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Parish News Round-up

Thursday April 5 2018

Our regular round-up of news received from churches.

Please send items of parish news to magazine@lifeandwork.org or Life and Work, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN. Please check the quality of your pictures: images which are too small, blurry or too dark cannot be used. If there are children in any picture please confirm that their parents or guardians have given permission for publication.

Between 60 and 70 members of Traprain Church, joined by the local herd of Exmoor ponies, held an Easter Rising service at the top of Traprain Law at 6.30am on Easter Sunday.

Traprain Law, a 221m hill in East Lothian, was a place of burial around 3500 years ago and a hill fort from 1000BC until the Roman period. It is at the centre of, and gives its name to the parish, a new triple union.

Minister, the Rev David Scott, said: “Every year our Easter Rising service seems to be characterised by a different and distinctive weather pattern – mist, sun, wind and, this year, snow! The wintry imagery was the perfect foil to celebrate the resurrection of Christ springing to new life on Easter Day.”

Picture by David P Scott

Church volunteers from all denominations were out in force on Good Friday for their annual Hot Cross Bun Giveaway in the streets of Broughty Ferry. Over 500 donated buns, packaged with Easter messages, were given out in shops and workplaces throughout the town.

More on the Church of Scotland Facebook page.

The annual Good Friday procession in Dumfries is pictured crossing the Devorgilla Bridge. The procession, by members of various churches, starts at Troqueer Church on the western side of the River Nith before crossing to Dumfries centre, with short praise stops en route.

Members of the Forfar area churches celebrated Easter Sunday with a frosty early morning service at St Margaret's Inch beside Forfar Loch.

The congregation at Wellpark Mid Kirk in Greenock had a new experience in Holy Week when Jock, a rescue dog, was at every one of the services.

Jock's owner, Rod Taylor, had only just taken in the former abandoned sheepdog and didn’t want to leave him in the house so soon. Minister, the Rev Alan Sorensen, said he’d never read anything in church regulations that says those attending church shouldn’t have four legs and so he was delighted to welcome their newest ‘member’ saying: “Jock has certainly been at more services this week than many of our existing members! I’m thinking we might ask him to join the elders at the door who welcome people as they come in – maybe we could all learn to wag our tails!”

Given that the congregation are used to their minister leading worship at Easter wearing a white suit, angel’s wings and a halo, it was probably a good thing that at least one of those in the church was wearing their dog collar.

An Edinburgh City Centre church has launched an appeal to help pay for a special new Communion table.

Greyfriars Kirk has commissioned a table with 17 legs from its sister organisation, Grassmarket Community Project. Each of the 17 legs commemorates one of the former churches that is united in present day Greyfriars.

The table is circular in design and made from timber recycled from the pews of one of those former churches, Kirk o’Field.

The Rev Richard Frazer, minister of Greyfriars, said: “It is incredibly inspiring to have a table that embodies the spirit of Greyfriars. What makes it special is the fact that it is made by the team from the Grassmarket Community Project and has the symbolic meaning of its roots coming from Kirk o’Field Parish Church.”

The Kirk has launched an appeal inviting people to ‘purchase’ a leg of the table for £500, or for any donations. All will help to pay for the table and directly support the work of the Grassmarket Community Project.

To donate, contact accounts@greyfriarskirk.com or call 0131 225 1900

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