Udny & Pitmedden Church Diary
16th July 2022
Welcome to the latest newsletter from
Udny & Pitmedden Parish Church.
“How is the Word of God like a dandelion or a thistle? It is pure gold, or royal purple, grows anywhere, cheers the heart when the season is still cold, and spreads like wildfire, with seeds that travel on the winds of the Spirit…
Wait a minute – aren’t dandelions and thistles weeds?
But what is a weed but a flower where you least expect it?...They flourish in odd corners of Hebridean crofts, in the grounds of Iona Abbey, and on wasteland in Govan and other inner-city areas where Iona Community members are committed to work. They may be prickly and inconvenient… but they are also cheerful, subversive, resilient. These flowers are a sign of the way God works.
But they are not flowers at all.
Rather, they are members of the family compositae, along with daisies and sunflowers; each ‘flower’
is in fact composed of whole communities of flowers, clustered together, interdependent.
In that way these bright fragments of creation are also like God’s Word in the Bible. For the Bible is not a single flower, but a whole bunch; not one word but many; not a simple message, but a whole cluster of different kinds of communication: history, storytelling, letters, prayers. It is poetry and prose, inspired prophecy and down-to-earth proverbs…and somewhere in all that is God’s Word, by which we may be inspired to live God’s way. If the Spirit blows one of these winged seeds our way.”
From ‘Dandelions and Thistles: Biblical Meditations from the Iona Community’, edited by J S Pickard
Please send in anything for the newsletter that you think deserves a wider audience – information, good news, a short article, offers of assistance, requests, prayer points. What do you want us to include?
email me at elainemoff@aol.comWe hope to start Café Church one Sunday a month, starting in September, where we will serve
breakfast as part of our Sunday morning worship.
We will need two teams of people to make this work. If you are interested in the food side of
things – preparing, cooking, serving, clearing – please get in touch with
alun.walker@yahoo.co.uk. If you would like to help with the worship – behind-the-scenes planning,
looking at themes, resources, possibly being up-front – then contact
Elaine Moffat elainemoff@aol.com
This is an exciting new venture, there is an opportunity for everyone to use their gifts and
strengths, and worship in innovative ways, and for us to offer an easy access point for connecting
with our local and church community. Alun and I cannot do this on our own, so we look forward to
hearing from you and working out together how Pitmedden Café Breakfast Church will develop.
Link to this week's Bible readings page
SUNDAY SERVICE
Duty elders: Al Barclay and Allison Bruce
Our preacher tomorrow is Alan Doak who will be preaching on
this week’s reading:1 Kings 19:1-8 and John 6 : 35 & 41-51
The service will be available live on Zoom, and a recording will be on our Facebook page.
There was no recording from last week on Facebook but hopefully all will be well this week.
Zoom link:
click here to Link to Sunday's Zoom service
Meeting ID: 871 2027 5292,
Passcode: Udny
Formartine Churches Together
Plans for our Integenerational holiday club are finalised. Formartine Churches are going on tour
this summer with sessions each Wednesday of the summer holidays from 10am to 12pm, rotating through
Haddo, Methlick, Tarves, Pitmedden, Barthol Chapel and Pitmedden. There will be activities, games,
songs, crafts and snacks. Please come along and join us and if you are interested in being part of
the team
Please contact: Fiona Lister (flister@churchofscotland.org.uk), Alison Bruce
(alisonbruce10@gmail.com) or Caroline.
FYP are also providing an opportunity for local teens to support as young leaders at the events, and develop skills in leadership and teamwork which will go towards an accredited Dynamic Youth Award for their CVs. Young people need to attend three sessions over the course of the summer and a planning session. To sign up or for further information, please contact Caroline.
The Young people in Barthol Chapel need YOU!
Can you spare just two hours once a month on a Friday 7-9pm?
We asked the young people of Barthol Chapel what they wanted and they asked for the youth group to
restart. We trialled it last week and had a great evening with a lovely enthusiastic bunch who gave
us a list of activities to last for years ! We have two committed adults but need at least one more
to join the team to make it a sustainable and regular event.
I know general requests rarely work but would be delighted to be proven wrong. Do you know someone
who might be interested? Turn up and just enjoy the fun as an extra pair of hands or help with planning and running activities – it’s completely up to you! Needs to be 18+
Will you be the one to help make a positive difference in your community?
For further details contact carolinefyp@outlook.com
Sunday Club for children has restarted at church. Initially it will be once a month and the first
one took place last Sunday. Children will join the church for the first part of the service then go
through to the back for stories, games, crafts and activities.
If anyone has any queries please contact Alison Bruce alisonbruce10@gmail.com
Alpha has proved to be a very useful tool in introducing people to Christianity, enabling Christians
to go deeper in their faith, and equipping churches for mission. An event has been organised for
Saturday 27th August with Dez Johnstone, head of Alpha in Scotland, to introduce Alpha to churches
and explore how they might use it for mission and discipleship.
NEWS
Please continue to pray for Garth Entwistle, who is now in Woodend Hospital, and Fiona
and the family. If you wish to visit him, please contact Fiona first to arrange a suitable time.
Gordon Presbytery Mission and Discipleship Committee are hosting or organising several events
over the next few months.
• There will be a training event for all those interested in planning and leading worship services.
Could God be calling you to serve the church in this way? It will be run over 5 consecutive Thursday
evenings (7-9pm) in June, and will cover liturgy, hymns and prayers, speaking in public, resources
and sermon writing, fresh expressions and family worship, amongst other topics, and attendees will
receive a certificate. See the poster and speak to Elaine if you want more information.
• We all recognise that our congregations are growing older. How do we help young adults to
discover God’s love and find their place in God’s church? A TIM talk (Theology, Imagination, Mission)
based on “Growing Young” research is being planned.
You may have seen various newspaper articles about the reduction in the numbers of ministers
and church buildings that was decided by the General Assembly last May. Gordon Presbytery has been
working hard to produce a draft plan. Please click below to
read the full report, to read the full report.
and also see Rev Will Stalder’s commentary on Methlick church’s
website www.methlickparishchurch.co.uk
click here to Link to the Presbytery Mission Plan
click here to Link to Will's commentary
Service Pattern
17 July Alan Doak
24 July Patricia Findlay
31 July Fiona Lister
The Good Companions Club meets at 2pm in Pitmedden Hall
The churches in our parish grouping, Methlick, Tarves and Udny & Pitmedden, have started a
joint prayer group, meeting on Zoom, currently at 7.30pm on Wednesday evenings.
The format includes a Bible reading as intro and a time to chat. Please join us
Click here to link to our parish group prayer meeting
Life and Work has once again published a FREE four page General Assembly Special Supplement for
2022 that can be viewed here –
General Assembly Special Supplement
If you missed the BBC roundup of the Assembly, you can get it on
iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0017yw6/general-assembly-2022-29052022
click here for the BBC iPlayer report
Please check out the Church of Scotland website (link below)
www.churchofscotland.org.uk
Here you will find all sorts of interesting articles and resources. See what decisions made at the Assembly will mean
for us, read inspiring stories from churches around Scotland, and keep in touch with the latest
developments in our denomination’s life and witness
The Udny COVID 19 Assistance fund is managed by the church and exists to give financial
support to anyone in the wider parish. If you, or anyone you know, needs help, please
contact one of these people, in strict confidence. Fiona Entwistle 01651 842412,
Debbie Smith 01651 842446, Paul Bailey 07803 501960, Alison Green 07771 996537
Parish Prayer Pointers
You may have seen various newspaper articles about the reduction in the numbers of ministers and
church buildings that was decided by the General Assembly last May. Gordon Presbytery has been
working hard to produce a draft plan. Please visit www.presbyteryofgordon.org.uk/planning.html
to read the full report, and also see Rev Will Stalder’s commentary on Methlick church’s
website www.methlickparishchurch.co.uk
As a group of churches, we are hoping to work together as we respond to the refugee crisis in
Ukraine. Please look at Methlick church’s website
Link to http://methlickparishchurch.co.uk for information from Will
Stalder.
The Sanctuary Foundation supports Ukrainian Refugees/New arrivals in the UK
https://www.sanctuaryfoundation.org.uk
Please pray, not only for our elders and congregation, but for the churches
in our Parish Grouping – Tarves, Barthol Chapel and Methlick. Pray that our ministers and
elders would find positive ways of working together and that our relationships with our
neighbours would develop and deepen
Between us, we will know a lot of people, both in the parish and wider afield, who
are finding life tough – the bereaved, those who are ill, those struggling financially,
those caring for young children… Pray for them by name, regularly, and give thanks as you
see your prayers being answered, even when it’s not in ways you might expect
Pray for politicians and leaders, as they continue to tackle the huge issues we face
as a country and a planet.
The whole world is working to overcome coronavirus. Give thanks for the development of
vaccines, and pray for scientists, medics and healthcare staff, as well as many other key
workers, who daily put themselves at risk for the good of others
We are so fortunate in many ways. As you count your blessings, remember those in countries
where war, ‘natural’ disasters, widespread poverty and corrupt government make life
precarious
Do you have something you would like to add to this prayer list?
or would you like our prayer team to pray confidentially for an individual or a
specific situation?
please email Elaine at elainemoff@aol.com
Quote for the week
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you. (John 15:13-14)
NEWS
Please continue to pray for Garth Entwistle, who is now in Woodend Hospital, and Fiona and the family. If you wish to visit him, please contact Fiona first to arrange a suitable time.
Gordon Presbytery Mission and Discipleship Committee are hosting or organising several events over the next few months.
• There will be a training event for all those interested in planning and leading worship services.
Could God be calling you to serve the church in this way? It will be run over 5 consecutive Thursday
evenings (7-9pm) in June, and will cover liturgy, hymns and prayers, speaking in public, resources
and sermon writing, fresh expressions and family worship, amongst other topics, and attendees will
receive a certificate. See the poster and speak to Elaine if you want more information.
• We all recognise that our congregations are growing older. How do we help young adults to
discover God’s love and find their place in God’s church? A TIM talk (Theology, Imagination, Mission)
based on “Growing Young” research is being planned.
You may have seen various newspaper articles about the reduction in the numbers of ministers and church buildings that was decided by the General Assembly last May. Gordon Presbytery has been working hard to produce a draft plan. Please click below to read the full report, to read the full report. and also see Rev Will Stalder’s commentary on Methlick church’s website www.methlickparishchurch.co.uk
click here to Link to the Presbytery Mission Plan
click here to Link to Will's commentary
Service Pattern
17 July Alan Doak
24 July Patricia Findlay
31 July Fiona Lister
The Good Companions Club meets at 2pm in Pitmedden Hall
Here you will find all sorts of interesting articles and resources. See what decisions made at the Assembly will mean for us, read inspiring stories from churches around Scotland, and keep in touch with the latest developments in our denomination’s life and witness
or would you like our prayer team to pray confidentially for an individual or a specific situation?
please email Elaine at elainemoff@aol.com