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Skelmorlie & Wemyss Bay
Parish Church
The Parish Record
Winter 2014
www.skelmorliewemyssbaychurch.org Registered Charity: SCO03309
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A Message from the Minister
I came across this poem recently and I thought I would like to share this
with you
Faith is like a shining star, beckoning us from afar.
Faith means trusting, come what may,
Even when the day seems grey,
Looking upward to the sun, knowing God loves everyone
When courage fails, but faith remains, this will lift us up again,
But if faith begins to dim, let your thoughts just dwell on him,
Who came for us down to earth, to save and bless us with his
birth.
There is an old legend that the three wise men on the way to Bethlehem
quarreled about which of them was taking the most precious gift to the
Christ child. Was it the gold or the frankincense or the myrrh that was the
most precious?
Then as they looked up at the sky, the star they had been following suddenly
disappeared from sight. They continued as best they could until they came
to the edge of a village where a group of people were gathered around a
shallow well that had dried up. The wise men were carrying bags filled with
water for their journey and each of them poured some water into the well
so that the thirsty villagers might share it. As the three men bent over the
well they saw the star reflected in the water. When they looked up they saw
that their guiding light had returned. It is only a legend but how true it is
that the real meaning of Christmas is in giving and sharing and caring.
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I can’t believe how quickly this year has gone. It is nearly a year and 6
months since Christine and I came to Inverkip linked with Skelmorlie and
Wemyss Bay but we have been blessed so much during this year with
everyone giving so freely and generously of their love and friendship and
this is what makes this Christmas time so special. Next year is, I believe,
going to be an interesting year as we share the gifts that the Lord has given
each one of us in the task of building his Kingdom. Our faith will be tested
in the tasks that the Lord sets but if we care and share and give of ourselves
in the way he asks then I believe we will be amazed at what will be achieved
through our faith in Christ. Talking about wells, here is another story of a
well from the bible. Jesus meets a Samaritan women at Jacob’s well in the
Samarian town of Sychar and asks her for a drink of water. “How do you
ask me for a drink?” was the woman’s reply. A life changing conversation
was struck up about water but what Jesus saw looking into the well that day
was the whole of this women’s life and how parched her life was, and then
Jesus offers her streams of life giving water, streams of water that lead to
eternal life. 2000 Christmases later things are no different as people’s lives
are still dry and parched looking into all kinds of different wells, but are we
prepared to have the same life giving conversations with those who live
around us. This Christmas and the coming year what kinds of things would
keep us focused on sharing this life giving water in our community. So as we
look into the well of life we need to see the star that is rising in the east, a
star which bring us closer to the Lord. We have a precious gift to share. Let
us not tarnish our gift in the same way this story of the wise men did.
Wishing you and all our families joy, peace and love this Christmas
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Obituary: Alex Leitch It was with incredible sadness that we said our farewells to Alex this
October. Alex was such a big presence not only to Siona, Jennifer, Russell
Graham and Jonathan but to all of us who knew him in the church and the
wider community. I think we can all identify with the family’s memories of
their dad ` We find it difficult to pick out one single memory or story
about him I think this is probably because every single memory we have
of our dad is a happy one. He has always been an extremely happy,
joyous man who loved life. He was always smiling and loved to laugh. He
was like this every day and made our home such a happy one. He was
always fixing things for us.’ Alex is remembered that while he was going
about fixing things in the church he would always whistle and smile.
Alex was a man of his time beginning his working career as an electrician
in Kincaids but in many respects he was a man ahead of his time because
he had the ability to think out of the box when it came to solving the
challenges that life would bring his way. Alex would have moved
mountains for Siona, Russell, Graham, Jennifer and Jonathan, for all his
family and we can only imagine what a huge gap his passing has left in
their lives because we have all felt his loss in the church. Alex and Siona
shared 40 years of married life together and Alex made each day special
for Siona and for Siona she has lost her closest companion on the road
of life. On that journey through life Alex touched many lives in his own
unique and special way and I think Alex himself would have been
completely surprised to see just how many friends and family turned out to
pay their last respects. There could have been no more fitting tribute to Alex
than to see the church filled to overflowing giving God thanks for Alex’s life.
Alex was a man of faith, he knew Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life and
always showed Christ’s love and compassion even when facing such a
serious illness near the end of life. Alex was the light and salt of the earth
that Jesus told us to be and with his passing that light is a little dimmer and
the flavour of life a little less rich for us, but we know that his whistle will
be adding to that chorus in heaven and his love of life continues beyond our
sight.
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Session Snippets!
Elders will be contacting everyone in their districts to gauge whether there is general satisfaction with the 11.30am commencement time of morning services or should it be possible, there is a preference for an earlier start time.
The time of the monthly “Healing and Wholeness” services has been changed from 4pm to 3pm.
Brian Spence has succeeded Jacquie Beaumont as leader of the Pastoral Care Sub-Committee
David Johnstone has joined the Property Maintenance Committee
Work has been completed at the manse to remedy a minor subsidence problem. The boundary wall required repairs due to damage caused by roots.
Work is progressing to effect essential repairs to remedy recurring dampness in the room where the disabled toilet is located (former vestry)
The Ministers have had most productive meetings with the
Head Teachers of both primary schools. They are greatly
encouraged by the willingness of the teachers to support the
recently established Youth Ministry initiative.
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Finance Update
From Rita Carmichael, Congregational Treasurer
I was sorry to inform the recent meeting of the Kirk Session of the distinct probability that, despite prudent budgeting, the Annual Accounts will show a deficit. The Minister and Session expressed concern at this worrying situation. I hope you will agree that our church should strongly avoid the need to draw upon reserves. Monthly outgoings should at least be covered by income and this is currently not the case. I would sincerely request you to consider helping in these small ways – it will make a difference!
If you are a tax payer complete a Gift Aid declaration and make your contribution by regular monthly Standing Order. [Gift aid increases the value of your donation by allowing us to reclaim basic rate tax on your gift. For every contribution of £10 using Gift Aid it’s worth £12.50p to the Church]
Make your contribution monthly by Standing Order whether
you are a tax payer or not Increase your contributions by 10% from January Consider increasing the amount which you contribute to the
Property Maintenance Fund
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Zimbabwean Visit
During the middle of October the Presbytery of Greenock and Paisley was
privileged to host 6 visitors Matarofa, Rose, Anna, Gariki, Kwenje and Henry
from the Uniting
Presbyterian Church in
Sothern Africa Presbytery of
Zimbabwe. Our guests
were warmly welcomed at
the October Presbytery
meeting where they were
presented with a gift
acknowledging the
friendship between our two
Presbyteries that we have
shared over the past 8
years. As convener of the
Presbytery Zimbabwe Committee I have been privileged to have visited
Zimbabwe twice and the General Assembly of the UPCSA which was held in
South Africa in July this year. Over that time I have made new friends in
Zimbabwe and South Africa and it has deepened my own understand of
Christ’s worldwide church. It has been a blessing to see our relationship as
followers of Jesus from a new and different point of view. Zimbabwe very
much appreciates our friendship with them, to be able to say as friends we
stand beside you. It is a relationship of our unity and equality in Christ Jesus
and not on one being superior over another and I think our visit from Henry
Chivhanga made us see that there are many things that we can learn from
each other. Henry was able to share about his and his family’s struggles
with ordinary life (if I can use that expression, for life is far from ordinary)
in Zimbabwe and it was a very humbling experience to be able to say to
Henry `we care’ . Henry has been in touch telling us how much he
appreciated his time with us and thanking us for the kind and generous gifts
to him and his family. It was incredibly moving hearing what it meant to
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Henry. He has
passed his degree in
accountancy and
sends the love of his
family and
congregation at
Masvingo in the
south of Zimbabwe. I
hope we will be able
to meet Henry again
and if the Lord is
willing I hope to be
able to go to Masvingo and take our love and greetings to them. I think the
highlight of the visit has to go to yourselves with our Scottish celebrations.
What an amazing time we had as Henry could again say `It is considered a
great privilege in his culture to be asked to share in another’s culture’. Could
I on behalf of us all thank the
organising team Kathleen, Ian
Muriel and Bill, Rory our
piper, Clyde Coast Spey and
Reel Society, Country Dancers
from Inverkip and Skelmorlie
and Wemyss Bay, Jimmy for
the wonderful renditions of
Scottish poetry, the Soggy
Bunnet Boys, Jim for being our
master of ceremonies and
also along with Morag and Ian
peeling all the tatties and neeps, and last but not least for Tom for
organising the Haggis (very tasty indeed from McCaskies Wemyss Bay,
excuse the advertising). Thank you all for making this visit so memorable
and extending the love of Christ to our friends from Zimbabwe. May the
Lord richly bless you all. Your minister Archie
Rose discovering that the haggis was freshly shot!
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All our Yesterdays! – From the Parish Record June 1981
Sunday School: The Senior pupils and Bible Class had a great day at the
new Magnum, Irvine. Mr Bill (Wobbly) Wright has been banned from the
ice rink!
The outing to Rouken Glen was favoured with sunshine despite the
torrential downpour the previous evening.. This ensured the success of
the day and it was a tired but happy two busloads who returned home.
Fathers (particularly Messrs Armstrong, Gallie and Ovens made their usual
“impact “with the weans on the football field. A report has been
forwarded to the RSPCC!
Friday Soups
Our last Friday Soup before Christmas will be on Friday 12th December. After your bowl of homemade soup we have a widespread array of delicious desserts for you to indulge in, all with a Christmas theme. Rounded off with hot mince pies! Campbell Sangster will be playing a selection of Christmas music to get you in the mood. A fun, relaxing lunch. So look out those Christmas hats and come and join us on the 12th December, 12.15pm in the Church Hall. Friday Soups as many of you know had to make a few adjustments to
satisfy Health and safety standards this year. To enable us to continue
with this popular venture we now are required to make the soup on the
premises which brought with it many obstacles! Thankfully we have
sorted these out now and things seem to be working fine.
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A big thank you must go to Bill Wright who spent many hours planning the
new layout of the kitchen, sourcing the cooker, fridge freezer and extra
cupboards needed and finally overseeing the necessary work.
We are also very grateful to the talented Bruce McKechnie for making our
new cooker fit in so perfectly, fitting cupboards, and for making the
kitchen look so beautiful. Thanks gentlemen, we really do appreciate it.
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Poets Corner
Count your garden by the flowers Never by leaves that fall
Count your days by Golden hours
Don’t remembers downs at all
Count your nights by stars not
shadows
Count your life by smiles not tears
With joy on every birthday
Count your age in friends not
years.
Bruce Barrie
The Lords Promise
Dear God up in Heaven, Please answer my prayer, I know in my heart That you will be there. I bend on my knees To say my petition You hear all my pleas And I am forgiven. You died on the cross To save me from sin I thank you Dear Lord Where do I begin.
Walk with me each day In all that I do
Be near me I pray As I love you too. Lord keep me from sin And shield me from fear Dear spirit within Please be ever near. You know me so well My every thought Confess them I 'll tell My pardon was bought. You suffered in pain On that lonely cross it was for our gain And not for our loss Our sins are forgiven We start as anew A fresh page in Heaven From this humble Jew. Ask God for forgiveness Your sins to repent A deal made in Heaven I think is well spent. Our Lord and our Saviour A friend to the end Will love you and keep you Forever, Amen
Gloria MacDonald
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Scripture Readers Outlined below are the dates for the for reader’s diaries. Please make your way
to the lectern during the final verse of the Hymn before the lesson. If at any
time you are unable to be present, please change dates with another reader.
January April
4th Alan Grant 5th Graham Harron
11th Janice Barbour 12th Morag Macintosh
18th Bill Wright 19th Bill Wright
25th Lesley Gurton 26rd Bruce Barry
February May
1st Jacquie Beaumont 3rd Alan Grant
8th Tom Owens 10th Janice Barbour
15th Caroline Scott 17th Bill Wright
22nd Roddy McAskill 24th Lesley Gurton
31st Jacquie Beaumont
March
1st Eddie Yde June
8th John Nugent 7th Tom Owens
15th Frances Nicol 14th Caroline Scott
22nd Gladys Black 21st Roddy McAskill
29th John Scott 28th Eddie Yde
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News and Events
Choir practice
Choir Practice is now on Thursday evenings at 7.30pm. We always welcome new
singers. Why not come and give it a try?
The choir will be going to Strathclyde House on the 11th December at 7pm for a short
Carol Service with the residents. Anyone from the congregation who would like come
along and swell the numbers would be appreciated.
On a personal note, my children and myself would like to thank everyone for their
kind thoughts, flowers and cards, before and after Alex died. I have never seen the
church so full, and after the service the magnificent sum of £1215 was raised for
Ardgowan Hospice. It was quite overwhelming.
Siona
Quilts and the Underground Railroad (in aid of Inverclyde Food Bank)
A huge thank you to everyone who attended this evening. An enormous amount
of donations of food were received, so much that a van was needed to transport
it to Inverclyde Food Bank. In addition over £100 was raised on the night.
For those brave men who attended I think they were pleasantly surprised that
this was an evening that was nothing to do with sewing.
Teddies for Zimbabwe This year over 500 teddies were dispatched to Zimbabwe. These were all given
to orphans and children in hospital to the great delight of the children. A big
thank you to all those she contributed either money or knitted.
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As this was not intended to be a long term project, this is probably a good time
to draw a line under this particular project. If there are any teddy stragglers it is
proposed that these be given to “Mary’s meals”
Rita Carmichael.
Quilting Class
Every Wednesday at 10.00 in the Church Hall. Beginners welcome. If you are
interested in joining a lively group of ladies to learn quilting. Please give Rita
Carmichael a call on 529289 as places are limited. The new term and a new
project commences at the end of January
Prayer Group The Prayer Group comprises of men and women who have agreed to pray every
day for those named on our Prayer Letter, which is up-dated every week. A
request for prayer can be made by using the cards on the pews and placed in
the basket. Urgent requests for prayer will be received by Margaret
Spence. Details are then e-mailed to all the Group.
If you would like to know more about the Group or would like to join with us in
praying for others speak to Margaret Spence.
We also have an afternoon meeting every second month sharing together
in prayer and of course the ever welcome cup of tea
Smartie Challenge On Sunday, 26th October we were delighted to welcome Barbara Edmondson to
our Sunday morning service. Barbara just wanted the opportunity to thank the
congregation for their ongoing support to the provision of Water Guard in
Kibera. She joined us for tea and coffee after the service where she was
delighted to show slides to all who were interested and chat about the effects of
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our donations to this very worthwhile cause. To date we have sent £1400 to
Vision Ministries – that’s effectively 7000 bottles of Water Guard we have
helped to supply to the people in one of the largest slums in the world. That is
a remarkable achievement but we must not get complacent – this challenge is
ongoing but we need the participation of everyone in our church family. Please
please continue to support the Smartie Challenge – empty tubes are available in
the hall as is the box where you can place your filled tubes. 7000 thank you’s
from the people in Kibera for your contributions to date.
Skelmorlie, Wemyss Bay and Inverkip Men’s Fellowship (SWIM)
Come SWIM with us!
SWIM is the headline shortcut for Skelmorlie, Wemyss Bay and Inverkip Men's
Fellowship, which is a bit of a mouthful! We are now well into our syllabus for
2014 which has been very enjoyable, both informative and entertaining - with a
cheering cuppa to round off the evening.
Several ladies joined us for our opening meeting when our Rev. Archie Speirs
gave us an interesting talk and slide show entitled Africa a Continent of
Contradictions. We have also had talks from Keith Loxam on How Digits
Changed Our Lives, Alan Grant on Stories from the J.P. Court and Bill Wright on
The Attic Players.
Another evening to which all are welcome is our popular Christmas Concert with
entertainment provided by our joint Church Choirs and the Soggy Bunnet Boys -
by special request. Church Organist Siona is already working with choirs to
ensure we have a most enjoyable musical evening. Our Fellowship Members will
be providing some tasty seasonal fare! All proceeds from the evening will go to
Ardgowan Hospice.
Looking ahead to 2015, we have our Rev. Liza Geddes talking about My Journey
to the Ministry-- another evening when we will be delighted to welcome lady
visitors.
Ken Thomson, President.
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World Mission Stamps! Christmas is not far away, which means lots of envelopes and stamps. World Mission can turn your used stamps into money for their 2014 project – to help the Greek Evangelical Church’s new Refuge House for women victims of domestic violence and their children, in north Greece. Please remember to cut or tear the stamps from the envelopes, leaving at least a quarter of an inch of paper all round, and don’t try to remove the paper from the back of the stamps; damaged stamps have no value. There is a box in the Church Hall for stamps – British and foreign. Thanks to all who support this appeal.
Blythswood Shoebox Appeal
This picture shows the shoeboxes awaiting collection - A huge thank you to everyone who filled a shoebox. We delivered over 50 to Blythswood Care. Be assured that these gifts will make Christmas real for extremely poor families in Romania. Once again our Skelmorlie and Wemyss Bay Church family
delivered.
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Property
Kitchen: The cooker, fridge/freezer and cabinets were installed in time for the new Soup Season. Many people have admired the way the new “range” cooker was integrated; huge appreciation is due to our member Bruce McKechnie whose firm Mach3 Joinery did these alterations - a wonderfully neat and pleasing job. (We still plan to add a commercial dishwasher a little later.) Manse: The ground drainage/subsidence problem has been fixed by installing a new drain. The boundary wall has been repaired (ivy removed and repointed.) Church Toilets: Work to prevent damp wall surfaces is now underway on the flower room/disabled toilet, with the Ladies and Gents toilets to follow. Worship: The screen has been in use for some weeks now and most people appear to like it. Thanks to John Scott for great help with the installation. Other screens will be added for the side aisle and the minister and choir. Help! We now urgently need to build up a team of volunteers to (a) prepare the material each week, and (b) operate it on Sundays (can be separate people). It’s interesting and not difficult for anyone - young or old or in-between! - who can use a PC or would like to learn; we will of course give some training. Could you do this; or, do you know anyone who would be interested? Even, someone who doesn’t come to church at the moment? To find out more, please speak to me (Bill Wright) or any elder.
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Gardens: Again thanks to the folk who look after the gardens, paths etc. They would warmly welcome anyone else who would like to do a little gardening and outside work now and again. Car Park: We will get the holes at the entrance repaired as soon as possible. We may install a height restrictor to stop heavy commercial vehicles coming in without agreement. If you see any such vehicles in the car park, a quick photo and details of the firm concerned would be very useful. Help! again... we would like one or two more people to join the property team... there are lots of varied and interesting things to get involved in (you don’t have to do everything!). Please speak to me (Bill Wright) or any office-bearer.
A word from the editor
Thank you to everyone who has provided input to the Parish Record. Without
you the job would be much harder.
If you have any articles that you would like to submit please e-mail me at
roddy.mcaskill@gmail.com. Alternative a piece of paper works just as well!
If you have any suggestions on articles or items to include please let me know.
To whet your appetites the next issue we will have the story of Greer’s sailing
trip to Norway, more poetry and prayers, along with some surprises.
I’m currently looking for a reporter – someone who could do a couple of
interviews – if you are interested please let me know.
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Door Duty & Offertory Rota
Door Duty and Offertory rota for January to June 2015
Please be at the door no later than 11.00 am
January April
4th T Ovens, J Beaumont 5th J Barbour, C Sangster
11th M O’May, N Jackson 12th T Ovens, J Beaumont
18th E Wright, A Craig 19th E Wright, A Craig
25th A Haig, G Black 26rd M O’May, N Jackson
February May
1st J Nugent, M Macintosh 3rd A Haig, G Black
8th T Craig, A Beattie 10th J Nugent, M Macintosh
15th C Scott, E Yde 17th T Craig, A Beattie
22nd F Nicol, I Jarvie 24th C Scott, E Yde
31st F Nicol, I Jarvie
March
1st I Lightbody, Ann Grant June
8th G Mackenzie, M MacLean 7th I Lightbody, Ann Grant
15th J McAnna, A Doull 14th R Carmichael, B Spence
22nd E Bichard, H Steel 21st J McAnna, A Doull
29th R Carmichael, B Spence 28th E Bichard, H Steel
Please bring a partner. If you are not available for duty on the date specified, please make an alternative arrangement with someone else on the rota. Do not
assume that someone will stand in for you!
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Church Flowers We are indebted to all who donate flowers for the beautification of the Sanctuary throughout the year. If you wish to donate flowers on any of the free dates, please contact Ann Grant Tel: 520987.
January April
4th Mrs E Scott 5th Miss R Carmichael (Easter)
11th Mrs L McFarlane 12th Mrs N Jackson
18th Mrs I Dick 19th Mrs Sloss
25th Mrs I McNeil 26th Miss G Hunter
February May
1st Mrs I Jarvie 3rd Mrs M O’May
8th Mrs M Mcgregor 10th Mrs G McKenzie
15th Mrs S Leitch 17th Mrs M Mackintosh
22th Mrs E Grant 24th Mrs M Lamb
31st Mr J Crighton
March
1st Mrs H Boyle June
8th COMMUNION 7th Mrs A Grant
15th Mrs Baillie 14th COMMUNION
22nd Mrs E Wright 21st Mrs E Ovens
29th Mrs A Haig 28th Mrs R Barnes
Many thanks to all those who donate flowers each Sunday. Special thanks to the
"arrangers who do so well" this is a wee reminder how the rota works!
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There is a convener for each month. The names are on the notice board. The
convener will contact the person donating flowers, decide on flowers and
arrange collection of money. The person donating flowers can request who the
flowers are given to but anyone in the congregation can request fora church
member or indeed anyone in the community who is sick, housebound
or bereaved. It is helpful if the person requesting the flowers can also deliver.
We usually manage three bunches a week but there may be a waiting list!
Flowers like everything have gone up in price and it takes about £25 to do a
pedestal. We are very fortunate in our church with generous donations. Thanks
again for helping us to serve the church in this way.
The Rev. Bruce Nicol.
It has been 100 years since the start of WW1. Two years after it ended, in
1920, Skelmorlie Parish Church was gifted two magnificent brass vases by Mrs
Bruce Nicol in memory of her husband’s fellow soldiers who lost their lives.
This is a short story about the life of the Rev. Nicol.
1886 Born in Edinburgh, in the manse of the Tolbooth Parish Church.
1902 Attended the University of Aberdeen, with the intention of studying
medincine, but changed to Divinity and graduated in 1908. After graduation, he
worked in Buenos Aires, then returned to Edinburgh.
1911 He was asked to preach at Skelmorlie Parish Church and in July, was
ordained in Skelmorlie Parish.
1912 Married Helen. Rev Bruce Nicol was a very fine singer and pianist and
also very friendly with the Rev John S MacDonald of Wemyss Bay and Skelmorlie
United Free Church.
1914 Rev Nicol was given 6 months leave of absence to preach at St George’s,
Edinburgh as their Minister had enlisted.
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1915 Rev Nicol returned to Skelmorlie, but applied for a chaplains
commission, which he received in 1916. His last service was 14/5/16. He was
then sent to France, attached to the 15th infantry. Also worked at the 11th
General Hospital, then joined the London field ambulance. He also worked at
Marseilles, then onto Mount Olympus.
1917 Moved to the Balkans. Also served in Alexandria and Beersheba. Then
transferred to HLI 52nd Division and the 5th Argyll and Southerland
Highlanders. Spent the Christmas of 1917 in the Holyland.
1918 Sailed from Alexandria to France. July of 1918, he had 10 days leave in
Skelmorlie, the first leave since 1916. Then back to France for
Arras. Hindenburg line late August. He spent 10 days in Paris during the
September of 1918. He received the military cross for conspicuous gallantry and
devotion to duty. October, marched to Belgium. November 11th was the last
fight - wood south of Varese. He then remained with the 6th HLI until the
spring of 1919 and then with the first black watch in Aldershot. He was unable
to get early release from his post.
1919 July, returned to Skelmorlie, until leaving for St Margaret’s Parish,
Edinburgh in 1920 to help train divinity students.
1930 Rev Nicol died.
The vases given to Skelmorlie Parish Church by Helen Nicol were made by James
Valentine, an elder and the gardener at Moreland.
Mrs Helen Nicol wrote a book about her husband’s WW1 experiences.
Aileen Smith
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Fun Corner
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A Very Wise King
Long ago, about 2000 years,
when King Herod ruled Judea
(now part of Israel), God sent the
angel Gabriel to a young women
who lived in the northern town
of Nazareth. The girl's name was
Mary and she was engaged to
marry Joseph.
The angel Gabriel said to Mary: 'Peace be with you! God has blessed you and is
pleased with you.' Mary was very surprised by this and wondered what the
angel meant. The angel said to her 'Don't be afraid, God has been very kind to
you. You will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit and give birth to a baby boy
and you will call him Jesus. He will be God's own Son and his kingdom will never
end.' Mary was very afraid but she trusted God. 'Let it happen as God chooses.'
She replied to the angel. Gabriel also told Mary that her cousin, Elizabeth who
everyone thought was too old to have children, would have a baby boy whom
God had chosen to prepare the way for Jesus.
Mary said goodbye to her family and friends and went to visit her cousin
Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah. Elizabeth was very happy to see Mary. She
knew that Mary had been chosen by God to be the mother of his Son. An angel
had already told Zechariah that Elizabeth's baby would prepare people to
welcome Jesus. He was to be called John. Mary stayed with Elizabeth about
three months and then returned home to Nazareth.
Joseph was worried when he found out that Mary was expecting a baby before
their marriage had taken place. He wondered if he should put off the wedding
altogether. Then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said: 'Don't be
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afraid to have Mary as your
wife.' The angel explained that
Mary had been chosen by God
to be the mother of his Son
and told Joseph that the baby
would be named Jesus which
means 'Saviour' because he
would save people. When
Joseph woke up, he did what
the angel had told him to do and took Mary as his wife.
At this time, the land where Mary and Joseph lived was part of the Roman
Empire. The Roman Emperor Augustus wanted to have a list of all the people in
the empire, to make sure they paid their taxes. He ordered everyone to return
to the town where their families originally came from, and enter their names in
a register (or census) there. Mary and Joseph travelled a long way (about 70
miles) from Nazareth to Bethlehem, because that is where Joseph's family came
from. Most people walked but some lucky people had a donkey to help carry
the goods needed for the journey. Joseph and Mary travelled very slowly
because Mary's baby was due to be born soon.
When they reached Bethlehem they had problems finding somewhere to stay.
So many people had come to register their names in the census, that every
house was full and every bed was taken in all of the Inns. The only shelter that
they could was a stable or cave with the animals. In this poor place Mary gave
birth to Jesus, the Son of God. In those days it was the custom to wrap newborn
babies tightly in a long cloth called 'swaddling clothes'. Jesus' bed was the
manger that the animals ate their hay from.
In the hills and fields outside Bethlehem, shepherds looked after their sheep
through the long night. As the new day began, suddenly an angel appeared
before them and the glory of God shone around them. The shepherds were
very, very scared, but the angel said, 'Don't be afraid. I have good news for you
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and everyone. Today in Bethlehem a Saviour has been born for you. You will
find the baby lying in a manger.’
Then many more angels
appeared, lighting up the sky.
The shepherds heard them
praising God singing: 'Glory to
God in highest, and peace to
everyone on earth.' When the
angels had gone the shepherds
said to one another, 'Let's go to
Bethlehem to see what has
happened.' So the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph.
The baby Jesus was lying in a manger as they had been told. When they saw
him, they told everyone what the angel had said and everyone who heard the
story were astonished. Then the shepherds returned to their sheep, praising
God for sending his Son to be their Saviour.
When Jesus was born, a brand new bright star appeared in sky. Some Wise Men
in faraway countries saw the star and guessed what it meant. They were very
clever men that studied the stars and had read in very old writings that a new
star would appear when a great king was born. They set out to find the new king
and bring him gifts.
The Wise Men followed the star towards the country of Judea and when they
got to the capital called Jerusalem they began to ask people: 'Where is the child
who is born to be king of the Jews?' Herod, the king of Judea, heard this and it
made him very angry to think that someone might be going to take his place as
king. Herod sent for the Wise Men to come to him. He told them to go on
following the star until they had found the baby king. He said: 'When you have
found him, let me know where he is, so that I can go and worship him.'. But
Herod did not tell them that he really had an evil plan in mind to kill the new
king.
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The Wise Men followed the
star towards Bethlehem
(where it said that the king
would be born in the old
writings). It seemed to stop
and shine directly down
upon the place where Jesus
was.
The Wise Men entered the house where they now lived and found Jesus with
Mary, they bowed down and worshipped him. The Wise Men spread the the
gifts they had brought before Jesus. The gifts were gold, frankincense and
myrrh. The Wise Men were warned in a dream, by God, not to go back to Herod.
So they returned home to their countries in the East by a different way.
When the Wise Men had gone, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream. 'Get
up,' the angel said, 'take Jesus and Mary and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I
tell you, for Herod is going to search for Jesus to kill him.' So Joseph got up, took
Jesus and Mary during the night they left for Egypt, where he stayed until Herod
died.
When Herod realized that he had been tricked by the Wise Men, he was furious
and he gave orders to kill all the boys aged two or younger in Bethlehem and
the surrounding area. This was to try and kill the new King, as his plan to find
the location of the new king from the Wise Men had failed.
After Herod had died, Joseph had another dream in which an angel appeared to
him. The angel said, 'Get up, take Jesus and Mary and go back to Israel, for those
who were trying kill Jesus are dead.'
So Joseph got up, took Jesus and Mary and they went back to Israel. But when
he heard that Herod's son was now king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. So
instead they went to Galilee, and lived in their old town of Nazareth.
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McCaskie’s @ The Seaview
Now serving Sunday lunches Opening hours
From 12pm – 4pm Mon – Thurs 8am – 4pm
(roast of the day available) Fri & Sat 8am – 6pm
Sun 9am – 4pm
MCCASKIEBUTCHER.COM TEL:521733 WWW.MCCASKIES.CO.UK
To advertise in this publication please e-mail adverts@skelmorliewemyssbaychurch.org
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DIARY OF SERVICES
CHRISTMAS 2014
November 30 11.30am 1st in Advent;-
Community Advent Service invite a neighbour
December 7 11.30am 2nd in Advent;-
Gift Service please bring a selection box
December 14 11.30am 3rd in Advent;-
Communion
December 21st 11.30am 4th in Advent. The Sunday Club will participate
CHRISTMAS EVE
10.30pm
Service conducted by Revd. Liz Geddes
Hot mince pies, shortbread, mulled wine and Christmas drinks in the hall
11.30
Watchnight Service
CHRISTMAS DAY
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