Faith Wisdom & Spirituality – Conversations
A series of Tuesday afternoon Conversations
Recorded March and April 2022 – Recordings available here
Seven Tuesday Afternoon Conversations
Recordings
12th April – Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Head of Christian Aid Scotland, Church of Scotland minister and author of several worship resources.
5th April – The Very Rev Susan Brown, Convener of the Church of Scotland’s Faith Impact Forum, former Moderator, parish minister, and currently working 4 days a week as a Worship Advisor in the Scottish Borders helping congregations to continue to thrive in these changing times.
29th March – Rev Stewart Cutler, URC Minister, working in an Ecumenical partnership. Stewart has much experience working with youth and young adults and in parish ministry.
22nd March | The Very Rev Dr John Chalmers, Chair of the CofS Assembly Trustees, former Moderator and Principal Clerk, bee keeper, and JJ’s Dad!
15th March | Murdo Macdonald, Policy Officer, Church of Scotland, Society, Religion and Technology Project
Olive Fleming Drane, Scottish Theologian, Minister, prolific author (including ‘Spirituality to Go‘) and clown!
Dr Manoj Krishna, retired spine surgeon and founder of the Human Wisdom Project. ‘Our mission is to bring change by encouraging wisdom which comes when we understand ourselves and how our minds work.’ Author of Understanding Me Understanding You.
September 2020
Sunday 6th
- By 10am Worship Video will be uploaded to YouTube
- 11am – Worship Service at Ardour Church*
- 11am – Zoom Worship – live from Ardgour Church – sorry due to no internet at Ardgour this morning this wast possible.
Sunday 13th
- By 10am Worship Video will be uploaded to YouTube
- 11am – Zoom Worship with Communion
- 2pm- Worship Service at Kingairloch Church*
Sunday 20th
- By 10am Worship Video will be uploaded to YouTube
- 11am – Zoom Worship with Communion
- 11am- Worship Service at Strontian Church*
Sunday 29th
- By 10am Worship Video will be uploaded to YouTube
- 11am- Worship Service at Kiel Church, Morvern (To be confirmed)*
Church Re-opening for Worship*
- It would be helpful to advise Rev Donald if you intend being at any of the worship times in the Church buildings. This will assist with numbers, seating allocation and Trace and Protect details.
- Face coverings must be worn while in the Church. Sanitiser should be used on arrival. Seating will be allocated to you. There will be a one way system in place. There can be no singing in Church. 2m distancing should be observed. There can be no tea and coffee after the service and all are asked to leave immediately without congregating to meet with others.
- Arrangements for Worship in Church buildings are a privileged exception to the maximum of 8 people from 3 households for indoor gatherings.
Creation Time – Every Tuesday at 3pm
Every Tuesday afternoon at 3pm there will be an online Zoom conversation based around material prepared by Eco-Congregation Scotland for Creation Time 2020. Contact Rev Donald if you don’t have the Zoom login details.
Wednesday Evening prayer at 10am on Facebook
Thy Kingdom Come :: 3
ThyKingdomCome 3
A song: Amazing Grace
https://vimeo.com/420342183
A Thought:
A key feature of the ThyKingdomCome movement is to pray for others who do not already know God’s love, amazing grace and inspiration in their lives.
Think of 5 such people, and pray that they may come to know God who was revealed to humanity in the prophets, the Scriptures and supremely in Jesus.
A Prayer:
Lord God, I thank you for the awareness I have of your love, and I pray for others especially for… that they may be open to your Spirit. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Challenge:
Perhaps you could invite them to Church tomorrow… maybe a message, email or tweet… “I’ve been appreciating the worship at www.aksm.org.uk… would you like to ‘come to Church’ tomorrow?
A different way of being Church
In the light of the decision to cancel all gatherings for worship, there will be an online time for reflection and worship each Sunday at 10am. This will also be able to be watched later in the day – details at the ONLINE page
Know that God’s blessing, from Father, Son and Spirit is with you…
Sunday 3rd November
On the first Sunday after All Saints’ Day we will reflect upon the fact that we are all saints! Someone once responded to the question “What is a Saint?” with the thought, inspired by a stained glass window – “a saint is someone the light shines through!” May the light of Christ shine thru’ you this All Saints’ season.
You are warmly invited to worship at Strontian Church, 10am; Ardgour Church 12 noon; Kile Church, Lochaline 4pm.
Day trip to Eigg
With friends from North West Lochaber, Acharacle and Ardnamurchan, the plan is to gather a group together for a day trip to the isle of Eigg of Monday 10th June.
Would you be interested in coming along?
Ferry from Mallaig to Eigg, departs Mallaig Ferry Terminal 10:10am Passenger check-in at the Ferry Terminal closes at 10am.
Ferry cost: £8.20 return, but free if you present your Highland ‘Bus Pass’
Minibus up to Mallaig May be arranged depending on numbers…
Early indication of interest would be appreciated… comment here… or contact Donald.
A Wee Survey
Please help me plan for a brilliant 2019… take a few minutes to answer a few questions which will help shape what we do around Strontian, Ardgour and Morvern Churches…
Thank you
Donald
PS: the link is to www.surveymonkey.com/r/738W8TK – just a few questions – it won’t take you long to complete.
Different expressions of Church
‘Sanctuary First’ is a congregation of the Church of Scotland, but unlike Strontian, Ardgour and Morvern Parish churches it doesn’t have a building and it doesn’t have parish boundaries! Sanctuary First is a virtual online resource which seeks to engage with those who may not find existing forms of church helpful in their spiritual journal. There are many expressions of church… and many within the umbrella of Strontian Morvern and Ardgour Churches… the traditional Sunday worship, Cafe Church, Messy Church, various small groups and other occasions for engaging in matters of Christian faith.
This Christmas time, I hope and pray that many will be sustained in their faith; that many will develop and deepen their commitment to Christ and his ways; and that some will be awakened to the realisation that the Jesus story isn’t just history but living reality. At Christmas we celebrate that God crept into our human experience, he became as one of us to show the way of love, peace, justice, joy and hope. Within the constraints of human language and experience, stories, songs, and symbols point us toward the mystery of God’s love for everyone and for all creation. Was Mary a virgin? What did Joseph really think? Did Mary ride on a donkey? Was it a stable? Did the shepherds leave their sheep? Was the star Halley’s Comet? How many wise men were there? Questions perhaps to be pondered by Nativity play directors! I don’t know exactly what happened when Jesus of Nazareth was born, but I know the story of Christmas to be true – revealing God in Christ who shared the fragility of human life.
I hope to see old faces and new faces at the various events and services in this last week before Christmas. I hope that whatever your situation you find ways to awaken, develop or sustain awareness of God’s blessing in your life. Sanctuary First has some great resources – there’s really beautiful reflection on Mary’s response (podcast link half way down the page at Sanctuary First)
Different things are happening around the parishes of Morvern, Ardgour, & Strontian – Carols by the tree, Readings and Carols, Coffee and Conversation, Blog posts, one more podcast episode before Christmas, Carols by Candlelight (Strontian Church 7pm 24th), Watchnight services – 11.30pm at Ardgour and Kiel Churches. I hope there’s something for you…
With every good wish and blessing this Christmas time…
Donald