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Please note Coffee & Chat has been cancelled till further notice due to the coronavirus.
Every Thursday 10 – 11am
Events
Regular Events
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Coffee & Chat
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Toddler Time
Please note Toddler Time has been cancelled till further notice due to the coronavirus
Every 2nd Wednesday 10-11am
£1 per family
Hello all
Hope you are keeping safe. We very much look forward to seeing you all again. However, in the meantime be assured that you are all but only a thought away from us all
Best wishes
From all at Gardner Toddler Time
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Our main events across the year are posted on the website, but there’s a lot going on – follow our Facebook page to keep up to date with everything that’s happening.
Sunday 16th May 2021
Join the Gardner Service at 11.00am on Sunday 16th May by Zoom. The link is
us02web.zoom.us/j/89537549775?pwd=U0VCUzRPS2ltZjFYNTFEd1J1d2xrdz09
Meeting ID: 895 3754 9775
Passcode: 986547
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR MICS ARE MUTED
I have been following the idea that level 4 lockdown = Churches closed on Sundays
Level 3 lockdown = alternate Sundays for Gardner and Farnell
Level 2 lockdown = pre COVID pattern of Sunday Worship
This means that for this week and next week the pattern is
16th May Gardner 11.00am
23rd May Farnell 9.30am
The arrangements just prior to this second lockdown will still apply
Maximum attendances in Gardner will be around 40
Maximum attendances in Farnell will be around 20
Please let the office or Session Clerks know if you intend to attend
Remember there is still no singing and we will fill the Churches from the front and exit as directed with Offerings left at the door.
Also please wear a mask and please use the hand sanitiser.
<>
Martin Fair has done a stalwart job as Moderator and I am turning to him for the last time for today’s notes…
Introduction
Writing these notes on 16 February, it’s hard to know how things will be on 16 May! Will we be in our buildings – even if just a few of us – or will we still be restricted to gathering digitally? Or maybe it will be both: small gatherings in our buildings, others online. And who will be online? Our regular members, or might there be ‘others’ who view from a distance but wouldn’t ordinarily have ‘come to Church.’ And those online, will they be ‘viewers’ or participants in worship?
These are just some of the questions that are new to those responsible for preparing worship – but which must be kept in mind.
By 16 May, I’ll be a week away from the end of my time serving as Moderator and almost the entire year has been spent online. I can count my in-person visits to congregations on less than the fingers of one hand.
We’ve all become used to online meetings and though we long for the day when we can gather together again, most of us recognise that maintaining a digital presence in the months and years ahead will be an essential part of our outreach. The challenge will be in balancing the two; the same challenge that our teachers have faced in offering blended learning. Perhaps that’s the very challenge you’re facing right now in preparing for this coming Sunday? Will you prepare one set of worship material or will you prepare worship for those who gather and something different for those who will be remote?
In either case, remembering that we worship a timeless and unchanging God whose word to us is trustworthy in each and every circumstance, will keep us on the right track. And regardless of the prevailing circumstances, there are certain ‘rules’ which always apply. For me, these are as follows:
Begin by asking ‘who am I saying it to?’ Rather than ‘what am I going to say?’ God’s word is nothing if not personal so it’s helpful, in preparing, to visualise some of the folks who will share in the worship AND to imagine the possibility that some seekers might be present who have little or no knowledge of Christian things. Don’t lock them out by using language that they’ll struggle to connect with.
When it comes to ministering the word, hold these three questions in mind: What? So what? What now? Begin by walking through the passage then move to drawing out meaning. But then, crucially, work through what some of the implications and outworking might be. If we omit that third step then we’re offering a Bible study but that’s not the same as a proclamation of the living word within the context of worship.
<>
Acts 1:15-17
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters,[a] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
<>
This short section is part of a longer piece in which we find the believers resolving to ‘replace’ Judas who had, of course, betrayed Jesus and, subsequently, ended his own life. The passage goes on to detail the criteria that were used in the selection process; that the person chosen would have to be someone who had been a witness to Jesus’ life and ministry and to His resurrection.
But for now, it’s enough for us to note that the believers understood that what had happened had happened in fulfilment of scriptural prophecies. To put it another way, these first believers lived and acted with a very clear sense of God’s sovereignty; that the events of history need to be understood against a backdrop of the plan and purposes of an Almighty God.
<>
Prayer
Creator God, as we draw ever nearer to Pentecost, we remember that in the beginning, the earth was ‘formless and empty, and that darkness was over the surface of the deep.’ But we remember too that You were present and that Your creative Spirit was on the startling line, ready to go.
And so we praise You that out of nothing You brought everything into being and that through Your spirit, we have order and not chaotic nothingness. As we lift our gaze to the stars, and as we marvel at the beauty of delicate spring flowers, with thankful hearts we rejoice in all that is; in all that You have given.
But we acknowledge the darkness of our own lives and our need for the light of Christ, ministered by the Spirit. Forgive us, we pray, our self-centredness, our fractiousness, our greed and all that is contrary to Your will for our lives. For a healing touch, we pray, and for a deep sense of assurance that Your love for us made known in Jesus is sufficient.
In the days to come, grant us an inner hunger for deeper communion with You and that we might delight all the more in Your living word. Might we be like ‘trees planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in season.’
These and all our prayers we offer in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Notes
[1] There will be a Zoom Meeting on Friday 14th May at 10.30am for a GM/F virtual coffee and chat. The link details will be circulated on Thursday
[2] Last week I suggested that we start collecting blister to be taken to official collecting points where monies will be raised for charities. Unfortunately during the week Teracycle who were collecting these packs have closed this bit of their operation. We will continue to monitor the situation.
<>
May the road through life continue to rise to meet you
May the wind be at your back
May any rain that falls be soft and light.
May you be held by the love of God
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
<>
E: malc.rooney@gmail.com office@gardnermemorialbrechin.org.uk
M: 07909993233 01356 629191
![Sunday 16th May 2021
Join the Gardner Service at 11.00am on Sunday 16th May by Zoom. The link is
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89537549775?pwd=U0VCUzRPS2ltZjFYNTFEd1J1d2xrdz09
Meeting ID: 895 3754 9775
Passcode: 986547
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR MICS ARE MUTED
I have been following the idea that level 4 lockdown = Churches closed on Sundays
Level 3 lockdown = alternate Sundays for Gardner and Farnell
Level 2 lockdown = pre COVID pattern of Sunday Worship
This means that for this week and next week the pattern is
16th May Gardner 11.00am
23rd May Farnell 9.30am
The arrangements just prior to this second lockdown will still apply
Maximum attendances in Gardner will be around 40
Maximum attendances in Farnell will be around 20
Please let the office or Session Clerks know if you intend to attend
Remember there is still no singing and we will fill the Churches from the front and exit as directed with Offerings left at the door.
Also please wear a mask and please use the hand sanitiser.
Martin Fair has done a stalwart job as Moderator and I am turning to him for the last time for today’s notes…
Introduction
Writing these notes on 16 February, it’s hard to know how things will be on 16 May! Will we be in our buildings – even if just a few of us – or will we still be restricted to gathering digitally? Or maybe it will be both: small gatherings in our buildings, others online. And who will be online? Our regular members, or might there be ‘others’ who view from a distance but wouldn’t ordinarily have ‘come to Church.’ And those online, will they be ‘viewers’ or participants in worship?
These are just some of the questions that are new to those responsible for preparing worship – but which must be kept in mind.
By 16 May, I’ll be a week away from the end of my time serving as Moderator and almost the entire year has been spent online. I can count my in-person visits to congregations on less than the fingers of one hand.
We’ve all become used to online meetings and though we long for the day when we can gather together again, most of us recognise that maintaining a digital presence in the months and years ahead will be an essential part of our outreach. The challenge will be in balancing the two; the same challenge that our teachers have faced in offering blended learning. Perhaps that’s the very challenge you’re facing right now in preparing for this coming Sunday? Will you prepare one set of worship material or will you prepare worship for those who gather and something different for those who will be remote?
In either case, remembering that we worship a timeless and unchanging God whose word to us is trustworthy in each and every circumstance, will keep us on the right track. And regardless of the prevailing circumstances, there are certain ‘rules’ which always apply. For me, these are as follows:
Begin by asking ‘who am I saying it to?’ Rather than ‘what am I going to say?’ God’s word is nothing if not personal so it’s helpful, in preparing, to visualise some of the folks who will share in the worship AND to imagine the possibility that some seekers might be present who have little or no knowledge of Christian things. Don’t lock them out by using language that they’ll struggle to connect with.
When it comes to ministering the word, hold these three questions in mind: What? So what? What now? Begin by walking through the passage then move to drawing out meaning. But then, crucially, work through what some of the implications and outworking might be. If we omit that third step then we’re offering a Bible study but that’s not the same as a proclamation of the living word within the context of worship.
Acts 1:15-17
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers and sisters,[a] the Scripture had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus. 17 He was one of our number and shared in our ministry.”
This short section is part of a longer piece in which we find the believers resolving to ‘replace’ Judas who had, of course, betrayed Jesus and, subsequently, ended his own life. The passage goes on to detail the criteria that were used in the selection process; that the person chosen would have to be someone who had been a witness to Jesus’ life and ministry and to His resurrection.
But for now, it’s enough for us to note that the believers understood that what had happened had happened in fulfilment of scriptural prophecies. To put it another way, these first believers lived and acted with a very clear sense of God’s sovereignty; that the events of history need to be understood against a backdrop of the plan and purposes of an Almighty God.
Prayer
Creator God, as we draw ever nearer to Pentecost, we remember that in the beginning, the earth was ‘formless and empty, and that darkness was over the surface of the deep.’ But we remember too that You were present and that Your creative Spirit was on the startling line, ready to go.
And so we praise You that out of nothing You brought everything into being and that through Your spirit, we have order and not chaotic nothingness. As we lift our gaze to the stars, and as we marvel at the beauty of delicate spring flowers, with thankful hearts we rejoice in all that is; in all that You have given.
But we acknowledge the darkness of our own lives and our need for the light of Christ, ministered by the Spirit. Forgive us, we pray, our self-centredness, our fractiousness, our greed and all that is contrary to Your will for our lives. For a healing touch, we pray, and for a deep sense of assurance that Your love for us made known in Jesus is sufficient.
In the days to come, grant us an inner hunger for deeper communion with You and that we might delight all the more in Your living word. Might we be like ‘trees planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in season.’
These and all our prayers we offer in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Notes
[1] There will be a Zoom Meeting on Friday 14th May at 10.30am for a GM/F virtual coffee and chat. The link details will be circulated on Thursday
[2] Last week I suggested that we start collecting blister to be taken to official collecting points where monies will be raised for charities. Unfortunately during the week Teracycle who were collecting these packs have closed this bit of their operation. We will continue to monitor the situation.
May the road through life continue to rise to meet you
May the wind be at your back
May any rain that falls be soft and light.
May you be held by the love of God
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
E: malc.rooney@gmail.com office@gardnermemorialbrechin.org.uk
M: 07909993233 01356 629191](https://www.gardnermemorialbrechin.org.uk/wp-content/plugins/custom-facebook-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png)
Good to see our Steel Pan Drummers returning to a "new normal" for the time being. Meeting up in the Gardner gardens or in the cloister if it rains. Hopefully it will not be too long before our steel pan band are able to get out entertaining and showing off their talents within our local area. Check out an old performance from our own Gardner Church on this link.⛪👏 youtu.be/8SoP2Acs3CY
Lovely thing to do and nice to hear the music. Could you possibly ask your patrons not park on the bus stop at the square as my friends daughter nearly missed her bus as it was ready to go right past. Had noticed it was someone going into the church that parked. Thanks
Are you hiding Sheena ??
😃😃👏👏
Our next Church Service will be Sunday 16th May at 11am.
Doors open from 10.30am. As numbers are limited it would help if you could phone the church office if you plan to attend this service. Please wait outside church wearing a mask, you will be shown to your seat as per all the current guidelines. ⛪
Sorry this is late - I wrote it on Saturady but forgot to post it!!!
Sunday 9th May 2021
How rich I am with what I have
Gardner and Farnell will reopen in May
2nd May Gardner 11.00am
9th May Farnell 9.30am
16th May Gardner 11.00am
23rd May Farnell 9.30am
The arrangements just prior to this second lockdown will apply
Maximum attendances in Gardner will be around 40
Maximum attendances in Farnell will be around 20
Please let the office or Session Clerks know if you intend to attend
Remember there is still no singing and we will fill the Churches from the front and exit as directed with Offerings left at the door.
Also please wear a mask and please use the hand sanitiser.
<>
1 John 5:1-5
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.
In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.
This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
This last chapter of John’s first letter ends a long exhortation to love and now also encourages belief and faith.
John encourages belief and faith by reassuring that they are made evident through active love. Love of one another demonstrates love of God, and love of God is revealed through love of neighbour. This is summarised in v.21 of the preceding chapter: “The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.” The not burdensome commands that v.3 refers to are the commandments to love.
The language of conquer and victory (vv.4-5) may feel incongruent with the language of love. However this is not an encouragement in the way of a colonising, imperialist, victorious, conquering force but rather contrasts with the disarming, empowering, transforming, sacrificial way of Christ. It is love and faith that overcome strife and division in the world, not violence and oppression. It is the shield of faith that protects from the evil of the world, not the weapons of war.
The 1 John passage allows us to explore how faith may have been shaken by the turbulence of Coronavirus and by the reality and prospect of climate and ecological chaos.
The tenderness of John’s words can bring comfort to us now as they did to those first listeners. God is love. And in and through God’s love we too are to live lives of love. To fulfil the commands and will of God is an act of love, not a burden.
<>
This passage is set against Christian Aid Week which I guess will be a victim of the Pandemic. For more information about Christian Aid visit their website www.christianaid.org.uk
<>
Christian Aid Week Prayer
Great God,
Who makes the sun to rise, and opens the heavens,
Hear the cry of the people
Who sow in hope for rain, but reap only despair,
Hear the cry of the people
Seeking shelter from the storm, their hopes and homes submerged
Hear the cry of the people.
When creation is hitting back, with rage and resistance
Give us hope, grant us salvation,
Give us a new relationship with creation
With reverence to tend this gift from You
And say once again of the earth and all you created
It is GOOD.
(Rev. Bob Kikuyu, Christian Aid Global Theology Advisor, Nairobi, Kenya)
Notes
[1] There will be a Zoom Meeting on Friday 14th May at 10.30am for a GM/F virtual coffee and chat. The link details will be circulated on Thursday
[2] Next week I want to consider the issue of Freedom. The Freedom we have; how we use it; the implications for others. Please let me know if you have any thoughts on Freedom.
[3] It has been suggested that we start collecting blister packs and the like and so there will be boxes in both Churches to receive those packs. At the moment they will be taken to official collecting points where monies will be raised for charities.
<>
May the road through life continue to rise to meet you
May the wind be at your back
May any rain that falls be soft and light.
May you be held by the love of God
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Amen
<>
E: malc.rooney@gmail.com office@gardnermemorialbrechin.org.uk
M: 07909993233 01356 629191
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