Our Christmas Newsletter 2014

God’s greatest gift is Love

The Candle represents the Light of Christ and

that Christ is the Light of the world

Letter from Lindsey In the book of Isaiah, we find words which describe the Messiah who is to come. ‘A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, “Wonderful

Counsellor,” “Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,” “Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9.6) This year as we mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War, this Christmas, the fact that Christ is the Prince of Peace takes on fresh significance as we remember a remarkable event which happened in the midst of war. The Evening Mail, Newcastle, 31st December 1914 printed this letter. ‘On Christmas Day one of the Germans came out of the trenches and held his hands up. Our fellows immediately got out of theirs, and we met in the middle, and for the rest of the day we fraternised, exchanging food, cigarettes and souvenirs. The Germans gave us some of their sausages, and we gave them some of our stuff. The Scotsmen started the bagpipes and we had a rare old jollification, which included football in which the Germans took part.’ This Christmas, as part of the ‘Hope Together’ movement, churches are being encouraged to remember this informal ceasefire and think of its significant today. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rt. Rev. Justin Welby writes….. ‘This Christmas 2014 we are invited to leave our defended positions and meet those we might consider to be our enemies, exchange greetings, make peace and sing carols. We do this not because of the actions of those soldiers 100 years ago. But because of the actions of God over 2,000 years ago; as he came to us, at great cost, to bring reconciliation and peace, joy and hope, life and light. And he came to us not just to bring change for one day, but for the whole of our lives.’

Dates for the Festive Season Advent Sunday 30thNovember:- Joint Service with St. Mark’s Scottish Episcopal Church. Telford Road at 10.30am. This will be led jointly by Lindsey and Rev. Paul Fletcher. There will not be a morning service at Righead on the 30th December 7th :- The service will be led by Lindsey which will include the Sacrament of Holy Communion Wednesday 10th December:– Lunch Club Christmas Lunch. December 14th - The service will be led by Lindsey. Gifts for Women’s Aid will be received. Wednesday 17th December – Christmas Carols and Communion at 1.30pm in the Church Lounge, followed by coffee and mince pies. December 21st – Our morning service will be a Christmas Songs of Praise with as many carol requests from the congregation as we can fit in! December 24th – Christingle Service at 6pm and Watch Night Service at 11.30pm December 28th - Sunday morning Service at 10am led by Lindsey

To mark the centenary of the football match and the ceasefire a new verse has been written for the much loved German Carol, ‘Stille Nacht, Silent Night’ which was also heard across the battlefields of WW1. Silent night, holy night God's great love giving life Let the world together rejoice Sing forever with one voice Heaven's hope is here Heaven's hope is here. May this be the song in our hearts and on our lips as once again we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Wishing you and your families every joy and peace this Christmastide. Lindsey

Down answers 1 Dental, 2 Chalet, 3 Tsar, 4 Remorse, 5 Saris, 6 A shen, 8 Sip, 9 Got, 12 Lit, 13 Tense, 15 Robes, 18 Astir, 19 Rat, 20 Old, 21 Canines, 22 Red, 23 Sedate, 24 Trip, 25 Piglet, 26 Scone, 27 Recur, 28 Pie, 30 Also

News of the Fellowship. We were all deeply saddened to hear the news of Lee Jamieson’s death on 24th August. Lee had shown such determination and character during his illness and never lost his love of playing practical jokes. He lived life to the full enjoying karting, football, time with family and friends and in his last year at Murray Primary was recognised by pupils and staff for his valuable contribution to the school. Over 700 people gathered for Lee’s funeral mass, which in itself was testament to the person he was and the way he touched people’s lives. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Elizabeth-Anne, Stephen, Samantha, Anne and Lee’s wider family and friends. In September we also heard news of the sudden death of Rona Elder, nee Grant, in Nairn. Rona and her sister Mariel are fondly remembered former members of the church. We hold Rona’s husband Stuart, their children and grandchildren, her sister Mariel and brother David in our prayers at this difficult time. We have received the following message from Karen and Stuart Downie……To all our friends at Righead URC. Thank you very much for your generous gift. We are both looking forward to a nice meal at Pizza Ex-press. Stuart is already planning a Saturday afternoon shopping trip in Glas-gow followed by a pizza at Pizza Express! We always enjoy going out for dinner when we don’t need to cook and do dishes – we can just sit back, relax and have a good blether! Thanks again for all your good wishes and thinking of us on our special day. Love Karen and Stuart. Since our last newsletter a number of people have been in hospital for tests or have had periods of ill health at home. We wish everyone well and hope for a return to better health. Please remember that Lindsey always appreci-ates hearing news of folk who may like her popping in, so don’t hesitate to contact her yourself or on behalf of someone else.

Aggie was in one of her more belligerent moods. She commented to a woman customer. 'Isn't that tram inspector that stauns at the corner 0' Jamaica Street and Argyle Street a right nyaff.' Do you know who I am?' demanded the passenger. 'I'm that nyaff's daughter.' Oh! And do you know who I am?' queried Aggie. Naw,' came the reply ....... Thank God Says Aggie'

1st Old Croonie When you think about it ? God has to be the best inventor of all time. 2nd Old Croonie Why do you say that ? “Well he took a rib from Adam and made a loud speaker

News from East Mains. The Guild session has begun again and ladies from the Church and local community have enjoyed afternoons with ‘Harmony’ and ‘Karaoke Hymns’ and are looking forward to a flower arranging demonstration as well as a Christmas dinner in the coming weeks. A special treat will be when the children from West Mains School come to sing their nativity carols and songs and we are pleased to have them as we continue to build links with the school. At the beginning of November, the primary one classes from West Mains visited the church and learned about what happens during worship and the special furniture we have in churches. Later in the month the whole school will come to Assembly when the theme will be, ‘Welcome to God’s house.’ The Rainbows and Brownies joined the congregation for the Remembrance Day service which was led by Andrew Mackie. The girls participated in readings and prayers and brought pictures of poppies with them that they had coloured in at their meetings and shared their thoughts about war and peace. Thank you to everyone who supported Rose Neil’s coffee morning for Macmillan, over £300 was raised. The East Mains Christmas Fayre is on Saturday 22nd November from 10am-12noon and we hope for good support in our annual fundraising event for church funds. Finally, Jean Monie is stepping down as treasurer at the end of the year. Jean has served the church in this way for 29 years. No one is surprised that we are having to find at least three people to cover all the jobs she is pres-ently doing. We express our sincere thanks for all the work, and the way in which Jean has served both the congregation and, for the last fourteen years, the joint pastorate.

The Gold Wrapping Paper - An Short Christmas Story

Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he punished his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had used up the family's only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. As money was tight, he became even more upset when on Christmas Eve he saw that the child had used all of the expensive gold paper to decorate one shoebox she had put under the Christmas tree. He also was concerned about where she had gotten money to buy what was in the shoebox. Nevertheless, the next morning the little girl, filled with excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!" As he opened the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, now regretting how he had punished her. But when he opened the shoebox, he found it was empty and again his anger flared. "Don't you know, young lady," he said harshly, "when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside the package!" The little girl looked up at him with sad tears rolling from her eyes and whispered: "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full." The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his precious little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger. An accident took the life of the child only a short time later. It is told that the father kept this little gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. Whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems, he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and remember the love of this beautiful child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us has been given an invisible golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God.

There is no more precious possession

While Shepherds Watched While shepherds watch their flocks by night

All seated on the ground The angel of the Lord came down and glory shone around

The union of Shepherd's has complained that it breaches health and safety regulations to insist that shepherds watch their flocks without appropriate seating arrangements being provided, therefore benches, stools and orthopaedic chairs are now available. Shepherds have also requested that due to the inclement weather conditions at this time of year that they should watch their flocks via CCTV cameras from centrally heated shepherd observation huts. Please note, the angel of the lord is reminded that before shining his / her glory all around she / he must ascertain that all shepherds have been issued with glasses capable of filtering out the harmful effects of UVA, UVB and Glory

Below we have 9 clues each clue is a code for a Christmas Carol eg num-ber 2 is Little Drummer boy. The other answers are upside down some where in the Newsletter

1 Happiness to the Global Eco system 2 Small male percussionist 3 I am experiencing nocturnal visions of a colourless holiday 4 Festoon the Corridors 5 Non-summer fairytale area 6 Oh holiday conifer 7 Ten plus two twenty-four hour periods of holiday festivity 8 Hey tiny city in Israel 9 In a remote location in a barn stall

This really is a

“BIG THANK YOU”

To everyone who contributed to the success of our Christmas Fayre from the organisers to the helpers to sweeper ups and buyers, because of their efforts the grand sum of £1200 has been deposited into the Church Coffers. The other story is the success of our lunch club who once again have given £500 so the big thank you is for them too and of course those who come along and enjoy their lunch each Wednesday. Plus of course the organisations who helped from beginning to end. Well done everyone.

WWWWishing you and your loved ones ishing you and your loved ones ishing you and your loved ones ishing you and your loved ones PPPPeace,eace,eace,eace, HHHHealth, ealth, ealth, ealth, HHHHappiness & appiness & appiness & appiness & PPPProsperity coupled rosperity coupled rosperity coupled rosperity coupled with with with with LLLLove thats ove thats ove thats ove thats GGGGods ods ods ods GGGGift for us to share.ift for us to share.ift for us to share.ift for us to share.

Your donation will be shared by Pine Cres. & Erskine Home

From From From From Lindsey, John, Hannah & Morven Sanderson

Jessie Mackay Edith Rae

Sadie Cairns Mattie Oliver

Jim Provan Betty Dron

Babs & Alan Paterson Helen Boardman

Margaret Cooper Pat Sutherland

Karen Downie Norma Waugh

Anne Holmes Eileen & Jim Muir

Sandra Wood Ellen Connelly

John & Dorothy Arthur Jean Fraser

June & David Jannaway Elma Wunsch

Becky Macpherson Irene Nelson

Maureen Banford Irene Robson

Fiona Morton Kathleen Lowrie

Kate Bannerman Rae Cruickshank

Eleanor Williamson Isobel Paul

Aileen Laird Helen Bow

Elizabeth McGill Morag Aitken

Edwin & Rina Robertson

David, Shirley, Louise & Gavin Herbertson

Your donation will be shared by Pine Cres. & Erskine Home

News from the Church Meeting At our last two church meetings we have been thinking about the priorities for mission and ministry which were agreed by the church during the vacancy and looked at how we have addressed these in the last two years. We have made great progress and have addressed many of the priorities through the setting up of the singing group who contribute to worship, starting the monthly Wednesday Communion which enables some of our members to come to worship who can’t manage a Sunday morning, and strengthening our relationships with neighbouring churches, especially St. Mark’s. We noticed that we would like to do more in building links with the commu-nity. We have begun to do this with the uniformed organisations and as part of the new chaplaincy team at Duncanrig Secondary School, but Lindsey brought an idea to the church meeting for us to discuss. She explained that she knew of a number of churches which had used part of the grounds to create a community garden. The gardens comprise raised beds which are easy for people of all gardening abilities to maintain and the garden will be fully accessible to people with mobility needs. The garden is built by volunteers, often found through Social Work programmes and then is offered to the community, groups or individuals, to use. Gardening is a therapeutic activity for many, as well as a way of growing your own food. Initial conversations with the gardeners who have done the feasibility report, the uniformed organisations and Voluntary Action Couth Lanarkshire have been encouraging. It is anticipated the project will cost around £10,000 but grants are available for such projects. The Church Meeting felt this was an exciting project and possibility and agreed that we should pursue it. Hopefully by the next newsletter we will have some definite news to report. The Elders also reported that they have worked on a health and safety policy for the church and we are grateful that Adam Park has agreed to be our health and safety officer. We have also reviewed the hall users guidelines and distributed them to groups and had discussions about the donations or charges for groups using the building. Work will begin to revise the Church Constitution and this will be presented at the next Church Meeting in March.

Earl and Bubba are quietly sitting in a boat fishing, Chewing tobacco and drinking beer when suddenly Bubba says, "Think I'm gonna divorce the wife - she Ain't spoke to me in over 2 months." Earl spits overboard, takes a long, slow sip of beer and says, "Better think it over.............women like that are hard to find."

Commmunion Table Cross On Sunday 2nd November we dedicated a wooden cross given to the church by the Herbertson family in memory of all who are no longer with us but who have loved us and encouraged us in our journeys of life and faith. It was appropriate to do this on the Sunday closest to All Saints Day when we remembered and gave thanks for the Saints - ‘God’s people’ – famous or known personally to us. The cross is a beautiful addition to the sanctuary and will also be used at our Wednesday Communion services.

Answers Across 1 Dulcet,7 Sideways,8 Saga,10 Tailor, 11 Polite, 14 Pet, 16 Risen, 17 Last 19 Roost, 21 Cable, 22 Rated, 23 Step, 26 Siren, 28 Per, 29 credit,30 Aiding 31 Leap, 32 Nauseous, 33 ocelot

After many years of hard work, the construction of Kilbryde Hospice is now complete! There is an open invitation from Kilbryde Hospice in that they inviting you and your friends, family and colleagues to come and visit the hospice to see our facilities for yourself. They are holding public open days on Monday 1 and Tuesday 2 December from 1pm-8pm and you can drop in at anytime within these hours to take a walk round the building and meet some of the directors, staff and volunteers who work at the hospice. We would love to see you here at Kilbryde Hospice, Hairmyres Hospital, Eaglesham Road, East Kilbride,G75 8GJ If you require any further information about our open days, please give us a call on 01698 717260 or email info@kilbrydehospice.org.uk

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 25 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

Across Clues 1 Sweet 6 7 Obliquely 8 8 Heroic narrative 4 10 Adapt 6 11 Courteous 6 14Domestic Animal 3 16 Ascended 5 17 Survive 4 19 Perch 5 21 Telegram 5 22 Evaluated 5 23 Pace 4 26 Temptress 6 28 For every 3 29 Believe 6 30 Helping 6 31 Jump 4

20 Elderly 3 21 Teeth 7 22 Colour 3 23 Placid 6 24 Journey 4 25 Young Swine 6 26 Doughy Cake 5 27 Happen Again 5 28 Pastry Dish 3 30 Too 4

Down Clues 1 Of teeth 6 2 Hut 6 3 Russian Ruler 4 4 Regret 7 5 Indian Dresses 5 6 Pale 5 8 Drinks daintily 4 9 Obtained 3 12 Illuminated 3 13 Anxious 5 15 Loose garments 5 18 Moving 5 19 Rodent 3

32 Sick 8 33 Feline 6

Answers to 1, 2,& 3 Teaser 1 Underground

Teaser 2 Three Teaser 3 ant

Report from Synod of Scotland meeting– 13th Sept. 2014

The Moderator welcomed new ministers to the Synod – Rev. Jake Tatton (Giffnock& Mosspark United) and Rev. Branwen Rees (Greenock East & Port Glasgow) and Miss Catherine McFie who is a final year student from Westminster College on placement at Rutherglen. He led Synod in prayers for those ministers, elders and deacons who had died since the last Synod meeting, including Revd. Phyllis Hutchison from East Mains. Churches were reminded that they had been asked to bring displays to the March 2015 Synod of their progress in three areas – involvement with the local community as part of Hope 2014; support for Christian Aid and support for poor and marginalised people in our communities. A major part of the day related to same-sex marriage. General Assembly in July had debated this and although a substantial majority of Assembly were in favour of allowing same sex marriages to take place in URC churches compete unanimity was not reached and so further consultation is taking place within the denomination. The law surrounding marriage is different in Scotland, from England and Wales, which means that Scottish URC congregations do not need permission from General Assembly to hold same-sex marriages on their premises. The key issue in Scotland is whether conducting a same-sex marriage in Scotland is contrary to the doctrinal or constitutional position of the URC. Synod passed a number of resolutions thanking people for the work which has been done on this matter to date; seeking clarification as soon as possible about whether conducting same sex marriage is contrary to the church’s doctrinal or constitutional position; making sure there is training for all ministers on the new marriage laws in Scotland; and authorising the Synod Officers to begin the process of registering the Synod as a nominating body for same-sex marriage. Congregations are encouraged to participate in the denomination-wide con-sultation process which has been sent out by the General Secretary and trained facilitators will be available for church meetings discussing these issues. It is for every church meeting to decide whether or not they are will-ing to permit same-sex marriages on their premises and for every minister to decide whether to conduct such marriages.

The Finance and Property Committee presented the Synod budget for 2015-2017. Through the contributions of local churches the Synod is working towards a more self-supporting financial situation and the deficit is reduc-ing. The Synod approved the budget. It was noted that there is likely to be a stipend increase in 2015 of 1.75%. Congregations were asked to increase their giving to the Mission and Ministry Fund by 2%. Following the road show’s which were held earlier in the year the Committee has put together a pack on trusteeship for each congregation with templates for good practice. Jim Merilees, Lorna Bowry and Ben Forsyth presented their experiences of General Assembly. Particular mention was made of the papers about the ‘Future of the Church’ which were presented by the Faith and Order Committee. There will be further consultation on these papers throughout the denomination. All General Assembly papers are available on the URC website - www.urc.org.uk The Church & Society Committee presented a statement from a consultation of Scottish faith leaders which stressed the importance of faith in the lives of individuals and the life of the nation. This was commended to congregations to study. Material from the Poverty Truth Commission was distributed to every church. Each church was given a booklet about poverty in Scotland and two people in each congregation are asked to read it, share their reactions with the congregation and for the congregation to commit to do one action from those suggested in the booklet. There were brief updates from Pastoral, Church Life, Ecumenical & World Church and Nomination Committees.

Answer to Carol Teaser1. Joy to the World 2. Little Drummer Boy 3. I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas 4. Deck the Halls 5. Winter Wonderland 6. Oh Christmas Tree 7. 12 Days of Christmas 8. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem 9. Away in a Manger

The four stages of life – You believe in Santa Claus – You don’t believe in Santa Claus – You become Santa Claus – You look like Santa Claus.

2 What number gives the same result when it is added to 1.5 as when it is multiplied by 1.5?

3 What do the words below have in common? ADAM CLAIM GALL BUOY FOND RAMP

Answers somewhere in Newsletter (try Xword page)

1 Take the letters ERGRO put three letters in front of it, and the same three letters be-hind to form a common English word.

Lectionary Readings Date Reader Text 30/11/14 Anne Holmes Isaiah 64.1-9, 1 Cor 1. 3-9 Mark 13:24-3 07/12/14 Sadie Cairns Isaiah 40. 1-11 2 Peter 3. 8-15a Mark 1:1-8 14/12/14 Jessie Mackay Isaiah 61:1-4,8-11,1 Thess 5.16-24 John 1:6-8,19-28 21/12/14 John Arthur 2 Sam 7,1-11 16 , Romans 16.25-27 Luke 1 26-38 28/12/14 Alan Paterson Isaiah 61.10–62.3; Galatians 4.4-7; Luke 2.22-40 04/01/15 Jim Muir Isaiah 60.1-6 Ephesians3.1 12 Matthew 2.1-12 11/01/15 Jean Fraser Genesis 1.1-5 Acts 19.1-7 Mark 1.4-11 18/01/15 Anne Holmes 1 Samuel 3.1-10, 1 Corinthians 6.12-20 , John 1.43-51 25/01/15 Sadie Cairns Jonah 3.1-5, 10 1 Corinthians 7.29-31 Mark 1.14-20 01/02/15 Jessie Mackay Deuteronomy 18.15-20 ,1 Cor 8.1-13, Mark 1.21-28 08/02/15 John Arthur Isaiah 40.21-31, 1 Corinthians 9.16-23, Mark 1.29-39 15/02/15 Alan Paterson 2 Kings 2.1-12, 2 Corinthians 4.3-6 , Mark 9.2-9 22/02/15 Jim Muir Genesis 9.8-17, 1 Peter 3.18-22, Mark 1.9-15 01/03/15 Jean Fraser Genesis 17.1-7,15-16, Romans 4.13-25, Mark 8.31-38 08/03/15 Anne Holmes Exodus 20.1-17, 1 Corinthians 1.18-25, John 2.13-22 15/03/15 Sadie Cairns Numbers 21.4-9 , Ephesians 2.1-10, John 3.14-21 22/03/15 Jessie Mackay Genesis 9.8-17, 1 Peter 3.18-22, Mark 1.9-15 29/03/15 John Arthur Psalm 118, 1-2, 19-29, Philippians 2.5-11, Mark 11.1-11

Contact Numbers Minister Lindsey Sanderson 21 Crawfurd Gardens Rutherglen G73 4JP Mobile 07859139615 Secretary Sandra Wood 6 Dunrobin Cres. East Kilbride G74 4SU Mobile 07740 683853 Treasurer David Herbertson 1 Swift Place Broadmeadows East Kilbride G75 8RT Telephone 248667 Newsletter Edwin Robertson Flat 29 Kittoch Court 2 Roxburgh park East Kilbride G74 1ND Tele 247866 Freewill offering Kathleen Lowrie Tele 579991 Deed of Covenant Irene Robson Tele 228542

Flower List Via the newsletter a great big thank you to those who donate towards the provision of flowers for the Chancel. This contribution is deeply appreciated. Sadly, the number of members is down as we all know, as a result contributions are down towards the purchase of flowers for the chancel. It looks as if 2015 could be a telling year in the amount of donations made towards the purchase of flowers for the chancel. Jessie has done a stalwart job over the years alas funding for 2015 may well be down and to that end Jessie is appealing via our Newsletter for more donations if possible. Anyone who feels they would like to make a small contribution not necessarily to provide all the monies needed for the flowers on a Sunday, please see Jessie as your contribution no matter what would be appreciated

Interfaith Prayers for Peace will be held on Saturday 29th Novem-ber at the Murray Owen Centre, 1 Liddell Grove, from 2.15pm to 3.45pm as part of Scottish Inter-faith Week. This will include light refreshments and time to meet one another. The hope is that following this meeting we can set up a local Interfaith Group to promote understanding, cooperation and good relations between organiza-tions and persons of different Faiths. Lindsey is involved in this meeting so please speak to her for further information.