessary be dismantled and rebuilt and all stonework will be repointed. The stained glass windows at the east end will also be repaired. Services should continue without too much disruption we hope, but please note that the Walk of Witness on Good Friday will start from Publications Thanks to Cathy Johnston for some lovely notelets with an angel design from one of the sanctuary windows, which are on sale in church for £1.50 per pack of 5. A ‘Communications Group’ is currently producing a new welcome leaflet, more notelets, a Christmas card and maybe a calendar. Also available for £2.00 is a booklet of the Stations of the Cross in Holy Trinity. Green Group We are undertaking a ‘green audit’ of Holy Trinity, with a view to exploring our stewardship of Creation. It might lead to becoming an ‘Eco-Congregation’ to raise our awareness of environmental issues and find ways to respond. Creche The Early Learning Centre kindly donated their ex-display Christmas toys to us, and so we have cleared out the old and brought in lovely new toys for the crèche room in the Hall.
Wendy Briggs's Tot Art group, which has met in the Church Hall, has a new website. Tot Art aims to provide educational, fun and varied art activities for children age 18 months - 5 years and some art workshops for big Tots too! Activities are led by Wendy. an artist who is passionate about art and about encouraging children and young people to enjoy both creating for themselves and engaging with artwork created by others. Participating children can take home what they've created although, as Wendy says, "emphasis is always put on fun and involvement rather than a finished product." Please go to www.totart.org.uk for full details.
Monday 17 November 2008 |
