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'Acts of Random Kindness'

LENT is often a time to reflect, to make an effort to sacrifice something you enjoy to remind us what Christ gave up for us.

For the congregation at St David’s Memorial Parish Church in Kirkintilloch, it became a time of giving – but it didn’t involve the collection plate.

Using an idea based on the ‘Acts of Random Kindness’ project from St Andrew’s Church in Congresbury, Somerset, they set up a target of 500 acts of random kindness, to be reached by Easter Sunday.

The minister, Rev Bryce Calder and Lynne Robertson, a Reader attached to the congregation, challenged them to record each of the random acts of kindness and post them on paneling at the front of the church.

“The congregation really took the idea to heart,” Lynne explained. “It’s not easy for a lot of people – especially those here in the west of Scotland – to blow our own horns, but we wanted them to think about what things other people had done for them.

 

“Each Sunday people of all ages gathered round the paneling to put their acts – or the good things others had done for them – up on the wall.

“Then we took it to the next level.

“The church here has an Art In Worship group who take the responsibility to use art in a variety of forms to enhance the worship at the major celebrations, like Easter, Christmas and Harvest.

“For the end of Lent it decided to incorporate the Acts of Random Kindness idea into the planned displays.

“The central idea was a rainbow and the fulfillment of God’s covenant in the cross and to incorporate the ARK’s into the images.

“They finally went for a knitted cross made up of squares of rainbow colours which will be sent to be knitted into blankets for refugees or the homeless.

“JAM, our Sunday School, decorated the pew ends with the help of more squares knitted by the Guild.

“The ARK wall has really become a place of focus and of fellowship in the church.

“The one thing it has shown is that it’s easy to be kind to people – strangers and friends alike – and in fact we are kind more often than we think we are.

“The other really important lesson was that even the littlest thing that we do for someone else isn’t forgotten and is really appreciated.”


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