Autumn Tidings from

Killearn Kirk

September 2016 Volume 19 Issue 2

Dates for your DiaryHarvest Coffee Morning Saturday 1st October 10-12 Killearn Kirk HallsHarvest Thanksgiving Service Sunday 2nd October 10.30am Killearn KirkRemembrance Service Sunday 13th November 10.45am War Memorial followed by a service in Killearn Kirk

Killearn’s Guardians of AncoraWow! ‘Guardians of Ancora’ was a very successful holiday club! With so much excitement in the run up, it seems a pity the three morning sessions passed so quickly! That means we had fun though, because time flies when you’re having fun! Yes! Indeed we did! With between 9 and 11 primary aged children attending every day, we took the opportunity to learn about Jesus and the miracles He performed in His three year ministry on this earth. The theme, Guardians of Ancora, encouraged us to complete activities and challenges that enabled us to win ‘fireball’ points. These points would add up and restore the lost light to the city. With two teams, Team Kai and Team Mia, the children won ‘fireballs’ through various activities including ‘flip-flip fishing, carving fish from soap, making a fishing boat using fish and chip forks (yes, you can use anything!), designing our very own

glowing fish and we even made teddy bears from tea-towels! Double points were won if a child won the Messy Challenge which involved getting rather messy indeed! How many jelly babies can you fish out of a tray of icing sugar…with your teeth? Or when ‘dookin’ for apples’ can you catch them all without using your hands? Oh, it was a good laugh!

The stories we learned about included how Jesus helped the fisherman catch so many fish that their nets broke! He then invited them to lay down their nets and follow Him instead, where they could put their skills to use fishing for people. Jesus had a very eloquent way of encouraging people and with the help of His friends, the disciples, many other people saw that Jesus wanted to help them and through His miracles and teachings, they came and we, too, can come to know and love God.

Read more on P8

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Personalia

Killearn Kirk is a Charity Registered in Scotland No SC012140Killearn Kirk Tidings is edited by:

Scott Macintosh (tel 550794) - scott@themacintoshfamily.co.ukand printed by The Macintosh Partnership

Visit us online at www.killearnkirk.org.uk or visit our Facebook page:www.facebook.com/pages/Killearn-Kirk/116334885136784

EditorialThe next edition of Killearn Kirk Tidings will be published at the beginning of December and will contain details of our Christmas activities. Articles are always welcome and can be on any aspect of Church life. In particular a note of humour is always welcome.

Having suggested on a number of occasions that our readers write a short paragraph on any interesting church services they have been to on holiday, I feel I should mention my enjoyment in attending an evening service at Stornoway Free Kirk over the summer, it was a delight to see the church well-filled with many hundreds of worshippers, and all singing heartily accompanied not by any instrument but by a precentor.

Killearn Kirk People Minister Rev. Lee Messeder 2 The Oaks 550045 LMesseder@churchofscotland.org.ukFamily Worker Yvonne Bauwens familyworker@killearnkirk.org.ukSession Clerk Carole Young Killearn Home Farm 550994 sessionclerkkillearnkirk@gmail.comTreasurer Bob Ballantyne Kilmorie Cottage 550310 Roll Keeper & Safeguarding Co-ordinator Kirsty Smith 26 New Endrick Road 550654Hall bookings Sue Beck 550485

Baptism:Emilia, daughter of Alistair and Kirsty More

Weddings:The following weddings took place in Killearn Kirk and we wish the couples God’s blessing and good wishes for their future.Robert Macdonald & Becky LeaningJames Bryce & Emily ReidStuart Thorn & Amanda PollockAndrew Peasgood & Megan WoodKenny Vaugh & Carrie HendersonGuy Bradshaw & Marissa McTeagueAlistair Gilmour & Kirsty More

We are saddened to report the passing of the following, who were parishioners or whose funeral was taken by our minister. Obituaries can be found in the Killearn Courier: www.kcfc.co.uk/courier.html.Iain GrahamJohn WarburtonJohn HoltIan MortonJoan BullockJohn MitchellAndrew SloanHenry DrummondJoyce DayHilda MacdonaldElizabeth Marshall

Dr Angus McWilliamWe are also saddened to note the passing last month of Dr McWilliam, son of our former minister the late Rev. Stuart McWilliam.

Inspired by the success of Killearn’s Horticultural Society (see P9) we tried planting one of the members of our A/V team in hopes of growing more members. Sadly our efforts were unsuccessful so we have resorted to asking once again if anyone would consider helping this valuable work. Obviously a basic knowledge of computers is required but nothing too technical.

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Life events

Age has a surprising way of creeping up on us! It is not that we can’t see the evidence and impact on our bodies but rather, we cannot always associate this with how we feel within ourselves. To become less able or restricted is never an easy thing to face. We cry out against restrictions, which impose limitations on what we can and cannot do. We long for those carefree, sunny days, when anything and everything seemed possible.

As a consequence, we fight against that which would seek to limit such freedom. Yet freedom is not the absence of conflict and nor is it limited by the prison bars that mark the boundaries of what we can and cannot do. Nelson Mandela said ‘I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.’ All of us, at some time in life will face circumstances that appear to take away our freedom, and limit the enjoyment of what we used to know.

The Christian perspective says that the only way to face fear is to love. This may seem a peculiar and perhaps appears on the surface, to be an empty, sugary response but it is not. Fear can be a very destructive force and at its worst, causes a person to withdraw completely in to themselves. However, the experience of love enables a person to remain open, despite restrictions, pain and uncertainty. The elderly disciple of Jesus, John expressed this sense of love in the following way: ‘There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear….’. This perfect love in Christian understanding is the love of God that overwhelms and remains with a person despite the handicaps. It is a love, which evokes hope even when the situation appears to be hopeless.

Most of us seek to control the small world in which we live. In doing so, we limit the chance occurrences of life to a manageable size. Yet every now and then, we are overwhelmed and overrun by life events. It is in this vulnerable position, when the barriers are down, that the love of God provides an alternative response, which acknowledges our vulnerability and reinforces the belief that we are loved no matter what might occur.

Lee MessederKillearn Kirk

Letter from our Minister

Our FinancesKillearn Kirk budgeted for a loss this year and although our income is greater than anticipated for the first 8 months of our year to 31st of August, our costs have gone over budget resulting in a loss of almost £10000, £3000 more than expected. We have had some exceptional costs of £4000 in Local Staffing this period and we still hope to get a reduction in the Ministry & Mission Costs which are paid to church funds centrally later this year.

Bob Ballantyne (Treasurer)

Gift AidLast year Killearn Kirk was ble to claim over £16000 on Gift Aid donations-a considerable boost to our funds. The Gift Aid scheme allows Killearn Kirk, as a registered charity, to claim back tax at 25% on donations.

To qualify a donor must be a UK taxpayer, Income or Capital Gains Tax, and have signed a Gift Aid Declaration Form.

Donations can be made by either Standing Order or using Freewill Offering envelopes (FWO envelopes, monthly or weekly, can be used whether offering is gift aided or not). Please contact Helen Gee ,Gift Aid Convenor, tel 550831 for a Gift Aid form or for FWO envelopes. Please notify the Treasurer or Gift Aid Convenor if you change home address or you no longer pay sufficient tax on your Income Tax and/ or Capital Gains

Helen Gee (Gift Aid Convenor)

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I must confess I’m a bit of a word geek. Poetry, prose, head in a good book or learning a new language, studying the roots of words, idioms and language in general, it all fascinates me. To some who are just grateful that their school English lessons are in the distant past might consider this terribly boring but for me, I gain an insight into how words were formed, of their original meaning and how they have evolved, and how to better understand the words we use in everyday conversation. Therefore, I notice words. I notice their spelling, shape, pronunciation, family groupings, how many overlap in other languages and of course, enjoy a good giggle at their sometimes funny double meanings.

Voted the funniest joke in 2015’s Edinburgh Festival, Tim Vine’s quip: ‘I’ve decided to sell my Hoover…well, it was just collecting dust’ never ceasing to bring a smile to my face, I am often on the lookout for (corny) puns and jokes!

Since visiting Estonia for the first time in 2010, I have been learning their delightful lingo. A language which sounds and is composed like Finnish, Eesti keel is amongst the languages least similar to English and deemed of the trickiest for a native English speaker to learn! Good job I like a challenge! I set about finding unique ways of remembering phrases, and visualising the words helps. As it is with English, there are some Estonian words which look like other words, sometimes bearing hilarious double meanings in its own and our language.

Here are some examples:Should you be on a bus in Tallinn and wish to get off, you would ask the driver to “lase mind maha, palun” (lass-eh meend maa-haa, pa-lloon) meaning ‘let me off, please’. Unfortunately, this can also mean ‘shoot me, please!’ So when the driver refuses to neither ‘let you off’ nor ‘shoot you’ (whichever mood he’s in!), you find yourself begging ‘please, please shoot me!’

With Finland and Estonia being so close geographically and linguistically, there are guaranteed some funny language connections too! Hallitus (haa-llee-tooss) is the Estonian word for mould or fungus. Coincidently, in Finnish, it’s the word for government. Brilliant!

There’s a street in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, which houses many of the foreign embassies including the Finnish embassy. This street is called Kohtu tee (kauch-too tay) which literally translates as Court street, or if you’re being very pernickety, tee, can also mean ‘tea’. Kohtu, in Finnish however, means uterus. So you can imagine the bewilderment and embarrassment for any Finnish embassy employee describing where he works!

Forgiving is For GivingOf course, not all words are funny and here is a selection of more useful Estonian phrases should you find yourself visiting this beautiful land - ilus maa (ee-looss maaah)!

Tere! (terr-eh) - Hello!Kuidas läheb? (quee-dah-ss laa-heb) - How are you?Mis teed? (mee-ss tedd) - What’s up?Minu olen hästi, aitäh! (mee-noo aw-lenn haa-ss-ty, eye-taa) - I am well, thanks!Tsau! (tch-ow) - Bye!

Palun (pa-lloon) is an excellent word to learn. It means ‘please’, ‘here you go’, and an informal ‘you’re welcome’. And finally, an example probably more interesting for a Scottish person, church, in Estonian is kirik (kirr-ick). That’s easy to remember kirik and kirk! Perfect!

You might be wondering why I am telling you about my love for words. Interesting, yes, but for what purpose? Recently, while reading ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ from Matthew 6.9-13, although its words are very familiar, I found myself thinking about some of the meanings differently.

‘Our Father, which art in heaven,Hallowed be thy Name.Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our sins,As we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.’

You might find yourself asking God to forgive you. To let us off, (not shoot us!) and God, who promises to forgive should we be sorry and ask, does. In the prayer, it says ‘forgive us our sins as we forgive one another’. This isn’t ‘if’, ‘when’, ‘before’ or ‘after’ we forgive another, but ‘as’. In other words, God, who wants us to seek forgiveness, will forgive us without condition, but also wants us to return the favour, or rather ‘pay forward the favour’ and forgive each another.

So, forgiving is for giving.

As we so freely receive God’s grace through forgiveness, He wants us to pass it on. Don’t hold

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The GuildOnce again we are looking forward to the start of a new season with lots of interesting evenings ahead. We start on:

SATURDAY 1ST OCT. with a HARVEST COFFEE MORNING from 10 – 12 noon.

There will be stalls with Baking, Books and Bits and Pieces. Come in for Tea/ Coffee and a chat after leaving your gifts for Harvest Sunday Service.

We meet on the first and third Tuesdays of the month (unless otherwise stated in the syllabus) at 7.30pm, in the Church Hall and we usually meander home at about 9-9.30 pm.

Oct 4th Light supper followed by entertainment 18th Let’s Stick Together – Project Evening – Help for families Nov 1st Ann Roy who will talk and show slides of her travels. 15th Paul Copeland of the Barnabus Trust Dec 6th Talk on Antartica with Kevin Clarke also Bring and Buy Table 10th Coffee Morning, 10-12noon 15th Thursday Afternoon Christmas Dinner with the Thursday Club and Table 13.

We hope you will come and join us we are a very friendly group with lots of fun and laughter. If there is a meeting that interest you come along and join in.

Elders 1966 – 2016In May this year Jenifer Barrett, Dorothy Dunkinson and Elizabeth Mathieson received an Invitation to attend a special meeting at the General Assembly in Edinburgh. It was the 50th anniversary of the ordination of the first Women Elders. Jenifer and Joan Shand were the first women elders elected to Killearn Kirk Session in 1978. The Moderator spoke about the changes brought about by having women in the Session and asked if anyone had joined in 1966. One lady raised her hand and was asked “And what do you do now?” – “Oh I’m the Session Clark”. “Well you must have been very good to become an Elder but what on earth did you do to get landed with Session Clark?” There were various speakers and a few spoke from the floor (male and female) - one lady minister told of the time that she was the only women on the session and that was because she was the interim. It was a very friendly enjoyable afternoon.

Transport to ChurchYou may not be aware that Killearn Kirk will organise transport for anyone unable to make their own way to Church.

If this would be of help to you, please contact Bob Ballantyne at 550310 or the Fellowship Committee members: Teresa, Jenifer, Alison Robinson, Hilary or Margaret Harrison".

a grudge against another. Forgive that person and you’ll be amazed by how liberated you both can be. Of course, it’s much easier to write this! In reality, to forgive, especially if you have experienced a painful situation, might seem a million miles away! God understands that, and realises how challenging it may be, but start small. If we can forgive the little stuff, when it comes to the bigger, it might not seem so debilitating.

Just as I notice the little words, which can make all the difference in a sentence, don’t let those little niggles get you down. Forgiving really is for giving, and I pray you will be liberated by the gift of forgiveness.

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Along comes summer and most activities shut down for a break, right? Not Messy Play! Deciding to trial a few holiday sessions of our young children’s very messy hands-on activity session, we have been inundated with little people! Not only coming out of the woodwork in Killearn but some are travelling from Bearsden, Aberfoyle, Drymen and Gartmore, as well as the more local areas. If you are not ages 0-5 years, you might be wondering what we get up to. Well, here lie some

very interesting tales!

Arriving at 9.30am, you will have the opportunity to put your dancing shoes on and warm up the vocal chords as we sing our little hearts out to ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’, or the many variations of ‘Old McDonald’s farm’, or ‘Incy Wincy Spider’. I try to bring along a different instrument each time from guitar, mandolin, ukulele, cajon drum, djembe drums or button accordion, all giving these curious little sponges the chance to see, hear and try their hand at exploring music of all kinds!

Our themes change each time. The past few have been especially popular: ‘Let’s Get Messy! A Bit of

Everything!’, ‘Under the Sea’, ‘Summer Lovin’!’, ‘Put on a happy face – Musical Madness!’ and our very own ‘Olympic Celebration’! As you can imagine, we have had fun! Most activities are made from scratch to keep costs low, for example, during our Musical Madness morning, we played ‘Freeze Bees!’: a game like musical statues but to the tune, ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’. Then with our fingers, we traced the flight path of a very busy bumblebee whilst making funny buzzing sounds! Try it! It really tickles your lips! Then, while exploring all kinds of textures, we used a concoction of plain flour and baby oil to create Moon Sand! Soft to touch and smells delightful! Although aimed mostly at the younger ages, our holiday sessions welcome up to age 7 years, so come along next time!

Our next sessions will be Thursdays:8 and 22 September13 and 27 October10 and 24 November8 and 22 December.

We run Messy Play in Killearn Kirk hall from 9.30 – 11.30am. A yummy and healthy snack for little learners is provided, along with a lovely hot mug of tea or coffee and biscuits for the not-so-little learners! Messy Play is always free, but should you like to give a donation, we are very grateful. Come along for a morning of fun and meet other parents/carers from all over! Keep up to date with activity ideas and dates for your diary on our dedicated Facebook page: ‘Killearn Kirk Messy Play’, on the Killearn Kirk Website and various posters around the village.

Youth Group Our youth group, The Squash, was attended by our few regular young people. Few in number, but by no means small in accomplishment!

Youth and Family Work in Killearn Kirk

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Keen to not only serve inwardly, we decided to record some special messages which will be compiled and given to a homeless person to listen to as a ‘Thought for the Day’ idea. How often do you hear the words ‘I love you.’ ‘Well done!’. ‘You are great!’? Can you imagine a world where nobody spoke to you, other than refusing you a few small coins when you beg on the streets? Sometimes life can play a tough hand of cards and many (young) people find themselves living on the

streets for a multitude of reasons. Killearn Kirk’s youth group, The Squash (we all squashed onto a rather comfy red couch in a cosy meeting place), decided to do something which would encourage some homeless people on our doorstep. Each person recorded thoughts on their favourite Bible verse, quoted and read from a book, a poem or song lyrics, and along with donating much-needed warm clothes, a sleeping bag, toiletries and other essentials through the organisation, The Rucksack Project, we served the wider community of Glasgow where there is a great need.

With film and games nights, meals out and meetings working towards the above project, The Squash proved both fun and engaging for all who attended. Taking a break over the summer, we will resume with a new format for our youth group so stay tuned for more info!

Kirk KidsEach week, we run Kirk Kids, the hands-on sessions learning about Jesus and His friends, the disciples, and many other characters of the Bible. From 10.45 – 11.30am, you can find your children aged 3-12 years provided with fun and engaging activities, while you sit in for the morning service. Everyone is welcome!

Primary School SU GroupIs your child in P5 to P7? Come along to our Scripture Union club held in Killearn Primary School on Tuesday lunchtimes! Again, a very hands-on session with different activities, object lessons to learn more about God, and quizzes. We guarantee great fun! See you soon! Children are welcome to pop in as regularly as they wish. Contact me for more info: yvonnekillearnkirk@gmail.com

Closing thought from YvonneIt has been nine months since I began my role as Youth, Children and Family Worker in Killearn Kirk and I have thoroughly enjoyed providing activities and events which aim to bring this area and the wider community together. Should we take a step back for a moment and look at how fortunate we are to live in such an area, I can’t help but thank God for the gift of life. Whatever beliefs we have, if at all, to walk life’s path with such friendly and supportive people, I consider myself blessed. I have been overwhelmed by the encouragement received; kind words shared, and the many offers of help through your talents and time! It was always a pleasure to serve you, the people of Killearn, when I worked in the Spar and although I miss that hub in our village, I’m grateful to be included in your current lives. As we look towards a new (school) term and the coming months, I hope our paths will continue to cross as we join together to community with a warm and welcoming spirit.

God bless you all, Yvonne.

Youth and Family Work in Killearn Kirk

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What’s in your hand? Encouraging the children to identify the talents and skills we each have, whether it’s a particular interest in music or sport, being friendly or making people feel happy, we discussed how Jesus can use anything, just like the few loaves of bread and fish the young boy had, to make great things happen! From that child’s lunch box donation came enough food to feed not five but 5,000 people and there was enough food left over to fill 12 baskets! One little boy piped up, “Why didn’t Jesus make them pizza?” Good question, young thinker!

What’s in your hand, and are you ready to allow Jesus to make a miracle in your life?

Our last story introduced the important themes of friendship and faith; two very important words. In my opinion, Christianity is an interesting kind of religion. Let me explain. The basis of Christianity is a belief in God. Can we see God? No. So how do we know He exists? Many Christians will be able to tell you about his or her experiences which brought them to believe that God does exist. These experiences will be unique to that person but nonetheless, each one is special and significant. It may be a recent experience or something which happened in their childhood. Christianity is based on faith but faith, in itself, is a tricky concept to grasp for young children. To better understand, the children had the opportunity to ask the club helpers what their favourite Bible verse or story is. As we explored some of the characters of the Bible, we learned that they were just ordinary people. Jesus, who was rather special, wanted to be friends with ordinary people, even people who had been deemed outcasts. In God’s eyes, we are all special.

The final story we learned about was of the paralyzed man (found in Mark 2:1-12). Picture this. You’ve invited a speaker to come to your house and together with friends you look forward to hearing a

Killearn’s Guardians of Ancora (cont. from P1)good message. The house is pretty full and folk are standing as all the seats are taken! Your speaker is starting to become quite popular and others, even though not invited, are keen to hear him too. As there is no space to squeeze anyone else through the door, one more man, and his friends, who are desperate to hear your chosen speaker do something absolutely bonkers! Seemingly with no respect for your house, through your roof, they carefully lower their pal on a stretcher! What on earth?!

During the holiday club, we plonked ourselves in the scene too which really

brought the story to life, and as our youngsters built their house from giant Lego blocks, Yvonne’s giant teddy bear was lowered down to illustrate the funny side of it all! Humour aside, what happened that day in our story was something very special; a miracle! The paralyzed man was physically unable take himself to Jesus but his friends could, and sometimes it’s the faith of those around us who can encourage and support and, just like the story of this man, make it possible for us to meet Jesus. Perhaps you have a story of faith to share, too?

Friday also saw the wonderful Heather Wright provide us with a fabulous flower-pot decorating activity! My goodness! The design ideas and talents of these youngsters never ceased to amaze me as the group busied themselves with their pots! To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Horticultural Show in Killearn, Heather kindly encouraged the children to decorate a flower pot and enter it into the competition taking place at the end of August. I don’t envy the judges for those designs were brilliant! A huge thank you to Heather for her time, skills and interest in our holiday club! We look forward to hearing all about the show!

It was a pleasure to provide the holiday club for these youngsters here in Killearn. If you missed out on the fun, there are plenty of opportunities to join in with other and similar events. For example, if you are in P5-P7, you can come along to the Scripture Union Club on Tuesday lunchtimes, as mentioned above. In our 30 minute slot, we pack in as much fun as possible through quizzes, object lessons and games. I’m looking forward to these sessions and seeing you all again after the summer! Consent forms are available from Yvonne.

And, the Sunday School ‘Kirk Kids’ group has a very similar format to the holiday club so you can expect an action-packed session every Sunday morning!

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On Saturday 27th August Killearn Horticultural Society celebrated it’s 150th anniversary and decorated the Kirk for the occasion. We were delighted to see so many visitors enjoying the flower display. Earlier this year the “Horti” planted two trees, a flowering Cherry and an Acer, in the grounds to the south west of the Church.

Lights ... Camera ... Action ...Whilst Killearn Kirk Tidings normally concentrates on Church and related matters, it was impossible to resist telling our readers about one of our elders who opened her doors to a film crew.

Killearn is now on the TV map, with the filming of a Jonathan Creek mystery in Dorothy Dunkinson’s house (Dunkyan) and surrounding area. The BBC likes to take filming to different parts of the country and Killearn was used to portray an English village. Dunkyan was used as Creek's new house, he is moving from a windmill so there are removal scenes etc. Quite an exciting week for Dorothy. The finished film "Daemon's Roost" is due to be screened at Christmas. Will we recognise the village?

Killearn “Horti” Reaches 150

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Try Praying20 million adults in the UK pray. 13 million pray at least once a month and 9 million every day.

One in three people believes God will answer their prayers.

Prayer is a conversation with God. You don’t need to use special words or a special voice. You can pray out loud or silently. God knows what you think and is familiar with all you do. You can talk to him about anything.

Not religious? Don’t do church? Even people who don’t “do” religion will sometimes admit to offering prayer, when a dear one is ill, work is tough and money is tight. It may be that it is an instinctive thing about being human. While Christians believe that it is important, we can also find it challenging. We don’t seem to have time or we just don’t know what to say. People often struggle to find God in their lives, but the truth is he is all around us. We can reach out for him and find him because, in fact, he is not far from anyone.

God is interested in us and we are in some way made like him – in his image. It makes knowing him a genuine option. Coming closer to God through prayer affects us for the better. We become aware of his nearness and care for us in his world. Even in the “Lord’s Prayer” we include forgiveness, ask for his guidance and that evil will not get the better of us – these things are all part of our emotional health and wellbeing.

Curious? Why not check out www.trypraying and download the app.

Try praying is an invitation for you and is a new ‘app’ to allow you the opportunity to try praying for seven days and to see what happens in your life. There is also a booklet available if you are not into the ‘app’ world.

Our Locum Minister bags all 282 Munros in a charity climb

Rev. Dr Valerie Allen climbed her final Munro, Ben Lomond, on 2nd July. It has taken her 19 years to complete her ambition to climb all the mountain peaks over 3,000ft in Scotland. She had a quiet sense of accomplishment and a real feeling of joy having completed something that had been a focus in her life for so long.

Dr Allen is as passionate about gender justice as she is about climbing and used the challenge to raise money for four organisations who share her vision – Christian Aid, The Iona Community, WEvolution in Scotland and Capacitar in the United States.

She said, “At the heart of the gospel is Jesus’ promise of fullness of life. Violence against women prevents women from flourishing – it robs them of fullness of life. These organisations are helping to empower women as they reach for fullness in life and the money raised will transform their lives in wonderful and inspiring ways”.

Dr Allen is now a member of a very exclusive club as less than 6,000 people have completed the Munros, the majority of which are men.

Killearn Kirk congratulates Dr Allen on her achievement and her commitment to helping women to reach true equality and in which all forms of violence against women – from sexual innuendoes to rape to domestic abuse – are eradicated.

If you wish to support Dr Allen then you can do so at http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/ValerieAllen

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Harvest Thanksgiving Service

A service of thanksgiving will take place on Sunday, 2nd October 2016. Members of the congregation and parish are invited to attend and to bring along tins and non-perishable goods which will be donated to Glasgow City Mission. Perishable goods, vegetables, flowers, etc will be distributed within the village and will be very much appreciated by those receiving these gifts.

The Harvest Thanksgiving is an annual celebration that occurs around the time when the main harvest is finished and parishioners attend church to thank God for the Harvest.

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease” (Gen 8:22)

Small Beginnings

“Things great have small beginnings. Every downpour is just a raindrop; every fire is just a spark; every harvest is just a seed; every journey is just a step because without that step there will be no journey; without that raindrop there can be no shower; without that seed there can be no harvest.” (William Wilberforce).

Service of Remembrance

Services of Remembrance are a time when we remember the members of the armed forces who have died on duty during and since World War 1.

The Service of Remembrance will be held on Sunday, 13th November and will commence at 10.45 at the War memorial. A two minute silence will be at 11am. A Church service will then follow. The service will be attended by the youth organisations, representatives of other organisations, councillors and churches. If the day is wet then the Remembrance Service will take place in the church. There will be a short break between the Remembrance Service and the Church Service.

Session News

The members of Killearn Kirk Session are pleased to be welcoming Rev Lee Messeder back after his absence while recovering from major heart surgery. It has not been an easy journey for him this past year and he has had one or two set-backs but it is heartening to know that he now feels much stronger and able to carry on with his ministry in Killearn Parish.

We have been extremely grateful to Stirling Presbytery and the Church of Scotland for their assistance during this time and for appointing Interim Moderators, Rev Gary McIntyre followed by Rev Andrew Campbell and also allowing us to invite Locum Ministers Rev Dr Valerie Allen and Rev David Clark to cover services and some of the parish work. We are also indebted to Rev David Munro who has assisted with funerals and also some of the services.

Safeguarding

The Church of Scotland has a deep concern for the wholeness and wellbeing of each individual. Working together with the Safeguarding Service and statutory agencies, the Church seeks to safeguard the welfare of all people who come into contact with the Church and its services. The Gospel proclaims that it’s the responsibility of everyone in the fellowship of the Church to prevent harm, be it physical, sexual or emotional, and we will always seek to reduce risk. The Church’s commitment to safeguarding reminds us that God cares passionately about the welfare and wellbeing of all people. All volunteers are invited to attend training on safeguarding to ensure that they understand the Church of Scotland policy and procedures and how to follow best practice in safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and also vulnerable adults who attend church or take part in Church activities. Most of the Elders have now attended the training required for Trustees and many of the volunteers have attended the appropriate trainings. All volunteers, in the Church, working with children and/or vulnerable adults are required to be a member of the PVG (Protecting Vulnerable Groups) Scheme. Further training will be organised shortly for volunteers still requiring training.

At the CCAP Synod of Livingstonia General Assembly a few weeks ago. Rev Levi Nyondo (with whom Killearn Kirk has had links for many years) has been elected for a third term as General Secretary. Levi and his wife Ruth have visited Killearn Kirk and several Kirk members have been out to Malawi.

Killearn Malawi Group has been involved in building classrooms at Hilltops Craft Centre and Nursery School, in partnership with Levi and Ruth.

Malawi Update

An Evening with Robert Burns

Killearn KirkSaturday 3rd December, 7.30-9.30pm

Tickets £15 in aid of Killearn Kirk & Friends of Ellisland Farm

(wine/soft drinks and canapes)Burns enthusiast Stuart Cochrane will open people’s eyes

to the real Robert Burns. Forget the haggis, ditch the tartan and silence the bagpipes.

Our discussion will centre around:

How well do we know him?What has history done to him?

What have we done to him?Is his masterpiece Tam o’ Shanter also his greatest enemy?

What can we do to keep his legacy alive for the future?

These are a few of the points that Stuart will tackle in his talk:“Robert Burns – who was he really?”

Stuart, a native of Ayrshire, is the Curator of Ellisland Farm, which was built by Robert Burns as his family home in 1788. Stuart has spent over 10 years

working in the Robert Burns world and has a passionate interest in the life of the poet and the social history of that time.

Tickets available from Richard - 440929, Anne – 550605, and other members of the stewardship committee.