No.158.   9th June 2023

Hi,
Hope this finds you well

Lots of things gearing up for the Summer weeks and months  - you can read about trips abroad, weekends away, cafes, holiday clubs and much more below.
Nice to get plenty of photos in too  - you'll notice that one refers to Rangers. I need to make it clear that this is not in any way related to the football team on the southside of Glasgow...nor, and I can't stress this enough,  is it related to John McNicol's prayers regarding the other team in the east end...however, talking of vacancies, look out for Jack G's note re the Glasgow City Mission. The ad actually doesn't make clear that you need to work alongside Jack, just to save you wasting time applying.

Lastly, Scott's letter doesn't have any photos but don't skip over some key bits of info re the future of Maxwell.

Enjoy the mag!

MB
 

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Sunday 11 June

       Rev Scott Kirkland
     Bible passage: 1 Peter 5:8-11
Children's Talk - Jonah

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From the Manse

Dear Congregation,
This summer will bring joy to several families connected to us. I want to acknowledge this especially this week as sometimes we only focus on the negative things in our congregational life or world. And, coming out of the back of Covid years, it is lovely to embrace the shafts of joyous light that the Lord gifts us. 

I want to pick on the theme of love where I left us in last week’s letter with the marriage of Richard and Fiona. Wey-hey! They married in the Mearns Kirk building (Fiona’s home-church). We will look forward to sharing in the joy of the Forgie family when Calum Forgie and Emily are married on 1st July at St Columba’s Church building in Ayr.
However, we are also looking forward to several weddings on our own premises later in the summer: Deborah Dodds will marry Andy Hutton (21st July), Julie Kyle will marry Mark Henderson (28th July) and Rebecca Dodds will marry Rory Bradshaw on 9th September!! Amazing!

The good news continues. Some of us were praying for the two daughters of June Steele, one of our Playgroup leaders, as both developed health issues as they approached their "due date". June has now become a granny twice-over within the space of one week! We give thanks to God for Loraine and Caroline’s, Fiadh and Zachery. By the grace of God, we hope to add to that joy soon (Christy Campbell is due this week and Priscilla Brennan/Kirkland in a few weeks-time).

The Lord is laying on many of us, opportunity to grow this summer as we explore his world and enjoy the amazing variety and beauty of His creation at this time of year.
However, it will be a bumper-summer for several of our young people and opportunity to grow in “(wisdom) stature and in favour with God and man”. This is what was said of the development of the boy Samuel (1st Samuel 2.26) and of our Lord Jesus himself when he was a youth (Luke 2.52).

• Jonah McNicol has now departed for a month in Fiji to work with “Think Pacific”;
• Emma Barbour has flown out to Australia for three months which will include a five-week placement at the university in Brisbane studying Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy;
• Chiara and Grace will head to Namibia this weekend for two weeks under the banner of “World Challenge”.

Let’s join their families in praying for their safe return. However, let’s also pray that these amazing excursions turn into times of growth in ways similar to that of Samuel and indeed our Lord Jesus.
And, as we hear of more adventures that our young people will have this summer (and possibly summer camps) let’s give ourselves to them in prayer and a shared joy in all they will experience in God’s grace.

On a different matter…

Nineteen of our twenty-one elders were free to meet with me and Anita last Saturday for a day of reflection and prayer. There are many changes occurring within the theological, moral and structural landscape of the CofS. We took the time out to reflect on these matters as they pertain to Maxwell Mearns Castle Church. We met in the glamorous setting of our halls (mid-landing!) and beginning at 9.30am, with 30 minutes for lunch we departed after a full day at 4.20pm.

The elders gave themselves fully to a day of presentations/ discussion/ reflection and prayer. I believe we met with a good spirit, found the day helpful and had a sense of the Lord’s encouragement. We have each taken away the content of the day for further prayer and reflection. We will gather again soon.

“The Presbytery Plan” update…

I have a friend in a congregation in another presbytery. He frequently complained that his minister and elders never let the congregation know what was happening to them in the Presbytery Planning Process. I am eager you do not suffer similar deprivation of information!
As it happens, there is very little to add to what you have already been told. However, the General Assembly has just passed the “big-picture” of the Plan. Therefore, our little local part for the Mearns remains unchanged. Here at Maxwell, we still have permission to remain a single congregation, as does Eaglesham Parish Church.
The three congregations of Broom, Mearns Kirk and Newton Mearns will also unite to become one congregation as previously highlighted. However, the three congregations have not been able to agree on the steps toward union nor the timing of these steps. They will now be assisted by a facilitator after the summer.

What continues unresolved is any agreement on the retention/disposal of buildings. And, also unresolved is the distribution of Ministers to the Mearns Cluster. We have three ministry posts at our disposal for what will become three congregations (down from the existing five). The three congregations which will make up the union of Mearns Kirk, Newton Mearns and Broom have agreed on this; neither ourselves, nor should Eaglesham should be permitted a full minister allocation from the three at our disposal (in the Plan a ministry post is called a “Full Time Equivalent”). It has been proposed that both Eaglesham and Maxwell receive 50% of a Full Time Equivalent post each.
I was interested to “do some maths”. I added up the financial payments we have made to the Church of Scotland over the last 10 years (Ministries and Mission Contributions and Glasgow Presbytery Dues). Can you guess how much?
Over the last ten years we have paid a whopping £900,000 to the Denomination.

Our congregation remains numerically healthy (relative to many congregations in the denomination) and with a healthy annual income we are also expected to continue paying substantial sums to the Church of Scotland. To receive less than a Full Time Equivalent post seems bizarre. Notwithstanding the bizarreness, the Kirk Session considers it unacceptable. There will be no further meetings on these matters till after the summer (you may be glad to know!) and we will make this conclusion known when and where appropriate.

Lastly, 
Completing Our Present Studies in 1st Peter
We have been studying the letter of 1st Peter in our home groups then sermons on Sunday mornings. These will come to an end this weekend. See a short overview of these studies below.
 
With warmest regards
Scott

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Youth Work

From Jacob:
Please pray for the after school cafe that's starting up in the church basement on Wednesdays from 3-5pm for S1-S6 .
Pray for the young folk who come along and for opportunities for good conversations.

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Ladybird Book of Maxwell

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It's nearly the summer holidays which means it's nearly time for holiday club!
This year we are joining Lady Flora at The Great Glen Green Welly Garden Show! 

Registration is now open on Eventbrite!  Click here to sign up

Spaces are limited so make sure you get your children/grandchildren signed up as soon as possible.
The advert will be appearing on Facebook so please share if you can.
There will be printed flyers and posters available in the sanctuary and halls foyer.
Please take some flyers and hand them to neighbours, friends etc and if you know of anywhere that a poster could go up then please feel free to do that too! 
As always we need a large team of volunteers to make holiday club happen. There are roles available for everyone from working directly with the children during the week to making drinks, purchasing food, baking, security, preparing craft materials in advance, clearing and resetting the sanctuary and most importantly, joining the prayer team. If you can help in anyway, however small then please follow this link to complete the form or speak to Pauline for a paper copy. 

Pauline Forster

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Thank You!

Phyl Campbell and Christine Maddock would like to thank the church folks who prayed for us and came round with meals over the last few weeks. The meals made life so much easier as Robert adjusted to life as chief cook and bottle washer with two invalids in the house. Robert now wants to be known as Carson now!

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For Russia with Love

This is a song we know well at Maxwell - this version has singers in Russian, Ukrainian and English inc Kristyn Getty and Joni Eareckson Tada
Click here to watch.

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Wednesdays - 7.15- 8.15pm
One hour together to hear a reflection on the Bible and to pray for and give thanks for Maxwell, for each other, for the global church and much more.

I know many of you will be looking at this photo and thinking 'Has the youth cafe already started?' but this is actually a quick snap of some of those who were at the prayer meeting this Wednesday.
Can you join them? 
Someone once said “Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. And prayer is the turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that He will provide the help we need. Prayer humbles us as needy and exalts God as wealthy”
I make that 5 reasons I can easily buy into when deciding go along on a Wednesday for one hour.

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The growing ubiquity of the pride flag is a reflection of another dynamic at work––not just a growing embrace of LGBT+ inclusion but also a growing social and cultural pressure to honour the flag, regardless of your personal beliefs. 

In what some have pointed out is rather like the blood on the doors of the Passover evening the pride flag is hung or posted on the entrances of businesses and coffee shops, so the judgment of a secular culture will pass over the company. Many workers are pressured into buying into the rainbow in the workplace, (or adding pronouns to their contact details) with the implicit threat of reprisal if refused. What’s presented as a symbol of inclusion and diversity has instead become a symbol of coercion and ideological uniformity. 
 
This month we can make sure we have a focus on what the sign of the bow actually represents…we start with some help from Sinclair Ferguson. from his sermon, “The Hope of Noah,” as he explains the covenantal and redemptive nature of the bow in the sky:
As with all of God’s covenants in the Bible…He always adds physical signs to them to reassure us. Yes, His word is enough–His word is His bond–but we are doubters; and so He gives us visible signs that say to us, “I really meant what I said; look at the sign!” And here he says to Noah, “I’m going to give you a sign–the bow in the cloud.” And, of course, we know what that is, the bow–the multicolored rainbow–but actually the word used in the book of Genesis is not rainbow, it’s warbow–the bow of war, the bow of battle. It is a picture of God, after hostility has ended and He has established His new creation, flinging His bow of war, His bow of judgment, into the skies as a reassurance to Noah, ‘Now, that there is reconciliation, you may enjoy the peace that you have with Me; you can be sure that there will never again be this kind of judgment on the earth, until, of course, the cosmic final judgment of all at the end of time;’ and so Noah, begins to enjoy the fruit and the spoils of war. Some scholars have even suggested, over the centuries–if you think about the rainbow as God’s military bow transformed into  an ornament of great beauty, that hostility has ceased and that there is no arrow in the bow–that, if He has thrown the bow into the sky that way, the only place the arrow could have gone was into His own heart.’ I wonder if Noah ever could have pondered, ‘If God has thrown His bow into the sky, where is His arrow, and why does it point thus heavenward into His heart?’ And, of course, the rest of the story of the Bible will pick up on that idea–it’s only as God takes the judgment to Himself, into His Son Jesus Christ, that we might enjoy full and final reconciliation with Him.

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Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers

On Wednesday evening our Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers all had an out of this world experience while sitting in the Maxwell hall!





We had a visit from Cosmos indoor planetarium and over the evening we were launched into space to explore the moon, the planets, the stars and satellites and even explored some of the ecosystems on our own planet in an immersive visual and audio experience! 
Pauline

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County Camp at Auchengillan

Last weekend 33 Guides and Rangers from 1st Maxwell Mearns joined East Renfrewshire's County Camp at Auchengillan. 325 girls and leaders from across East Ren enjoyed a wonderful sunny circus themed weekend. The girls took part in a variety activities from circus skills to paradrop to kayaking. The outdoor heated pool was a welcome break from the heat but nothing could help us escape the evening midgies! A massive thanks to our invaluable leaders and young leaders - Kathryn, Cathy, Fiona, Jemma and Katie! 
Pauline 

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Completing Our Studies in 1st Peter

We have been studying the letter of 1st Peter in our home groups then sermons on Sunday mornings.
These will come to an end this weekend. Peter writes the letter to Christians across the regions of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. These are all regions in what we would now call Turkey.
The back-drop to the letter is increasing pressure on the Christians, for being Christians!



It may surprise you but while Turkey always had a mix of religious beliefs, some of the greatest Christian thinkers in the early centuries of the Christian church came from Turkey (Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory of Nazianzus).    
From something like the 8th century, Turkey wrestled with the advancing presence of Islam. Today it is estimated that only about 0.2% of Turkey’s 85.6 million population remain Christian. In our generation, it can be a sore place to be a Christian. “Even Christians who did not convert from Islam are hardly regarded as full members of Turkish society and encounter all kinds of legal and bureaucratic obstructions. All Christians have limited access to state employment and experience discrimination in private employment, especially in jobs with ties to the government.” You can read the Open Doors assessment here.
President Erdogan has recently been re-elected. He has been dismantling remnants of secular Turkey with Christian influences in preference for an increasingly Islamic state. He made several bold moves which were seen as a triumph of Islam over Christianity (not least the turning of the once Christian Church, Hagia Sophia, from a Museum into a Mosque in 2020).  The New York Times reported that it was to this building President Erdogan went for prayer at sun-down prior to the first round of the recent Presidential voting. This was symbolic and a reminder of what he stood for; “Hagia Sophia is the crowning of that neo-Ottomanist dream,” (The New York Times Article May 2023).
Perhaps 1st Peter is not such an ancient letter after all and that in fact, it is a reminder from the Lord, that 21 centuries on, the issues are still the same for Christians in Turkey, in fact, believers around the world. To suffer for Christ is part of our calling. As Sinclair Ferguson once said (or something like this) that suffering for Christ comes by the Lord’s grace; His grace brings “grit” and this provision of grace and grit leads to final glory! (1st Peter 5.10) 

Scott

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Pray Now  is a WhatsApp group for Maxwell members

It sends out occasional requests for prayer. In particular those which might be regarding things more acute or immediate.
Speak with Margaret Boyd is you would like to be added to this important ministry at MMCC, or just to find out more.

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Car Parking

Can you help?
If you are able, please can you to start using the school car park again as we did pre-lockdown?
Numbers attending services are encouragingly high and it would be really helpful if those that are able could leave spaces in the main car park for those who have greater need.

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 Safeguarding at Maxwell Mearns