St George's-Tillydrone Church of Scotland

Dear Friends - From the Minister
The Prince of Egypt
1998
Alpha
Prayer and Gift Day
Church Buddies Scheme
Open Door - Points for Prayer
Friendship Hour
Youth Group
Coming Soon - Mission Weekend
In Brief - News of People
Dates for your Diary

Dear Friends,

A very HAPPY NEW YEAR! Or a peaceful one, or a healthy one, or a successful one ....

On the first Sunday of this year, some of us in St George's were glad to join with members of High Hilton, St John's and Woodside Churches for a joint service, during which we shared in the Lord's Supper. It was a good way to begin a new year, which will culminate in the much-heralded celebration of two thousand years since our Lord's birth.

For the sermon I gave at that joint service, I took Paul's three "prayer wishes" in Romans chapter 15, as they are very wonderful, full of rich insights into God and His nature and the intentions he has for His people.

First, Paul wrote: "May God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Jesus, so that all of you together may praise with one voice the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 15: 5,6). Next he said: "May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in Him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit" (verse 13). Finally, in verse 33:"May God, our source of peace, be with all of you".

Paul is pointing us to the Fountainhead, the source of every blessing which we may experience in this new year, and which we wish for one another: patience (endurance), encouragement, hope and peace. Aren't such blessings in such short supply in our stressed-out Western lifestyle? Many of us know how much we need God's grace to give us endurance, encouragement, hope and peace. He is waiting for us to ask for these for ourselves and to pray them for one another: individuals and other congregations in our area. How appreciative we are of those who pray for us so faithfully!

I was particularly struck by Paul's phrase: "May God ... fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in Him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit". We long for God's Spirit to be at work in and through us, but perhaps we neglect to think of Him making our hope continue to grow. Christian hope is the assurance of being in Christ now and for all eternity. In our Mission Praise hymnbook, we sometimes sing:

May we enter more and more fully into all Christ's riches in this year of grace 1999.

Yours with loving prayer,

Shirley A. Fraser

If anyone saw the series, 'Testament', on TV the format of this movie will be familiar. 'Prince of Egypt' is an animated version of the Old Testament story of Exodus. Beginning with scenes of the Hebrews as slaves to the Egyptians singing songs of hope that God will 'Deliver [them] to the promised land', the film quickly moves to depictions of the panic and terror that ensued when Pharaoh ordered the slaughter of all baby boys. Here we are introduced to the baby Moses, as his mother, brother Aaron and sister Miriam, endeavour to save Moses' life by placing him in a basket and setting it afloat on the Nile, trusting that God will look after him. The scene is a sad one in which Moses' mother wrestles with conflicting emotions of saving her child on the one hand, but abandoning him on the other.

The rest of the story follows the life of Moses including his rescue by Pharaoh's wife; his upbringing as a young Prince and brother to Rameses II; his realisation of his Hebrew background; his exile and marriage to Zipporah; his return to Cairo to beg Rameses II (by now the new Pharaoh) to free the Hebrews; the plagues; the eventual agreement by Pharaoh for the release of the Hebrews; and Moses leading the Hebrews to safety through the parted Red Sea.

The movie makes the story of Exodus easy to visualise, understand and retain! The almost 3D animated characters were easy to relate to and become absorbed in. The special effects were also impressive and captured the imagination; the up-tempo tunes were catchy!

Total running time was 1.5 hours so don't go along expecting a detailed account to the whole of Exodus. As a summary, however, it is, in my opinion, quite acceptable and will appeal to adults and children alike. The movie is aimed at the mass audience and is not just designed for the select few who attend church.

Go and see it, I think you'll enjoy it, and come away feeling you've learnt something...even if it's only the name of Moses' wife!

Remember that year!? 1998 was the year we celebrated our 30th birthday over two celebratory week-ends in August/September. We added a new banner to those already round the walls. And we ate cake. Rev Andrew Stevenson preached at one service and Rev Stewart Jeffrey at another. The photos on display brought back some old memories and reminded us what people used to look like!

Wha's like us? We enjoyed a spot of Scottish culture at our Scots night. Don and his team kept us entertained and Jackie was beyond compere. Great food!

Dawn Heasley revived our Music Group and freshened up our singing. Together with those mad musicians she introduced us to lots of new music.

Willie Philip did his probationary year with us. Under his leadership we did our second Alpha Course which included a memorable climb up Benachie on a crystal clear day. For long-standing Christians it was good to get back to basics - for enquirers it was good chance to explore possibilities.

The Evening Express picked up the 30th Anniversary story and sent a photographer out to cover it. Here is the banner with Shirley and the Senior and Junior elders!

The Alpha course is a ten-week practical introduction to the Christian faith. It is designed primarily for non-churchgoers and those who have recently become Christians. It was established at Holy Trinity, Brompton (HTB), an Anglican church in central London, over ten years ago. Today there are more than 4000 Alpha churches in the UK and overseas. At Holy Trinity, Brompton, Alpha courses are held throughout the year and have over 500 people attending each week.

Our Prayer and Gift Day is almost upon us (6 March). As usual we will meet for prayer between 11am and 3pm. This sounds rather daunting but we will split the day into half hour slots so you can come for just half an hour or join us for the full 4 hours. There will be no obligation to pray aloud - join us for silent prayer if you wish. Prayer times will be interspersed with worship, readings and silence. Please prepare to give money too (in envelopes marked Prayer and Gift Day). As we reflect on all that has happened in 1998 let's express our thanks to God with our gifts. As is our custom, tea and coffee will be available throughout the day. Please do make the day a priority and as we bring the needs of Tillydrone and beyond to God in prayer we look forward to seeing him work among us!

We have received a letter from Pamela Adam, the Chaplain's Assistant at Cornhill Hospital looking for volunteers to act as "Church Buddies". Church Buddies help people with mental health problems become part of the parish church family and they also help the churches to become more aware of the needs of folk in the parish who have mental health problems. The idea is that volunteers would befriend and introduce Cornhill clients into the church setting. This might involve arranging to take them to church and sitting with them during services. Some training would be given to prospective volunteers. If you're interested then contact us.

Alan Duncan

Open Door

• Pray for all the groups and organisations meeting in the church each week. Remember especially the Saturday Chatta Natta Club, reaching out to young children in the community.
• Pray for those who are ill, either in hospital or at home. Give thanks for the skill and dedication of doctors and nurses and for the loving care of family.
• Pray for Ken and Moira Donald and the children as they prepare to move to Fife. Pray that as Ken is inducted to the charge of Wemyss Church they will know God's richest blessing in their ministry there.
• Continue to pray for our missionary partner, Cathie Aberdour, as she works with Wycliffe Translators in Brazil. Remember also Rhona Cruickshank teaching in China.
• Pray for peace throughout the world remembering especially the recent atrocities in Kosovo.

Youth Group

Continuing the new format of activities for teens, the next gatherings of young people will be on Sat 6th February and Sat 6th March. The evenings will start with food at Andy Hay's at 6 pm. The company will then take the bus to the PowerPoint meeting at 7 pm (£1.20 bus fare needed). Phone Andy Hay for further info.

St George's Tillydrone will be hosting a Weekend Mission from 26th-28 Feb 1999. This is part of the training programme run by the Department of National Mission for mission leaders. There are three trainee leaders responsible for organising the weekend and we will be joined by other team members who are based in the North-East.

The team would value the support of the congregation in providing for practical needs and in praying for the mission. We would also be grateful for any volunteers from the church who would like to help as team members for the weekend. We are grateful to those who have agreed to accommodate team members in their homes and we look forward to sharing fellowship with them.

The format of the weekend will be as follows: we will meet up on Fri 26th Feb in the Church to prepare for the weekend ahead, and then we will have a short time of praise and prayer to which anyone is very welcome. On the Saturday we will be running the Chatta Natta Club which will, on this occasion, be open to P1 - P7. In the evening we will be running a Youth Night with a chat show, games, food and music to which we are inviting some local personalities. Both events will be promoted in schools and in the local area, and we hope that this will help with the outreach into the parish of Tillydrone. Ultimately we hope that the mission will attract more young folks into coming into the church.

If you would like more information on the Mission Week-end or are able to support the team as indicated above, please feel free to contact me.

Helen Pearson
Trainee Mission Leader

In brief

Babies!

Since the last issue of the magazine, Norman and Mary Craik have been blessed with the gift of a second son, Simon Matthew, a brother for Peter. Hearty congratulations also to Mary and Paul Mumo who have just had their first, Malia who weighed in at 6lb 8oz - mother and baby are well. And they keep coming .... Julie and Jamie Cooper have also had their first - Duncan George - well done!

Congratulations also to Andrew Bromiley and Susan McMillan on their recent engagement. Both play in our church music group.

We express our sympathy to the family of Harry Law, one of our elderly members from the St George's-in-the-West Church days, who died on Dec 1st.

We have said "farewell" to Nelson Muturi, as he returned to Kenya after successfully completing his M.Sc. He hopes to be able to obtain funding so that he can return to do a PhD.

Graduating on the same day was our member, Edmond Gatima, from Burundi. Edmond also hopes to study for a doctorate if funds are forthcoming. He and Elizabeth have applied for British refugee status, and are waiting for a house.

Rev Dan Pochi has finished his term as locum minister at Northfield Parish Church, where Rev Scott Guy was inducted on Dec 17th. Dan, Hannatu and the boys are grateful to be able to stay in Denburn Church's empty manse, and give thanks to God for Dan's recovery following surgery.

Philip Dawuda from Nigeria has secured a lectureship at the Royal Veterinary College in London, but family will remain in Aberdeen for the time being.

We were glad to receive greetings from a number of former members and friends of St George's at Christmas. They included Gorry and Fiona Fairhurst, Douglas and Alison Robertson, John Yates, Sommai and Aroonsi Priprem, Violet James, Jim Hay, Helen Farr, Heather and Iain Sutherland, Gladys Mundie, Mark and Penny Wallace and Andrew and Kay Randall.

Willie and Rebecca Philip, with Joanna returned to join us at our Christmas Sunday morning service, and Willie has written thanking us for the gift they received on their leaving.

Also in Church over Christmas time were Rev John and Mrs Lesley Hay, Andy's parents, who flew back to Japan on Jan 6th to serve with OMF. We rejoice that Lesley is in good health again.

Rev Jane Howitt, with SU in Latvia is having some problems with her hip, which will be investigated when she comes back to Scotland for a break at the end of January. Jane is over busy at times.

Also returning to Scotland at the end of January are Mike and Jane Fucella with Rachel, our C. of S. partners in the Church of Christ in Northern Thailand. They will be based in Edinburgh, but we hope to have them in St George's in March.

Rhona Cruickshank will probably have a break in Thailand over Chinese New Year. Pray for her as she is teaching English now.

Our missionary partner Cathie Aberdour says thanks for our prayers and loves receiving our letters. Please put YOUR name into the vacant spaces in the list under the photo in the Entrance Hall. Ray Hepburn

Tilly Tattle. It is good to hear from Barrie Allan, one of our members who is involved in editing it that Tilly Tattle, the community paper, is to be produced again. Anyone who would like to contribute any material should have it ready to hand in to the Tilly Youth Project by Fri 26th Feb.

Congratulations to Mrs Mary Coutts who celebrated her 90th birthday in December.

We welcome as new Associate Members Helen McDougall and Henry Kolowa.

Chatta Natta Saturday Club has a new time: 10.30 am - noon. Pray that more children will want to come along to it.

Life and Work. The price of the Life and Work magazine will increase by 10p in January to 80p per copy. The subscriptions for the year will be £9.60, which needs to be paid by the end of February so we can claim our discount. If you wish to place a regular order please contact Kathleen Fraser. We normally have 2 spare copies.

Flowers. Many thanks to all who made donations for flowers over the last year. We now have new list in the hall. If the date you fancy has gone just put your name in too. All donations go to people who are sick in hospital and at home. Ray Hepburn and Niveen Kamel

• Sunday 7th Feb; 8 pm; After a shortened evening service with informal communion at St George's, there will be a service at Torry St Fittick's Church with Rev. Alan Main (Moderator of the General Assembly) as the guest preacher.
• Sunday 28th Feb 11.15 am All-age service led by the visiting Mission team followed by Fellowship Lunch.
• Sat 6th March; 11 am to 3 pm; Prayer and Gift Day
• Sun 7th March; 11.15 am and 6.30 pm; Holy Communion
• Tue March 9th; 7.30 pm; Annual Stated Meeting. Accounts and budget for 1998 will be approved. There will be several vacancies on the Congregational Board. Please think about nominations. We look forward to welcoming back as our guest speaker, Rev Margaret Benton (née Pearson), now working as Associate Minister at Inverbervie Church.
• Fri April 2nd; Good Friday Service.
• Sat April 3rd; Service for those who have recently been bereaved.
• Sun April 4th; Easter Celebration!

Church Telephone Directory
The church magazine in print includes a list of telephone numbers of contact persons within the church. We do not intend publishing this on our web site - however if you would like a copy, please e-mail George and we will gladly send you one.

St George's-Tillydrone magazine is edited by Alan Duncan. The church web site is at http://www.ifb.co.uk/~tillybin/stgeorge. Submissions are welcome by email, on disk or on paper (in that order of preference). Contributions may be edited. Copy date for the next magazine is 21 March 1999. Thanks to Ray Hepburn, Dorothy Irvine, Jackie Hamilton and Helen McDougall for regular help with photocopying, folding etc. Web site mastered by George McLeod at Tillybin.