EKO MARCH 2021 EDITION 593

SERVICESMARCH - APRILOur services continue to be broadcast over the internet and via the telephone (01355 209393) every Sunday morning. They are available through YouTube and Facebook but easiest of all is through the church website. Just go to:

www.ekopc.org.uk and you will find the service on the home page. The services for March, 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th (Palm Sunday)

These will be broadcast as usual and will be available on the morning of each Sunday.

Holy Week Services: 29th March - Easter Sunday 4th April.

Starting on Monday 29th March, there will be ‘live’ broadcasts from the church with Anne and some pre-recorded input from our children.

At 2pm every day of Holy Week (Monday - Friday) there will be devotional services appropriate to each day of Holy Week. On Easter Sunday there will be a ‘live’ Easter Day service from the church. Now, it was hoped that, if government restrictions were eased, that we might have a congregation in the church and halls but this is not known at the time of publication. So, the only way of notifying you of the possibility of

congregational attendance will be by you checking the church website (www.ekopc.org.uk) on a regular basis nearer the time. There you will find details of how to apply for a place.

I trust that you understand these arrangements. The main thing is that all these services can be seen and heard as usual.

David Kent - Editor

 PASTORAL LETTERWho would have believed that it’s almost a year since the start of the first lockdown? The pubs closed on Friday 20th March (the day my grandson was born) and full lockdown was announced the following Monday 23rd. We thought we were in for a twelve-week stint, but here we are almost a year later, and we still can’t get a haircut. At the time, I tried to keep everyone positive through our own church channels, but also through the articles I wrote weekly for the East Kilbride News. I reminded people that we were in the season of spring and the days were getting lighter and warmer, and all around us there were signs of new life. Looking back over these articles, I also reminded people that Easter was approaching, and the message of Easter was that love could conquer evil and new life could conquer death. So, a year later, the message is still that same, except that there is now much more light at the end of the tunnel. Many of you have received your vaccine, and we’re starting to see some plans coming together for opening up various sectors. It’s baby steps and it’s frustrating, but I’d urge us all to be patient.

Our church family has excelled itself during this past year. We’ve done things we’d never imagined, and everyone has pulled together, sharing new skills and insights. Together we’ve navigated the Zoom Kirk Session meetings, Sunday Schools and even an ecumenical bible study for Lent, although there’s always someone who has to be told they’re on mute or invited to start their video. But we’ve journeyed together. The message of the resurrection awaits us as the signs of spring and new life surround us. With every confidence we can look forward in faith. Yours in love, Anne Paton  

KIRK SESSION UPDATEKirk Session meetings can sometimes be associated with long, boring meetings with discussions going round and round and taking ages to come to a decision, so it was with some trepidation that last year after several months into the lockdown, we started to have “virtual” Session meetings over Zoom. We were fortunate that nearly all of our elders are online and, while not all were familiar with Zoom, with some support most were able to master the technicalities fairly quickly. We have now had several virtual Kirk Session meetings, none of which was either long or boring! And, while these lacked all of the social interaction of a normal meeting, we were able to deal with all of the essential business. Some aspects of a Zoom meeting are not entirely satisfactory such as managing discussion and voting using some of the Zoom tools, but these are compensated to some extent by the

convenience of participating from home and the avoidance of venturing out on a cold, wet evening.

 

One of the issues discussed in the early stages of our virtual meetings was the introduction of live streaming of our services while churches were required to close their doors. At the time none of us envisaged that restrictions would last as long as they have but giving scope, when permitted, to broadcast live services from our own church, albeit with a much-reduced congregation, has proved to be a wise and popular decision and opened up excellent opportunities for us to communicate with our church members and beyond.

At present in the season of Lent, we are part-way through a 6-week programme of study and reflection again using Zoom. The Kirk Session recently discussed arrangements for Holy Week services and agreed to hold live streamed services to be held in the church throughout Holy Week at 2pm. At present we don’t know if the restrictions on a congregation being present will be changed before then but with or without congregation the services will be live streamed and available for viewing later. The church also will be open for private prayer from 12-2 pm on these days.

 

The Kirk Session has also begun to look forward to the resumption of all the different aspects of church life as well as some issues of its own organisation. For example, over the

years the size of some elders’ districts has changed significantly – some smaller and some larger. There has also been considerable new housing within our parish. The Session has therefore begun a review so that come the autumn there will be a better balance in the size of districts and that these will be comfortably manageable for district elders.

 

While it is likely that we will continue to use Zoom for some months yet, and possibly even longer for some small meetings or discussions, we do not envisage that virtual Kirk Session meetings are here to stay. In the meantime, though they have proved to be a useful way of keeping things moving and even developing new ideas and innovations. Once we resume regular in-person meetings the challenge will be to appreciate the warmth and friendship of such meetings while continuing to eschew any suggestion of being boring or long-winded !!

Alistair Walker - Session Clerk

LEPROSY MISSION SUNDAY

I‘m grateful to Anne, our Minister, for giving me the chance to speak about the work of Leprosy Mission Scotland at the service on the last Sunday in January. Afterwards, Jill Cowan sent me a cutting from the Sunday Post of that same Sunday. It was an article about a young woman from Sri Lanka, who in 2010 was diagnosed with leprosy. Now aged 33, married with two young children and lecturing in a Scottish University, she was completely cured over ten years ago. In the article, she

speaks about the discrimination and the stigma attached to leprosy. “The culture is so different in Sri Lanka”, she says, “so we haven’t told some relatives about my diagnosis. They just don’t need to know.”

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to the Leprosy Mission Appeal, which we normally leave open throughout the month of February. The figure as of this morning (23/2) is £996 (Donations £880, plus Gift Aid £116) That compares very well with recent years and given the COVID situation, it is quite remarkable!

In addition, I’ve been able to receive from some people their Blue Tubs. Looking back, the figures are very encouraging. From August 2019 till last March, when COVID struck and the first lock-down began, the Tubs had produced over £666.20. From March last year till last October, no Tubs were returned. Then, since last October till now, I’ve sent off £261.12. Many thanks for these gifts, and I’m sure that as restrictions are eased and we are able to meet in the Church again, more Tubs will appear! Stewart Smith

FORWARD PLANNING – CHRISTIAN AID WEEK 2021

Last year, we didn’t do anything for Christian Aid Week, I’m ashamed to say. This year, I hope we can resolve not to be found wanting like that again.

First of all, the Week will begin on a Monday – Monday 10th May – and runs till Sunday 16th May.

By then, Christian Aid hopes that House-to-House Collections will be permitted. But if not, other plans are suggested:-

One is that we could do an Envelope Delivery only, with details of how people could send in their donations.

Another is – which could well be as well as the above – a sponsored event called “The 300,000 Steps Challenge”. You challenge yourself to walk around 10,000 steps every day in the month of May, starting on May first, and see how well you get on (Ignoring, of course, the fact that the word “Mayday” is how you call for help in an emergency!) You get the details from the Christian Aid website, and you get your sponsors and their donations either via Facebook or in a JustGiving page.

Or you could set up your own Challenge, if walking isn’t your thing.

If you have access to the internet, then please have a look at the Christian Aid website – go to caweek.org.

In addition, Christian Aid Scotland is joining the VIRTUAL KILTWALK. The dates are 23rd-25th April, and people of all ages can join in. You can walk, cycle or run any distance, jump on a trampoline, do a scavenger hunt, or anything else you can think of. You need to register at www.thekiltwalk.co.uk and you the get the details of how to go about gathering your sponsor money – all on line, via a personalised JustGiving page. If anyone plans to join this, please let me know, because we would get a Church Code which would record what monies any of us had raised.

As we progress through this time of easing the lock-down restrictions, we’ll eventually learn whether we can do the full House-to-House Collection or not. In the meantime, I hope we can all keep thinking about what we can do, whatever is allowed.Stewart Smith 

UPDATE FROM IAIN SHAW

I hope and pray you are all well. Below is a short update on what we have been up to recently in our work with the children, young people and the families in our Church.

In February we held our third monthly Sunday School Family Quiz night which attracted 9 teams. The theme for the evening was animals and all team names had to contain the name of an animal. The winning team for the 2nd month in a row was The Ashelby Family (The Lion Kings) captained by Millie with 54 points and in joint 2nd place with 51 points were The West Main Wolves (Team Kubielczynska) captained by Kaja and The Wise Old Owls (Team Paton) captained by Anne – no this is not a misprint and I know it’s hard to believe! The emphasis of these events is on fun and fellowship with the taking part much more important than the winning – believe that and you will believe anything – the quizzes are very competitive but hugely enjoyable. Our next family quiz night is scheduled for Saturday 13th March at 7pm.

Our Virtual Sunday School sessions and our midweek FLING group both continue weekly with a mixture of fun and games

including a time to chat, puzzles, music, dancing and singing as well as arts & crafts, Bible teaching and prayer.

An Easter Trail in the Village area will be available during Holy Week where everyone of all ages can get involved. Also, this Easter we hope as many children as possible will take part in the Easter Sunday morning service on 4th April.

In March there are quite a few important events – The beginning of Holy Week, Mother’s Day on the 14th March, Our Easter Trail beginning Saturday 27th March, Our 4th fun family quiz night on Saturday 13th and a very important event my birthday (21 again !!).

All in all, since the New Year it has been an extremely busy yet successful and enjoyable time and I extend my grateful thanks to everyone who has been involved in any way.

To finish I’d like to share a true Mother’s Day story with you called : Who Needs A Hug?

It was Mother’s Day. He was driving his new Mercedes Benz Convertible and enjoying the bounties of nature. The road was smooth and the traffic was less. The trees on both sides danced with the wind and protected the street from the hot rays of the sun like a guardian. He was at peace listening to the birds warbling early in the morning.

The colourful flower shop adjacent to the road attracted his attention. He stopped his car, got out and took a closer look at some of the flowers displayed. There were bouquets of red, pink and yellow roses arranged neatly on the shelves. Every

bouquet had a beautiful Mother’s Day greeting card attached to it.

He thought about his mother who lived 200 miles away. He chose a nice bouquet of pink roses, signed the greeting card and requested the shopkeeper to courier it to his mother the same day.

Just before he got into his car, he noticed a small, cute girl standing next to the shop. She was counting the pennies in her hands. She seemed a little upset. He went up to her and asked, “Can I help you?”

She replied in a choked voice. “I want to buy some red roses for my mother. But I have only £5 whereas the bouquet costs £15. ”He smiled and asked her to accompany him to the shop. He bought a big bouquet of red roses for the little girl. She thanked him profusely. As they left the shop she asked if he would take her to see her mother. He agreed and the little girl was elated. He was delighted to help as he could see her eyes sparkling with happiness.

She showed him the way, which finally led to a cemetery. As she left him she gave him a hug and said,” Thank you very much”. Then she ran to her mother’s grave, knelt down and placed the bouquet of flowers.

The man was speechless for a minute. He immediately turned and went back to the same flower shop. He took the bouquet of pink flowers from the florist and drove the 200 miles, at one stretch, to meet his beloved mother.

He handed over the flowers & gave his mum a big tight hug and said “I love you, mum”.

What a lovely story and I am sure we are all feeling just now how much we would like to hug people and hold them tight. Sometimes in life we unintentionally take people for granted, especially those closest to us. We do this just because they are always there, but life is unpredictable. This story was written in a different time, a different place, we can’t simply jump in the car and we can’t hug the way we would like but today we can still show our love for one another – maybe saying I love you, maybe in small acts of kindness, perhaps a phone call, a zoom call if we aren’t all zoomed out by now, or a socially distanced walk, a small gift dropped at someone’s door and most importantly we have prayer. This lent why not pray for one or two people each day and give thanks to God for them, for what they mean to you and equally let them know that you care, that you appreciate and you love them. Is there someone special in your life who could do with hearing from you right now?

Well, what are you waiting for? Go on, say a prayer, do a random act of kindness and may God bless you.

Thank you all for your continued prayers, support and encouragement. I really appreciate and value them.

In closing I pray that you will all stay safe, healthy and continue to be kind and look after one another.Iain (Youth & Families Worker) mobile 07912 295943 / email iainshaw18@gmail.com

 

PRAYER GROUP

The prayer group continue to take your prayer requests to our heavenly Father. Please text requests to Marion Leddie.Lord in our hearts plant seeds of hope, in our homes plant seeds of love and in our church plant seeds of joy.DIARY

1st.  Ask God's blessing on all who are feeling run-down and washed out but are still trying to put a brave face on things.

2nd.  Thank you, Lord, for the speedy roll out of the vaccine.3rd.  Pray for the children and young people whose lives have

been changed by covid19 impacting their schooling, learning and development, social opportunities and changes in routine, may they have continued resilience and peace.

4th. Thank you for the gift of laughter which is important in helping everyone to feel positive.

5th.  Lord, I ask that you bless all nations with hope, grace and peace.

6th.  I am grateful Lord, for having you in my life.7th.  We give thanks for people from other places and countries

who have been reading the lessons in our Sunday Services and for the sense of the Church Universal that they embody.

8th.  We pray that Easter will be a time of hope and peace and that more people will be in church on Easter Sunday looking for stability in this fragile world.

9th.  Father thank you that there is nothing in all of creation, not even coronavirus that is able to separate us from your love.

10th.  Lord, thank you for rainbows which remind us of God's promise.

11th.  Father, we ask for your guidance and protection for our school children and staff as they return to the school buildings.

12th.  Lord, may your love that never fails continue to be shared

through the kindness of strangers looking out for each other and for neighbours near and far.

13th.  We thank you Lord, for answered prayer.14th.  Lord God, we pray that you may grant all bereaved

families your consolation and strengthen their faith.15th.  Thank you, Lord, that we don't always know what the next

second will bring, and that you are graciously able to use any situation for good.

16th.  A blessing Lord on our church family as we support each other at this time. Keep our light shining.

17th.  Thank you, Lord, for the good news of recoveries and effective planning and for your gracious answer to prayer.

18th.  Father, protect our student nurses and doctors and all learning health care workers ensuring they receive the training they require to help them become the best they can be as the future of our caring profession.

19th.  Lord, comfort those struggling with illness or bereavement.

20th.  We give thanks for the wonder of springtime.21st.  We hold before God the work of the Scottish Bible Society

and pray we may continue to be nourished by God's word22nd.  The greatest love is  God's unconditional love for us.23rd.  We pray for EKOPC and give thanks for Minister, Elders

and Congregation as they continue to reach out to the community.

24th.  Lord, thank you for walking with us through the seasons of life.

25th.  Father, help me to take time to be aware of your presence and comfort.

26th.  Thank you Lord, for all the blessings of life love and sharing.

27th.  Grant me O Lord, the wisdom to grow and learn in order to fulfil your plan for me.

28th.  We pray that in this Holy Week the Holy Spirit may draw us close to Christ in the deep places of our heart.

29th.  Thank you, Lord, that you sent your Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sin.

30th.  Lord, as I open my eyes to the world please open my eyes to what you want me to do in it today.

31st.  Lord, thank you for springtime, a time of new beginnings. 

VIRTUAL SUNDAY SCHOOL ARTWORK

During February 2021, three of the themes used for our virtual Sunday school sessions were Jesus Loves Me, My Family and For God So Loved the World. Contained within each session we have an art work slot which is an opportunity for the children and young people to draw their representation of the theme for that week. I am constantly amazed, but after almost a year of leading these sessions I shouldn’t be, of the quality, imagination, design and colourfulness of the artwork that the children and young people produce.We felt that this is something not to keep to ourselves but to share with the entire congregation. On the next page are a few examples of the art work created by the children and young people during these February sessions which I hope you enjoy.I hope you will agree with me in that we have a very talented group and their pictures are further enhanced by the fact they only have around 5 minutes to produce them albeit they can work on them after the session before sending them to me for sharing with the group the following week.The artwork on show in this magazine has been produced by

Jessica, Charlotte, Hannah, Mia, Kaja, Max, Sophie, Millie, Lucy, Craig and Zoe. The age range of the children and young people is 5-13 years.If space allows, I would love to show you further examples of the group’s artwork in future editions of the EKO magazine.I believe we have an opportunity, based on the evidence of what has been achieved and delivered during our virtual Sunday School sessions, and once the current lockdown and restrictions are eased or lifted, to create an art group for children, young people and families. Watch this space for more details.If you feel you would like to get involved in helping at such a group please let me know – no great art qualifications are required, I am certainly no artist - all you need is a love of children and a patient encouraging heart and to be able to give a couple of hours per week of your time.

 

   

 

 

Iain Shaw (iainshaw18@gmail.com)17th EK GUIDESFun was the emphasis for February’s activities!  We had a fabulous session with Hayley, who told the girls about her

career as a CSI (Crime Scene Investigator): we learned about fingerprinting & DNA, and now have some super keen girls wanting to follow in her career footsteps.

Mary Berry was given a run for her money when the Guides made chocolate swirl cookies together. Baking on zoom was a huge success and I can honestly say they smelled & tasted delicious!

We were very fortunate to have Katie Young, one of Girlguiding Scotland’s Speak Out Champions join us to work on Girlguiding Scotland’s Media Mindful Campaign, which she helped compile.  This girl led campaign empowers girls and young women to challenge how they are represented in the media. To find out more about this important work please click this link: 

https://www.girlguidingscotland.org.uk/girls-taking-action/our-campaign-work/media-mindful/

We began working on the Know Myself theme and are building upon our knowledge of DNA: making their own edible DNA was a huge hit - especially eating the end product!

Some of our Leaders and Guides took part in Girlguiding Scotland’s virtual event for Thinking Day 2021. There was such a variety of activities, the highlights being Laugh Yoga, Bollywood Dancing, cooking with the Kilted Chef, making comic strips, upcycling – it was lovely to see our girls having fun along with their guiding sisters from across the globe. Stay safe and well.

Lynne, Louise, Nicola, Rachel & all the Guides

THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING EMAILAfter reading about the magazine costs in last month’s magazine a further 21 members have been added to the email distribution list. Thank you.

This has further reduced the cost of magazine printing.

At the beginning of the pandemic we appealed for those who could to change to receiving their magazine by email. We now have a total of 121 people receiving their magazine this way. Our costs would have been so much more without you.

Printing 121 magazines would use about 2 reams of paper plus ink and toner. If you use a printer at home you will know that the replacement inks soon cost more than the cost of printer itself!

In the longer term when we are back to “normal” the cost of printing will continue to be reduced thanks to those who have agreed to email. Reducing the print run by 121 magazines each month will be an ongoing saving. Think of the trees we will be saving in the longer term and also we are adding to our church Green Credentials!

Many of you can only receive your magazine in print form and be assured this will always continue as usual.

The Magazine along with the Online and Phone line Sunday services and other zoom meetings have all been important in keeping us connected to our church.

Like us you will be longing to be back in church as before. Also attending the Thursday coffee morning where so many are

involved in the tasks of organising magazines in folders ready for delivery to your districts. This is seen by many of you as a chance to be of service to your church and you have missed this opportunity.

Something to look forward to later in the year.

So…………. If you meant to change to email but haven’t got round to it, here is a wee reminder. Just contact isobelgray@blueyonder.co.uk

Please also give me the first line of your address in order that the correct postal label is removed.Isobel Gray

WHAT’S NEW AT THE OLD PARISH?

This month marks the anniversary of the first Lockdown. What a year it’s been for us all, personally, socially, or professionally. I hope you’ll agree that, rather than just moan, with our Minister, Rev. Anne Paton and Session Clerk, Alistair Walker at the helm, the Old Parish rose to the challenge of keeping our church together during ‘unprecedented times’.

It’s not all about the internet…We couldn’t be together physically, so most solutions were digital, but we always had an eye on those who didn’t have internet, and introduced new non-digital ways of keeping in touch:

 For the first time, we printed the EKO through the summer to keep you up to date.

 We send weekly news to the ‘EK News’ Churches Column detailing activities and contacts. (Always the longest piece there!)

 The Minister writes a separate Reflection, printed next to that from St. Bride’s.

 We remotely monitor messages to our Church Office number and email daily, so we can respond quickly.

 We set up Helping Hands, 26 volunteers who delivered the EKO, prescriptions, and shopping, kept in phone contact with the isolated, and provided other help as requested – for the congregation and the community.

 Where we knew of someone on their own at Christmas, or needing a ‘lift’, we delivered 126 gift bags to bring some cheer.

 We record Sunday Services in formats to suit those without internet: USB sticks (for suitable TVs), DVDs, and in audio: Dial-a-Service, and CDs.

 We give guidance on how to join online meetings from a landline.

 Iain Shaw devised Village Treasure Hunts for families to get exercise, have fun and learn about Jesus while safe in their bubbles, yet taking part in an activity others were doing.

Embracing all things digital Our biggest leap began somewhat in the dark… in March 2020 emails started: “Does anyone know how to…?”

Anne and Alistair learned quickly how to record short video messages to the congregation, which we posted on our church website and newly-launched Austin Hepburn came to the rescue, and has continued to work his magic since. What a star! His team helped as best they could, adding photographs for hymns, feeding back, getting Anne’s ‘at home’ recordings to him, finding readers. When he wasn’t in his creative ‘studio’, Austin would head out to the church or town to take more photos and video footage eg walking in and out of the church, to make it feel like you were really there. (We think it worked!)

He set up an online site where the team could share resources. We learned to upload the completed video and audio files to Youtube, our website, and Facebook (all new skills we had to learn).

By Easter Sunday, we had become almost-pros! Later we added in live-streamed services (our own and the Moderator’s); Christingle; the Nativity play; Communion - all being ‘firsts’ in their own right. Our own congregation recorded Bible reading videos and later their national and international ‘cousins’ joined in, increasing our sense of a church ‘family’.

Could we take it any further? Yes, we had been using old audio recordings of our choir, but EKO Editor, David Kent introduced a fresher sound using his computer software. He compiled separate recordings of individuals recorded at home (Colin and Richard Thomas, Elspeth Shearer, Hazel Brown and

Christine Tweedie) to make a choir. Then at Christmas, Austin recorded Zoom video of each singing, and clever editing tricks made it look as if they were all singing together in church. Some of you expressed concern but be assured, they were all safely separate!

Iain Shaw, our Children, Youth & Families Worker, with a range of helpers, developed online children’s activities:

Zoom Sunday School/Messy Church; FLING; Online Holiday Club; Stories with Santa; Family Quizzes. As well as learning about the Bible, these have contributed to both the children’s, and parents’, wellbeing. The number of children/families ‘attending’ has gone up, some of whom are new to the church.

Normal activity groups had closed and our website’s ‘What’s On Calendar’ was empty, so the website Home page was restructured early on. We:

 sited the Sunday Service video and ‘news alert’ at the top of the Home page.

 deleted the empty ‘Calendar’ and ‘Notices’ sections.

 replaced them with the ‘blue stripe’ pages:

 ‘Our Response in Challenging Times’

which explains our new developments: the online Sunday services; Watch-a-Service, Dial-a-Service, DVD and USB formats; Zoom Online Sunday School and Coffee Mornings; our Facebook page; and the Helping Hands volunteers.

Here you will also find guidance if you are ‘New to Zoom’. (In addition, personal help over the phone is given if needed by Alistair Walker and Iain Shaw).

 ‘Other Special Notices’

covering general announcements, and prayers from the Prayer Group and Church of Scotland.

 ‘The Lighter Side’

containing uplifting items such as photos, poems, music, humour, many sent in by readers.

Zoom video meetings not mentioned above include: ‘Teas and Coffees’ (after-service chat, providing your own cuppa at home), Congregational Quiz, Kirk Session, smaller meetings, and Lent Bible Studies.

Thinking back at those March 2020 emails, we smiled, remembering one asking: “Do you know how to make video calls with lots of people?” How we have progressed!

Since March 2020, we have shown ourselves to be a dynamic, forward-looking church, populated by a membership who either have skills, or are willing to learn them in the service of our church, and who are prepared to give a real commitment of time and effort. They reap the reward of knowing they are providing a much-needed service to our congregation in these challenging times, and they are helping to keep our church family together.

But it’s not just about Zoom, websites, & social media, is it?

There are lots of you out there, elders and non-elders alike, who are quietly getting on with phoning each other to have a chat and see how things are going, dropping a note through the door, saying hello as you pass the garden gate…. (all safely distanced). Your efforts are every bit as needed and appreciated. Keep it up! We all need to pull together in these ‘unprecedented times’!Christine Bayfield

PASTORAL REGISTER

Deaths: “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

 Jim Clark

Violet McCrae Angus McConnell