30/2015

Registered Scottish Charity SC014527. Web Site http://righeadurc.wix.com/home

Letter from Lindsey

This year we are in lectionary year B which means that the Gospel we focus upon is the Gospel of Mark. Mark is the shortest and oldest of the gospel accounts. Mark often lacks some of the details of Luke and Matthew and his Greek is not as eloquent as other writers.

(My granddad used to say Mark wrote Greek like as Derbyshire man speaks English.) In comparison to the other Gospels Mark’s gospel seems to end abruptly and in a bit of disarray as we are left with two different endings.

Reading Mark’s resurrection stories we are left with a very strong impression, not of the disciples’ joy that their friend and Saviour has risen, but about their fear and uncertainty about what was happening.

Mark tells us that the two Marys and Salome who had gone to the tomb were distressed and terrified when they saw the young man in the tomb and they spoke to no one even though the young man had given them a message for the disciples. In the variant endings the disciples refuse to believe Mary and the two, whom we assume to be the two who were travelling to Emmaus, when they all told the disciples that Jesus had appeared to them. It is only when Jesus appears himself that the disciples believe and begin the task of preaching the Good News.

We like to have the whole story. But sometimes working out the ending takes a bit of effort, we need to go back and check the details at the start which we may have missed but ended up being crucial later on. When we read stories about how Jesus died, we know that he then rose from the dead. But his friends didn’t know how it would end. At first they were afraid and distrustful of what others told them. They needed Jesus to confirm their story and give them the encouragement they needed.

Our lives can sometimes take an unexpected turns too, which can leave us feeling afraid and distrustful of what others are telling us. We too need the reassurance from Jesus that the disciples needed to enable us to go on, sharing the good news of God’s love through our daily living.

This Easter we give thanks for Jesus words of promise to us,

‘And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.’ (Matthew 28.20)

A Prayer for Easter Exciting Jesus, bless us with joy this Easter. Amazing Jesus, bless us with the gift of wonder this Easter. Saviour Jesus, bless us with thankfulness this Easter. Teacher Jesus, bless us with wisdom and faith this Easter. Encouraging Jesus, bless us with reassurance this Easter. Risen Jesus, bless us with hope this Easter and always. Amen. Wishing you and your families a very Happy and Blessed Easter, Lindsey

A Thank You from John Collings

When I started this placement with you back in October it seemed as if it was going to last a long time, instead it seems to have flown by and I am nearly at the end of it. I really want to thank everyone who has been so welcoming, so supportive and encouraging. It has been good to get to know so many new people and to feel very much at home in a church that is not my regular one. My wife, Anne came with me a few times and she has said how welcome she felt and how friendly everyone was, thanks for that as well. I’ve also been pleased to be able to share in the mid-week communion services, a meaningful experience for me. I feel that I’ve learned a massive amount over the past few month, I’ve really appreciated working with Lindsey who has shown me so much and has been really helpful. I gave a list of dates to TLS and they chose Sunday 29th March at East Mains as the best time and date for me to lead a full service with people present assessing me and deciding if I am good enough to become an Assembly Accredited lay preacher. TLS stands for Training for Learning and Serving and I’d recommend it to any-one who wants to learn a bit more about the bible and theology. It can be done at various levels, some require a lot of work with essays to write while at other levels it can be done simply for your own interest with less work to do. If any-one wants to find out more just get in touch with me, I’m sure Lindsey will pass on any messages or give you my contact details. Thanks again John Collings

A Distant Friend we all Knew Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; Why the early bird gets the worm; Life isn't always fair; And maybe it was my fault. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition. Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. I declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason. He is survived by his 5 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, I'm A Victim and Pay me for Doing Nothing Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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

18 caper 5 19 Game 7 21 Fleet 6 22 Improved 6 23 Turn 6 25 Country residence 5 26 Be Concerned 4 28 Consumed 3

Down Clues 2 Reconsider 6 3 Equality 6 4 Secret agent 3 5 Couples 5 6 Hold in contempt 7 7 Mountains 4 8 Most Senior 6 12 Small Fruit 5 13 Sword 5 14 Desire 5 15 Predict 5 16 Small Coin 5

28 Book of Charts 5 29 Full 7 30 Writing material 5 31 Strayed

Across Clues 1 Snares 5 6 Old fashioned 5 9 Attire 7 10 Each 5 11 Garden Tool 5 12 Holds firmly 5 13 Zones 7 15 Serpent 3 17 Askew 4 18 Perceptive 6 19 Backbone 5 20 Deep valley 6 22 Scorch 4 24 Before 3 25 Colony Governor 7 26 Comedian 5 27 Eskimo Boat 5

Remember the answers are somewhere in the Newsletter but try to keep the grey cells working by no “Peeking” to early.

News from East Mains During 2014 Jean Monie indicated that she wish to retire as Church Treasurer having undertaken that role for 29 years. At a church meeting in January the congregation thanked Jean for all her work over the years and presented her with a Celtic cross brooch. The meeting then elected George McCluckie as the new church treasurer. The Guild continues to meet every second Wednesday and just before Christmas enjoyed a special treat when the children from West Mains School sang the songs from their nativity play for the ladies. It was a lovely afternoon together. Since the new year the Guild has enjoyed a Scottish afternoon, an afternoon with Major Adams from the Salvation Army and a daffodil tea. We are pleased to be the community link with West Mains school for their Eco-School project and are delighted they have their second Eco-School flag. The school shared their work on litter picking, biodiversity and growing food with the church. The school will have their Easter Assembly in the church on 20th March.

An Arab Sheik was admitted to Hospital for heart surgery, but prior to the surgery, the doctors needed to have some of his blood type stored in case the need arose. As the gentleman had a rare type of blood, it couldn't be found locally, so, the call went out. Finally a Scotsman was located who had the same rare blood type. The Scot willingly donated his blood for the Arab. After the surgery, the Arab sent the Scotsman, as appreciation for giving his blood, a new BMW a diamond necklace for his wife and $100,000 US dollars. A couple of days later, the Arab had to go through a corrective surgery procedure. Once again, his doctor telephoned the Scotsman who was more than happy to donate his blood. After the second surgery, the Arab sent the Scotsman a thank-you card and a box of Quality Street chocolates. The Scotsman was shocked that the Arab did not reciprocate his kind gesture as he had anticipated. He phoned the Arab and asked him: "I thought you would be generous again, that you would give me another BMW, diamonds and money, but you only gave me a thank-you card and a box of Quality Street chocolates." To this the Arab replied: "Aye Laddie, but I now have Scottish blood in ma veins".

News from the Church Meeting. At the Church Meeting on 1st March, Lindsey shared progress with our Community garden project. She has had meetings with South Lanarkshire’s Community Payback scheme, which organises community service for people instead of fines. A team from Community Payback will come and lay the paths, build the raised beds and erect a poly tunnel for the garden. She has also met with South Lanarkshire College Horticulture department which is also keen to be involved with our garden, providing a placement for their gardening students and has had various meetings with groups who have expressed interest in using the garden. This progress allows us now to apply to trusts for funding to get the project underway. At the meeting we also decided to register with Eco-Congregation to access the support networks offered by that organisation. We also participated in a consultation for all local URC’s considering the question ‘Should local URC congregations who want to offer and host same sex marriage services be allowed by the Church to do so? The responses from all congregations will be considered when General Assembly makes a decision at its next meeting. We saw that this question has at its heart the question of where authority and decision making lies within the denomination. There was an overwhelming majority who felt that it should lie with the local church rather than the General Assembly. An additional meeting will be held later in the year to consider the specific question of same-sex marriage, depending on the decisions of the General Assembly. The Church Meeting also agreed that the Fairtrade stall was no longer profit-able and should now be stopped. Thanks were offered to Elma and Herbert Wunsch and Sandra Wood for all their work in organising the stall over many years. Thanks were also offered to all who had supported the stall. Members were encouraged to continue purchasing Fairtrade goods whenever they could and it was confirmed that the church would still show its commitment to Fairtrade by buying fair trade tea, coffee and sugar. Finally in October it will be the 60th anniversary of the congregation. It was felt that this occasion should be celebrated and so the Elders are looking for ideas and party planners! If you have any ideas for the anniversary please speak to Lindsey or one of the Elders.

Down Answers 2 Erview,3 Parity, 4 Spy,5 Pairs, 6 Despise, 7 Alps, 8 Eldest, 12 Grape, 13 Sabre. 14 Crave, 15 Augur, 16 Penny, 18 Antic, 19 Snooker, 21 Armada, 22 Better, 23 Rotate, 25 Villa, 26 Care, 28 Ate

A Little Extra News The Elders enjoyed an away day with Deacons from Rutherglen URC and Elders from East Mains URC on Sat. 7th February at the David Livingstone Centre in Blantyre. The three congregations shared a morning session led by Revd. Dr. Jack Dyce, Principal of the Scottish College, thinking about how we cope with being aging congregations. We thought about the principle of adaptability as a way of dealing with change and noted that in Righead we have already adapted in a number of ways – holding our Wednesday service for those who can’t manage on a Sunday morning and ensuring we have large print copies of intimation sheets being two examples. We then split into two groups and Jack continued to work with those of us from East Kilbride as we thought about the question, ‘What does it mean to be the URC in East Kilbride’ and we considered our unique selling point. In the afternoon we heard some reflections from John Collings about his placement with us for his TLS course and Lindsey introduced the Local Mission and Ministry Review process which both congregations will embark upon later in 2015. The day was enjoyed by everyone and prompted lots of thinking and questions.

The first dozen or so passengers got onboard the tram at George square Aggie sprang forward on the rear platform, arm outstretched barring the way to any others. 'That's it. We ur ful!' she announced The man now at the head of the queue shouted back at her 'Hey you! How lang will the next tram be?' Aggie drew hersel’ tae her ful height, and looking him See you she , rasped. 'The same length as this wan!'

Lindsey was one of four East Kilbride ministers who attended the Episcopal Ordination of Rt. Rev. William Nolan, Bishop of Galloway, formerly parish priest of Our Lady o f Lourdes on Saturday 14th February. Lindsey was quoted in the East Kilbride News the week after the service saying ‘Our being at the service was both a privilege and joy. We are grateful for the warm hospitality of the Roman Catholic Church and see our presence at the service as a sign of the continuing journey of unity among the churches. Bishop Nolan spoke about the role of the church to spread the joy of the Gospel of Christ and that is a task we can increasingly do together. Bishop Nolan was a colleague in East Kilbride and wish him well in his new ministry.’

Across Answers 1 Traps, 6 Dated, 9 Apparel, 10 every, 11 Spade, 12 Grips 13 Sectors, 15 Asp, 17 Awry, 18 Astute, 19 Spine, 20 Ravine, 22 Burn 24 Ere 25 Viceroy, 26 Comic, 27 Kayak, 28 Atlas, 29 Replete, 30 Paper, 31Erred

News of the Fellowship It is good to have Margaret Cooper back worshipping with us following her surgery just before Christmas, and we are glad that the surgery has been a success and that she is making good progress. On 6th February Lindsey conducted the funeral service for Bob Sutherland who passed away on 30th January after a short illness. Bob, along with Pat, was a regular attendee at the lunch club. At the service we remembered Bob’s passion for trams and his skill in teaching others to drive them, together with his long involvement in the Dog Club and his love of keeping in touch with the news. Pat and Bob enjoyed 55 years of marriage together and Bob was also proud of the achievements of his sons and grandsons. We remember Pat, Kenneth, Derek and the wider family in our prayers. On Sunday 15th February we were delighted to be able to share in Jessie Mackay’s 90th birthday with cake after the service. Jessie enjoyed a week of celebrations and is very grateful for all the birthday wishes she received. Laura Johnston has moved permanently into Forefaulds Nursing Home and we wish her well in her new home. A number of members have had short hospital stays, or have been ill at home or are having tests and treatment at present. We wish them all well and a speedy return to better health. Please remember that Lindsey appreciates hearing news of folk who may like her to visit, so don’t hesitate to contact her yourself or on behalf of someone else

Christian Aid @Work

Mabinti is one of many mothers in Sierra Leone mourning the loss of her children to Ebola. ‘I lost my two children… but God let me survive Ebola,’ she says. Before the outbreak, Mabinti lived with her mother and her daughters in the East of Freetown, the capital. She was a businesswoman and trader, selling mostly food in her community. (Contd. next page)

Mabinti first came into contact with the virus when her mother fell ill last year. She believes her mother contracted Ebola from their neighbours. A burial team collected her body shortly after her death - there was no fu-neral, according to Mabinti.

The rest of the family developed Ebola symptoms three weeks later and travelled to a holding centre in Freetown, where their test results came back positive. Shortly after, 12-year-old Salima died. Mabinti was then trans-ferred to a treatment centre with Fatima, who sadly passed away there in October. Mabinti was discharged after 14 days. She thanks God for her recovery and believes her faith is what got her through. 'I prayed to God for strength to survive this sickness. Now I feel healthy. God has given me hope.'

But Mabinti admits life is hard: ‘After my neighbours found out I had Ebola they abandoned me. They don't come near me any more.’

Currently unemployed, Mabinti has no money and all her possessions were burned when her house was quarantined. She is grateful for Christian Aid's help. ‘They gave us food and a mattress to sleep on. This really helped me because I had no money so I wasn't able to provide these things for myself.’

Despite the suffering she has endured, Mabinti still has hope: ‘With God's help, Ebola will be over. I wish it were over today.’

We can help Christian Aid 2015 Christian Aid 2015 will take place from Sunday 10th May to Saturday 16th May and as a supportive Church we shall once again try our best to give it our maximum effort. We hope to run another Christian Aid "Souper Sunday" where all money raised will go to Christian Aid. This will take place after the service on Sunday 17th May. For many year’s gone past, members of the Church have gone round the local community putting envelopes through the doors then going back to uplift them, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. Nowadays we are fewer on the ground and our ability to put the envelopes through the doors is becoming more difficult. We could however tackle the job differently. As a suggestion, If our members could take say 10 envelopes each and be responsible for their distribution and uplift from possibly family and friends, we may just be able to raise a fair amount of cash for Christian Aid.

Flower List Jessie Mackay is greatly appreciative by the fact that the members have once again rallied round and completed the Flower calendar yet again for the year 2015. The completed calendar for the year is once again published at the en-trance into the sanctuary on the right hand side as you come down the steps.

May 3rd John & Dorothy 10th Eleanor Williamson 17th Maureen Banford 24th Helen Murray 31st Mrs Helen Bow

March 15th Ellen Connelly 22nd Mrs Babs McGee 29th June Jannaway

April 5th Mrs Edith Rae 12th Jessie Mackay 19th Mrs Mattie Oliver 26th Mrs Anne Borland

From Fund raising Group Our Fund raising group consisting of Anne Holmes, June Jannaway, Margaret Cooper Ellen Connelly and Fiona Morton reported at the last Church meeting to those present that last year they seen it as being highly successful with the support of members and friends of the church. So much so that they raised over £3000 from church members and friends of the church with the events that they held. They requested that they would hope-fully continue along the same lines as before. The Cash for clothes scheme is still ongoing so if we all can remember we can bring any of your discarded clothing along to the church and it will be uplifted for “Cash on the Spot” Via the Newsletter I would on behalf our Church membership thank this team for their hard work putting their programme the result of which brings extra revenue into our Church Coffers. “Well Done Ladies”

Lectionary Readings Date Reader Text 15. 3.15 John Arthur Numbers 21.4-9, Ephesians 2.1-10, John 3.14-21 22. 3.15 Alan Paterson Jeremiah 31.31-34 Hebrews 5. 5-10, John 12.20-33 29. 3.15 Jim Muir Psalm 118, 1-2,19-29, Philippians 2. 5-11, Mark 11.1-11 05. 4.15 Jean Fraser Isaiah 25.6-9, Acts 10.34-43, Mark 16.1-8 12. 4.15 Anne Holmes Psalm 133. Acts 4.32-35, John 20.19-31 19. 4.15 Jessie Mackay Psalm 4. Acts 3.12-19, Luke 24. 36b-48 26. 4.15 John Arthur Psalm 23. Acts 4.5-12, John 10.11-18 03. 5.15 Alan Paterson Acts 8.26-40, 1 John 4.7-21, John 15. 1-8 10. 5.15 Jim Muir Acts 10.44-48 ,1 John 5.1– 6 John 15.9-17 17. 5.15 Jean Fraser Acts 1.15-17,21-26, 1 John 5.9-13, John 17.6-19 24. 5.15 Anne Holmes Acts 2.1-21, Romans 8.22-27, John 15.26-27; 16.4b-15 31. 5.15 Jessie Mackay Isaiah 6.1-8, Romans 8.12-17, John 3.1-17 07. 6.15 John Arthur Genesis 3.8-15 2 Corinthians 4.13–5.1 Mark 3.20-35 14. 6.15 Alan Paterson Ezekiel1. 17.22-24, 2 Corinthians 5.6-10,14-17, Mark 4.26-34 21. 6.15 Jim Muir Job 38.1-11, 2 Corinthians 6.1-13, Mark 4.35-41 28. 6.15 Jean Fraser Lamentations 3.22-33, 2 Corinthians 8.7-15, Mark 5.21-43 05. 7.15 Anne Holmes 2 Samuel 5.1-5,9-10, 2 Corinthians 12.2-10, Mark 6.1-13 12. 7.15 Jessie Mackay 2 Samuel 6.1-5,12b-19, Ephesians 1.3-14, Mark 6.14-29 19, 7.15 John Arthur 2 Samuel 7.1-14a, Ephesians 2.11-22 , Mark 6.30-34,53-56 26. 7.15 Alan Paterson 2 Samuel 11.1-15, Ephesians 3.14-21, John 6.1-21

Contact Numbers Minister Revd Lindsey Sanderson Mobile 07895139615 Secretary Sandra Wood Mobile 07740683853