Wick St FergusChurch of Scotland

July 2017

Welcome, folks, to the July edition of Wick St Fergus magazine. We are now getting quite a geographical spread in our readership with readers from as far afield as Dunnett Avenue and Staxigoe. Since the last edition of the magazine there have been some terrible tragedies in the news. There have been terror attacks and also the awful fire at Grenfell Tower in London. Then that nasty Britain First racist drove his van at those Muslim worshippers at Finsbury Park Mosque. You would be forgiven for refusing to turn on your television set at times like this because it just seems like one thing after another. Government at both local and national level seems to have been singularly inadequate in its response to this level of human pain and where there has been a response it has been grudging, minimal and patronising. I’m not going to get into the minutiae of it all but we need to learn certain things from this. The first thing is that Governments are put in place to ensure that justice is done for the governed. This is self-evident. In his famous address in the days following the famous Battle of Gettysburg Abraham Lincoln spoke of his desire that “government of the people, by the people and for the people should not perish from the earth.” In other words, government and political structures should never be permitted to be ends in themselves. They are not there in order to self-perpetuate themselves. Secondly, governments need to remember that they govern people. The danger with political structures and with politicians in general is that in time they fail to see people as people. Instead they begin to see people in the same way that they view items on a balance sheet. Thirdly, governments only govern with the consent and express will of the governed. Anything else is oppression. Fourthly, politicians of whatever party and level of influence are public servants who serve the needs and aspirations of the governed. Now as you read this you are maybe wondering what all this has to do with religion or Christianity in general. So here goes: all through the Bible one of the things that we learn about the nature or character of God is that he is a God of justice. The word in the original biblical languages means something like a way of living that is not only consistent with the character of God but also it is something that has to be consistently right. And so, we read passages like this towards the end of Isaiah which speak about housing the homeless and feeding the hungry and aiding the widow and orphan. Then we read that famous set of verses in Micah 6 which speaks about doing what God requires which is to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. Finally, there is the infamous scene from the life of Christ where he enters the temple in Jerusalem and drives out the sellers of doves and the money changers because they were cheating the poorest of the people. And James 1:27 defines true religion as, “visiting widows and orphans in their affliction and keeping oneself unstained by the world.” If a government cannot live by these principles it loses its legitimacy to govern. When the Bible says, “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people,” it has in mind the requirement of governments that they treat citizens with respect and mercy and that injustice should not only not be tolerated in society, it should also not be practiced by governments. We will return to this next month. In the meantime, if you want to discuss these things further, come and see us at Wick St Fergus. You know where we are.

Revd John Nugent BD (Honours)

Church Register:DEATHS: We are sorry to report the passing of the following people:

3rd June - Sybil Gunn – beloved wife of the late John Gunn and mother of Leslie9th June - Donald Gunn Macleod – dear brother to Sheila and Andrew.16th June - Jessie Macphee – beloved sister to Andy, Betty and Jean (at Latheron)

Flowers for Sunday

If you would like to fill an empty date on the rota

please contact Mrs Harper on 602612.

The following dates remain vacant: 25th February, 9th July, 10th September

Church Duty Rota****ELDERS PLEASE NOTE CHANGES TO ROTA****Date BUS STAIRS DOOR DOOR USHER

2nd July J Mackay B Campbell G Macdonald M Thomson A Sinclair

9th July G Watt W Roberston G Ramsay ******** M Foubister

16th July I Banks M Duffy H Gray R Mappin J Cormack

23rd July J Maclennan A Duffy J Coghill J Houston E Henderson

30th July J Mackay G Macdonald B Campbell M Foubister M Thomson

6th Aug W Robertson G Ramsay ********* G Watt A Sinclair

If you are unable to attend on your duty day please arrange a swap. Dates with ****** require cover. Please assist if you are in attendance on the day. With thanks, The Minister

DATE KINDLY DONATED BY ARRANGER

2nd July Mrs L Mackay, Biggins, Killimister Donor

9th July vacant

16th July Mrs More, Robertson Square Donor

23rd July The Munro family Mrs Harper

30th July The Sinclair Family in Memoria Mrs Harper

6th Aug Mrs Durrand, Ackergill Donor

Guild Report March 27 and April 10Monday March 27th saw the beginning of the Guild’s new session. They have decided to have theGuild during the summer in the lighter nights. Mrs. Janet McDonald welcomed our members to thenew session and after the opening devotions handed the evening over to our special guests, WickArion Choir who along with accompanist Miss Norma

Sinclair and under the baton of their conductorMrs. Barbara Nicol gave us a delightful evening begin-ning with a trio of songs, The Dark Island, KateDalrymple and The Lord’s my shepherd to the Vicar of Dibley theme. This was fol-lowed by a solo byLesley Hendry, Make me a Channel of your Peace. Following a selec-tion from Les MiserablesMarjory Bain entertained us with a Willie Lyall dialect poem. The choir then sang I had a Dream from

Abba, the Beatles hit “When I’m 64,” Bette Midler’s “The Rose” and John Denver’s “You fill up mysenses” and Hallelujah. Anne Duffy then sang “Re-member Me” and the choir ended the evening witha lovely rendition of “All in the April Evening.” Mrs. Kathleen Robertson gave the votes of thanks andthe company then sat down to tea.Our meeting of Monday April 10th

was led by Mrs. Phyllis Gray who held the theme of Holy Week andduring the opening prayer remembered our member Mrs. Pat Weir. Following the opening, theevening was handed over to our guest for the even-ing, Harry Gray who treated us to a slide show “AWalk in th Past” taking us on a scenic tour of Wick long ago. The images stirred the memories ofmany of our members and excited much com-

ment and discussion as each image was revealedbeginning in Willowbank of the 1930s, along the north shore, through Wick town centre, aroundPulteney and the harbour of old, finishing with the first and last Wick Herring Queens which alsoattracted much comment and naming of the Queen’s Court, a splen-did and nostalgic even-ing.Following the closing hymn and benediction the com-

pany enjoyed a nice cuppa and a bletherGuild Report March 27 and April 10Monday March 27th saw the beginning of the Guild’s new session. They have decided to have theGuild during the summer in the lighter nights. Mrs. Janet McDonald welcomed our members to thenew session and after the opening devotions handed the evening over to our special guests, Wick

Arion Choir who along with accompanist Miss Norma Sinclair and under the baton of their conductorMrs. Barbara Nicol gave us a delightful evening begin-ning with a trio of songs, The Dark Island, KateDalrymple and The Lord’s my shepherd to the Vicar of Dibley theme. This was fol-lowed by a solo byLesley Hendry, Make me a Channel of your Peace. Following a selec-tion from Les MiserablesMarjory Bain entertained us with a Willie Lyall dialect

poem. The choir then sang I had a Dream fromAbba, the Beatles hit “When I’m 64,” Bette Midler’s “The Rose” and John Denver’s “You fill up mysenses” and Hallelujah. Anne Duffy then sang “Re-member Me” and the choir ended the evening witha lovely rendition of “All in the April Evening.” Mrs. Kathleen Robertson gave the votes of thanks andthe company then sat down to tea.

Our meeting of Monday April 10th was led by Mrs. Phyllis Gray who held the theme of Holy Week andduring the opening prayer remembered our member Mrs. Pat Weir. Following the opening, theevening was handed over to our guest for the even-ing, Harry Gray who treated us to a slide show “AWalk in th Past” taking us on a scenic tour of Wick

long ago. The images stirred the memories ofmany of our members and excited much com-ment and discussion as each image was revealedbeginning in Willowbank of the 1930s, along the north shore, through Wick town centre, aroundPulteney and the harbour of old, finishing with the first and last Wick Herring Queens which alsoattracted much comment and naming of the Queen’s Court, a splen-

did and nostalgic even-ing.Following the closing hymn and benediction the com-pany enjoyed a nice cuppa and a bletherDIARY for JULY/ FORTHCOMING EVENTS 6th Special Board Meeting – 7pm16th Short Service in Pulteney House – 3pm21/22nd Book Sale

Café Church will resume in September

Monday 24th AprilOur leader for this meeting was Mrs. Janet McDonald who, after our usual brief opening service introduced our guest for the evening Mrs. Doreen Leith

who leads the “Wick Voices Section” of The Wick Society. The inspira-tion for this section came from the Johnston Collec-tion which tells a pictorial story of our local com-munity and, with this in mind, it was considered time to record local voices telling local stories. Doreen took us on a wonderful jour-ney illustrated with John-ston images while we listened to a range of re-cordings from George Beth-une talking about the Duke of Kent’s crash on

Scaraben, our own Kathlyn Harper’s recording memor-ies of a wartime bombing, Anne Dunnett on herlove of tennis, Anne Mackay on Wick Post Office and other recollections of a time gone by. This was afascinating evening, well done to our Wick Society for this initiative, we were told that there are 57 recordings available on The Wick Society’s website, well worth a visit. After a hearty vote of thanks tea was servSermon information from the Minister

DATE READING 1 READING 2 SUBJECT DAY OF CHURCH

CALENDAR2nd July Genesis 22:1-14 Matthew 10:40-42 Subversive Scripture 3rd After Trinity

9th July Genesis 24:62-67 Matthew 11:25-30 Subversive Mercy 4th After Trinity

16th July Psalm 119:105-112 Matthew 13:18-23 Subversive Word 5th After Trinity

23rd July Psalm 139:1-11 1 Peter 3:8-18 Subversive Vision 6th After Trinity

30th July I Kings 3:5-12 Matthew 13:31-33 Subversive Calling 7th After Trinity

BOOK SALEOn Friday and Saturday we held our first Book Sale of the year and raised £473.

Our thanks to all those who came along and bought books, and those who donated ones.Thanks also to the people who do the hardest work - taking

out and putting away the thousands of books we have each time. Without them we could not hold this event.

The next Book Sale is on Friday and Saturday 21st and 22nd JulyChurch AGM ! $ /

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THE GUILDGuild Meeting June 5 th 2017 Our Leader for the evening was Mrs. Phyllis Gray who, before our opening devotions spoke kindly of the passing of our member Mrs. Sibyl Gunn a regular attender until ill health prevented her from coming along. She will be remembered by all for her quiet friendly disposition. Our opening hymn, prayer and reading were based on 1 Corinthians which stresses the importance of love something sorely needed in our world today. Our guest for the evening was Isobel Sutherland from Thrumster who, in her inimitable style entertained the company with readings and poetry. Her main

thrust was her trip around the NC500 with her friend Zena Sinclair. Her stories of the people that they met and their experiences in the Bed and Breakfasts and various cafés and restaurants very quickly made us all want to do that trip. Time raced by and we were disappointed when she came to the end. Thank you, Isobel, for a very enjoyable evening. After votes of thanks and our closing tea was served.

Guild Rally 7th June 2017Despite the very wet and windy weather, there was a good turnout in Reay Church for the Presbyterial Council Summer Rally. The St. Fergus members travelled by minibus and car and thanks go to Alistair Sinclair and his "conductress" Anna for driving the 64mile round trip. The meeting was conducted by Mrs Janet McDonald and the guest speaker was our retiring Lord Lieutenant Miss Anne Dunnett, who talked about "coincidences," the first being of how her parents first met. The ladies of the North Coast Guilds served a lovely supper before the journey home. The next Rally will be in November in Wick St. Fergus, (date to be announced), when the donations from all the Guilds in Caithness of new underwear for women and girls in Africa will be collected. The Wick St. Fergus "pantometer" stands at 93 pairs and anyone wishing to swell this number can give their donations to Janet McDonald or any Guild member. The sizes being collected are Girls age 3 - 15 and Ladies sizes 8 - 16.

GUILD FUTURE FUN DRAISER Monday September 11th. 7.30pm. Floral Art Demonstration. Admission, including tea/coffee £3.00. In aid of Guild Projects. All welcome.

Wedding exhibition Our wedding exhibition has been postponed and will now be held on 7th October. Please look out your wedding items: shoes, tiaras, dresses, garters, invites, photos, hats, anything wedding related which would help us with our exhibit. More information in future magazines.

Book Sale – 21/22 nd July Our summer book sale will take place on 21st/22nd July. As always, any donations to be made beforehand will be gladly received. Come along and grab yourself a bargain, we have had many donations already and there will be some super items in our stock.

Helping HandsA mother, wishing to encourage her son's progress at the piano, bought tickets to a performance by the great Polish pianist Ignace Paderewski. When the evening arrived, they found their seats near the front of the concert hall and eyed the majestic Steinway waiting on the stage. Soon the mother found a friend to talk to, and the boy slipped away. At eight o'clock, the lights in the auditorium began to dim, the spotlights came on, and only then did they notice the boy - up on the piano bench, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." His mother gasped in shock and embarrassment but, before she could retrieve her son, the master himself appeared on the stage and quickly moved to the keyboard. He whispered gently to the boy, "Don't quit. Keep playing." Leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around the other side and improvised a delightful obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice held the crowd mesmerized with their blended and beautiful music. In all our lives, we receive helping hands - some we notice, some we don't. Equally we ourselves have countless opportunities to provide helping hands - sometimes we would like our assistance to be noticed, sometimes we don't. Little of what we all achieve is without learning from others and without support from others and what we receive we should hand out. ©copyright free Parishwindow (online)

Website: Find us at www.wickstferguschurch.org.uk Please can all items for August’s newsletter be with Michelle by Monday 10th July due to holidays –Thank you

CHURCH CONTACT DETAILSTitle Name Phone Email

Minister John Nugent 07511 503946 nugent0@me.comSession ClerkClerk to Congregational Board Elizabeth Henderson 01955 604156 tannach.henderson@gmail.comTreasurer Martin Duffy 01955 605732Magazine Editor Michelle Foubister 01955 602416 chellefoubister@sky.comWebsite Jean McLennan jean.mclennan02@btinternet.com

Congregational No.41229. Scottish Charity No.SC013840

Congrega5onal Growth, Café church. – Alan reported that the

=rst mee5ng on Easter Sunday had been aboveexpecta5ons. Twelve people had a?ended nine of whom had no St Fergus connec5on. The format was successful andwell received with lively debate, feedback indicated that all are willing to a?end again. The next Café @wick S!ergus willbe held on Sunday 24th

April; Alan asked for prayerful support for this ini5a5ve. Congrega5onal Growth, Café church. – Alan reported that the =rst mee5ng on Easter Sunday had been above

expecta5ons. Twelve people had a?ended nine of whom had no St Fergus connec5on. The format was successful andwell received with lively debate, feedback indicated that all are willing to a?end again. The next Café @wick S!ergus willbe held on Sunday 24th

April; Alan asked for praCongregational No.41229.

Scottish Charity No.SC013840