Smithton Video Copy

4^th December 2010

Dear Friends

You will all be aware by now that the Free Church of Scotland agreed to change their position on worship to allow the use of hymns and musical accompaniment if local kirk sessions and ministers were agreed.

At a meeting of our kirk session held this week it was agreed to use both psalms and hymns with musical accompaniment at our services in Smithton and Nairn.  I think we would want the congregation to know that the meeting was conducted in an extremely warm manner and a good spirit prevailed.

The session then considered the type of musical accompaniment which we would introduce.  It was agreed that the instrumental music should be dignified and the emphasis was to be on accompaniment rather than dominance.

It is our hope that our worship will continue to be Christ-exalting, God-honouring and Spirit-led as we continue as a worshipping community.

David and Murdo will be pleased to answer any questions you may have.  We would also refer you to the Free Church of Scotland web site for the text of the finding of the General Assembly.

With kindest regards.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

David Meredith

Join us on 21 December at 7pm, Smithton Primary School, for a festive time of community carol singing and refreshments. Cost is free, and the whole family is invited.

This is a reminder that we are appealing for the Highland Food Bank through the end of December. Items such as sugar, tins of salmon/tuna, packets of crackers, and tins of potatoes can be dropped off either in a designated area on Sunday or at the church office throughout the week.

Thank you for your support of this very important organisation!

The Free Church recently held a plenary assembly to debate and vote on the future of public worship. An amendment by Alex MacDonald, which allows musical instruments and doctrinally sound hymns, was passed by a vote of 98-84. Though not all churches are forced to move to a new form of public worship, this gives all Free Church Kirk Sessions the freedom to allow these new expressions of worship.

Many have come back from the assembly with a good report of the charity and respect between the ministers and elders involved in the debate and vote. If you would like to read the running commentary of what took place 12-13 November as well as a worship statement for Free Church congregations, visit the Free Church News & Updates here.

Smithton Church

• The Singing Group will meet for practice tonight at 5:45pm.

• The Youth Fellowship is at 8pm today after the evening service at Free North Church. Anyone who can help with lifts would be appreciated. Please speak to Ethan.

• The Pop In is on this Tuesday at Smithton Hall from 10am to 2pm.

• There will be no Ladies Bible Study tomorrow due to a school in-service day.

• Community Groups meet this Wednesday at 7:30pm. Please pick up a study/question sheet before you leave. The venues for each group are as follows:
  • Smithton/Culloden – The Manse
  • Culloden Moor – Donnie & Chrissie Macleod’s
  • Balloch – TBA
  • City South – Calum and Morag Graham’s
  • Cradlehall – Scott and Lizanne Lauder’s
  • City West – David and Jean Sutherland’s
  • Westhill – Jim and Joan Chalmer’s
  • Fortrose – Geoff and Morven Hulks

• The December issue of The Record and Free magazine are available to pick up from the table at the back.

• The Sunday School teachers will meet for 10 minutes after the morning service today to discuss the Sunday School Christmas party (which will be on 18 December).

• Thank you to all those who helped with moving the furniture yesterday morning.

• Ladies “early” Christmas meal on Thursday 16th December at 6pm at the Mustard Seed. This Festive Meal will cost £14.95 for 3 courses and all ladies are warmly invited to attend and afterwards to Liz Ann’s for coffee and a chat. There is a signup sheet at the back for those interested in going.

• We have a number of Christmas Cards available for sale on the back table. Proceeds will be donated to Women for Mission / Disaster and Relief work. 10 cards + envelopes for £3.50.

• Friday Fellowship, Lunch Club and Pop In folks are all warmly invited to a “Christmas Get Together” on Friday 17th Dec. 2 – 4 pm at Margaret Ann’s 10 Heights of Woodside, Westhill, for some festive nibbles. If you require a lift, please speak to Margaret Ann, Liz Ann or Ali.

Community

• Thank you to all who supported the Inverness and North Free Church Mission Support Group Coffee Morning recently. They raised £1,039 which has gone to help equip Mission Schools in India.

• Please remember the Highland Food Bank. Items which we have been asked to contribute are tinned potatoes, tinned salmon/tuna, packets of crackers and sugar. Please leave donations on the table at the back or bring them to the portacabin at the church anytime during the week.

Rotas

• Today Crèche:  Sandra Munro, Katie Macleod & Donnie Forbes

• Wednesday 1 Dec. Tea –

• Sunday 5 Dec. Door:  Heather Morrison, Ian MacGillivray & Jim Chalmers

• Sunday 5 Dec. Crèche:  Muriel Pearson, Ali Meredith & Susan Anderson

• Sunday 5 Dec. Welcoming Team:  Willie Forbes & Sandra Munro

Smithton Church

• We give a warm welcome to our pulpit this evening to Brigadier Ian Dobbie from SASRA.

• We will be having our first Singing Group practice for the new term tonight at 5:45pm sharp. It would be great to see new people coming along. We will be practising some carols and psalm tunes this evening.

• The Kirk Session will meet for normal business this Tuesday at 7:30pm in Rosebank Hall.

• The Pop In is on this Tuesday at Smithton Hall from 10am to 2pm.

• We will be hosting a special meeting of Release International at Culduthel Christian Centre this Wed 10 November. We were hoping to hear from Helen Barhane and her work in Eritrea. Unfortunately she has been unable to obtain a visa so she will not be able to attend. However, there will be a taped interview with Helen shown at the meeting.

• Food Hygiene Course – To all potential new church kitchen users – there may be places available on a Food Hygiene Course to take place in Inverness on Thursday 9 December. If you would like to attend please speak to Ali.

• Anyone wishing to contribute to the Building Fund have now the opportunity to do this online via our website at www.smithtonchurch.com/resources/building. Click “Donate Now”.

Community

• Join Inshes Church this Friday 12 November at 7:30pm for an evening of worship led by the well-known Scottish worship leader and singer songwriter Ian White. Tickets £5 available at CLC or Living Oasis Bookshops or online at www.aliveministry.co.uk

• The Women Across the Highland Conference will take place for all women on Saturday 13 November at Culduthel Christian Centre. The speaker will be Elaine Duncan.

• Help required. The Dunbar Centre will reopen early in 2011 as a Pop-in and will be run on similar lines to the one which has been operating successfully at the Church since 2008. Volunteers are required to assist with making soup, baking, serving, etc. and caring for folk. Any person interested in helping should contact Alan Michael on 790410 or speak to Charlie Anderson 793191.

• Inverness and North Free Church Mission Support Group will be having a Coffee Morning on Saturday 20th November from 10.30am to 12 noon in the Free North Church Hall, Inverness. (Entry is from the Church Street entrance).

• The next meeting of Ignite will be on Saturday27 November at 7:30pm in the Ironworks. The speaker will be Jim Turrant, former minister of Culloden Baptist Church. Tickets are £2 and are available at the Ironworks Box Office.

Rotas

• Wednesday 10 Nov Tea  —

• Sunday 14 Nov. Door  —  Mairi MacLeod, Donald MacRitchie & Charlie Anderson

• Sunday 14 Nov. Crèche  —  Donna MacLeod and Susan Anderson

• Sunday 14 Nov. Welcoming Team  —  Neil and Catriona Cameron

Smithton Church

• There is a YF tonight at the Free North Hall immediately after the evening service.
• The ladies bible study will meet tomorrow at 9:30am in the home of Laura MacGowan.
• The Pop In is on this Tuesday at Smithton Hall from 10am to 2pm.
• Community Groups meet this Wednesday at 7:30pm. We would love to see others who have not been yet, to give it a try. Please see Charlie so that he can allocate you a group. Please pick up a study/question sheet before you leave. The venues for each group are as follows:-

• • Smithton/Culloden – George and Mary Maclean’s
  • Culloden Moor – Willie and Rhona Forbes
  • Balloch – Ian and Aileen MacGillivray’s
  • City South – Calum and Morag Graham’s
  • Cradlehall – Scott and Lizann Lauder’s
  • City West – David and Jean Sutherland’s
  • Westhill – Jane Lauder’s (note, new house)
  • Fortrose – TBA
• If you are interested in mentoring or being mentored by another member of the church, please take a flyer from the back table or sign up to be placed in a mentoring group. See Ethan Smith for more details.
• Weather permitting, we hope to tidy up /cut weeds etc in the car park this Saturday 6 November from 10am – 12 noon. Anyone wishing to help would be welcome. Bring along your gardening equipment.
• We will be hosting a special meeting of Release International at Culduthel Christian Centre on Wed 10 November to hear Helen Barhane and her work in Eritrea. This is part of a UK wide tour.
• Anyone wishing to contribute to the Building Fund have now the opportunity to do this online via our website. Click here. Then click “Donate Now”.

Community

• The YF are collecting average-sized shoeboxes and basic items that can be given to children and teenagers in need for the annual Blythswood Care Christmas Shoebox Appeal. All donations should be in by today. See flyer in back of hall for details on items to be donated.
• Ladies are invited to a Chit Chat Women’s Event tomorrow evening at 9 pm at Culduthel Christian Centre. Khandu Pratt will be speaking about the charity SHE who helps takes girls off the streets in Thailand.
• Nominations are invited for the election of 16 Community Councillors for the Smithton & Culloden Community Council. Anyone interested in putting their name down for election can pick up a form at the back. Closing date for completed nomination papers is 9 November 2010.
• The autumn sale in the YMCA will be held on 6 November in the YMCA, Bank Street from 10 a.m. till noon. Proceeds will go towards a new lighting system in the lower hall.
• Celebrate 50 years of Free Church Youth Camps at a half-century reunion on 6 November, 10am-4pm, at Kingsview Christian Centre. Cost is just £6 and includes soup & sandwich lunch. RSVP by 30 October by calling Laura Macleod on 01312265286.

Rotas

• Wednesday 3 Nov Tea :: Frances Loch & Ali Meredith
• Sunday 7 Nov. Door Duty :: Elaine McRury, David Sutherland & John Lee
• Sunday 7 Nov. Crèche :: Mairi Forbes & Angela Kennedy
• Sunday 7 Nov. Welcoming Team :: Mairi Macleod & Ishbel Eglinton

From Ignite Event Organiser, Chris Dowling:

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Great news! The next Ignite event will take place on Saturday the 27th of November 2010 at 7.30pm in The Ironworks in Inverness.  This will be our 6th Ignite and we are delighted by how many different churches have been represented over these 6 events.

November’s event will be led by the Ignite event band and the speaker will be Rev. Jim Turrent from Central Baptist Church in Dundee. Jim previously spent 10 years at Culloden Baptist Church in Inverness and we are delighted to be able to welcome him back to the city.

Join together! Ignite is not an event for just young people, we aim to bring as many people from across the North of Scotland together to worship God, and be challenged and encouraged to look for opportunities to serve locally, nationally and internationally.

We will be joined on the night by CLC book shops & local Christians Against Poverty representative Gordy Mackay who also heads up our stewarding team with his wife.  Featured in the Inverness Courier on the 26th October (page 5),  CAP is a fantastic programme & it would be great for you to come along & see if your church could benefit from working along side CAP especially in these tough financial times!!

How do I get a ticket? Attendance at Ignite is just £2 and tickets are available from the Ironworks Box Office. Bookings for tickets placed via phone or e-mail will incur an admin fee.

Got company? The all-seater event has a maximum capacity of 500, and tickets in the past have sold out before the event.  For group bookings please contact either David Eglinton (07720 057522) or Chris Dowling (07919 066139).

Visit the website for more details.

If you are not already involved in community groups at Smithton, we would love for you to join. There are groups meeting fortnightly on Wednesday evenings throughout the city. For information on joining a group, contact Charlie in the office via email or phone (01463 793191).

Listen to Smithton Church member, Mhairi Mackintosh, answer questions about her community group experience:
Listen to a Community Group experience.

• Creche available this morning. See steward on door.
• Holiday Sunday School today for pre school – primary 1
• Services next Sunday: 11am & 6:30pm.
• The Pop In is on this Tuesday 21 September at Smithton Hall from 10am to 2pm.
• Prayer Meeting this Wednesday at 7:30pm at St Mary’s in the Field.
• Mentorships are a way for intergenerational relationships to form and for the church of God to be built up in Christ. If you would like more information on being a mentor or being mentored, please take a flyer from the back table or speak with Ethan Smith. There is also a sign-up sheet for those who would like to be put in a mentoring group.
• Please remember our Food Bank. Meals should be delivered to the Lauder’s home at any time.
• The first meeting of the singing group will not now take place until after the October holidays.
• We have a number of Christmas Cards available for sale on the back table. Proceeds will be donated to Women for Mission / Disaster and Relief work. 10 cards and envelopes for £3.50.
• The next Ladies Night Out will be on Thursday 28 October to the Archive Centre. Meet there at 7:30 and afterwards for coffee and cakes at Sandra Munro’s. There is a signup sheet on the table at the back for those intending to go.
• The autumn sale in the YMCA will be held on 6th November in the YMCA, Bank Street from 10 a.m. till noon. Proceeds will go towards a new lighting system in the lower hall.
• We will be hosting a special meeting of Release International at Culduthel Christian Centre on Wed. 10 November to hear Helen Barhane and her work in Eritrea. This is part of a UK wide tour. Linda and Brian Oxburgh will also be there.  Please put this date in your diaries. Further information will follow later.
• Hear Rev Lagos Alexander, auxiliary Bishop in the Sudanese Church, speak at Inshes Church on Saturday 30 October. This is part of a UK tour organised by AIM.
• Anyone wishing to contribute to the Building Fund have now the opportunity to do this online via our website at www.smithtonchurch.com  See Building Updates link.
• We are now well into our third year for the Building Fund. Those who have pledged on an annual basis to contribute to this Fund should place their donation in an envelope marked ‘Confidential: Building Fund’ and place it in the plate or hand it to Charlie. Anyone wishing to donate for the first time should put their contribution in the plate marked ‘Building Fund’ or donate on line (see above intimation)
• Any outstanding book money from the Weekend Away should be placed in an envelope and put in the plate marked ‘Books’ or alternatively pass this to Andrew MacGowan.
• Please pick up your copy of the October edition of The Record and Free magazines from the table.

ROTAS
Wednesday 13 Oct. Tea   Donna MacLeod and Jim Chalmers
Sunday 17 Oct. Door Duty  Jean Sutherland, George Maclean and Laurie Chancellor
Sunday 17 Oct. Crèche  Tina Chancellor and Rachael Roberts
Sunday 17 Oct. Welcoming Team David Eglinton