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St. Andrew’s Scots Church
Valletta Crossroads
Spring edition 2017
St Andrew's Scots Church, 210 Old Bakery Street Valletta,
VLT 1451, Malta, Sunday service 10.30am
Service of Holy Communion is usually on the fourth Sunday and
Bring & Share Lunch on the first Sunday of each month
M IN I ST E R Rev Kim Hurst; [email protected]
SE SS IO N CLE R K Ms. Diana Nye: 99768603SAF EG UAR DI N G Mrs Dot Hunter; 21522730
[email protected] TRE A SU RE R Mrs Hazel Dunlavy
[email protected] I OR CHU RC H Mrs Sharon Abbot; 21376115
[email protected] MUS IC Mrs Lisa Bonello; 21370769
[email protected] TO RA L N E TW O RK Mrs Marion Chessell P RO P ER T Y Mr Clement Okoro; 99093200
[email protected] SE H OLD Mrs. Christa Wiegand 99839469
[email protected] orMrs Ria den Heyer; 23263409
M IS S I ON S Mr Norman Alexander; 21382506 [email protected] or Mrs Christa Wiegand
SUN D AY SHE E T S Mr Norman AlexanderCRO SS R OAD S Mrs Pat O’Neil; 21423135 [email protected] A M IC RO FI N AN C E Deputy Chairman Rev. Kim Hurst
[email protected] for Ritianna
CONTACTS
EN GLI SH TE AC HI N G t.b.d.en [email protected]
From the Editor Didn’t Christmas start with some fun!
On Sunday Our Nativity play began with a homourous sketch by “Two Angels” and had us all laughing. This was followed with a lovely story between Millie & Grandma and the two children showed off their acting talents. (How did they keep quiet for so long)Christmas continued with a lovely service on Christmas day followed by a superb Christmas Lunch splendidly cooked by Judy & Marlies and their fellow helpers.
Some thoughts from Jenny Psaila Your mind is like a garden, Your thoughts are the seeds You can grow flowers, Or you can grow weeds. Don’t forget to water them
(Apologies to Jenny as the last line did not print in the last edition).
From the ManseDear Friends,
As we enter March we begin our journey through Lent the season of the Churches Year when we take time to reflect and repent. We begin by looking at the temptation of Jesus and his time in the wilderness. We acknowledge that even though He was tempted in every way as we are He did not give in to temptation. Jesus was perfect, we however are not, so no matter how hard we try there are times when we fail, when we make mistakes. The wonderful thing is that when we repent God offers us forgiveness. Repentance is about saying sorry but it is also about turning our lives around and moving on. God forgives us, we have a fresh start, and having learnt from our mistake we must use what we have learnt to improve the way we live in the future.
As Lent leads into Holy Week and Easter our thoughts move from ourselves to Jesus. When I speak to friends and family of my faith in a crucified Saviour I am often accused of being “As mad as a March Hare” or even an “April Fool”. To the world the message of the cross is foolishness indeed. That God would send his son into the world to die for sinners seems utter madness. So why for over 2000 years have the lives of countless millions of people been transformed by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
When Paul writes to the church in Corinth he says “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” 1Cor :18. Much of Jesus’ life and teaching seemed foolish to the Jews who believed they were saved by being a descendant of Abraham and through keeping the laws of Moses. The teaching of the churchthat all
could be saved through putting their faith in an obscure prophet who was killed for blaspheme seemed very foolish indeed. The idea that God would send his only son down from heaven to die as an
atonement for sin seemed equally foolish. But this was the wisdom of God and Paul wanted to explain this to the youngChristians in Corinth. He wrote “For the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men and the weakness of God is stronger than the strength of men”. For in the foolish act of allowing his son to take on human weakness and to die in our place God opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. What a wonderful promise!What still seems like foolishness to this world is God’s wisdom and God in his wisdom has offered that promise of salvation to each one of us. What is foolish indeed is if we do not accept that offer.
My prayer is that everyone in our church family uses the season of Lent to reflect, repent and accepts God’s offer of forgiveness. That we all know through the events of Holy Week and Easter, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, both our sins forgiven and the promise of eternal life.
May God Bless you and all those you love this Lent and Eastertide. Love and Prayers, Kim
Palm Sunday 9th April10.30am All Age Worship
Maundy Thursday 13th April6pm Passover Meal
Good Friday 14th April10am Good Friday Service
Easter Day 16th April6.30am Sunrise Service
Upper Barrakka Gardensfollowed by shared breakfast at Church
10.30am Easter Family Communion6.00pm Easter Holy Communion – Manresa, Gozo
A little something for “Mothering Sunday”
“A Mother’s Prayer” by Keith and Kristyn Getty
Before you close your eyes to sleepI have a promise still to keep
As I hold you in my armsI pray your little frame grows strong
And faith take hold while you are youngThis is my prayer for you
Hold my hand, I'll teach you the way to goThrough the joys, through the tears
The journey of these yearsMay you trust Him till the end May you trust Him in the end
This world is not as it should beBut the Savior opens eyes to see
All that's beautiful and trueOh may His light fill all you are
And the jewel of wisdom crown your heartThis is my prayer for you
Hold my hand, I'll teach you the way to goThrough the joys, through the tears
The journey of these yearsHe is with us till the endHe is faithful till the end
You'll travel where my arms won't reachAs the road will rise and lead your feet
On a journey of your ownMay my mistakes not hinder you
But His grace remain and guide you throughThis is my prayer for you
Take His hand and go where He calls you toAnd whatever comes, seek Him
With all your heartThis will be my prayer for you
Father hear my ceaseless prayerOh keep her in your care
You can listen to this song on:-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoy74orju108feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs
Bible Study Group meets in the Church Hall at 10:30 on a Thursday morning – furtherinformation from Norrie Alexander or Paul Slater.
All are welcome.
HOUSE GROUPHelloOur homegroup meets almost every Friday evening at 7.00p.m in Ta'Xbiex. After Jutta and Harald's return to Germany, we dwindled to 3 to 6 regular members and are looking for new regular members.
You might ask yourself what we are doing in our homegroup?
Normally, we have a cup of tea/coffee and chatsing or listen to worship songsread a passage from the bible or somebody prepared a topic and we speak about it and last but not least, we pray together -or, or, or...
But it is always a bit different. Every week somebody else leads and like each one of us is different, so the topics are as well. Everybody can, but nobody has to lead. But, it is worth to give it a try because you cannot fail and it can be very beneficial for yourself, but also for the group.
Do not worry if you can only join us occasionally, we are happy about new members.
So if you are interested in joining us, speak to us after the service or please feel free to e-mail us at [email protected] or send us a message on Whatsapp or mobile phone to either Bettina 77198278 or Matthias 77197882.
We will have a welcome party on Friday, 10th of March for all those who are interested!
We are looking forward to welcoming you!
Bettina & Matthias, Marlies, Jo and Clement
Family NewsOn Sunday 8th January we welcomed Alexander Kelly into our
fellowship as he was baptised. We hope he will make many friends at St. Andrew’s.
We wish all our young people good luck as they prepare to sit “O”and “A” levele xams.
THE FOODBANK
The Foodbank at St Andrews continues to serve the community with the help of the community and businesses.
Thank you to the following schools who have recently collected a huge amount of food for The Foodbank - St Dorothy's School Sliema, Our Lady
Immaculate School in Hamrun and Giovanni Curmi higher secondary school in Naxxar.
A big thank you to Darryl who kindly arranged a delivery of food to The Foodbank. (photo attached
The Outdoor Artists collected for The Foodbank at their recent meeting - Thanks!
Thank you to the lovely young lady on the Gozo ferry on Sunday night who came up to me and gave me 20 euros for the work of The Foodbank.
A Huge Thank You to FBS marketing who have agreed to support The Foodbank with a weekly donation - what a big difference this will make.
The Staff at Central bank have been collecting food for the Foodbank and sent us a very large delivery - Thank You.
Thanks to the staff at the Medicines Authority who have also been collecting for us.
A Large delivery came in over two days from all the staff at the Ministry of Finance, how generous you are and how grateful we are.
Two companies also made large donations of short dated food and without their consent I can't name them here but THANK YOU!
Another firm who didn't give permission to be named delivered a large supply of food and also sent us a cheque, which was a great help to us.
Many individuals have collected themselves or from friends and work colleagues and brought bags and boxes into our center, the help of each and every one of you is deeply appreciated. STOP PRESS.......... We now have collecting baskets in the Valyou supermarket in Naxxar, next to Customer Care and also in the Mellieha Store, please buy an extra item when shopping in these store and support The Foodbank.
Mellieha Naxxar
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
April 1st Church Annual Church Meeting 2.00pm
April 21st -23rd Sponsor’s Council visit
April 23rd Preacher Rev. John Hellyer – Chairman Sponsor’s Council
May 13th Pasta Night 6.30pm
Lessons from Corrie
Romkje Fountain was Corrie Ten Boom’s secretary She shares from her own experience of life with one of the 20th centuries most famous examples of forgiveness.7pm. Sunday April, 2nd, at Knisja Evangeika Battista, showing of film 'The Hiding Place', 7pm. Sunday April 9th, at Knisja Evangelika Battista, Mosta; Talk about Corrie Ten Boom by Romkje Fountain 11am. Monday April 10th, at Manreza Retreat House, Gozo, with lunch;
Talk about Corrie ten Boom by Romkje Fountain – Yet to be confirmed!
6.30pm Tuesday April 4th, at St Andrew's Scots Church, South St, Valletta
showing of film 'The Hiding Place' 6.30pm. Tuesday April 11th, at St Andrew's Scots Church:
Service Themes & Preachers
Date Theme Preacher 5th March Lent 1 Kirk Session12th March Lent 2 Diana Nye19th March Lent 3 Rev. Kim Hurst
All Age Worship26th March Mothering Sunday Rev. Kim Hurst
Holy Communion
2nd April Passion Sunday Rev. Kim Hurst 9th April Palm Sunday Rev. Kim Hurst
All Age Worship16th April Easter Sunday Rev. Kim Hurst
Holy Communion23rd April Sponsor’s Council Rev. John Hellyer30th April Christa Wiegand
7th May Rev. Kim Hurst14th May Rev. Kim Hurst21st May All Age Worship Rev. Kim Hurst28th May Holy Communion Rev. Kim Hurst
4th June Pentecost Rev Kim Hurst11th June Rev. Kim Hurst18th June All Age Worship Rev. Kim Hurst25th June Holy Communion Rev. Kim Hurst
When ever possible the Rev. Kim plans to have Monday as her rest day so please try to refrain from contacting her on a Monday unless it is an emergency.
Thank you for your understanding
Duty Elder
5th March Marion Chessell 2nd April Marion Chessell12th March Sharon Abbot 9th April Diana Nye19th March Clement Okoro 16th April Christa Wiegand 26th March David O’Neil 23rd April Diane Vella
30th April John Lejman
7th May David P-Griffiths 4th June David O’Neil14th May Sharon Abbott 11th June Clement Okoro21st May Dot Hunter 18th June Christa Weigand28th May Brenda Pleasance 25th June Sharon Abbot
Door Elder & Greeter
5th March Mary Pace Bardon Doreen Portelli12th March Jenny Psaila Ria den Heyer19th March Anne Catherall Diana Nye26th March Pat O’Neil Paul Slater
2nd April Doreen Portelli Mary Pace Bardon 9th April David Smith Jenny Psaila16th April Paul Slater Clement Okoro23rd April Norrie Alexander David Pritchard-Griffiths30th April Franklin Wilmot Diana Nye
7th May Paul Slater Norrie Alexander14th May Diana Nye Clement Okoro21st May David Smith Anne Catherall28th May David P-Griffiths Adam Pleasance
4th June Pat O’Neil Paul Slater11th June Jenny Psaila Adam Pleasance18th June Anne Catherall Diana Nye25th June Mary Pace Bardon Doreen Portelli
READERS
First Reader Second Reader
5th March Doreen Portelli Dianne Smith12th March Jenny Psaila Paul Slater19th March June P-Griffiths Pat O’Neil26th March Sallie Redman Andy Redman
2nd April Pat O’Neil Clement Okoro 9th April Diane Smith Anne Catherall16th April Jenny Psaila Steve Hurst23rd April Diane Vella Diana Nye30th April John Lejman Sharon Abbot
7th May Paul Slater Pat O’Neil14th May Norman Alexander Marie Alexander21st May Francois Mifsud Rafael Pascual-Leone28th May Brenda Pleasance Adam Pleasance
4th June Doreen Portelli Dianne Smith11th June Jenny Psaila Paul Slater18th June June P-Griffiths Ria den Heyer25th June Sallie Redman Andy Redman
If you are unable to do your duty please find a replacement and change the lists in the vestibule & hall
Deadline for Summer Edition is 19th May 2017
A prayer chain is a group of like-minded people who wish to pray for people and their situations that arise during our daily lives. It is also used for praise.
This started in our previous church also called St. Andrew in Cardiff 34 year ago. When it was started there it was all done by phone as no one had a computer back then.
A Coordinator was informed of a person who needed prayers. There would be about 4 or 5 "Chain Leaders" who would each receive the message, and they would then contact the person underneath them on the chain, who would thencontact the next one on the list, and so on, there may 6, 7, or even more hence the chain. So with the exception of the Coordinator no one had to call more than one person. It was a wonderful feeling to know that people were praying you’re your situation.
With the advent of computers being owned by lots of people now, it was suggested to me a couple of years ago that I might want to move with times and bring the prayer chain into the 21st century by using email as well. It made a tremendous difference, as people who had odd working hours and/or used their computer a lot were able to participate more easily. Of course there are people who don't have a computer, or just prefer a phone call which is fine.
The power of prayer is truly amazing.
If anyone would like more information or to join the prayer chain, please don't hesitate to contact me.
My details are as follow: June Pritchard-Griffiths, Landline: 21311277 / Mobile: 7951 1406Email: [email protected]
Get up-datesRead interesting and funny stuffJoin inand hear from people and congregations from all over the worldwith "saintandrews scotschurch" on Facebook St. Andrew’s Scots Church is on www.saintandrewsmalta.com
there is also a link to our Foodbankhhtps://www.facebook.com/groups/saintandrewsmalta/
Malta Microfinance is also on Facebook and the website is: www.maltamicrofinance.com Lombard Bank Malta plc, 67 Republic Street, Valletta VLT 1117SWIFT/BIC code LBMAMTMTOur account is St Andrew's Scots Church, St Andrew's House, 210 Old Bakery Street, Valletta, MaltaAccount number 0144010357901IBAN MT18 LBMA 0500 0000 0001 4401 0357 901Please include as reference your na
ST ANDREW'S SCOTS CHURCH,VALLETTAChurch of Scotland / Methodist
St Andrew's Scots Church, Valletta, is a Local Ecumenical Partnership between the Church of Scotland and the Methodist Church of Great Britain. A Methodist church has existed in Valletta since 1824, when Rev John Keeling founded the first non-Roman Catholic Church in Malta. A Presbyterian church has existed on our site since 1843 and our present building was built in 1857 through the efforts of a Presbyterian minister, Dr George Wisely.
We are a cosmopolitan church with a wide variety of nationalities and church backgrounds making up our normal Sunday morning congregation, which often also contains a high proportion of visitors. Our aim is to serve God and our neighbours through Christ and in the strength of his Spirit. We share our building with the Andreas Gemeinde of the German Lutheran church. A service in the German language is held at 10.30 am on the first and third Sunday of each month.
We hope that you will find Crossroads informative and helpful. lf you have any comments about anything you find in Crossroads or any ideas about items for inclusion in a future edition, please contact our editor, Mrs Pat O’Neil. If you would like to make a donation to the church, please contact our Treasurer, Mrs Hazel Dunlavy or find bank details at the end of the booklet.
HOW TO FIND US
