Connect The sound of silence Messy Church comes to Partick December 2017
The sound of silence reflection on Luke 1: 5-20 Silence can be both deafening and disturbing for those who are waiting to hear, for people longing to know. Silence as the doctor reads through the notes and test results. Silence and hopelessness as we wait longingly to hear about someone we love, who hasn t spoken to us for weeks, months or years. Silence that follows a blazing argument, as we reflect on what we have just said and the consequences of our actions. The silence of God as we seek guidance for the future. There are times when silence can be incredibly uncomfortable or deeply frustrating; and yet it can be unmistakeably powerful. It is truly amazing how silence adds volume to the voice. Of course, this leads to a further challenge: how to break the silence. How will I speak? What are the correct words to say? How do I prepare the listener to hear what needs to be said? We have developed phrases to help us break the silence: There s something I need to tell you, Are you sitting down?, I don t know how to tell you this! We break the silence with something that prepares the listener to hear our significant message. Years of silence ticked by for Zechariah and Elizabeth, hoping for a blessing, the lifting of their shame and their longing for a future. Their experience reflecting the long term years of silence for a nation, hoping for a blessing, the lifting of their shame and their longing for a future. God s silence is broken on both the issue of childlessness and the future of Israel with the words, Do not be afraid for your prayer has been heard Luke1:13. These deeply personal words are also words to Zechariah, as the representative of the people of God on that day. Luke records for us the breaking of God s silence after 400 years, with a transitional story deeply linked to moments in Israel s past but also pointing to God s future global plan of salvation. The outstanding question is, will the listeners have ears to hear an ready to respond to his voice? In this season of anticipation, may you have patience in your waiting, persistence in your praying, time and space for listening with faith, to respond to the silence and to God s voice. Rev Alan Donaldson General Director
Messy Church comes to Partick Families gathered together recently to explore Jesus - the light of the world at the launch of Messy church in the Partick campus of Queens Park Baptist Church. Kids of all ages gathered for an interactive time of prayer and worship which included making stained glass windows, having fun with playdough, making tea light holders and singing worship songs. Families also gathered at the prayer station to pray for our world. The launch of Messy church which will run alternatively each month between the Partick and Southside campuses is the latest development at the Partick. In addition to the Sunday morning service, Playtime, the parent and toddler group, meets every Monday morning and is going from strength to strength. The Emerging Generation group, for 18 25 year olds, is meeting twice a month on Wednesday evenings in the campus building. QP s Children s Ministry Leader Mairi Greenshields said: At Messy Church we were delighted to welcome new families from the community as well as families from both QPBC campuses and Playtime to worship and learn about God creatively together. It was especially good to be able to reconnect with a number of former Playtime children and families.
Message of Hope Capturing the essence of what God was saying to us, and how his Spirit was moving amongst us, as we gathered in Assembly 2017 is a real challenge. Something was happening that was more than the sum of each part. The Lord encouraged us in real hope, not just chipper optimism. For the first time, we invited churches to send messengers to Assembly rather than delegates, people who could share a story of hope that was emerging in the local church that they represented. And that is exactly what happened as 350 messengers turned to one another and spent an hour trading stories of God at work in our nation. Baptisms, healings, compassion shared, lives transformed by the gospel, opportunities to witness in civic spaces, opportunities to pray with the lost and a movement of God s Spirit among our young people preparing them to serve the church, these capture some of the stories that were told. Around 20 of the stories have been recorded on video and are available on our YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/c/scottishbaptists You can also listen to our worship leader Ilsa Ogston sing one of her own songs which we learned, along with a slideshow of the whole Assembly. In the work of Assembly we received the encouraging news that our churches remain financially committed to our Union; we continue to operate a breakeven budget and have made good progress in addressing the Pension issue facing our churches and Union. We were delighted to appoint several new members of Council and three Trustees, Sandy Weddell (Easterhouse), Stephen Hagan (Westray), Ruth McLaren (Pitlochry). The National Team reported on stories of hope from across the country focusing on 6 areas: prayer, mission, together, rooted, leaders and future. Regarding the future, Assembly welcomed and commissioned Ali Laing as our Next Generation Development Coordinator. Ali led a seminar, sharing with a variety of leaders from around the country, where they explored some of the extraordinary work that is happening in schools, youth clubs,
church youth groups and in partnership with social services and other church groupings around the country. In worship, the Assembly joined the 17:21 initiative which connected our gathering with many other evangelical gatherings around the country this year in an act of Christian unity. https://1721.org.uk/ We were also thrilled to sing worships songs that had been written in Scotland as we were led by worship leaders from a variety of churches, drawn together by Ilsa Ogston. As always, the Assembly was supported and funded in partnership with BMS. On this occasion it was a great blessing to welcome their new General Director, Dr Kang-San Tan. Kang-San spoke of his upbringing in Malaysia, his conversion to Christianity as well as his journey in ministry so far. His warmth, humour and depth of theological reflection were deeply appreciated. We were blessed by a variety of forms and styles of teaching this Assembly. Rich Robinson walked us through some of the stories of Nehemiah, relating them to our current situation and preparing us for an adventurous journey. Juliet Kilpen unpacked her own adventurous weekly journey among Calais refugees in the camp known as The Jungle. Steve Stockwell used poetry to connect speakers, themes and to open our ears afresh to messages being shared. Stuart Blythe reminded us on the last night that hope is more than chipper optimism, concluding that Hope dances on the quaking ground of resurrection. All talks and poetry are available to download or listen to, www.scottishbaptist.com/assembly Maybe these word of Scripture capture something of what God was saying to us at Assembly 2017. Romans 5:3-5, There s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary we can t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit! The Message Save the Date! Be a church messenger next year or book directly to come with your friends and family for two days of celebrating what God is doing in our land, 25-26 October 2018 in Motherwell Civic Centre.
Prayer Link December December 3rd Stranraer Baptist Church Strathendrick Baptist Church Stromness Baptist Church December 10th Thomas Coats Memorial Baptist Church Thurso Baptist Church Tillicoultry Baptist Church December 17th Tiree Baptist Church Uddingston Baptist Church Viewfield Baptist Church December 24th Westray Baptist Church Westwood Baptist Church Whytes Causeway Baptist Church December 31st Wick and Keiss Baptist Church Wigtown Baptist Church Wishaw Baptist Church Stromness BC Praise God for the 10 weeks we enjoyed with Ally & Martin who are studying at the Baptist College. These were times of Community outreach and a real sense of God s presence was enjoyed by all. We ask for prayers as we move towards the winter months and continue to seek guidance for the path of outreach to be followed by our Fellowship. Strathendrick BC We have an opportunity to assist our local high school in setting up a one-off prayer space. This is already an answer to prayer! We need to proceed with sensitivity and wisdom and so we ask the Lord to guide us, and also to show us further ways to strengthen our relationship with the school. The Church leadership team has changed almost completely over the last 18 months, so please pray for Chris, Kathryn, Fraser, Kathleen and Rachel as they learn how to serve together. Westray BC We praise the Lord for the wide age range in the Baptist Kirk especially among our young families who are actively involved in Leadership, Worship and outreach. Pray for the leaders of the Sunday School with twenty children attending, Lighthouse outreach to Primary pupils, youth group and young folks involved in the music ministry at the Kirk. A Young Adult group, Men s Supper Night and Women s group meeting monthly during the winter, weather permitting.
Thurso BC We give thanks to God for the commencement of a new ministry in the summer and for the way God has led us though our period of vacancy. Please pray for some of our young people who are leaving home for the first time to go to college/university and to serve with BMS during their gap year. We also look forward to what God will do through the recent changes we have made to our youth and children s work and the beginning of a new fellowship group for men that has recently started. Viewfield BC Give thanks for the church s ongoing ministries, for the possibility of new developments, for new people coming along, and for those who have been willing to minister to us each Sunday during the current vacancy. Please pray for us as we seek to find new ways to engage with our community. Pray for our Interim Moderator, the Vacancy Group and the church community, that we will wait expectantly and patiently for the Lord to lead us to our new Pastor. Westwood BC With thanks, we praise Him as we see His hands working in the lives of our fellowship and those being introduced to Jesus. We pray God s Kingdom come through the initiatives and changes underway, particularly as we grow deeper relationships with the neighbourhood around us. We pray for guidance as we seek a new minister and for His blessing and power as we move forward in this time of vacancy. Stranraer BC We are currently in a period of vacancy. Pray for the church leadership at this time, for the vacancy committee and for possible prospective new pastors, that God s mind and will would be clear to all. Give thanks for the increased number at our fortnightly fellowship groups. Praise God for the recent new folk coming to the services. Pray for the possible re-start of a kids club. Wick and Keiss BC Give thanks for continuing strong fellowship, new people coming along to our services, a strong Sunday School and the provision of preachers during our time of vacancy. Please pray for us during our time of vacancy, that God will lead us in our search for a new pastor, and give us unity and wisdom as we seek to develop our church life and ministry.
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