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Dear friends,
 The visit of Rev. Richard Higginbottom on Sunday 3rd February was by all accounts a great success. For the sake of those who were not present what happened was that at a shorter than usual service Richard spoke about God's promise to Abraham that all peoples on the earth would be blessed through him. Initially we understood that Richard was going to discuss a questionnaire about the congregation which was mainly statistics but instead the discussion which was carried out in groups was to provide answers to the question "how can we bless people locally, nationally and internationally?" Around 65 people stayed for the lunch, after which Richard made a few comments about the findings of the questionnaire as discussed at the meeting in the manse the previous evening. The next meeting with Richard will be on 26th and 27th April, when some kind of summing up will be given. Meantime a congregational questionnaire will be given to members at church and a community audit will be carried out by the Outreach and Development Committee. You may be interested to know that based on attendance on three consecutive Sundays 6th, 13th and 20th February the average number of adults (16+) at Sunday worship is 70 with 6 young folk up 15. The number of adults attending at least once over the 3 weeks was 126. In order to complete the questionnaire I examined the membership figures for the last 15 years. What I discovered was that although the congregation is undoubtedly declining, the decline has been noticeably less since 2000. We can't rest on our laurels however because while the overall rate of losing members may have eased off we have not been adding to our numbers as much as in earlier years, Remember that whatever conclusions are highlighted as a result of the church consultancy any improvement in our capacity to be an effective congregation in terms of outreach will require effort on the part of us all.
Yours sincerely,
D. Cameron McPherson
Use of Church PremisesChurch premises will generally be available to church members for private functions provided both the minister and the Kirk Session have given their permission beforehand. For uses of a religious or charitable nature whether or not directly in connection with the congregation, the permission of the minister is sufficient.
Kirk KraftsThis group of people meet on alternative Thursday’s to Focus, in Hamilton Hall, Dalserf, 1—3pm.
The group have a variety of skills such as Knitting, Sewing, Card Making, and Kraft work such as Lavender Bags, Tea Towels, Rabbits etc.
Volumes of Tea and Coffee are consumed with ample helpings of Sadie’s Homebaking duly devoured while solving the worlds problems.
There is plenty of room to expand, so if you have some spare time on a Thursday afternoon we would welcome everyone male or female, young or old, to join this happy band of energetic Kraft workers.
Rae Hunter
Ministerial NoteFollowing the editorial note in last month's newsletter, I would like to re-iterate the following related point which I have mentioned previously. If you are responsible for some area of the life and work of the congregation you should regard it as part of your responsibility to ensure that intimations and reports relating to that area are made as appropriate whether pulpit notices, newsletter items or newspaper articles etc. As the minister I try as far as possible to ensure that necessary communications are made but generally speaking I should be a back up only in that respect.
The Minister
Ashgill Residents AssociationPlease note that a newly formed residents association has been formed in Ashgill whose aims are to safeguard and promote the interests of tenants and residents in the area on matters concerning housing, environmental health, youth development and the social and community life of the area. We are holding a public meeting on Thursday 28th February at 7pm in Ashgill Community Hall and all are welcome. We are arranging a theatre night out to the Village Theatre East Kilbride on the 25th April to see "HARD LIQUER & LAUGHTER" which is a tribute to Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin the cost of which will be £2. Any senior citizen interested please contact Tammy (chairperson) on 01698 883977 or Lily (secretary) on 01698 889366.
We have organised a notice board to be erected at corner of Douglas Drive which will be enclosed with a glass/perplex front, anyone who would like to put notices on same contact the aforementioned numbers. A nursery is also being arranged and any interested parties please contact councillor Andy Carmichael 01698 454600 or mobile 07825 583906.
Emblem Of The Church
IntroductionA great deal of interest surrounds the use of an official emblem, or seal or crest, of the Church of Scotland. The following information offers an overview of the emblem used today, its history and meaning.
1691 to the 21st century While there is no record indicating that any General Assembly of the Church has ever given express approval for the use of the burning bush symbol in any shape or form, the emblem (used above) first appeared in 1691. The printer of The Principal Acts of the General Assembly, George Mossman, under his own initiative, introduced a title page that year which carried a representation of the burning bush. It was accompanied by the words: Nec Tamen Consumebatur. Between 1691 and 1888 the same design was used but appeared in no less than eight variations.
In 1930, the square logo, designed by Sir D. Y. Cameron, was introduced and used extensively until 1939 in place of the more familiar emblem.
Guidance for use todayOn the instructions of the General Assembly 1958 the then General Administration Committee was charged with registering the emblem with the Lord Lyon King of Arms to safeguard the use of the seal for the Church. For the first time, the burning bush emblem became the official mark of the Church for use on stationery, banners, signs, etc.
While the square logo is still in use in some parts of the Church today, the guidance given by the Council of Assembly in 2005, following major restructuring of the Church's central administration, was that the use of the original emblem was to be encouraged.
Nec Tamen Consumebatur The Latin used in the emblem created by George Mossman roughly translates into: Nec: it was not; tamen: however; consumebatur: it was consumed.
The wording refers to the Book of Exodus in the Bible when Moses encountered the burning bush. No matter how much it burned, it was never consumed by the flames.
Scholars suggest that Mossman may have got the idea to use the Latin (which is the Latin of Tremellius and Junius of 1597 and not the earlier Latin of the Vulgate) from France or Holland. It is suggested that the printer deliberately used the wording in its new context to celebrate the liberation that came following the bloodless revolution of 1689 when the suffering of the Church involving the monarchy and the Covenanters was finally over.
The emblem also echoes the teachings of 16th century theologist and preacher John Calvin who saw the burning bush as representative of the people of God - the Church which suffers in any age or place but against which not even the gates of Hell can prevail.
Extract from Church of Scotland web site.
Sunday Pathfinders CalendarThe Sunday Pathfinders is swinging along to Easter with the following programme.
We will be meeting over the Easter weekends even though there is a school holiday. There will be no Sunday School over the School Spring holiday in April the 6th & 13th .
Parents and Godparents can read the following stories in any storybook or bible at bedtime to introduce the story before Sunday.
2nd Mar - The Pearl of Great Price
9th Mar - The Good Samaritan
16th Mar Jesus enters Jerusalem + CRAFT – Sunday School to perform song at Service in Dalserf
23rd Mar - Resurrection Story + CRAFT (Easter hats ‘n bonnets) – Sunday School (and anyone else with a bonnet!!) to show hats at Service in Dalserf
30th Mar The Ascension (Acts 1: 8 – 11)
Don’t forget to start designing those hats!! Prizes for all age groups including the over 17’s!!
Jennifer, Kim ‘n Claire
Palm Sunday Wordsearch
WordsAcclaim, Arrive, Ascending, Bethany, Bethphage, Blessed, Branches, Clothes, Crowd, Disciples, Donkey, Event, Garments, Hither, Jericho, Jerusalem, Jesus, King, Loose, Lord, Mission, Multitude, Palm Sunday, Parade, Praising, Processions, Received, Reigning, Rejoice, Rome, Spiritual, Spread, Victory, Village, Witness, Worship
CommunionSunday 2nd March
Dalserf 12 Noon
Rorison 3.15pm
‘Do this in remembrance of me.’
Annual Congregational MeetingSunday 9th March
Following Church service
Holy Week Joint ServicesPalm Sunday Joint Service
March 16th
Chalmers Church 6.30pm
Monday 17th to Friday 21st
Trinity Church
Easter Sunday, 23rd March
Congregational Church 6.30pm
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