from the minister - bothwell parish churchapr 03, 2014 · from the minister … flood waters keep...
TRANSCRIPT
THE MAGAZINE OF BOTHWELL PARISH CHURCH ‘SCOTLAND’S OLDEST COLLEGIATE CHURCH’
Registered Scottish Charity No: SC0 9819
IN THIS EDITION
April & May 2014
From the Minister P1.
Church Register P2.
Monthly Communion P2.
New Church Members P2.
The Guild P2.
Are You Handy? P2.
Christian Aid Week 2014 P3.
Hamilton & District Foodbank P3.
Holy Communion P3.
Lent & Easter P4 & P5.
Allovus P6.
Sunday Clubs P6.
A Short History of Bothwell P7.
Statement of Purpose P7.
V-I-P-S Supporting the Restoration P7.
Rota Page P8.
Minister: The Revd. J. M. Gibson, TD.
The Manse of Bothwell, 4 Manse Avenue, Bothwell, G71 8PQ
Tel: 01698 853189. Email: [email protected] Church Office Tel: 01698 854903 (Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 9am-2pm)
Email: [email protected]
Church Website: www.bothwellparishchurch.org.uk
Church Centre: 854987 Chapterhouse Café: 858566
1
FROM THE MINISTER …
As the storms keep coming and the
flood waters keep rising in the south of
England; and rain keeps falling on us
all, voices have been demanding to
know why more has not been done to
protect people and property from the
devastation being caused by Climate
Change. Understandably, a great deal
of anger has been vented as homes,
shops, churches, vehicles et al have
been overwhelmed by floodwater.
All of it is too late, of course. Homes
and other properties were knowingly
built on flood-plains. Now, people are
suffering the consequences and it is not,
at all, pleasant. Environmental
specialists are advising that it will be
months before displaced folk will be
able to return to their homes, if at all.
People are saying that their lives have
been ruined since appropriate insurance
was too expensive for them ever to
contemplate.
The Government and Environmental
Agency are in an impossible position.
They do what they reasonably can, but
what can be done against the worst
climatic conditions we have
experienced for over two hundred
years ? No matter that, literally, a
whole army of people have been
mobilised to combat the danger to life
and threat to the nation’s commerce this
flooding presents: no quick fix is ever
going to be possible.
With that realisation, it has been good
to hear that people have banded
together in their local communities to
try to identify those facing the greatest
danger and to help each other in their
need. Supported by members of the
Emergency Services and the military,
individual householders, shopkeepers
and others have quickly understood
that their strength lies in a sense of
togetherness: each looking out for the
other, especially the elderly and those
most vulnerable. Someone said to me,
‘It’s Britain at its best’.
I would like to think it is ‘humanity’
at its best.
Looking out for each other, whoever
the ‘other’ might be; taking care of
those less able than ourselves;
reaching out to strangers as well as
friends; regarding everyone as our
neighbour – is surely the
responsibility of all of us who regard
ourselves as part of a
civilised Society. All the more so
should we be part of the community
of Christian Church.
Around Bothwell, we have been
fortunate. Rain has certainly fallen,
but we have not had to endure
terrible flooding like so many others.
The consequences of Climate Change
may not be the most pressing problem
faced by our neighbour, colleague or
kith and kin. Maybe its quite another
kind of devastation that people around
us are daily having to endure.
Poverty, loneliness, ill-health, obesity,
addiction, abuse, old-age, broken
relationships, guilt. These are just
some of the nightmares with which
people struggle in every community.
As we continue our faithful witness to
the faith we hold, the quietly desperate
needs of many people challenge us to
provide the healing and comforting
touch of friendship to them.
To fail in such a task would be a
disgrace.
Jim Gibson
Minister of Bothwell
and
Interim Moderator at
Hamilton: Gilmour & Whitehill
Parish Church.
Baptisms: “By water and the Holy Spirit”
March Matthew McQueen Martin, son of Mr & Mrs Keith Martin,
8 Point Park Crescent, Uddingston
Vivienne Sarah Haldane, daughter of
Mr & Mrs Craig Haldane, 19 Huntly Gardens, Blantyre
Weddings: “Whom God has joined”
March Lorraine Sinclair and Stuart Syme, 60 Hermiston Road,
Glasgow, G32 0DB
Have Your Details Changed ? If you have moved house recently or know of any
forthcoming changes, please let the church office know either by
telephoning 854903 or sending an email to
so that the Church Roll can be kept up to date.
Thank you.
CHURCH
MEMBERSHIP
Those interested in exploring the
possibility of membership of the
Church should be make contact with
the Minister who will be happy to
speak with them.
Discussions held are entirely
open-ended with no prior
commitment being involved. The
emphasis is upon informality and
sharing our thoughts.
An open invitation is, therefore,
extended to all who may be
interested.
The Minister may be contacted on a
Sunday at church or during the week
via the Office or at the Manse.
THE GUILD
Please help us
support the
Restoration Appeal.
We are collecting old,
broken, unwanted gold
and silver jewellery. Please pass any
donations of this nature to a member
of the Guild committee or to the
church office.
Thank you.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
7th April—AGM
5th May—Outing to Pitlochry
(names to Grace Moore)
The Aim of the Guild
is to invite and encourage
men and women to commit their
lives to Jesus Christ
and enable them to express their
faith in worship, prayer and action.
2
Are You Handy?
The Management Committee of the
Church Centre is looking for
volunteers to do occasional
Do-It-Yourself work in the Centre.
If you have basic DIY skills, and have
any time to spare, please contact the
Church Office with your details.
Monthly Communion
“Take this …
and remember Me”
No doubt, as we entered the New Year,
many of us promised ourselves to get
together more often with family and
friends and/or to take more time to fo-
cus on what we really believe matters in
life. Perhaps, we then thought we would
commit more to the church. As time
goes on, however, we tend to return to
whatever routines are ‘normal’ for us
and our good intentions dissipate.
To help create that inclusive and
reflective space in our life, once a
month, on the first Sunday,
immediately following the close of
Morning Service, there is an
opportunity to share Holy
Communion with others, regardless of
age. The time required to attend is brief,
approximately ten minutes.
Come and participate. Gather
together with others taking part at the
Crossing Table.
You will be very welcome.
3
If you know of anyone requiring a home
visit from the Minister,
or if you have a change of details, please
complete the ‘Welcome Card’ placed on
each pew and hand it in to the
Church Office, or
to Revd.Gibson direct.
SUPPORT
HAMILTON & DISTRICT
FOODBANK
Bothwell Parish Church supports the
Foodbank set up to serve the
Hamilton / Blantyre area. In doing so
we are trying to assist the most
vulnerable for whom the recession and
benefit cuts have mean shortages and,
even hunger. The foodbank distributes
where the need is urgent. If you would
like to contribute, please bring your
donations to church on the last Sunday
of the month. A suggested list from
which to choose includes the following:
Milk (UHT or powdered)
Sugar (500g)
Fruit Juice (carton)
Soup
Pasta
Sauces
Cereals
Sponge Pudding (tinned)
Tomatoes (tinned)
Rice pudding (tinned)
Tea bags
Instant coffee
Instant Mash Potato
Rice
Pasta
Tinned meat and fruit
Jam
Biscuits or snack bars
HOLY COMMUNION
SUNDAY
11TH
MAY
10.30AM
FOR
REFLECTION
Christian Aid Week 2014:
give people a future
without fear.
War tears lives apart. You can help
put them back together.
For a growing number of people
across the world, the horror of war is
part of daily life.
The good news is that individuals,
communities and churches can make a
real difference this Christian Aid
Week. Last year, a magnificent 20,000
churches across the country helped
raise £12m (€14.3m) for Christian Aid
Week. Thanks to your efforts, many
more people can look forward to a
future free from poverty.
“Anoon Aleu, 36, grew up in the south
of Sudan, but when, as a child,
militias set fire to her house killing
most of her family, she fled to
Khartoum in the north. For a while,
life was good, but an explosion of
violence against southerners left
Anoon and her husband Madut facing
an agonising choice: stay in north
Sudan and live in fear for their six
children or give up relative prosperity
for freedom in Anoon’s former home,
south Sudan.”
Please donate by using a Christian Aid
envelope (available in church) or by
visiting:
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/give/
Because he is risen
Because he is risen
spring is possible
in all the cold hard places
gripped by winter
and freedom jumps the queue
to take fear’s place as our focus
because he is risen.
Because he is risen
my future is an epic novel
where once it was a short story
my contract on life is renewed in
perpetuity my options are open-ended
my travel plans are cosmic
because he is risen.
Because he is risen
healing is on order and assured
and every disability will bow
before the endless dance of his ability
and my grave too will open
when my life is restored
for this frail and fragile body
will not be the final word
because he is risen.
Because he is risen hunger will
go begging in the streets
for want of a home
and selfishness will have a shortened
shelf-life
and we will throng to the funeral of
famine
and dance on the callous grave of war
because he is risen.
And because he is risen
a fire burns in my bones
and my eyes see possibilities
and my heart hears hope
like a whisper on the wind
and the song that rises in me
will not be silenced as life disrupts
this shadowed place of death
and death itself runs terrified
to hide because he is risen.
Gerard Kelly
4
Easter Prayer God’s blessing rest upon you
this happy Easter Day.
God makes his joy to shine
As sunlight on your way;
God fill your heart with song
So glad it will not cease;
God bless you every day
With love and joy and peace.
THINKING ABOUT LENT & EASTER
For the school Christmas Nativity last
year, a little girl volunteered to be an
angel and ended up a donkey. In a
way, it’s the story of my life.
I once read that you can tell spiritual
maturity by what angers a person:
spiritual giants being moved by the big
issues like world hunger, while spiritual
pygmies get upset by catty comments
and petty snubs.
I wonder is its possible to be a pygmy
donkey ?
It’s not that I don’t care about the big
issues. Of course, I’m very concerned.
But lately, I think my spiritual maturity
has definitely shrunk.
Not long ago, a recent week was a
seven-funeral week. It happens now
and again to every cleric, I guess. One
day, during this siege of death, I drove
from one crematorium to another and
sat waiting in the car for a van to pass
me so that I could then drive into the
allotted parking space for clergy. The
van passed alright but then turned into
my parking space. I waited, patiently,
for it to be removed. But no luck. The
driver simply ignored the fact that I was
there. Truth to tell, to my shame, I
spent the first five minutes of that
funeral service feel awful because I was
so ticked off by what had happened,
instead of properly focusing on the
matter at hand.
We usually do our week’s shop at
Sainsbury’s each weekend. The
Saturday of that particular week I was
really feeling quite ‘wabbit’. Doreen
and I had filled our shopping trolley
and, while she did something else, I
headed for the counter. Saturdays can
be busy. Already three or four
shoppers were in front of me in the
queue. I knew the person who followed
me and turned to exchange a word or
two. A fatal mistake, never to be made
again!
For no sooner had I turned round to
speak to my friend, a lady barged right
in with her cart and usurped my place
in the queue. I watched myself turn into
a donkey, for though I desperately
wanted to let the lady know what I
thought of her action, I was conscious
that I was wearing my dog-collar and
that the person behind me knew
exactly who – and what – I was. Not
only that, believing that my
dog-collar ought to be a sign
promising good manners at the very
least and compassion when required, I
contented myself by ‘braying’ “Have
a good day!” as she left with her
shopping.
She glared at me as if I had hurled
epithets and stormed past. Angry all
over again, it took me the entire
journey back to Bothwell to realise
that she was upset because I had
stolen her victory from her. She’d
won the race to the counter. My
‘niceness’ was just poor
sportsmanship.
Ah, world of our everyday – where
the texture of our fast-paced existence
and our culture’s emphasis on
self-gratification makes occasional
donkeys out of us all. If the Christian
life is to be lived at all, it is to be
lived in the moments when people cut
in front of us in traffic, when we
discover a colleague has pricked us
with an unkind word behind our back
and in those moments we are made to
realise we take ourselves far too
seriously.
Thankfully, however, even donkeys
can have their moments. G K
Chesterton wrote a wonderful Palm
Sunday poem from the point of view
of the donkey that carried Jesus on his
back through the cheering crowds. A
brief moment of glory both poignant
and precious for such an otherwise
dumb animal.
Fortunately, we are not measured on
the scale with angels at the top and
donkeys at the bottom. We enter ‘the
kingdom’ not by our earned
behaviour, but by grace. With grace,
we can transcend those ‘donkey
moments’. I saw that little girl in the
school Nativity gleam as her parents
proudly took her photograph. A
donkey she might have enacted, but
she was an angel to them. Most
importantly, I’m sure she was just
happy to have had a part in the play.
Happy Easter!
JG.
His face it wis sae
dounward bent
His face it wis sae dounward bent,
An laich he cast his ee;
O sic a wecht o dool he kent,
O sic a draucht o dree.
It wis a mirksome, eerie day
He made for Calvary,
An cairriet aa yon wecht o wae
Tae set his kindred free.
It wis a mornin bricht wi dyowe;
Wi saws the weemin came,
An faur he’d lain wis teem an howe,
An he wis lichtlie gane.
Halleluyah!
David Ogston
Reproduced from ‘The Kirk's Ear’
Easter at Bothwell Parish Church
5
Easter at Bothwell Parish Church
HOLY WEEK
Monday 14th April to Thursday 17th April
at 7pm
come and hear about
“The Words From The Cross”
Monday “Father forgive them, they know not
what they do”
“I thirst”
Tuesday “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?”
“Mother, behold your Son”
Wednesday “This day you will be with me in
Paradise”
“Into your hands I commend my spirit”
Maundy “It is finished”
Thursday Followed by Holy Communion
Good Friday 18th April
The Church will be open for private devotions
from 12 noon until 3pm.
Holy Communion will be celebrated at 3pm.
Kids Easter
Bible Readings Complete the bible readings and
follow the path to the empty tomb.
Isaiah Chapter 53:2-6
Mark Chapter 14:32-41
Mark Chapter 14:42-51
Mark Chapter 15:25-32
Mark Chapter 15:33-47
Luke Chapter 24:1-12
Tuesday Lenten Talks
A series of Lenten Talks on the theme Justice & Peace will be held in St Bride’s
Roman Catholic Church, Bothwell. In keeping with Pope Francis’s central call to return
to the heart of Christ’s Gospel; where the poor take first place, we are also invited to
have a preferential option of the poor in our own lives and to work for a more just
world. In this series of talks we hope to touch on these important issues in the life of the
church today, and also to help us take on the practical challenge of the Gospel to care
for the poor and show our solidarity with them.
We have guest speakers who will speak on three Tuesdays of Lent:
Rev. John Gannon Tuesday, 11th March 2014
Sr. Maureen Coyle S.N.D. Tuesday, 25th March 2014
Rev. Willy Slavin Tuesday, 8th April 2014
All of the talks will take place in St Bride’s Pastoral Centre commencing
at 7.30 pm with tea at 8 30pm. All Welcome.
During the school holidays. there are no children’s Clubs on Sunday 6th April. Meet again on 13th April.
The children’s clubs are on as normal for the 4th May holiday weekend—
but the Holiday Club will operate on the 25th May holiday weekend.
RED SEA & NOAH’S ARK
SUNDAY CLUBS
SUMMER 2014 ISSUE OF
THE LANTERN
Please submit all news, events,
articles, rotas & photos for the next
edition by
Tuesday 6th MAY.
You can email the office: [email protected]
PLEASE
SAVE
STAMPS
6
ALLOVUS celebrated a late, but most enjoyable, Burns Luncheon in February. Our thanks
again to Craig Parker of the Chapterhouse Café for a delicious meal, and to Peter McLean and
Grace Hislop who provided the musical entertainment.
Allovus are always pleased to welcome new members. If you would like to come along, or wish to
know more, please see Revd.Gibson, a member of the committee—or contact the Church office.
What’s Happening in Allovus?
3rd April—Accordionist Extraordinaire
17th April—Easter
1st May—Something Different
15th May—Guest Speaker
Having fun at the
Red Sea/ Noah’s Ark Clubs
Do you like our junk models?
The children enjoyed working together
to produce some fantastic creations.
And yes, the activity was linked to our
bible story of the day!
Anne Sharp
A Short History of Bothwell
Continuing the instalments of the notes prepared by the late Rev. S. J. Hamilton, B.A., on the history of the parish.
Statement of Purpose
Bothwell Parish Church is a
congregation of the Church of
Scotland and is part of the
worldwide family of people
belonging to the Christian
Faith, worshipping God
through Jesus Christ.
In response to the love of God
for all, we seek to serve our
community through worship,
friendship, care and
education; and to promote
Christian values of concern
for others, forgiveness,
healing and justice.
7
Last time we dealt at some length with
the difficult and transitional period that
followed the Reformation, shewing the
steps that were taken after the
demolition of the Roman system to
build up and equip a Protestant fabric.
During all this period the spiritual
oversight of our parish was in the hands
of John Hamilton (1560-1594). We
have already noticed his early career as
prior of Blantyre and provost of
Bothwell under the old regime. Now we
proceed to consider his work as a
minister of the Reformed Church.
His charge was an unusually extensive
one, including the parishes of
Monkland to the north and distant
barren Shotts. The stipend which he
drew as minister of this vast area was
very modest—one hundred pounds. But
on 30th March 1568, he was presented
by James VI to the Vicarage Pensionary
of the parish, which considerably
increased his income. According to
Scott’s ‘Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae’, he
was allowed after November 1569,
“twenty pounds mair”.
It is obvious, of course, that he could
hardly discharge unaided all the duties
which fell to him over so widely
scattered a district. We are not
surprised, therefore, to find that he had
the assistance of two Readers—one at
Bothwell and one at Shotts. (It may be
mentioned that the office of Reader was
created at the Reformation to meet the
shortage of ministers. The name was
applied to laymen who were licensed to
read the prayers from Knox’s Liturgy
and to give exhortation. They had no
permission, however, to preach,
administer the sacraments, or perform
the marriage ceremony). Between 1576
and 1578 Mungo Baxter was Reader of
Bothwell, his stipend being “the haill
vicarage pension thereof, £6 13s
4d” (Scots). At the same time Thomas
Hamilton was Reader at Shotts, with a
stipend of “£16 with the Kirkland to be
paid by the vicarage vacant”.
The energies of the minister of
Bothwell were not confined to his
parish. Apparently he was a man of
considerable talents, and these he
placed at the service of the church at
large. That he took his full share in the
difficult work of reconstruction is
obvious from the fact that, when in
October 1581, the General Assembly
appointed a committee to draw up a
platform of presbyteries and
constitutions for them in Clydesdale,
Renfrew and Lennox, John Hamilton
was one of the number selected for the
important task. In addition to the
functions he thus performed, he had
further duties laid upon his shoulders
when five years later he was
appointed by the Assembly one of the
commissioners for taking trial “of
slander in life, doctrine, or
conversation, betwixt and nixt
Assemblie” for such as may be
accused in the said bounds.
No further mention of him is found in
ecclesiastical records until the year
1594, when it is stated that he died on
the 19th October , leaving a widow
“Margaret Muirheid, and Abigail and
Agnes thir dochteris, in whose favour
the General Assembly made an Act,
28th June, 1595, declaring their right
to half of that year’s crop as the
Annat”.
There is, however, one important
affair outside the ecclesiastical world
with which he is intimately connected
and which brings our parish into
somewhat disagreeable prominence.
This unsavoury business we shall deal
with in our next issue. Suffice it here
to state that a warrant was issued for
the arrest of the minister on the charge
that he was an accomplice with his
brother in a very dastardly murder.
Church Web Site
www.bothwellparishchurch.org.uk
V-I-P-S Supporting the
RESTORATION
Kids from 3-18yrs performed their end
of term show to raise £50 for the Quire
Restoration Appeal by selling home
baking, running a raffle and
entertaining friends and family!
Voicebox Independent Performance
School, V-I-P-S (as in Lips), is a
Performance School with a twist-where
the kids are the artistic creators work-
ing alongside 3 specialist teachers of
Singing, Drama & Dance.
V-I-P-S classes meet in the Church
Centre on Saturday mornings—for
more information see:
http://bothwellparishchurch.org.uk/2010/12/23/
things-to-do/
or
http://www.v-i-p-s.co.uk/
8
Church Flowers
Chancel War Memorial
APRIL 6th Mrs Lynda Horn Mrs Isobel Parsons 13th Mrs Louise McLean Mrs Mary McWhinney 20th (Easter) Mrs Jan Lee Mrs Mary Brown 27th Mrs Sheila McDermid Mrs Elizabeth Brownlie MAY 4th Mrs Patricia Mosley Mrs Ann Walker 11th (Communion) Mrs Nancy Robertson Mrs Jessie McPherson 18th Mrs Sheena Cook Mrs Myra McMurdo 25th Mrs Joyce Geesin Mrs Meg Greenshields JUNE 1st Mrs Margaret Clark Mrs Fiona Lorimer 8th (Pentecost) Mrs Ann Watt Miss Maureen Snedden 15th Mrs Marette McIntyre Mr & Mrs David Cameron 22nd Mrs Maureen Watt Mrs Arlene Thomson 29th Miss Hazel McWhinnie Mrs Joan Henry JULY 6th Mrs Ellen Buttery Mrs Elizabeth French 13th Miss Marilyn Jack Mrs Margaret Mitchell 20th Mrs Lynda Horn Mrs Margaret McArthur 27th Mrs Margaret Chalmers Mrs Una Morris
Sunday Welcome / Duty Rota Office bearers should please arrive at Church for duty by 10am. Anyone unable to fulfil their duty should please arrange cover.
Please note that only two of the office bearers will be required to assist with counting the collection after the service.
Sunday Coffee Rota As usual, volunteers are asked to please swap any inconvenient dates with each other.
New volunteers are most welcome to join the list and should please contact Marilyn Jack—tel 852138.
Sunday Crèche APRIL 6th Shirley Frew Nan Carson 13th Hazel Gilmour Jean Moyes 20th Janie Craig Janette Provan 27th Pat Maxwell Julie Wilson MAY 4th Gillian Ormiston Suzanne Smith 11th Elaine Easton Aileen Hepburn 18th Eleanor Barr Eleanor Terrace 25th Elizabeth French Shirley Frew JUNE 1st Nan Carson Hazel Gilmour 8th Jean Moyes Janie Craig 15th Janette Provan Pat Maxwell 22nd Julie Wilson Gillian Ormiston 29th Suzanne Smith Elaine Easton JULY 6th NO CRECHE 13th NO CRECHE 20th NO CRECHE 27th NO CRECHE
APRIL 6 Mrs J Hamilton 13 Parsons and Wilson Families 20 Mrs N Carson 27 Mrs A Thomson
MAY 4 Ormiston Family 11 Mrs E Buttery 18 Mrs H Gilmour 25 Mrs E Dempsey
APRIL
6 D Hepburn, L Horn, M Hutchison, M Jack 13 D Lee , H Marsh, J Marsh, G Moore 20 Easter Communion Arrangements 27 C McQueen, G Ormiston, R Parsons, J Provan
MAY
4 Dr Ritch, B Sharp, E Somerville, E Terrace 11 Communion Arrangements 18 Dr Thomson, A Watt, G Whitton, A Wilson 25 E Barr, E Buttery, J Carson, N Carson
JUNE 1 Mrs C Cahill 8 Mrs J Craig 15 Frew & Hepburn Families 22 Mrs S Crichton 29 Bryson Family
JULY 6 Mrs J Hamilton 13 Parsons and Wilson Families 20 Mrs Nan Carson 27 Mrs A Thomson
JULY
6 D Lee, H Marsh, J Marsh, G Moore 13 C McQueen, G Ormiston, R Parsons, J Provan 20 Dr Ritch, B Sharp, E Somerville, E Terrace 27 Dr Thomson, A Watt, G Whitton, A Wilson
JUNE
1 S Cook, D Craig, J Crichton, S Crichton 8 J Cumming, J Dalziel, E Dempsey, V Gibson 15 B Gillespie, J Gilmour, T Goodsir, S Greenshields 22 K Hamilton, J Hart, I Henderson, J Henry 29 D Hepburn, L Horn, M Hutchison, M Jack