Parish News Round-up

Thursday March 15 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.

St John’s Church in Gourock had to wait an extra week before welcoming their new minister, the Rev Teri Peterson, as the service was cancelled because of the heavy snow the week before last.

At a packed church on Thursday March 8 Teri, who comes from the Presbyterian Church in Chicago, was finally inducted.

Teri has felt called to be a minister in Scotland after volunteering with the Iona Community back in 2000 and wanted to work here while studying, but events led her to minister in Chicago until the call to come to Scotland became too strong to ignore. “I still regret not taking up the chance to come here before, but Scotland was always on my radar and I’m really delighted to be here now.”

Teri is pictured with the Rev Jim Cowan, Moderator of the Presbytery of Greenock and Paisley.

Livingstone Parish Church, Stevenston, in the Presbytery of Ardrossan, welcomed local Scouts and Guides to the morning worship for Founders Day/Thinking Day. This was the first time the Scouts and Guides had been a part of a service for a few years.

During the service, the minister, the Rev Dave Sutherland, presented a Long Service Certificate signed by the Moderator of the General Assembly to John Kerr, who had completed some 50-plus years of service to the church.  John celebrated his 100^th birthday the day before and the congregation organised tea, coffee and birthday cake after the service.  It was also a special occasion for Alexander Chisholm who professed faith during the service and was added to the congregation.

Picture: Alexander Chisholm and John Kerr

More than 400 people packed into Dunfermline Abbey on Saturday evening for a theatrical enactment marking the discovery of the tomb of King Robert the Bruce.

Bones, Bogles and Coronets, written by local playwright Diane M Stewart, charted the period years ago between the discovery of the grave by workmen excavating the site, and the laying of the foundation stone of the current Abbey Church building on March 10 1818.

Children from Pittencrieff Primary School, musicians Susan Kirkwood and Alex Black from Dunfermline Folk Club and guest Guy Burgess, and the Abbey Church choir joined a cast directed by Catherine Exposito, in retelling the story ahead of the dramatic three week period ahead of a finale led by Dunfermline-born singer songwriter Barbara Dickson, who led the audience in a chorus of Scots Wha’ Hae.

Minister of the Abbey Church, the Rev MaryAnn Rennie explained the proceeds of the church’s bicentenary celebrations over the next three years would be split equally between the Abbey Church of Dunfermline’s Restoration Fund, to retain the building as a place of sanctuary and to support the work of providing direct support to refugees in Scotland.

She said: “The Abbey does not belong simply to the congregation, but to the people of Dunfermline and has played its part in the rich tapestry of Scotland’s history. It is a place of community and has a proud legacy as a place of sanctuary and refuge. Our bicentenary celebrations are providing a living focus of that legacy.”

The picture shows Barbara Dickson (front, centre) with the cast of Bones, Bogles and Coronets.

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