Talking Point - Christmas COOKE Church. Reaching Out Engaging Growing.

Transcription

1 Talking Point - Christmas 2015 COOKE Church Reaching Out Engaging Growing

2 A WORD FROM MORRIS He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. With these words the prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Messiah. We believe this prophesy was fulfilled in Jesus. At this Christmas season we celebrate his birth. We enjoy this time for family gatherings, for present giving, Carol services and the excitement of young children with the expectation of Santa s arrival. However we seem to have given up on the idea that this is a time of peace and goodwill to all people. We seem to have good evidence that peace, at best, is only a fleeting thing. The awful events in Paris have sent a shiver through the countries of Western Europe. The Middle East is on fire with terrible conflict and so are many countries in Africa. Famine, disease and poverty have fuelled a refugee crisis that has come right to our doorstep. If Jesus is the peace bringer, why then is there no peace? The most obvious answer is that the majority of people do not believe in him. Those who do believe in him have resigned themselves to believing that nothing will really change until he returns again and God brings this fallen world to an end. However Jesus calls us to be Peacemakers. He said, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9. It is no good hoping for peace, if we are not prepared to make peace. It is no good praying for peace, if we cannot resolve a dispute with a friend or family member. Peace begins with each of us finding peace with God through Jesus Christ and then actively making peace with those with whom we disagree. The peace begins in our own hearts and spreads from there. In this very troubled world let us not give up hope, but in our own hearts let the Prince of Peace make us peacemakers. I hope and pray that you have a joyous and wonderful Christmas and that we all enjoy a peaceful New Year. Welcome team FOR December Reception & Count Stef Bennis Stephen Campbell Hilary Brunt Clive Morrow Welcome team FOR January Reception & Count Roger MacNeill Joan Hamilton Barbara Taylor Carol Reynolds 3

3 Election of new elders BB NEws Nominations for the election of new Elders will open on Sunday 6th December and close after morning worship on Sunday 13th December. Members of the congregation on the Voter s List will be asked to nominate up to 6 people who they believe could serve in this capacity. All nomination papers must be placed in the voting box provided. Over recent years several Elders have retired from active duties and this election provides an opportunity for us to elect new Elders into the role of leadership in the Kirk Session. This is an important time in the life of this congregation and we urge everyone to give prayerful consideration to these nominations. Foodstore@cooke Thank you to everyone for donating to our Foodstore. The present economic situation has led to an increase in demand for help and your generosity has helped us to respond to many situations of extreme need, usually through a request from a Social Worker or other recognised Organisation. We have had some callers recently who have asked that we help them financially rather than with a gift of food but this has been refused. Our policy is that we do not give money or food vouchers to anyone, if there is obvious need we will try to assist by giving a donation from Foodstore but we do not help financially and it is important that this message is given consistently to all those who approach us for help. DR Campbell s celebration service A service of celebration to mark 50 years of ordained ministry by Dr S J Campbell will be held on Sunday 6th December Everyone is warmly invited to join us for this service and to stay for a celebration lunch in the church halls. To assist with catering we have asked everyone who intends to join us for lunch to add their name to the list in the Reception area or speak to Elaine MacNeill Tel Christmas Break The last meeting of Tots Café before Christmas will be Tuesday 15th December 2015 and will start back in the New Year on Tuesday 12th January Root Soup will provide a Community lunch on Thursday 17th December 2015 and will resume after the holidays on Thursday 7th January Well, what a centenary celebration weekend it was. May we extend a warm thank you to everyone who supported, took part and helped with the planning of our centenary celebration event last month. On the Friday evening in the McWilliams Hall almost 150 people - Old Boys - covering many decades, Boys, Officers and guests - attended our centenary dinner. What an enjoyable evening it proved to be. We viewed the exhibition of photographs and memorabilia in the Cordner Hall, enjoyed an excellent meal and "piped" in the special centenary anniversary cake. This was cut by George Gilliland a former member and officer now in his 90s accompanied by Louis Boyd-Wisoner the youngest member of the Company Section. We listened as George, David McWilliams and Sam Gallaher recounted activities and memories of the Company over its many decades. We laughed at the many anecdotes and stories told by another old boy the Rev Howard Haslett, who lives in Scotland, as he delivered the keynote speech. The Drum Corp of the 4th Newtownabbey Company (Carnmoney Presbyterian) impressed us with their talented playing. Time to catch up and chat with past and current friends made the evening complete, and as everyone headed home they were presented with a copy of our special centenary brochure as a keep sake. On Sunday morning 18th October it was a delight to see the church so full for our annual enrolment service. This was a very special service and we are grateful to all those who contributed. The present Company was enroled with each boy receiving a special momento to mark that they were a member of the 8th in its 100th year. Our past Chaplain Rev Campbell led worship as well as our current Chaplain the Rev Gault. Praise was led by our Praise Group and the Lagan Seahorses which added so much to our time of worship together. One of our Old Boys, John McCandless, who grew up in Someset St delivered the address reminding us that each of us are special in God s eyes and that he has made us for a special purpose. John is presently a PCI youth worker in the Mersey St area. Over the weekend we raised over 2000 to be used to create a permanent display for 8th BB memorabilia at the Boys Brigade Heritage Centre and Musuem at Ganaway. A dedication of this will take place in the Spring. In addition over 1000 was raised in the offering to go towards the PCI Junior Section appeal to support missionary work in Malawi. This appeal is overseen by the Rev Campbell. What a special and memorable weekend indeed!. So many Old Boys attending, so many Old Boys making this weekend happen, giving us a reminder of just how special the 8th Belfast Company at Cooke is and testament to the influence for good it has had - and continues to have - on the lives of so many boys over the years. Also to the faithfulness of all the leaders over the years and of the congregation. For all this as an offering to God for his work and purpose, we are eternally grateful. If any member of the congregation would like a copy of the centenary brochure there are a few copies still available so please see Jim Wilson, Robert Minnis or David McWilliams. If anyone would like to view the short intro video Matt Mackey produced or would like a copy, it can be found via the following link on Youtube

4 Thanks are also due to our Centenary Committee who worked dilligently over the past year planning and organising the weekend events. They are : Billy Walker, Tom Shortt, Jim Wilson, Robert Minnis, Dsvid McWilliams, Fred Wilson, Michael Wilson, Sam Gallaher. The following weekend 24-25th October it was business as usual for our BB Company when we held our final camp of the season at Tollymore Forest Park. Louis Boyd-Wisoner, Tom Stewart and Kristian Gallaher, had a practice expedition weekend as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award programme. The weather was fine and dry, if just a bit cold, with them completing a good hike over Luke s Mountain and onto the Hare s Gap returning via the Brandy Pad and Ulster Way. Everyone returned home safely if not just a little tired. Christmas will soon be here and for those members of the congregation planning to visit the Xmas Market at the City Hall, why not leave this until Monday 14th Dec when our Junior Section will be Carol singing there from 7.00pm. Sam Gallaher Flowers for the Sanctuary 6th December - Mairs Family 20th December - Eleanor Brennan 3rd January - Vacant 17th January - Joan Hamilton 31st January - Vacant Maternity Leave 13th December - IMO William (Billy) Brown 27th December - IMO Jean Gault 10th January - IMO Brian Smith 24th January - IMO Eddie & Herbert McWilliams Mrs Corrina Heron will be on Maternity leave from the end of November We wish Corrina and Scott every blessing as they await the arrival of the new addition to the Heron household. deaths Anne Elizabeth Perry 186 Annadale Flats 31 October 2015 Flower book The flower book is now open for Please enter your name (and dedication if any) as you would wish it to appear in the Church Magazine at the time. Please print as clearly as possible. A donation of is recommended to cover the cost of the flowers each week. a Thank you Kirk Session Meeting Members of Kirk Session are asked to meet on Monday 14th December 2015 at 7.30pm in the Cordner Hall. Carols by Candlelight Our annual Carols by Candlelight service will be held on Sunday 20th December 2015 at 7.00pm when we meet together as an extended church family to sing favourite carols and enjoy some specially prepared musical items. Please invite friends, neighbours and family to join us for this popular service and to stay afterwards to share in some traditional Yuletide refreshments. Eleanor Wilson (Nell) would like to thank all those in Cooke Centenary for their cards, visits, telephone calls and kindness following the death of Hector. Also a big thank you to Morris, Corrina & Jonathan for their hospital & home visits during this difficult time. Editoral Note: This should have been included in the previous edition of Talking Point, sincerest apologies for the omission. PW NEWS PW will meet on Tuesday 10th December at 7:30pm. This will be our Christmas Evening meeting and we hope you will be able to attend. There will be a special collection in aid of Charlene s Project. 6 7

5 Magazine Deadline DEADLINE FOR FEBRURARY MAGAZINE: Sunday 24th January You can contributions to A thank you On Remembrance Sunday, 8th November, the junior Sunday School children enjoyed a visit from Bobby Wisoner and Adrian Pickup. Both had just taken part in the wreath laying ceremony as part of our Act of Remembrance in Cooke. Bobby and Adrian came out to Sunday School to show the children their medals and explain a little bit about when they were awarded and what for. Bobby even had some old medals, one of which was over 100 years old! The children really enjoyed hearing their stories and getting to hold the medals. Many thanks to Bobby and Adrian for taking the time to talk to them. We are hoping that we can invite other members of the Congregation to come and speak to the children in the future. Hilary Brunt ulster Project Anyone who is in year 11 and wishes to take part in this Project, please get in touch with Jennifer Henderson, Tel: or mobile for more information and an application form. Applications close on Monday 7 December Prayer Meetings On Sundays 29 Nov & 6 & 13 December from 10.00am-10.30am we will be meeting in Coffee@ Cooke in the Cordner Hall for prayer. We will be praying for the Election of New Elders and for the success of the Grace of Giving Appeal to clear off our yearly deficit. Small groups Our Small Groups will meet on Tues 1 & Wed 2 December and run fortnightly. The Tuesday Group will meet in Judy Corscadden s home, 17 Cadogan Park. On Wednesday night one group will meet in Janice & Harvey s home, 18 Flush Park and the other one will meet in Doreen Adams home, 10 Drumkeen Manor. All groups will meet from pm. These groups are open for anyone to join at any time. 8 9

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7 Dates for your diary Worship Date Time Morning Time Evening 6th December 13th December 20th December 25th December 27th December 10:30am 11:00pm Jim Campbell All Age Christmas Service Christmas Morning Service 6:30pm 7:00pm Cafe Church Carols by Candlelight 3rd January 10th January 17th January 24th January 31st January Communion All Age Service 6:30pm 7:00pm 7:00pm Cafe Church Bible Study Bible Study Meetings Date Time Event 14th December 10th January 25th January 7:30pm 7:30pm 7:30pm Kirk Session Meeting Kirk Session Meeting Committee Meeting Merry Christmas POINTS OF CONTACT MORRIS GAULT Minister CORRINA HERON Assistant Minister JONATHAN NEWELL Student Assistant Minister T: M: E: Corrina is now on maternity leave and will be returning in the New Year. M: E: The Editor and proof readers reserve the right to exclude or alter content within articles as a consequence of space restrictions and to comply with the ethos and values of the church.