Minister: Revd. MaryAnn R. Rennie, BD, MTh

Abbey Manse: 3 Perdieus Mount, Dunfermline KY12 7XE

Tel: 01383 727311

March 2013 Vol 43-1

THE ARROW

Magazine of The Abbey Church of

Dunfermline

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ABBEY DIRECTORY

MINISTER Revd. MaryAnn R. Rennie 727311

ABBEY CHURCH Vestry 724586 Halls 738820

SESSION CLERK Angus Hogg 735182 SESSION CLERK DEPUTE Kenneth Richards 723639 ROLL- KEEPER Lydia Lawson 820164 TREASURER Helen Whyte 732235 ASSISTANT TREASURER Ian Stuart 727189 FABRIC CONVENER Vacant MASTER OF MUSIC Norman Mitchell 0131 333 4646 SAFEGUARDING CO-ORDINATOR Lorraine Fraser 723759

CONVENERS: Gift Aid David Fraser 729957 Flowers Margaret Tait 872242 Hall – Diary Rosemary Miller 732417 Shop Colin Douglas 739545 Life & Work Isobel Turnbull 733843 Sunday Coffees Lorna Edmond & 720159 Rosemary Miller 732417 Arrow Editor David McIlroy 737660 Finance Tom Edmond 720159

ORGANISATIONS: Sunday School Donna Glass 722004 Abbey Youth Group Liz Wilson 723859 Boys Brigade John Murdoch 622484 Guides Jean Wilson 727600 Brownies K Johnston 842505 Rainbows Kay Maxwell 729833 Mother & Toddlers Donna Malcolm 0779662847 Junior Choir Lorraine Fraser 723759 Ladies Forum (day grp) Anne Grant 729225 Men’s Leisure Group John Miller 732417

SUNDAY SERVICES: 9.30am and 11am HOLY COMMUNION Quarterly 11am and 3pm Sunday Coffees Between services 10.15am to 10.45am

Abbey Website www.dunfermlineabbey.co.uk Abbey Post Code KY12 7PE

Charity registered in Scotland Charity No. SCO16883

YOUR ELDER IS: ……………………………………………………………………………..

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THE MINISTER WRITES ….

Dear Friends,

You‟ll soon discover that I have come from a congregation where the magazine was a monthly publication, and that was perhaps a good thing in terms of the minister‟s letter as it meant there wasn‟t a lot of looking back to happen, but instead more opportunity to think about the future and what the coming month would hold. Trying to write this letter, I‟m caught between remembering all that has happened over the last few months (some of which by the time you read this will be a quarter of the year away) and what lies ahead in the coming church season.

A first Christmas in Dunfermline Abbey was good fun from my perspective. I‟m still struggling with names, although some faces are becoming more familiar, and I genuinely don‟t mind if you spot me in a shop or in the street and you introduce yourself to me. Christmas of course has added to the number of faces as visitors appeared for the various services. Hopefully the season offered something of God‟s gift of love to a wide range of people.

The beginning of a New Year often brings changes for people as we transition from an old way of living to new things. I‟ve not been around long enough to know Sandy Carruthers well, and yet I know that for the last 10 years as the editor of The Arrow he has kept the congregation informed of Abbey life. This edition will be edited by David McIlroy, so we welcome him to his new role and look forward to all that he will bring to our attention through The Arrow.

Throughout the Christian year, there are periods in which we journey towards the close of old ways, and discover with God an opportunity to begin our lives afresh as we encounter new knowledge of who He is as shown to us in the life of Jesus Christ, and who we are in the reflection of the path we are invited to follow. The period of Lent, leading to Holy Week and Easter offers such a time. During Lent there has been a practice of giving something up as a means of understanding the wilderness of our lives.

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Although there is equally something of merit in taking up something new during the period so that it might encourage us to discover something new about ourselves, for I think when we look at the Gospel experiences of wilderness we encounter Jesus‟s revelation of his role.

However by the time you read this, we will be half way through Lent and thinking about Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Easter Day. Holy Week is a week full of human emotion, that wrestles with the emotions of what we know of Jesus and also with how His story echoes the stories of our lives. Many of us will know what it is like to be part of a great joyous event to be swept to the depths of our sadness, and then find a new understanding of God that leads us back to the assurance of faith. As we experience Holy Week this year, may we rediscover and remember that God is with us in our celebrating; is moved to anger at the injustices of our world; is the soothing balm that calms our fears and assures us of our worth; is part of the meals we share with those we love; is in the agony of the hurts others cause or we cause and experience. Then may we be assured that He will rise anew in our lives as He leads us to fresh expressions of our faith.

Of course before we get to Easter, I look forward to welcoming you to the Sacrament of Holy Communion on Sunday 10th March. That day also happens to be Mothering Sunday, so an opportunity to think about how others in faith have encouraged our faith and how we might encourage others.

Palm Sunday Procession

Dunfermline Abbey has for centuries offered a centre of pilgrimage for those seeking knowledge of God. On Palm Sunday (24th March) this year members of the congregation are invited to make a pilgrimage around outside of the building before worship at 11am, as we remember in action Jesus‟s journey into Jerusalem. Those wishing to participate in the procession should gather outside the North Porch Door for 10.40am. The procession will begin at 10.45am, and will make its way West down the North side of the building across the West Door, then up the south side to the first south door.

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Before we begin we will learn a simple song to be sung as we walk, and it may be that you would like to bring a branch to wave.

A Palm Sunday Procession offers an opportunity to think about the crowd welcoming Jesus to Jerusalem, but it also offers a visible sign to those who are passing that there is a living congregation worshipping within the walls of an ancient building.

With best wishes,

MaryAnn

HEART AND SOUL 2013 Following the success of Heart and Soul 2012, the Church of Scotland is planning to hold a Celtic themed (in recognition of the 1450th anniversary of Columba landing on

Iona) Heart and Soul event on Sunday 19 May in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh.

It is sure to be another great day of fellowship, community and worship and an opportunity to meet new people and experience what is going on across the National Church.

The Abbey Church will again be taking a congregational stand, with planning under way now to ensure we have another outstanding day, sharing with visitors our history, but also talking about our role in the community today. We hope to see as many of you as possible on the day, as it is a great day out.

http://www.heartandsoul2013.org.uk/

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A FORWARD LOOK OF EVENTS FOR YOUR

DIARY March 10th 11am and 3pm Sacrament of Holy Communion

Kirk Session to meet in the Vestry at 10.15am prompt 17th 9.30am Early Morning Service 11am Morning Worship including the Sacrament

of Infant Baptism Palm Sunday 24th 9.30am Early Morning Service 11am Morning Worship beginning with a Palm

Procession around the outside of the building (weather permitting)

Holy Week Monday 25th March - Wednesday 27th March 7.30pm Service of Quiet Reflection Maundy Thursday 28th 7.30pm A Celebration of the Lord‟s Supper Good Friday 29th 7.30pm Evening Service Easter Day 31st 9.30am Early morning Service 11am Easter Service led by members of the

Young Church and followed by a celebration of Holy Communion

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NEWS FROM THE KIRK SESSION There was a large attendance at the first full meeting since MaryAnn‟s induction and anticipation about some of the new items on the agenda: Communion, 5 year plan, Vestry hour, what could this be?

Fulsome tributes were given for Derrick Marks, Bert Sneddon and Dawyck Guthrie. These men will be sadly missed, but fondly remembered for a long time and were excellent examples of time and talent given in abundance to the service of their Master and Church.

The new 5 year plan to take the Abbey forward under the Ministry of MaryAnn was formally approved. The content had evolved from two Elder‟s conferences, the Congregational meeting and had been embedded in the Parish profile which gave MaryAnn an insight into where the Abbey wanted to go. It focuses on 5 themes: Worship, Pastoral Care, Education, Outreach and Local and World Issues. The plan also signalled a change in the role for Iain Paton and I am pleased to confirm Iain has agreed to a new role of Assistant Minister. His duties focus on Pulpit supply, conduct of weddings and funeral cover in the absence of the Minister. His first Sunday on duty will be 17th February. The Minister will be writing to you in connection with acknowledging Iain‟s service as Associate and Locum.

I can confirm that the Old Manse at Garvock Hill has been sold, which allows us to conclude the final purchase of the new Manse at 3 Perdieus Mount, where of course our Minister has been in residence since her arrival in September. Other fabric matters discussed included scoping for a new disabled access at the north transept door (shop door) and an improved sound system and microphones.

On the financial front offerings in 2012 were disappointing and this will need to be addressed by the Finance Committee. As we embark on a Stewardship Campaign during the year, which will focus on time and talents, this may well provide the impetus to consider Church finances.

On a lighter note it was noted with grateful thanks to the Rev John Chalmers, the Very Rev Dr Andrew McLellan and Mrs Irene McLellan for the gift of an olive tree in the name of the Abbey Church, which has been planted at the Tent of Nations in Palestine.

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We managed to get finished by 10pm, thirty minutes beyond our Minister‟s preferred time for finishing, but given the volume of business of her first meeting I am sure she was pleased with the spirit of the meeting.

Angus Hogg

Session Clerk

A NEW YEAR AND A NEW ARROW After 10 years at the helm Sandy Carruthers has handed over responsibility as Arrow Editor to me – David McIlroy and so a new chapter begins.

We are looking at various ideas to refresh The Arrow, building on what has gone before, whilst introducing some new features that I hope you will find interesting over the months ahead, so if you have any ideas or suggestions then please let me know. One thing we are considering is to make a copy available digitally through the Abbey Website. Not everyone will want to access their copy this way, so paper copies will continue, but if you would prefer a digital only copy, then can you let me or your Elder know and we may be able to reduce the number of printed copies.

David McIlroy

Editor

FOLLOW THE ABBEY CHURCH ONLINE As well as The Arrow and the Pew Leaflets, you can stay up to date with what is going on, latest news and photos by visiting the Website, or by following Dunfermline Abbey on Facebook.

The Abbey Church of Dunfermline

https://www.facebook.com/dunfermlineabbey

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CONGREGATIONAL REGISTER The following people have been admitted to membership of Dunfermline Abbey since November 2012:

BY PROFESSION OF FAITH

Mr Ross Blanchflower, 8 Dalcross Way, Dunfermline

Miss Carla Madden, 26 Elm Grove, Dunfermline

Miss Fiona Sharp, 1 Hillview Court, Halbeath

Miss Eve Thorburn, 8 Main Street, Cairneyhill

BY CERTIFICATE OF TRANSFERENCE

Mr Ian and Mrs Christine Burns, 12 Dean Drive, Crossford

BY RESOLUTION OF THE KIRK SESSION

Mrs Jane MacDonald, 6 Knapphill, Dunfermline

It is with regret that we record the following deaths since the December 2012 issue of “The Arrow”:

Mr Hugh Brady, 35 West Park, Carnock

Mrs Elizabeth Stephen, “Morlich”, 29 Gowanbrae Drive, D/line

Mrs Marion Merrett, 6 Abington Road, Dunfermline

Mrs Margaret N Sneddon, 170 Pitcorthie Drive, Dunfermline

Miss Elizabeth I Young, Dean Cottage, Backmuir, by D/line

Miss Grace Hill, Benarty View Care Home, 17 Rowanlea, Kelty

Mr Robert Sneddon, 170 Pitcorthie Drive, Dunfermline

Mrs Margaret (Greta) Hill, 13 Rosebank, Dunfermline

Mr Andrew Beveridge, 16 Royal Scot Way, Dunfermline

Mr David D Guthrie, The Meadows Nursing Home, Dornoch (formerly of 26 Cairneyhill Road, Crossford)

The following members requested their Certificates of Transference:

Mrs Elizabeth Carter, formerly of 7 Links Drive, Crossford, who was on the Supplementary Roll, and who was transferring to a church in Edinburgh

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Mr Ian and Mrs Marion Fraser, 40 Manor Gardens, Dunfermline, along with their daughter, Ms Miriam Fraser, 203 Aberdour Road, Dunfermline

Mrs Sheila Bell, 7a Hawkcraig Road, Aberdour (formerly of 58 Bellyeoman Road, Dunfermline), from the Supplementary Roll, and who was transferring to Aberdour St Fillan‟s Church

REGISTER OF BAPTISMS

Nov 17 Cameron James Quoi, 18 Sandpiper Gardens

Dec 2 Rosie Elizabeth Bella Hogg, 6 Pinkerton Avenue

16 Dec Rory Alexander Chalmers

30 Dec Alexa Lily Fleetwood, 16 Park Place

27 Jan Lacey-Mae Lucille Myra Mulvenna, 135 Drovershall Avenue

REGISTER OF WEDDINGS

Nov 3 Kirsty Madden to David Torrecilla Vilela

Nov 24 Jean McKnight to Maurice Walker

Dec 1 Sonia Riviero to Adam Salt

CHRISTIAN AID FORTH ROAD BRIDGE WALK

- Saturday, 20th

April 2013 – starting at 2pm

As I mentioned in the December Arrow, this year‟s walk over the Forth Road Bridge in aid of Christian Aid will take place

on Saturday, 20th April. Will you be joining us? There‟s no age limit and you can do as many crossings as you want.

The regulars who walk the Bridge for Christian Aid look

forward to being joined by some new walkers this year! There will be a poster on the Nave noticeboard with all the details, along with a sign-up sheet.

The congregation will be given the opportunity to support the Abbey‟s walkers by way of a retiral offering at the conclusion of both Communion services on Sunday, 10th March.

Lydia Lawson

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CHANGES TO COMMUNION It‟s always with a little bit of trepidation that a Minister suggests change, particularly when it relates to a practice that people see as being an important part of their faith. In all that you are about to read I want to make very clear that what is not being said is what has happened in the past is wrong. Instead I hope that in the changes that will be made there is an opportunity for a fuller expression of what Communion means and of our relationship with God, each other and wider Christian community.

So briefly lets think about the purpose of worship; explore the meaning of communion through the word and through the experiences of feeding we find within the Gospel; and think about how change in communion might develop our relationship with God, with each other so that we take that experience beyond worship into the community and world.

What is the purpose of worship?

There may be some of you who remember learning your Westminster Shorter Catechism, so that prior to communion you could be tested by an elder or minister prior to being given your communion token ready for the celebration of the Lord‟s Supper. The opening question asks “What is man‟s chief end?” to which the response is “Man‟s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” We are to understand that the whole of our lives should be an opportunity to worship God, but in knowing that then we discover that our worship should give full expression of our lives lived in God‟s presence. There should be a place for praise and thanksgiving, and encouragement to move to new experiences of God, ourselves, and all that surrounds us. A more complex understanding of worship would recognize that it moves us to enact all that we have discovered of God.

What does Communion mean?

The Chambers‟ Dictionary says that communion is the act of communing; spiritual intercourse or contact; fellowship; the interchange of transactions; union of a number of people in a religious service; the body of people uniting in such a service.

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That simple definition speaks of a relationship that is more than the relationship between God and an individual, and instead about a corporate experience of sharing. At a basic level communion is about sharing with God and with each other so that we might experience the grace of God. God‟s grace is shared in the elements of bread and wine, and in the sharing that happens with those who sit around us. God is encountered in the knowledge that there are people around us, as we experience His grace in the hands, eyes and touch of another.

As well as being about sharing, communion is also about relationships with God, with each other and the wider Christian community. A theological understanding invites us to explore the relationship of what we do with the relationship and experience we are invited into through the Gospels. In that understanding we discover communion as a celebration that incorporates our meal into a heavenly meal that transcends time, space and boundaries. What we do at our communion table, should invite us to any meal shared with Jesus but particularly the Last Supper, and it should also include a recognition that we are repeating and incorporating ourselves into the many meals shared in this place, at all times, and across all Christian communities.

What does the Gospel tell us about Communion?

To be honest - nothing. It does however tell us about the importance of sharing meals with others, and Jesus‟s desire that the sharing of bread and wine should recall and remind those who follow him of his presence in their lives.

At the Last Supper, the meal at which Jesus‟s invitation to remember and participate is given, the disciple comes to the table as part of a major religious festival. Like Christmas and Easter for us, these festivals were times of big family gatherings, where friend and stranger would find themselves sitting beside each other. For Jesus and the disciples that week running up to that meal had been full of a variety of experiences where the disciples were offered new insight into who Jesus was.

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Our encounters with the Gospels offer a sense of the underlying tension that exists as Jewish and Roman authorities grow more uncomfortable with the potential trouble Jesus might cause. If we think that the Last Supper was a quiet, solemn supper then we are missing the detail of the story. Instead it‟s a meal where there will have been discussion about what has been happening in their world. As a religious meal within the Jewish faith there was a liturgy to be followed that reminded those present of their place within the embrace of God‟s realm. That liturgy included sharing cares and concerns. In the final act of sharing bread and wine Jesus binds an already sharing community together that they might recall that night, their journey with God, and in time it will give expression of their knowledge to the world they will encounter.

Other meals offer insight into what Jesus seeks to do through the sharing of food. At the Feeding of the 5,000 (and more) food is used to build community and establish relationships, and at Emmaus it is used to establish Christ‟s presence. How we celebrate Holy Communion should offer an expression of many of these features, if not all of them.

What will change?

It starts at the very basic level of sharing. The bread and the wine will be passed between people, so that what happens at Communion looks and feels like a meal where people are aware not just of their relationship with God but with the people round about them.

Why will Communion change?

Many of the recent documents from Kirk Session Conferences and the Congregational Conference speak of a desire to build a community where people know each other; care for each other; are open and willing to welcoming new people and even of being a presence in the community. To establish some of those ideals, we should be allowing our worship of God to feed who it is we hope to become within His presence, and that would include within the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism.

Key aspects of who this Kirk Session and congregation are and would like to be in the presence of God are to be established in the practice of sharing communion by passing bread and wine to each other.

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Being a community is about getting to know each other, and being able to move the relationships we establish within worship to outside the door. At a very basic level people will hopefully become more aware of each through gesture and facial expression. Jesus establishes relationships founded in God‟s grace and love in the Gospel with the use of food.

There may be some concern as to whether some will be able to pass trays of bread and wine between each other. In other places this is the norm and in other places it offers an opportunity to the help others sitting beside us. Some of the best care of each other happens when individuals within the pew are able to help each other and offer care.

Though passing and sharing means encountering others, there is still a time for silence and reflection as we eat and drink and rediscover who we are in God‟s presence.

WEBB IVORY CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISING I am delighted to report that I have given the Treasurer a cheque for £224.37, which was the total raised from catalogue sales in 2012. This has been lodged in the Restoration Fund for the moment. To everyone who gave me orders for Christmas Cards and Gifts and to those who gave me donations, I would like to say THANK YOU. No money would be raised without YOUR continued support, so I can assure you that it is greatly appreciated.

Lydia Lawson

A FIVE YEAR PLAN

At the most recent Kirk Session meeting it was agreed that steps would be taken to enact many of the ideas that have been floating around both the Kirk Session and congregation from past conferences. So that clear planning could happen, the Kirk Session has put in place a five year plan with goals, hopes and ambitions. Some of these will happen quickly while others might take time, and some might change as we continue to grow to be the kind of community God invites us to be.

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What follows is the plan the Kirk Session hopes to follow, and we hope members of the congregation will take time to read through and think about how they might like to be involved, for there is a request at the end that hopes for a response.

1. Worship

Worship is the primary activity of a Christian Church. It is the centre around which all our other activities need to be built. Those who know their Westminster Shorter Catechism will know that Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

The question is really about how we shape our worship, that varying different groups feel that they have a place. In doing that we also need to acknowledge that not everything that happens in worship is necessarily going to suit everyone, and that sometimes worship is not about being comfortable and secure, but instead about taking us to a new understanding of God. To be looked at in the next five years:

Short term 1. Styles of music

2. Using language people understand in worship

3. Discussions with British Legion about being involved in Remembrance Sunday

4. A “Back to Church” style initiative around the supplementary roll 5. Blue Christmas / Longest Night style service for bereaved and

those who find Christmas hard

6. Weekly lunchtime service from April to October

Mid/long term

1. Worship within Crossford

2. Child-friendly worship during the summer – is there a place for making the earlier service for those wanting to head off on outings?

3. Messy Church – where/how/who?

2. Fellowship and Pastoral Care

It is quite clear from papers even before the Conference in November that this is a subject that has been well-aired, and that there are already quite clear aims and objectives that now just need progressed.

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Short term 1. Prioritising Pastoral Care Needs

To provide clear overview of numbers involved - create a record of priorities and frequency of visits:

A list of categories should be drawn up Compile Pastoral Care list/spread sheet (Minister in early stages

of this) Minister to identify what type of support is required for individuals 2. Improving Communication across the Congregation

Enable a greater awareness and appropriate support being offered: A review of how Pastoral Concerns are communicated Introduction of „Pastoral Cards‟ to be available in Church Encourage more use of email communication

3. Assessment of how Congregation receives pastoral care

More organised approach to delivering pastoral visits. Better equip Eldership in this area:

The Minister should always be made aware of pastoral needs Recommend appointment of administrator to collate all info Skills audit of Eldership to ascertain where strengths may lie Introduce „Sorry I missed you today‟ cards for visiting Elders Visiting cards with date of visit contact details of Minister/Elder Awareness of members who may wish Home Communion Training for existing Elders e.g. „what is the role of an Elder‟

„Where do my talents lie?‟ Mid – long term

1. Pastoral Care Team Improve the management of on-going long term pastoral care and to provide fellowship. Offer more support, where appropriate to Minister:

Would support pastoral care „responsibility of all‟ approach Research other churches of similar „gathered town centre

congregations‟ Invite speaker from such Congregations to discuss detail Identify specific areas team would deal with Identify specialist skills in our membership Minister would head up team and manage who does what

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Long term Review of Elder‟s districts and how districts are covered

Explore- “should Elder always be allocated a district?” Buddy system for new Elders Team approach to district – Pairing of Elders in adjoining districts Identify those who have a particular talent in this area Minister led discussions with future prospective Elders re what is

involved and what is expected raising question „is this for me?‟ Review duties carried out by Elders - identify areas where

members could be involved

3. Education

This is one group where there will be opportunity to be working with other groups as some areas cross into tasks of another group, or support the actions needed elsewhere:

1. Children and Young People: Regular review of Sunday school and Youth Group Activities Messy Church - where/how/who?

2. Elders: What does being an elder mean? - Invitation to those who are being invited to be elders Visiting and Pastoral Care - For all elders Pastoral Care - For those on Pastoral Team Being involved in worship

3. Adults: Advent & Lent Bible Study Themed Talks - tying in with events in church life Book Groups

4. Outreach

Like the Education group, this group has crossover points with other groups so while there are some areas of working alone there are key points when a good number of people from varying groups could be progressing issues:

1. Communication - Christmas and Easter Cards - Website - Magazine - Pew Literature

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2. Crossford - Worshipping presence - Physical presence of church during the week - more than school involvement

3. Dunfermline

- How does the building look alive during the week? - Connection with business community

4. Public presence - The Beeches - are there other nursing homes in the parish?

- The Shop - Presbytery Activities - National Church Activities - Community Involvement

5. Local and World Issues

Members of the Abbey Congregation seem to be involved in a wide range of different activities that connect what happens in worship and education with the outward expression of faith in living. Without detracting from what is going on it would be good to have a review of activities to explore the scope, but also to offer people the opportunity to find an area that they are interested in and become involved. Short term

1. Review of all beyond the congregation involvement. Who is doing it? Why? How can others be involved?

Mid - long term

1. Education about different activities 2. Opportunities for congregation to get involved

How do we move this forward?

None of the above is meant to hinder or stop individuals or groups who already undertake activities, nor should it hinder fresh ideas and creativity. Instead the hope is that rather than talking about the kind of things the congregation would like to do, a framework for action to happen is established. Having decided on seven areas that the Kirk Session sees as a possibility for action, members of the congregation are being invited to

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get involved in life beyond Sunday worship. It has been agreed to form seven teams/working groups that would implement the above plan, and those teams are Worship, Fellowship and Pastoral Care, Education, Outreach, Local and World Issues, Finance, and Fabric. It is hoped that each of these teams would have 7 members, with 3/4 drawn from the Kirk Session and 3/4 drawn from the congregation.

Members of the congregation are invited to get involved, and should they wish pass their name and the team they would wish to be part of to Angus Hogg, Session Clerk or Ken Richards, Session Clerk Depute. Depending on interest it may be that not everyone who volunteers will be included at this time, but it would be good to have a pool of names to draw on as none of the teams will be static but will see some change after three years, and then every year from then on.

Those wishing to be involved are invited to make their name known by Sunday 10th March 2013.

ABBEY LADIES FORUM I begin this by intimating the deaths of Marion Merrett, Margaret Sneddon and Betty Young, who will be missed by all our ladies. Our thoughts are with their families.

The AGM was held on 9th Jan and our retiring secretary Anne Grant was thanked for all her work over the last 7 years. The new Minute Secretary is Anne O'Brien and Social Secretary is Anne Davies. After concluding the business part of the meeting the ladies were entertained by Anne Duly, accompanied by Margaret Kennedy who then led the group in Community singing.

In January Jim Jarvie gave us a poetry recital, which being close to Burns Day the ladies were served Haggis, shortbread and Scotland‟s other National drink - Irn Bru. The next 3 meetings include talks about the Children‟s Panel, Puppy Walking and Food from the Bible and on 20th March the Forum is holding a Bunny Drive. This is the Easter equivalent of a Beetle Drive, so do come along and join in the fun.

Liz Lyon

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BEING A STREET PASTOR IN DUNFERMLINE

Last year I went to the Church of Scotland Heart and Soul event in Edinburgh and I ran into a friend, Moss Barclay, who coincidentally is the chairperson of Dunfermline Street Pastors. Following a long chat, I was invited to go out with a team of Street Pastors on a Saturday night as an observer. In spite of some trepidation, I loved it! I duly applied and after the initial training I was recently commissioned as a Dunfermline Street Pastor. Street Pastors are Christians

with a concern for society and in particular young people. They go wherever young people hang out e.g. pubs, clubs or just on the streets. I feel it is important that they know the church is there for them in a practical way. The role of the Street pastor is not about preaching, but one of listening, caring and helping in an unconditional way.

Street Pastors come from many of the local churches and I am proud to be the first from Dunfermline Abbey. To be a Pastor you must complete 12 training days over about 8 months, which cover many of the issues facing young folk today e.g. drugs and alcohol awareness, youth culture, etc. We also learn counselling skills and develop deeper understandings of mental health issues and social problems that affect some of those we meet.

Street pastors go out 1 night every 4 weeks in teams of 3 or 4. We walk around the town centre from 10pm till 4am ensuring the young people are safe and not putting themselves in vulnerable positions. We give out „Spikeys‟ to the queues for clubs, pubs etc.. „Spikeys‟ are put in the neck of bottles to prevent drinks being spiked. We give out lollipops in an attempt to defuse potentially aggressive situations. They make folk smile and by the time they unwrap the lollys they are usually better humoured. Our „flip flops‟ are always in demand at the end of the night by the young ladies who are no longer able to walk in their 5” heels. They eliminate the risk of treading on broken glass when in bare feet. In this weather our space blankets are often needed and bottles of water are always welcome.

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In addition to our teams on the streets we have „Abraham‟, our mobile Safe Zone, which is parked outside Sports Direct on the High Street. Many people use this as a place of respite to get a friendly chat, a hot drink, warmth or to receive basic medical attention.

Dunfermline Street Pastors aim to make sure young revellers make their way home safely from the centre of Dunfermline. The benefits to the community is a safer town centre and a reduction in the volume of social „fallout‟ from clubs and pubs emptying en masse in the early hours of the morning. This frees up police resources to deal with any more serious incidents. Street Pastors work closely with Fife Council and the Police, who report a 14% reduction in street crime since we started in Dunfermline 3 years ago. Being a Dunfermline Street Pastor is interesting and challenging, but very rewarding.

Lynne Stevenson

SAFEGUARDING In November 2012 Dunfermline Presbytery held Safeguarding training in the Abbey Halls for individuals from a number of churches in the area to update their knowledge and skills in relation to the Safeguarding of young and vulnerable people in the congregation.

I managed to negotiate for 3 of the Abbey Youth Group to attend and a number of them are now regularly assisting with the Sunday School. Although those under 18 are not required to attend training, the Presbytery Trainer was delighted to include them in the session.

The members of the AYG who completed the Safeguarding Training for Volunteers & Staff Working in Congregations were: David Ball, Eve Thorburn and Adam Wright, who have now received their certificates. (A number of others were interested but couldn‟t get the time off work!) As well as being of benefit to the Abbey, the youngsters will be able to add the details of the training to their CVs!

Lorraine Fraser

Safeguarding Co-ordinator

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WORLD DAY OF PRAYER

I was a stranger and you welcomed me The World day of Prayer Services this year are being held on Friday 1st March. The afternoon service will be in Viewfield Baptist Church, East Port, at 2.15pm while the evening service will be in St. Andrew‟s Erskine Church, Robertson Road at 7.15pm.

A Children‟s Service is to be held in St. Margaret‟s Roman Catholic Church, East Port on Saturday 2nd March. The craft and activities session will be in the Church Crypt at 2pm followed by the service in the Church at 3pm.

As an International Movement, the World Day of Prayer is celebrated annually in over 180 countries throughout the world. This year the service has been written by women in France and includes life stories from various French Regions. Their theme is “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” and the ladies have used colours to symbolise the warmth of the relationships within churches and communities. Two ladies from the Abbey Church will take part in the services.

There will be a warm welcome (with a cup of tea afterwards) at both services, so it will be great if you were able to come to either Viewfield Baptist or St. Margaret‟s Church on 1st March.

Dorothy J. Wilson

Abbey representative

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GUIDES In the last edition of the Arrow we told you about our entry to the County Challenge and our contribution to the Church‟s Labour of Love appeal – we completed three blankets and are delighted that some of these were on show to the congregation.

In December we went to see Cinderella at the Alhambra Theatre and two of our guides made their promise on stage in front of the cast at the end of the performance. A truly memorable experience.

This term we have a varied programme and are working on Girls In Action which looks at ways guiding can make a difference to girls‟ lives – further details will appear on our noticeboard.

As part of our Thinking Day Celebrations we hosted the Church Sunday coffee on 10 February and took part in a District event on Monday 25 February sharing activities and fun with the rainbows and brownies.

We hope to have a residential event early in the summer but this is still in the planning stages and a venue has still to be confirmed. Watch this space.

The unit continues to flourish and we are setting up a senior section for girls aged 14 plus and some of the older guides have enrolled in the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme.

New guides are always welcome as is any assistance from members of the congregation –whether it be sharing a hobby or helping with gift aid or providing transport to events.

Yours in Guiding.

Jean Wilson

Guide Leader - Tel: 727600

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TOUGH TIMES Opinions, choices, tough times for the Church. Differing views in denominations, congregations and Ministry. So what’s new?

Choices: Recently, in England, a child was born with two differing sets of human genitalia. For the parents and surgeons; which and how to choose and what are the long term implications? For example if the male aspect was chosen, the boy could possibly live to be a Bishop of Rome (Pope) an Archbishop of Canterbury, an Imam. If the female set was chosen the child could not be any of these. Of course these are extreme examples but just think about it! The human condition: A really nasty division occurred last year in St George‟s Tron in Glasgow. A squabble over property, hymn books, a portable organ, with papers served to eject the minister. Of course the press and TV could have got it all wrong. Points of principle? Jings, they become almost like creeds. As a simple fellow, a pilgrim in a pew, where am I on this and what do I believe? “I believe in “Ane Kirk”. (One church) “The Scots Confession of 1560”. It‟s what I seem to learn from the New Testament and also from the old creed, which we know as the Creed of the Apostles. Great; but what about our imperfect understanding of the human condition brought to light in recent times? As for me? I believe in the equally shared humanity and in the individual souls and personalities of all humankind under God. I believe in the freely offered grace of God enfleshed in the person of Jesus Christ and offered to all humankind. “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands you have put all things under their feet”. (Psalm 8v4-6 NRSV) and From Thee all skills and science flow. Hymn No 525 in CH3. Charles Kingsley (Not in CH4).

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“We live in a secular society and the question of research on embryos did not arise before the late 20th century so the status of the embryo in religious traditions can be deduced only indirectly from the Bible and the Koran and other religious texts. Over the years religious convictions have evolved and changed, often in the light of scientific evidence” (After Dolly. The Uses and Misuses of Human Cloning. P.197 Wilmut and Highfield).

Points of principle? Jings! Writing this has not been a simple matter for me, but when I consider the past I have to ask “Have we to some extent caused ourselves to be an undernourished church, nationally and locally, in the last thirty years or so, and how do we get to move forward together”? I‟d like to hear from you, as we all have a responsibility to be the Church. Agree or disagree? Write to The Arrow or speak to me at church. I‟m usually at the 11 am service.

Gordon Aitcheson

FLOWERS IN THE ABBEY March: April: Mrs. E. Scott 882139 Mrs. M. Tait 872242 3 Mrs. S. Gilmour 7 Mrs. L. Pringle 10 Mrs. C. Gibb Mrs. M. Cunningham Mrs. M. Mitchell 14 Mrs. S. Nicol 17 Mrs. C Hamilton 21 Mrs. J. Clark

Mrs. A. Davies 28 Mrs. G. O‟Brien 24 Mrs. G. Inglis Mrs. E. Handley May: Mrs. E.T. Marshall Mrs. A. Coke 822496

31 Easter – Mr. D Forbes 5 Mrs. N. Smith

Mrs. M. Watson Mrs. D. Barclay

12 Mrs. S. Gilmour

19 Mrs. M. Wilson

26 Mrs. E. Maxwell

Mrs. D. Bradley

Margaret J. Tait

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THE ABBEY SHOP The final event of the shop year was, of course, the Christmas coffee morning which, I am pleased to say, was well attended and everyone appeared to enjoy the mince pies and other goodies available. We were also pleased to welcome MaryAnn to her first shop coffee morning.

Once again Mary Welsh provided two beautifully decorated cakes for the raffle. Una's tablet was, as usual, snapped up quickly although I did manage to get one for myself! Fay Forrest kindly provided some hand crafted Christmas cards which also went very quickly. Several donations were made for the raffle and my thanks to the donors.

The accounts have yet to be finalised at time of writing, but we anticipate being able to set aside a reasonable amount to fund other specific projects for the benefit of the Church. It is proposed to hold the AGM on Thursday 7 March at 10.00am in the Church hall to which all are welcome and copies of this year's rota will be available. On the subject of the rota there are some vacancies due to retirals but, hopefully, by the time this article appears these will have been filled.

Finally the shop will open this year on 25 March and we look forward to another successful year.

Colin Douglas

Convener

DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE OF ‘THE

ARROW’ The deadline for contributions to „The Arrow‟ will be Sunday 28th April 2013 at 12 noon. Material to be placed in the mailbox in the South Porch marked Mr. David McIlroy/The Arrow or E-mail to dggmcilroy@aol.com (please also provide a hard copy in case material disappears into Cyberspace).

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MEN’S LEISURE GROUP As I write this article for The Arrow I have just heard of the passing away of one of our founder members, Bert Sneddon. Not only was he a loyal and active member of the Club, but regular readers will know he was our resident chef i.e. he heated the pies! A task I can assure he treated most seriously. Our Wednesdays will never be the same from now on and when in the weeks ahead we munch into those heaps of grease, all of our thoughts will go back to Bert and there will be a smile on our faces at the same time. Our thoughts and prayers are with his daughter Maureen at this time.

That was not the only bad news we heard at this time. Another member Andy Beveridge passed away within a few days of Bert. Andy was another well liked member and he particularly loved his carpet bowls and was regularly the Club champion. For some reason totally unknown to me he also could work out what dominoes the opposition had meaning that he normally came out on top on that as well! Our prayers go out to his widow, Janet.

We are reminded at such times of the other members who have passed away in the last few months and recent years. Former members such as Frank Tait, George Brown, Derrick Marks, and Jim Anderson are all sadly missed. It was them and their friends who made the Club what it is today and the thoughts of present members are with their families. It is difficult to express in words what all their losses mean to the Club. Suffice I hope to say that the Club will never be the same without them, but we shall do our utmost to carry on anyway as I am sure that is what they would have wanted. I am therefore closing this article without the usual mention of pies and carpet bowls and dominoes in tribute to these ABSENT FRIENDS no longer with us. I am also sure that there will be many smiles and indeed laughter from up above when they all look down at us at our meetings and see our rather feeble efforts at carpet bowls and dominoes.

We miss you all.

Danny Williamson

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THE BOYS’ BRIGADE Farewell: All good things come to an end, so the saying goes, so I would like to say thanks to Sandy Carruthers for his stint as editor of The Arrow. We at the Abbey BB Company wish him well in his „retirement‟. Who knows he may make a comeback as a roving (not a cub) reporter as I did a few years ago, when I was stuck in Egypt due

to the eruption of the Icelandic volcano with the unpronounceable name.

The Company as a whole: We are already well into 2013 as I write this article for The Arrow, just where the time goes I have no idea, honestly. In the last issue of the Arrow, I asked you to give your Christmas cards to us and we would deliver them for you. I can only thank you all for doing so in such great numbers. We raised about £1,650.00, a record for us, and in this day and age of austerity it is a magnificent amount of money to have raised. Of course it goes without saying that it was a mammoth task we faced, trying to deliver them all. We worked tirelessly to do so, with many of us walking many miles over 2 or 3 nights delivering the cards. I hope that everybody got his or her cards on time. The money raised will be put to good use providing a challenging programme for the boys in all sections, and in the process we actually saved you all the same amount of money that we raised. BB post was 25p a card, Royal Mail was 50p second class, so you all saved 25p per card, and in the process you supported your BB Company. Thanks again to everyone who gave us their cards, and to the boys, parents, officers, and ex-members who helped us to deliver the cards. It was a tremendous effort all round for one BB Company to deliver so many cards.

Company Section. The run up to Christmas was pretty quiet, the Christmas cards excepted, but the New Year has been pretty busy, and will only get busier. The section has already had the Battalion table tennis competition, which we didn‟t win, however we had very young boys participating, and although they played well, could not match the skills of older boys in other teams.

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Saturday 12th January, we hosted the 2nd round of the National Masterteam quiz competition. We had another 5 teams plus ourselves competing on the night. Our team of very young boys, ended up in 4th place, but in fact when the full results were made available, they were in 19th position in the whole of Scotland. These boys will improve and I have a feeling that they will qualify for the Scottish final, in the not too distant future, possibly next year.

By the time this issue of The Arrow is distributed we will have competed in the Battalion drill competition, Mackenzie Trophy (multi activity competition), and the cross-country. We also hopefully will have held our Burns Supper again.

Junior Section: The Junior Section, are in great heart. They too will have been busy with the figure marching competition, followed by a multi activity indoor event on 9th March, in Dalgety Bay Church. They are a great bunch of boys who get on well together, and are a credit to the Section, and to their parents.

Anchor Boys: We have never had Anchor Boys in great numbers, but we have a small but really great group of boys. My previous reports have indicated that they are a handful, but they really are all good boys. They are extremely hyper when they come in to the hall, but soon settle down. They love the games, and when they participate in crafts you could hear a pin drop. They get on well together, and have lots of fun, and at the end of the day, they meet together in Christian fellowship, and enjoy the experience. They too would have been at the multi activity indoor event at Dalgety Bay.

Looking Forward: The Company is in its 80th year, and we plan to hold a number of events to celebrate and commemorate this achievement. Plans are still at the development stage, but we are looking at a special item at our display, hopefully a service of thanksgiving, a family fun day, and an extension tagged on to the end of our Summer camp, for ex-members. Watch out for further information on these events.

Hello: Finally a warm welcome from the BBs to the new editor David McIlroy and we wish him well in the role.

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And now it‟s joke time again…..

Q. What do you call a fake noodle? A. An impasta Q. What Lion never roars? A. A Dandelion

That‟s all folks.

John Murdoch

Company Captain

BAGS FOR LIFE The Trussell Trust is a registered charity that supports Dunfermline Food Bank. The Food bank provides 3 meals per week to people in crisis who are without food. These people may have families, may be elderly, but are all unable to buy enough food. The people in crisis receive a voucher, which they then take to the food bank and receive 3 days food. They are able to get up to 3 vouchers and after that the various agencies (e.g. Health, Social Services) would then be aware of the issues and be trying to support these people. The problem is there are not enough strong plastic bags for the food to be taken away from the depot. I am asking for the congregation to donate “Bags for Life”, the strong longer lasting bags and take them to the Abbey on the first Sunday of every month. I will collect them and take them to the depot. The supermarkets in town have been contacted, but will not provide the strong bags, though have given some of the thinner carrier bags, but they are not strong enough. I thank you in advance for supporting this request.

Mhairi Weir

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ABBEY YOUTH GROUP At the time of writing this article I am also preparing the Annual Report for our AGM. As I sit and reflect on what the young people have done over the past year I am reminded that it is over 4 years since the group decided to change their name from Bible Class to AYG (Abbey Youth Group).

The name was decided after much discussion about what best represented who we are and what we do! A new Logo was designed to reflect energy, enthusiasm and youth. The Y in the centre of the logo represents a person standing among others with arms outstretched welcoming them - just as we hope to welcome others and as Jesus welcomed all who came to him.

It was also at that time that it became clear that everyone had a desire for their activities to be that of „Christianity in Action.‟ through fellowship, participating in worship, becoming involved in the wider activities of the Abbey Church / Church of Scotland and supporting local, national and international charities.

They have done much over the years to achieve this and remain enthusiastic, committed young people who are always up for a new challenge!

The 22 youth members and the 4 volunteer staff enjoy the time they spend together each week and are keen to attend group social events, the most recent being The Mystery Evening and Wii Afternoon in December last year.

As you will gather from this article AYG like to be busy and enjoy working with members of the Congregation, some of whom approach the group with suggested projects e.g. the knitted blankets for Mary‟s Meals (see article from Lorraine Fraser).

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In December last year everyone congregated up in the gallery to join the Congregation at the morning Communion Service. In doing so we were able to witness youth group members Carla and Eve become members of The Abbey and see them take Communion for the first time.

For a number of years the group has produced hand crafted cards at Christmas and Easter, each one different but bearing the same message - a message that is hoped demonstrates loving thoughts to those members of our church family who are often no longer able to attend Church each week. We are all very aware of how much this means to the recipients. This led to AYG volunteering to help The Minister with her new initiative of sending out a Christmas card to each household within the Parish of Dunfermline Abbey. This also generated much discussion as to what is meant by „within the Parish‟ and so in the forthcoming months we will be finding out more about the Parish of Dunfermline Abbey past and present.

The Nativity play, „The Precious Gift‟ allowed youth group members to work alongside the Sunday School. With the help of Carol Madden as our Musical Director the performance went well. This year the goal was to improve sound levels and thanks to the addition of microphones kindly loaned by Dunfermline High School and the talents of Keith Rennie as sound engineer we achieved this. Indeed all who attended commented on the clarity of sound, especially the unforgettable singing from the little Angels! The goal for 2013 is to improve the „visual experience!‟

The Christingle Service on Christmas Eve provided further opportunity for involvement in Worship. The members of Youth Group who attended were delighted to be asked by MaryAnn to help greet everyone on arrival and light the Christingles. It was a truly memorable moment as the lights went out and the Abbey was filled with the light from flickering candles and growing anticipation of Christmas Day.

The Abbey website is well worth a visit to view the photographs of the Abbey‟s first Christingle experience! www.dunfermlineabbey.co.uk

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As previously mentioned our group is keen to support local national and international charities. The recent „Jar of Compassion‟ appeal gave the Congregation the opportunity to donate to the work of: The British Red Cross, Operation Smile, UNICEF and Actionaid. At the time of writing just over £1,000 has been collected with more jars still to come in. This is a marvellous response and given most of the cash collected consisted of bronze coins we are grateful to the counting team: Lydia Lawson, Laurence Wilson, Jim, Janice & Louise Stuart for all their help.

On Homelessness Sunday 27 January, the young people took part in the 11.00a.m Family Service using material provided by Poverty & Homelessness Action Week. We were also on duty at „coffee hour‟ between services. Sincere thanks to all who attended or made a donation and helped raise £120 for Scottish Churches Housing Action. This charity brings together 13 Christian denominations and organisations in Scotland, all with a commitment to ending homelessness. You may like to find out more about their work by visiting the website: www.churches-housing.org

Being the last Sunday in the month this was also Food Share. Once again the generous donations received from the Congregation ensured the local charity Frontlinefife had a car packed full of food for distribution to those in need...

A „Sleep Out‟ in February will see youth group members give up the comfort of their own bed to sleep in the Church Hall and hopefully raise cash to donate to other local charities dealing with homelessness.

We are also looking forward to a visit from Abbey Elder, Lynne Stevenson who has recently become a Street Pastor in Dunfermline.

Looking ahead to Easter, youth group will be participating in

the Easter Day Family Service at 11.00a.m and will be hosting „Coffee Hour‟ between services. This will have a special Easter Theme with the proceeds going to Christian

Aid. In addition to this, the young people will also be holding an „Easter Chick Hunt‟ and egg rolling, following Worship.

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Special Thanks

On behalf of everyone in AYG I would like to take this opportunity to thank Sandy Carruthers for all his work over the years as Arrow Editor and his help in taking photographs to record those „special occasions‟ in the life of our Young Church.

Special thanks are also due to the Abbey Shop Committee for their generosity in refurbishing Room 2 in the Abbey Halls. It is now a very bright and welcoming space for us to meet each week.

Finally

Sincere thanks to all who made a donation to the Poppy Scotland Appeal raising £368.70.

Liz Wilson

Abbey Youth Group Leader

AYG LABOUR OF LOVE 2012 I have always been impressed by the Youth Group‟s Annual Labour of Love Appeals and how the congregation got behind them to support each appeal. So in the summer of 2012 when I was working with Soroptimist International on their blankets for Mary‟s Meals I realised that this might be a good project for a future Labour of Love. So a chat to Liz and we were off!

Mary‟s Meals do not promote the Blanket Appeal to the same extent as the Back Pack Appeal but do welcome a regular supply of blankets for the sick and frail. The nights in Malawi can be very cold and if you are unwell you need something to wrap yourself up in – sort of warm hugs from the knitters.

It was clear that the Abbey had some knitters when the Scarves for the Homeless were so successful last year. When Liz launched the Appeal I offered to help with the sewing and edging of the blankets. I don‟t know how many I thought we would get from the Congregation and friends but none of us were ready for the fantastic response! Nor had we thought about the other benefits that the project would bring.

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In late October I realised that my plan to sew the blankets together between Christmas and New Year would have to change – we were already knee deep in squares and my big green bucket was filling up at every Service, so sewing sessions started in the Hall on a Saturday in November. A great number of the congregation came and along with members of the Youth Group sorted hundreds of squares. Random patterns for the blankets were not good enough and carefully planned colour schemes and patterns were put together. People took squares away to make up blankets at home. We needed 48 squares per blanket and it became clear that we would get a good number of blankets. The Abbey Guides came on board too and made four blankets – all in shades of blue and some with Guide badges on them. We will make sure these go to young people with their love.

The squares kept coming and more sewing sessions were organised – almost weekly – to keep up with supply! Not only were the blankets being put together but people were meeting up and chatting to new people from the congregation... There was lots of chat, laughter, tea, coffee and good old fashioned fellowship and people were learning new skills too. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. It was also great to assist the Youth Group achieve another great Labour Love. The youngsters really appreciate the congregation‟s assistance and it has been a real pleasure to work with them.

So what is the final tally – at the time of writing I do not have a final total – at the moment I think we have produced around 60 blankets with some more being finished! That means more nearly 3,000 squares! This far exceeds my expectations – never mind anyone else‟s! However the whole Dunfermline appeal has taken on an international dimension too. Soroptimist International have also produced a large number of blankets including some made from over 200 squares received from Trondheim – Dunfermline‟s original twin town. All the blankets will be delivered together so at the moment we are talking a van not cars to get everything to Glasgow!! The final tally will be in the Sunday announcements shortly – so watch this space!

A big thank you to everyone who helped the support has been fantastic!

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So what next? There will be a new Labour of Love Appeal for 2013 – if you have an idea – let the Youth Group know they are a fantastic group of young people to work with. What about more blankets? Well ….. if anyone wants to keep knitting squares – carry on and I will keep putting them together and we can keep sending a few blankets to Mary‟s Meals each year. This will be an extra to whatever project the Youth Group choose for us for next year!

Lorraine Fraser

SUNDAY SCHOOL

OUR RECENT ACTIVITIES We are well into 2013 now and Christmas seems a long time ago! However, we would like to report on what happened in Sunday School at the end of last year.

Christmas

Our Christmas party was held on Saturday 8 December and went very well. When asked what their favourite part of the party was, the children agreed that the magic show had been the highlight. To explain, we were very fortunate to have a visit by one of our Sunday School Dads who is a very good magician. The children were delighted with the show and were very keen to volunteer to become the magician‟s assistants! One member of the Senior Sunday School said they particularly enjoyed the washing machine trick. As you can see from the photo the younger children seemed mesmerised with the trick!

We also had lots of games and dancing and Santa was able to squeeze in a visit at the end of the party. It always amazes us that Santa knows where to find us – it must be something to do with our very loud rendition of “Jingle Bells” before he arrives.

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Nativity Performance After many weeks of hard work rehearsing, our Nativity, "The Gift", was performed on 23 December. The congregation seemed to enjoy our performance, especially our enthusiastic singing! More microphones this year ensured everyone was heard. If you haven‟t looked already, please go on to the Abbey website (www.dunfermlineabbey.co.uk) where you will find photos of our performances. The Christmas Family Service coincided with Food Share Sunday so the Sunday School donated some selection boxes to the food share trolley to be distributed to families in need at Christmas. As usual, on our first Sunday back in January, we watched a recording of the Nativity. The children love to see themselves on TV and hear themselves sing! Homelessness Sunday On 20 January we discussed homelessness in preparation for the family service on Homelessness Sunday. We made a tent out of a ground sheet and sat under it to discuss how it would feel to have to live like that if you had no home, especially in countries where there have been terrible natural disasters. We then made a large poster of a house which all the children decorated to thank God for our own homes. This was put on our notice board in the hall for everyone to see on Homelessness Sunday. We decided our collection on the 27th would again be donated to the Scottish Churches Housing Action as part of Poverty and Homelessness Action Week, together with the Youth Group‟s proceeds from the coffees that day.

FUTURE ACTIVITIES Easter Over the coming weeks we will be looking at the events in Jesus‟ life in preparation for Easter. Our Easter Family Service will be held on Easter Sunday itself this year, which is Sunday 31 March. As usual, the Sunday School will be participating in the Service.

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We will also be having our egg rolling activity afterwards in the gardens below the Abbey. All children are invited to bring along a decorated (hard boiled) egg to the service for rolling. We will also have a drink and a snack in the gardens (weather permitting). All keen egg rollers are welcome to join us! To remind us of Easter, you will find a jigsaw at the back of The Arrow for the children to colour in, cut out and put back together. CRÈCHE

The crèche continues on Sunday mornings, in the Church hall, from 10.45am to allow parents of babies and toddlers to attend the second Church service. We have a couple of crèche members who are nearly old enough to move up to Sunday School which will be no problem at all for them as they like to come and join in with us already! Any new babies and toddlers are always welcome so please come along and try it out. Please note that there will be no crèche on 31 March (Family Service in Church) or whilst the Sunday School is on holiday in April.

KEY DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Sunday 10 March – Communion – children come straight to the hall for 11.00am

Sunday 31 March – Easter Family Service in Church (no crèche)

Sundays 7 and 14 April – Easter holidays (in line with the school holidays)

Saturday 8 June – Picnic

Sunday 23 June – Prize giving Service in Church (no crèche)

Donna Glass

Sunday School Leader (tel: 722004)

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ABBEY QUAICH GOLF COMPETITION

The annual „Stableford‟ Golf Competition for the Abbey Quaich will be held at the Dunfermline Golf Club, Pitfirrane, Crossford on Thursday, 21

st May

2013, commencing at 13:00hrs. This will be followed by high tea and presentation of prizes in the clubhouse. Please indicate your interest in participating by

completing and returning the entry form (below) to myself on or before Sunday, 12

th May 2013.

When numbers are finalised, details of the draw and individual costs will be advised in a separate letter.

G Findlay, 4 Kilburn Road, Crossford, Dunfermline KY12 8PH Tel: 722320

………………………………………………..

Entry Form for Abbey Quaich

Member‟s Name……………………………………………………...

Address………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………

……………………………………Tel No: ………………

Present Golf Club…………………………………………………….

Current National Handicap…………………….

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CHILDREN’S SECTION

Jigsaw to colour in, cut out and put back together.