Week beginning: Sunday 22nd November 2020

 

 

                                                                NEWSLETTER

 

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Dear friends,

 

Sadly, we are back in the reality of a Tier 4 lockdown in the Greater Glasgow Council area and beyond.

 

Whilst we fully accept that this Governmental decision was made to stop the spread of the coronavirus, and is expected to last only three weeks, there is no doubt that it brings much anxiety and complications for many.

 

The question of travelling in or out of the area means that people from our own congregation may not be able to travel to worship with us on a Sunday morning and of course, there are many congregations facing this dilemma. 

 

With the days being rather grey and darkness falling so early there will be many people who are really struggling with loneliness and depression.

 

We pray for all in our parish who feel this way and we will be endeavouring to find ways to retain contact with our members, particularly those who cannot come to church and have no means of watching the service via Facebook, the Church Website or YouTube.

 

Internet access is, of course, very helpful but right now our most precious gift is the gift of prayer.  Being able to pray to a living God who knows us, our worries and fears and tells us to talk to Him (Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 NLT.) and He in turn can bring us comfort and peace.  (Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7 NTL).

The ministry team are, as always, more than happy to have a chat with you and/or pray with you on the phone or via Zoom if you prefer, always in confidence, but it is important that we ask the Holy Spirit to help us to turn the negatives of this crisis into a positive and if it means more time on our hands, that we should learn to use that time to rekindle or strengthen our friendship with our Heavenly Father through prayer or the reading of his Holy Word.

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GIFT AID

Last week we wrote about the issues of finance – or lack thereof – and the office bearers have asked that we again encourage the consideration of Gift Aid and giving by standing order.  The benefits of Gift Aid are listed below.

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Gift Aid is good news for the Church because:

• It increases our giving by 25 per cent

• No minimum contribution is required

• No particular amount has to be promised

• There is no fixed term during which contributions must be made

• Tax may be recovered retrospectively.

 

All that is required is that the donor must pay UK income tax or capital gains tax, at any rate, at least equal to the amount of tax being reclaimed, and give their offering or donation through offering envelopes or by bank standing order or by cheque to establish the necessary audit trail.

 

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Please prayerfully consider how you may bring your tithes and offerings. Douglas Nicol or our Treasurer, Jess Mitchell, or Douglas McLaren, Gift Aid Convenor, would be very happy to discuss with you, in confidence, Gift Aid and/or switching to Standing Order as a method of payment for your Tithes and Offerings should you be interested. 

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KIRK SESSION

Please pray for all involved in the upcoming Kirk Session Meeting, via Zoom on Tuesday 24th November, at 7.30pm, that they may continue to work well together in seeking the best way forward for leading the Church through all the challenges it faces as we enter the period of advent.

 

 

ONLINE WORSHIP SERVICE

Some weeks ago we were thanking you for your patience regarding the online worship service and acknowledging that every week was bringing new technical difficulties.  Unfortunately a number of weeks on we are still experiencing glitches and setbacks and so the service has not been consistently available on a specific day.

Can we suggest that you log onto YouTube, search under St Christopher’s, Priesthill and Nitshill Parish Church.  There you will find a dozen of our services to catch up on.  If you press the ‘Subscribe’ button then you will receive an alert to let you know when each service has been posted and is available to view.

 

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CONGRATULATIONS AND CELEBRATIONS!!

Although there is so much difficulty and anxiety at this time we take the time to mark the times of celebration in the lives of our church family members.

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Congratulations to Douglas MacLaren who celebrated his birthday on Friday, 20th November. Many Happy Returns, Douglas!

 

 

MINISTER: Rev Douglas Nicol, 36 Springkell Drive, GLASGOW G41 4EZ

0141 427 7877   Email: DNicol@churchofscotland.org.uk

PART-TIME PARISH ASSISTANT: Kirsteen Marshall

07720 625 789  Email: KMarshall@churchofscotland.org.uk

PART-TIME children and Families Worker: Naomi Sutton  

07486 563 779  Email: NSutton@churchofscotland.org.uk