News

Parish News Round-up

Thursday January 28 2021

Our regular round-up of news received from churches

Send items of parish news to magazine@lifeandwork.org or Life and Work, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN. All submissions will also be considered for the magazine, but we are unable to print everything we receive.
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***Please note, people shown in photos should comply with existing guidance on distancing and the wearing of face masks in churches.***

Unable to celebrate Christmas as usual due to the coronavirus restrictions, Lindores Church in Newburgh, Fife came up with a novel way to celebrate the nativity.

Inspired by an annual local scarecrow competition, the church’s pastoral assistant, the Rev Valerie Walker, came up with the idea of developing a Scarecrow Nativity within a life-sized Advent calendar.

Valerie invited people and groups within the town to dress scarecrows (and create animals) to create, one day at a time throughout Advent, the nativity scene and then a tableau of the wise men coming from the east. The Scouts donated a pile of unused disposable overalls left over from their last scarecrow mission; a local farmer donated a pile of straw; and a group of volunteers met in a local barn and, working two metres apart, stuffed numerous scarecrows. Local individuals and organisations, including primary schools, dressed scarecrows as shepherds, angels or wise people.

Macduff Parish Church Guild, with the help of family and friends, walked a total of over 8000 miles in the two months to Christmas to raise funds for community and Guild projects.

Setting out on November 1, the Guild had aimed to walk 2520 miles – the distance from Macduff to Bethlehem as the crow flies. The final total was, they say, Bethlehem and back by the scenic route!

The walk raised over £2500, as well as providing members with a shared interest and a reason to stay in contact over the two months.