Welcome

Rick Warren writes in his book, "The Purpose Driven Life"
It is your job to protect the unity of your church.
Unity in the church is so important that the New Testament gives more attention to it than to either heaven or hell. God deeply desires that we experience oneness and harmony with each other.  
Unity is the soul of fellowship. Destroy it, and you rip the heart out of Christ's Body. It is the essence, the core, of how God intends to experience life together in his church. Just like every parent, our heavenly Father enjoys watching his children get along with each other. In his final moments before being arrested, Jesus prayed passionately for our unity. It was our unity that was uppermost in his mind during those agonizing hours. That shows how significant this subject is.
Nothing on earth is more valuable to God than his church. He paid the highest price for it, and he wants it protected, especially from the devastating damage that is caused by division, conflict and disharmony. If you are part of God's family. it is your responsibility to protect the unity of your fellowship. You are commissioned by Jesus Christ to do everything possible to preserve the unity, protect the fellowship and promote harmony in your church family and among all believers. The Bible says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace"
The best way to do this is to focus on what we have in common, not our differences.
We must remember that God chose to give us different personalities, backgrounds, races and preferences, so we should value and enjoy those differences. not merely tolerate them. God wants unity not uniformity and we must never let differences divide us. We must stay focused on what matters most - learning to love each other as Christ has loved us.

I know I had mentioned that someone had come forward to take over the magazine but unfortunately due to circumstances this  is not possible just now.
So please ask yourself if you could take on the magazine, freeing me up a little. Full training would be given. Stuart has made templates so it is fairly easy to fill in with articles etc. 

It's still September but plans are afoot. Just below Ian has mentioned that word, but shops have had Christmas cards, seasonal chocolate, mince pies and Christmas cake on the shelves for a few weeks now and the weeks will fly by once rehearsals start. Singing in a choir has great benefits and fosters a special type of unity.

Please contact the office if you have an article for the magazine or if you have a comment about anything here.
I hope you find the magazine useful.

Denise 

Elders and Board Members Conference - 

9.30am to 12.30pm on Saturday, 16th November 2024. 

The purpose of this morning conference is to discuss Maxwell adopting the Unitary Constitution of the Church of Scotland and to discuss and hopefully form working groups that will report to future Kirk Session meetings. 

Refreshments will be served and we promise to be finished by 12.30pm. 

Please speak to Mike for further details. 

‘CHRISTMAS IS COMING’  

Yes, so it is!!  And it is therefore time to start thinking about our Christmas Choir. 
I know quite a few of you will be excited by this prospect because you’ve already asked me about it!  Some of you will remember the successful musical event held in December 2022 and led by the Maxwell Christmas Choir.  I’m hoping that we can do that again.

 

If you are interested in joining the choir, please come along to its founding meeting on 

MONDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER (that’s this coming  Monday) AT 7.30PM IN THE SANCTUARY. 

The main objective of this meeting is to find out how many folk we will have in the choir.  There is the prospect of inviting people from the other Mearns churches to support us but we can make that decision after Monday.  I shall give you a wee taste of the music we will be singing and the meeting will last no more than an hour on this occasion (unless we’re enjoying ourselves so much and want to go on longer!!).

If you cannot make Monday, but would like to join us, please see me after the service on Sunday.
 
Ian  

Church Facebook - Help Urgently Required  

I am looking for a volunteer to post onto the Church Facebook page just to cover me when we are away in November, I will show you how easy it Is to do this, and I will also write out step by step instructions.
It would only be two posts to go onto the Church Facebook page. 
Please speak to me if you are willing to help.

Isobel

Service Song Words

 A few folks have advised us that they are having difficulty seeing the words for the songs that appear   on  the screen during the services. The AV team are listening and will take the following action:
 

1: Words will now be White on Black only (no background images)
2: Words will be as large as possible, but this is limited by the length of the lines in the song. Where     necessary, the line will be wrapped to 2 lines so that the text can be made bigger. 
3: Verses will be split over two pages if required to keep the largest text
4: There is a limit to how big the text can be made and still be sensible to follow for most people.

If, regardless of the changes we will make above, you still find difficulty reading the words, then we can provide large print paper copies of the words. To do this, there are 2 options:

1: Print your own copy (we will email you the words)
2: We provide you with a printed copyIf you want to print your own copy, you can set the text size that works for you. In order to save paper, we will only make printouts available to those that request a large print copy of the words.

Please send an email to office@maxwellmearns.org with the subject "Large Print Words" and state whether you want a copy of the words sent to you, or a printout to be collected at the church on Sunday morning.

Stuart

Clothes Recycling Bin 

Just a reminder about the clothes bin in the church car park. 
If you have unwanted/worn out clothes they can benefit church finances.

Place the clothes in a carrier bag, tie it securely and place in the recycling bin.

It is emptied regularly and the church receives a bank transfer quarterly.

If the clothes can be reused they are passed on but even worn out/ torn items have a value.

Charity shops really only use clothes that are in season but the recycling bin takes all clothes at all times.

Denise

Castle Cafe

The next meeting will be held on 

Thursday 3 October at 2.00 pm. in the West Room.

It's a great way to get to know members of our Church family and to strengthen relationships.

We will also be entertained by Ken W.

Everyone is welcome so please come along and enjoy the chat and a cuppa

Jackie and Norman
 

PRAYER GROUP 

The prayer group next meets on

Thursday 10 October at 7.30 in West Room and all are welcome.

You may pray aloud or in silence.

"Where two or three gather in my name there am I with them" Matthew 18:20

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

Norman

Flower Rota  

Thanks to those who have provided flowers over the last few months.

Please find the rota for October below.
 

FLOWER DONORS

OCTOBER
6th           Margaret Campbell
13th        Myra Scott
20th        Liz Gillis
27th        Heather Russell

Should something crop up you can always change with someone.
Liz Gillis

Tea and Coffee Rota

29 Sept - Lorna McN. Craig G
6 Oct  -    Sheila R, Sandy + Gloria

The more folk help, the less frequently you will be called upon.

Always remember, should something crop up, we can arrange swaps or I’m sure someone will be happy to do it for you.
To everyone who has helped out, we are extremely grateful, as we all know the tea and coffee after the service is very much enjoyed by all.

We are really trying to become greener and it really helps if people bring their own cups/mugs.

Thank you
Shona L and Lorna McN.

Maxwell Pray Now Group Pray Now is a WhatsApp group for Maxwell members

This group sends out occasional requests for prayer. In particular those which might be regarding things more acute or immediate. At present there are 23 of us who, when we receive a request for prayer, stop what we are doing and pray for whatever has been asked.

Are you on the Pray Now WhatsApp Group? If you want to be added to the group to receive prayer news then simply ask Denise and she will add your number to the list.

If you have a matter that you would like to be prayed about in this way, you can contact Denise and she will organise for news to be sent out.

Getting To Church 

Should anyone require a lift to Maxwell Mearns Castle Church
or to the Castle Cafe, then please do let us know.
If you are willing and able to offer a lift please speak to Norman or Denise or
Please email: office@maxwellmearns.org

Safeguarding At Maxwell Mearns 

Safeguarding – Ensuring a Safe Church for All 

If you suspect or witness harm or abuse, or it is reported to you,
you must immediately report it to one of the Safeguarding Coordinators:

Rev. James Gemmell
email: jgemmell@churchofscotland.org.uk

May Walker
email: safeguarding@maxwellmearns.org