Parish News Round-up

Thursday May 12

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. Digital photographs should not be reduced. Please check the quality of your pictures: images which are 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.

A Glasgow church youth organisation are now able to enjoy homemade pizza made from ingredients they have grown themselves.

Blackhill’s Growing, a project of the St Paul’s Youth Forum, has created an area in the church grounds for growing food and for keeping hens and bees. They’ve also installed an outdoor pizza oven.

The Youth Forum was inspired to create a growing project following an exchange trip to Zambia in 2010. The plan was to create a garden on waste ground near the church, but as that is taking longer than expected they are using the church grounds.

The project gives young people the physical and mental benefits of spending time outdoors, teaches them how to look after animals and grow fruit and vegetables; encourages enterprise through selling the produce, and tackles issues of both food miles and food poverty as half the produce will be available for them to take home.

The project has been supported by two grants from the Church of Scotland’s Go For It fund and the Big Lottery’s Awards For All scheme.

The parish churches of Upper Tweeddale are linking up with a local arts festival for a special service in August.

The sermon at Broughton Kirk on Sunday August 28 will be given by the Very Rev Dr Ian Bradley, on the subject ‘Was John Buchan Mr Standfirst?’

Mr Bradley, Principal of St Mary’s College in St Andrews and well-known writer and broadcaster, is a lifelong admirer of John Buchan, author of The 39 Steps.

John Buchan had two Mr Standfasts in his life – the original in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and the one he created in the third Richard Hannay adventure, set during the Great War.

The sermon forms part of the Peebles Arts Festival over the weekend of August 27-31.

The service starts at 11am and will be followed by refreshments in the former Broughton Free Kirk – now the Hill House Gallery – where John Buchan’s parents met when his father was locum minister.

A couple celebrated their 70^th anniversary with a gathering at Glasgow’s Castlemilk Parish Church, where they are both members, and a surprise visit to Kirkhill Church in Cambuslang where they got married in 1946.

Bill and May Neill, who are 91 and 88 respectively, met at a dance at Tollcross Cooperative Hall in Glasgow. They have two sons, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Mrs Neill said: “The Church has had a big influence on our marriage and we have had a great life together.”

Isobel Beck, a deacon at Castlemilk Parish Church and a good friend to the couple, said: “Reaching the milestone of being 70 years married is a fantastic achievement and you can see the love they have for each other.”

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