Carnock & Oakley Parish Church Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Proverbs 30:5 Newsletter Spring 2018 Session Clerk Treasurer Mr Andrew Croxford Mrs Isobel Gibson 2B Main Street 3 Hawthorn Bank Crossford Carnock Dunfermline This newsletter is printed and published by Dunfermline KY12 8NJ 01383 271796 Carnock and Oakley Parish Church. Charity Number SC010676 01383 850457
Diary Dates Next Communion will be on Sunday, 4 th March 2018. Sat, 24 th Feb Coffee Morning 10:00-12:00 Oakley Sun, 25 th Mar ASM after Joint Service Oakley Thu, 29 th Mar Easter - Maundy Thursday Service 7:00pm Oakley Fri, 30 th Mar Easter Good Friday Service 7:00pm Carnock Sat, 12 th May May Fayre 2:00pm Oakley Sun, 3 rd Jun Communion Sun, 3 rd Jun Gift Day Sat, 9 th Jun Plant Sale & Coffee Morning 10:00 12:00 Oakley Sat, 7 th Jul Strawberry Coffee Morning 10:00 12:00 Oakley Sun, 2 nd Sep Communion Sat, 24 th Nov Christmas Fayre 2:00pm Oakley Sun, 2 nd Dec Communion Come and join us at the church Try one of the groups below or speak to the minister about starting a new group. Ideas are always welcome. Church Contact Activities SUN Weekly Services Oakley 10:00am Carnock 11:30am MON Scrabble Carnock 2:00pm Joan Burns 850470 TUE The Guild Oakley 7:30pm Ann Riddell 850354 (3rd Tuesday of month) Midweek Oakley 12:00 Contact an elder to arrange a lift Service (2nd Tuesday of month) for anyone requiring one WED Hobbies Group Oakley 10:30am Ann Rae 850566 Coffee Morning Carnock 10:30am-12:00 Ann Riddell 850354 THU Bible Study Fellowship Oakley 7:30pm Sandy Muirhead (1 st & 3 rd Thursday of month) SAT Prayer Breakfast Oakley 8:00am (3rd Saturday of month) Mary Hunter 738101 Church Website For latest news and information on Carnock & Oakley Church events and activities visit our website regularly at - www.carnockandoakley.org.uk The site is updated daily whenever possible and we do our best to notify any late changes to previously advertised times or dates. If you would like items added to the website, please contact Bob Baker, Robert.baker16@btopenworld.com
Welcome from Rev. Charles Lines Silence and Speech In Mark s gospel, after Jesus has been baptised by John, we are told that, The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And that got me wondering about what sort of car the Spirit might drive; a Silver Ghost perhaps! If the Christian life could be thought of as a car journey then the Bible might be our map, Jesus Christ the road and our Heavenly Father s house our destination. But, for certain, the way will lead through the desert. The desert is a place of stillness, solitude and most of all silence. Elijah encountered that silence in the wilderness at Mount Horeb and I imagine Jesus did too, after being dropped off by the Holy Spirit. But he wasn t entirely alone, and the silence was eventually broken by the Devil. Jesus was able to resist the temptations through his understanding of the Word of God and his ability to speak with authority. The wilderness experience prepared Jesus for his ministry, in which both listening and speaking skills would be paramount. It seems then that learning to listen and learning to speak go together; Lent may not just be a time for silence and listening, but also a time for breaking the silence and learning to speak with confidence. So, it is not inappropriate for us to be running a lent discussion course entitled, Finding a voice. Faith is something that needs to be shared and communicated with others, using words where necessary. If you find it difficult to talk about your faith, I can assure you that you re not alone; most of us are hesitant in this aspect of our calling. I do hope you will consider coming to these meetings, and if you need a lift I m sure we can make arrangements, though I can t promise a silver ghost! With love, Charles
Kirk Session Update The Kirk Session met on 22 nd November for a short business meeting followed by a fellowship meal and a celebration of Holy Communion. This was our first meeting with Charles as our new minister. The Kirk Session confirmed the Communion Service arrangements for Sunday, 26 th November and set the times for the Christmas Services and agreed the additional offerings over the Christmas period would go to Playlist for Life. The Session also agreed a leaflet giving details of our Christmas services. The Kirk Session met again on 10 th January. The minister updated the Kirk Session on his workload over the initial weeks of his ministry and his February holiday plans. The Kirk Session set the dates for the Annual Stated Meeting, the Gift Day, Holy Week Services and the Communion Services for 2018. These dates are set out elsewhere in this Newsletter. The attestation of the Congregational Roll was carried out. The Kirk Session confirmed Ian Young as our Presbytery Elder for 2018/19. The Kirk Session noted a Lenten Bible Study on the subject of Finding a Voice and would be based around the film The King s Speech. The next meeting of the Kirk Session will take place on Wednesday, 7 th March. Andrew Croxford Session Clerk
Annual Stated Meeting The Annual Stated Meeting (ASM) will be held on Sunday, 25 th March after the Service at Oakley. There will be no service at Carnock that day. In this Newsletter are reports from the various Groups in the Church. Please take the time to read these and if you would like to become involved in any of the Groups, why not speak to one of the leaders at the meeting. The Annual Accounts will also be received at the ASM and there will be a chance to ask questions about our finances. Our Fabric Convenor will also give a report on property matters and again there will be a chance to ask questions. The ASM is also the meeting at which appointments to the Congregational Board are made. If you would like to know more about what is involved in becoming a member of the Board, why not speak to Mina Kyle our Clerk to the Board before the meeting. Andrew Croxford Session Clerk Communion Services It was agreed previously by the Kirk Session that the custom of issuing Communion Cards was no longer appropriate. Instead, an invitation to come and worship and celebrate the Lord s Supper will be included in the Church Newsletter. Accordingly, it is my privilege to invite you to come and join with us to celebrate Holy Communion on Sunday, 4 th March at 10.00am at Oakley and 11.30am at Carnock. The Kirk Session has also set the dates for the Communion Services for the remainder of the year. These are as follows: 3 rd June, 2 nd September and 2 nd December. Andrew Croxford Session Clerk
Gift Day The Annual Gift Day will take place this year on Sunday, 3 rd June, which is also the day we celebrate Holy Communion. Letters and envelopes will be sent out as usual nearer the time. Guild Report The Guild Reflecting on the end of the first session of the Guild year, I have to say we had a very enjoyable demonstration of cake icing on the 21 st November 2017, which gave us really good ideas on how to ice a Christmas cake properly. Some of the members bought Christmas cakes from Marina, who had brought them to sell. Our Guild dinner at the Carnock Inn on the 12 th December was very enjoyable, with good food and fun. Thanks goes to Shirley who organised this and to all who attended. The second half of the session commenced with our Scot s Night, organised solely by Shonaid and it was excellent as usual. We had to have it re-scheduled to the 23 rd January 2018, from the week before, due to bad weather. We managed to organise everything for the coffee evening also. On the 20 th February we are having a talk from SDS Options, Fife and on the 20 th March at 7.30 pm, we are holding our coffee evening, entertainment by Civic Folk Group and we would be pleased if we could have a good turn-out, as this is our main fund raiser for our Guild Projects and Church funds. On the 3 rd of April we are having our extra meeting to arrange the Spring tea and 17 th April is our AGM. The Spring tea is to be held on Saturday 28 th April and we are being entertained by Roy McArthur and friends this year.
Then on Thursday 3 rd May we have our annual outing to Chalmers Memorial Church Guild and it is our turn to visit them this year. Shirley has organised a bus to take us there and it is nice to have a catch up with them and are looking forward to their entertainment. The 15 th May is our meeting to make up the 2018/2019 syllabus and that completes a very enjoyable year of our Guild. We have to choose two new projects to sponsor this year as the two we have been giving to, are at the end of their three years. Chris will let us know how much each project received for the past three years. We have many to thank for our Guild, and why it works so well, is that everyone does their part and that includes all our members. We are always glad to have Mary play the piano for us and Shonaid who is an excellent president and Wilma who keeps our books in great order. Margaret Smith also does her bit in serving refreshments each Tuesday evenings. Our numbers have reached 31 now and we are very pleased about this. Please come along and join us, we would love to have you. Ann Riddell Secretary World Day of Prayer (International and Interdenominational) All God s creation is Very Good The interdenominational movement of the World Day of Prayer invites everyone to attend one of many services being held throughout Scotland on Friday, 2 nd March 2018 with the title All God s Creation is Very Good!. We will join an estimated 3 million people around the world that day in a service which has been written this year by the woman of Suriname in South America.
Starting in Vanuatu as the sun rises and ending as the sun sets in Alaska, the service will have been translated into more than 95 languages and 1,000 dialects as we are reminded that we have responsibilities in caring for this beautiful world that we live in. With its vast rainforest and wealth of resources, Suriname asks us to pray for conservation and the protection of wildlife, through an awareness of pollution, misuse and abuse, as well as for the situation in Suriname and concerns for the future. This is a day of prayer not only for women, but for everyone who cares about the World and those who live in it. Our local service will be held in Holy Name Church at 7:00pm on Friday, 2 nd March 2018. Shonaid Kate MacDonald Mission Partner Christmas and New Year in Tiberius I must confess that for some reason - perhaps it was the unseasonably warm temperatures - I found it difficult to get into the holiday spirit this year. It, of course, was not helped by the fact that there is little evidence of Christmas in Tiberias anyway. One evening I went to Haifa to see the Christmas lights. It was a Friday night, the start of Shabbat, and the main street of the German Colony was packed with people - Christian, Muslim, Jewish. I heard Russian, Arabic and Hebrew all being spoken around me. In the central square sat a huge Christmas tree, a peace dove Hanukkiah, and a minaret with a lit crescent, while behind, the Baha'i gardens rose up impressively. It was a glorious scene of joy and an all-too-rarely-celebrated example of coexistence. There is so much darkness in our world in the discrimination, the violence, the political posturing, but that night in Haifa, a light shone against the darkness.
The holidays themselves then passed in a whirlwind of activity. The church renovation is 99.9% finished, and thanks to the hard work of the contractors, we were able to move back into the building three days before Christmas Eve. So in addition to the annual stresses of music and service sheets and decorations, I had a church to put back into some kind of order. I hadn't yet learned how the fire detection or security systems worked and was on the edge of panic in the hours before the Lessons & Carols service wondering if the heat from the candles would set off the fire alarm, or if heavy rain would trigger the security alarm. The staff at the Scots Hotel deserve a special mention for all the hard work they did in helping move furniture and books, last minute repairs, cleaning, ordering flowers, and preparing mulled wine for Christmas Eve. In the end, the church looked beautiful and the services and concert went relatively smoothly, if not perfectly. The week after Christmas I was invited to join the local Catholic community, Koinonia John the Baptist, for their Christmas lunch. Their charismatic Catholic order that originated in Italy in 1979, and there is a small community in Tiberias and Jerusalem. It was a joy to spend the afternoon with them, sharing food and drink, and relaxing after the busyness of the season. On New Year's Eve, I was delighted to welcome them to our church service, and on New Year's Day, I joined them for their celebration of the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. It feels appropriate to be starting this new year with an abundance of rain. It washes away the dirt and dust that has accumulated over the long hot summer months, refreshing the earth, transforming the landscape. It is a sign of hope; every drop that falls holds the promise of new life. Soon the brown of the scorched hills will give way to a rich green, and already in the north poppies and wild cyclamen are beginning to peek out amongst the rocks, hinting that spring is on its way. Up until now, we have had to search for the signs of spring. But soon, it will be all around us, unmissable. And so now, at the beginning of 2018, I pray that, however this year may have started, whatever may be happening in your life, that you will see the signs of God's love, the promise that it holds of refreshing, transforming, renewing us. Sometimes it may take some searching, but I pray for each of you, that there will be moments when it is unmissable in all its flourishing, richly coloured, joyful glory. Margaret Lowe
Finance Annual Report for 2017 Our funds at 31 st December 2017 were as follows; 2017 2016 General Fund 18986 14156 Fabric Fund 8637 3637 Property Renovation Fund 21658 21658 Music Fund 4051 206 Mrs Dawson s Legacy 1000 1000 Youth Evangelism 4410 4410 TOTAL FUNDS 58742 45067 General Fund Ordinary Income & Expenditure The income for the General Fund amounted to 60552 and the Expenditure was 55722, making a surplus of 4830. Included in his income 5136 being rent for the manse. The balance at 31 st December 2017 was 189.86 We have 2172 to come from HMRC. The Gift Day in June raised the sum of 6456 inclusive of tax recovered on gift aid. Contributions from Church Organisations; o Scrabble Group 400 o Carnock Coffee Group 400 o Hobbies Group 75 o Guild 200 Fundraising o May Fayre 647 o Pancake Night 209 o Strawberry Coffee Morning 506 o Midweek Services 475
o Oakley Tea Fund 357 o Rag Bag 139 o Carnock Gala 162 o Christmas Fayre 1324 o TOTAL 3829 Our Special Collection for other charities amounted to 610 and this was dispersed as under; o Dunfermline Town Band 100 o Playlist for Life 510 o There were no large items of expenditure Property Renovation Fund o There was no movement on this fund and the balance remains the same 21658. Fabric Fund o We are delighted and very grateful to receive a legacy of 5000 from the estate of the late Thomas Mould and this was lodged in this fund o The balance at 31 st December 2017 was 8637 Youth Evangelism Fund o There was no movement on this fund during 2017. The balance remains the same 4410 Mrs Dawson s Legacy o There was no movement on this fund during 2017. The balance remains the same 1000 Music Fund o We were very fortunate to receive 3841 from the Co-op Local Community Fund. This amount was lodged in this account making the total 4051 at 31 st December 2017 o It is our aim to use this money to install an audio-visual system in Oakley in 2018 and in Carnock later. Isobel Gibson Treasurer
Other Items Carnock Coffee Morning Report The coffee morning at Carnock is still doing well and we are delighted that the hobbies group have joined us recently. We had two ladies who have just moved into the village join us last year and hope they will continue to come along. We had our lunch over at the Carnock Inn in December and had a lovely afternoon of fine food and laughter. Ann Millar, Anna our treasurer and myself take turns in making the coffee/tea each week and we all enjoy the chat and fellowship we have together. Please come along, you would be made very welcome. Ann Riddell Secretary THANK YOU FROM MARGARET LOWE Many, many thanks to all who have sent their good wishes during the last few months. Phone calls and Messenger have been just great, keeping me in touch with what has been happening in the Church and beyond. Cards, flowers have been so lovely, but most of all for the prayers on my behalf. I hope to see you all soon. Thank you Margaret
Pastoral Care Group A team from the congregation have formed a Pastoral Care Group. The reason behind this is to enable our Minister to prioritise his workload in his 50% ministry. Many people in the congregation already spend time caring and visiting friends and neighbours. The aim of the group is to support members of the congregation who would appreciate companionship, a visit or a phone chat on a regular basis. If anyone would like, or knows of someone who would benefit from this, please contact your elder or the Pastoral Care Co-ordinator Mrs. Winifred Narbrough, telephone 01383 850997. Shirley Young Scrabble Group The scrabble group is still thriving and averages around 11 players each Monday afternoon in Carnock Church hall. We enjoy our scrabble and also the laugh we have around the table at tea time. We commence at 2 pm and have tea/coffee at 3 pm, usually made by Jocelyn. We play on till 5 pm and have a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. We always welcome new faces and so if you fancy a game, come along and join us. Joan Burns Treasurer
THANK YOU FROM ALEX & MAUREEN Alex & Maureen would like to thank their church family for all the prayers, the cards, telephone calls, offers of help and the support they have received during the past few weeks since Alex's diagnosis. Alex feels so humbled by the love and concern shown to him. We would be grateful for your continued prayer as the investigations and treatment proceed. Maureen & Alex Bell Each morning when I wake I say I place my hand in God s today I know he ll walk close by my side My every wandering step to guide He leads me with the tenderest care When paths are dark and I despair No need for me to understand If I but hold fast to His hand My hand in His, no surer way To walk in safety through each day By his great bounty I am fed Warmed by His love, I am comforted When at day s end I seek my rest I realise how much I am blessed My thanks pour out to Him, and then I place my hand in God s again Mina Kyle
John 21:9 Breakfast on the beach. "When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it and some bread." I see your hands Lord, by the fire. Hands of a craftsman calloused by carpentry. gentled by compassion. Healing hands that touched, turned life around. Hands of the word made flesh making flesh new and spirit too. New worlds of hope created by your presence. I see your hands smoothing rough wood, its splinters speaking of invasive nails to come. A time your craftsman's hands nailed to a tree would carve and plane forgiveness from the agony. I see your hands, Hands that turned the water into wine, turned simple fish and bread into a banquet. And now you turn to me offering the bread, inviting me to take and eat and share a meal with you. My hands reach out in awe, the small frustrations of the day forgotten. And like those men around the fire I dare not ask "Who are you Lord?" I know. Eddie Askew
Let us Pray Dear Lord, help me not to lean on my own understanding but in everything acknowledge You so that You can direct my words, thoughts and actions. Amen