Notices - Sunday 1st May
Creche: 11.00am in upper hall for children up to age 2.
Volunteers today: Christine Smith, Elaine, Kate.
Volunteers 8th May: Christine Anne, Maighread, Donna Mackinnon.
Holiday Tweenies: 11.00 in the main hall for children aged 3-7.
Volunteers today: Elizabeth, Karen, Lily, Christina.
Volunteers 8th May: ChrissAnne, Alison, Joanne, Kate.
No Sunday School today due to school holiday.
Monday 2nd May 7.30pm – Monthly meeting on Zoom only.
Tuesday 3rd May 11.00am – Prayer link with Muriel in Cambodia.
Wednesday 4th May 7.30pm – Mission Meeting with Derek Maxwell from SGA. The meeting will be in-person and on Zoom. A collection will be taken on the evening which will go towards their work in Slavic countries.
Thursday 5th May 7.30pm - Gaelic Prayer Meeting in the Seminary led by Rev James Maciver.
Friday 6th May 1.00pm - Ladies Bible Study on Zoom.
Saturday 7th May 11.00am – Ladies Walking Group.
Meet at Castle Museum car park.
Saturday 7th May 7.30pm – English Prayer Meeting in the Seminary.
Saturday 7th May 8.30pm – Slavic Gospel Prayer Meeting on Zoom.
For information contact Robert France: 07796 283 328
Death – Cathy Mary Carmichael
As a congregation we send our sympathy to Cathy Mary’s daughter Diane with Iain. We also remember her sisters Margaret with Calum and Catherine with Neil, along with her brothers Alec with Anna and Iain with Isobel. Cathy was also an aunt, grandaunt and cousin.
Sunday School Stats – The Lowdown
56 children at
3 different stages of childhood (pre-school, primary, and secondary) follow
1 common curriculum called ‘Go Teach’ which is split into
4 different levels. This means all the children study the same part of the Bible every week but in different, age-appropriate ways. This enables families with children in different classes to discuss the same Bible story at home each Sunday. Memory verses are also taught each week to all classes. Many thanks to all the parents and grandparents who help their little ones to memorise parts of Scripture; it’s a precious opportunity!
2 workbooks are usually covered over the course of a school year and the ‘Go Teach’ teacher’s books provide a good balance of lessons between the
2 Testaments, the Old and New. There is one very special member of Sunday School who lives
6644 miles away in Uganda. Rodah is a
7 year old girl who is sponsored through the charity ‘Compassion’. The sponsorship money for Rodah comes from the generosity of our children and their families. The children are encouraged, if possible, to bring a coin each week for the Sunday School collection plate. Many, many thanks to our families for contributing to this aspect of Sunday School. The noise of
8 different classes in the large hall is a joy to hear, especially when the teachers include interactive, hands-on methods of teaching the wonderful truths of the Bible. However, the hall caretaker has banned glitter after sweeping up
1,000,000 small pieces! ???. There are
12 teachers who teach across all ages, and
5 assistants who help in the pre-school class (Tweenies). Some of these teachers and assistants volunteer for each of the
33 weeks of the year when Sunday School is on, and others volunteer on a rota basis. In addition to these adult volunteers, there are
6 junior assistants who provide valuable help to the youngest children on a rota basis. All adults, young folk and children are well supported by
1 supervising elder who co-ordinates decision-making and encourages the teachers to teach the children about the
1 way,
1 hope, and
1 Saviour.
Sunday School Snippet
Last Sunday we joined onto a Zoom call with our friend Muriel in Cambodia. The Tweenies sang two songs for her. Muriel showed us on a map where Cambodia is and how to get there. She told us about the language. She showed us pictures of her house and the girls she works with. The church is similar and different to our one and our Sunday School in Stornoway. One time there was 53 people that got baptised and it was different to how we do it. There was a couple who got baptised and their child watched it. We learnt that it is good to know how other countries worship Jesus in other ways.
All the classes got a chance to ask Muriel questions. Muriel said that the weather is really good, so everyone goes outside a lot.
Some of our Sunday School collection that we put in each week will be given to Muriel to buy better resources for 3 different Sunday Schools like books, pictures to colour and pens to use them with. Muriel asked us to pray for the Sunday Schools and the children that go to them, also the villages and that the children will be keen to go to Sunday School and get their parents excited for church. Muriel also said “God bless” in Cambodian which was really cool and interesting.
Lydia Macdonald S2
Services next Sunday – 8th May
11.00am English Service (Church): Rev D. A. Macdonald
11.00am Gaelic Service (Seminary): Rev James Maciver
6.30pm English Service (Church): Rev James Maciver
Scottish Reformation Society Online Meeting
The Scottish Reformation Society will hold a public Zoom meeting on Friday 6th May at 7.30pm. The speaker is Rev Ian Macleod, Pastor of Hope Reformed Church, Tillsonburg, Canada. His talk is entitled ‘Robert Candlish and the Doctrine of Sonship'. A warm welcome is extended to all.
Zoom Meeting ID: 872 2889 2506. Passcode: 1550.
Baptism
God willing, the sacrament of baptism will be administered in the congregation at the morning service on 22nd May 2022. There will be no Gaelic service that morning. The Kirk Session will meet on Monday 16th May at 7.00pm to meet with any parents wishing baptism for their children. Any parents not able to meet the Session on that date are asked to inform the minister so that an alternative arrangement can be made.
