Church Magazine - June 1997
Dear Friends
In Brief
People
Hands on Week
Snippets
Forthcoming Events
Hot Work
Age Concern
Letter of Appreciation
Christian Aid Week
Do you know about Alpha?
A warm greeting...
The Only Wise God
Mike and Jane Fucella
Open Door
"For the sake of the Lord submit to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority, and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good". How very timely and relevant it was to come to I Peter 2:13,14 in our evening service series during the campaigning leading up to the General Election since those verses challenge us to think about our attitude to the State.
I've just been reading again the election literature from New Labour, "Because you deserve better". It is full of high hopes of change, and promises to the people of Scotland about better education, more jobs, tough approaches to crime, the re-establishing of patient care as the first priority in the Health Service, and so on. Do Scots actually deserve better? No, but we want better standards in schools, hospitals, etc. Whatever party is in government, we will only see these realised if we do two things: firstly, pray for those in authority, who have such awesome responsibility, especially to honour their promises; secondly, work for the betterment of our community and country, by doing our part in raising standards and by urging our leaders to fulfil their election commitments.
If May 1st was a critical day in our national life, May 8th was a deeply significant day for a man who has done more to establish Biblical teaching and prayer at the heart of congregational life than anyone else in his generation in the Church of Scotland. May 8th was Reverend William Still's 86th birthday and the day he officially retired from 52 years of ministry in Gilcomston South Church in our city.
I want to record my own debt of gratitude to my dear "Bishop" for all his friendship, encouragement and support over the years. We in St George's also owe a debt of gratitude to his folk for their prayers for us over many years. The Gilc. folk will miss their beloved pastor, and soon his "assistant", Willie Philip, will come to us, which will further bind us together in the special tie of Christian love.
We also want to wish Stewart and Margaret Jeffrey many years of happy retirement from mid-August. As they will be living in Whitehills, we may see them sometimes.
Yours with loving prayer,
Shirley A. Fraser
By the time this issue of the magazine reaches you, Willie and Rebecca Philip will have arrived in St George's, and we welcome them into our church life. Willie will be licensed to preach the Gospel by Edinburgh Presbytery on Sun. July 6th at 8 pm in Marchmont St Giles Church. He will provide pastoral cover during Shirley's holidays: July 7-14 and Aug 18 - Sept 1.
From June 15th to July 6 we will also have a Summer Assistant, Ken Jeffrey, a candidate for the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.
Recently we have heard news of "old" friends: Margaret Benton who is now Associate Minister at Inverbervie, and Charles Finnie who has been inducted to the charge of Hawick: Burnfoot.
For many years, we have been indebted to Doreen Homer for arranging our church flowers so beautifully. She has handed over this ministry to Manel Gendy, and we thank them both. Money to buy flowers is gifted by church members (please see the notice with dates near the church entrance) and they are distributed by Kathleen Holland, whose visits to bereaved and sick folk are also much appreciated.
The end of each academic year always brings changes in the life of St George's and we are sad to lose a number of friends who will be moving on; in particular Ron McDowell to his probationary period in Lisburn, Northern Ireland; Sammeh Gabriel who has returned to Saudi Arabia; Ruth Foster to Moray House College in Edinburgh; Claire Wilkinson to the Crown Prosecution Service in Edinburgh; Andrew Randall to a legal practice in Edinburgh. They have all given so much to the life of St George's.
Congratulations to all who graduate about this time: to Mary Addo and Sarah Sunderland (Nursing); to Craig Watson, Claire Wilkinson and Sara Evans (Law); to Catherine MacDougall (Medicine); to Ruth Foster (Arts) and Ron McDowell, Ken Jeffrey, Willie Philip and Charles Alford (Divinity).
Catherine MacDougall will be returning to a Romanian Orphanage for 2 weeks in July, work which she described movingly one Sunday service in May. Claire Wilkinson writes elsewhere about her summer of service in Israel. Sara Evans will be joining UCCF as a Relay Worker amongst Aberdeen students (Sara is now in membership of Gilcomston South Church).
We extend our sympathy to Lorna Souter on the death of her sister Doreen.
Although Alex Mitchell had left St George's several years ago in order to worship in the Congregational Church in Danestone where he lived, those who knew him were shocked by his sudden death in April, and were remembering his family in their loss.
We welcome the following into membership of St George's, praying that they may find a true spiritual home here: Mrs Wilma Hunter, 5 Dominies Court and Mrs Barry (Barbara) Allan, 248 Lee Crescent North. Karen O'Connor from Orkney and Dan Pochi from Nigeria also join us as Associate Members.
For a week in August (11th - 15th) we will have the help of young people from Banchory and Seattle, led by Tony Stephen, to decorate our Church Halls and doors. We hope that they will take part in the Tilly Mini Gala (Sat Aug 9th) and our 11:15 service on August 17th.
A new Discovery Group for young adults will be starting soon. The group will meet on Tuesdays at 8 pm in the home of Jamie and Julie Cooper. Watch this space.
Forthcoming conferences at St Ninian's Crieff include:
Mon 15 - Wed 17 Sept. The Message with Eugene Peterson.
Mon 27 - Wed 24 Oct. Credible Christianity with Elaine Storkey and David Prior.
Good News Ministries (led by Gordon Shewan) now have a Good News Bus, which will be used for evangelistic work in the city. As well as looking to us for prayerful support, they welcome financial gifts, and people: evangelists, tea makers, drivers, mechanics, pastoral counsellors, cleaners, intercessors, organisers.
Video Library at Elim Pentecostal Church, Marischal Street. The catalogue of videos available for borrowing (£2 per video per week) is on the church notice board, and has a large selection. Elim Church also has a Charity Shop to raise funds for Mission work, especially amongst children in Chernobyl. It is at 179 Victoria Road, Torry and items can be collected by phoning 573936.
Wanted: the loan of a clarinet so that a player can become involved in the church's music group. If there are any other musicians - players and singers - please make yourself know! We really need you.
An Alpha Course will be starting in the church this autumn - see separate article
Pray Now, the C of S daily guide to prayer, is available on tape. Please speak to Shirley Fraser.
The Church of Scotland's turbulent history is now on video: "Saint Andrew's Rock, the Life of the Church of Scotland". It is available for hire or sale (£9.95) at Wesley Owen Bookshop.
Tillydrone Food Coop. Tuesdays 10 - 11.30 am at Tillydrone Community Education Centre, beside St Machar Primary School. Fresh fruit and vegetables; dried goods; cereals; tinned goods, cleaning materials, etc.
Girls Brigade. Once again the Company marked the close of its session by an Open Night which showed how much work has been done. Next in the GB calendar will be the annual Camp at Abernethy with the Portlethen Company: Aug 2-9. Best wishes to all the Campers!
Sat 21st June Church Picnic to Milltimber. Leave from the church at 1.30 pm; return by 5 pm. Transport will again be in cars. There will be a barbecue during the afternoon.
Sun 22nd June 11:15 All age service. Junior Prize-giving.
Sun 29th June 11:15 Summer Sunday Club begins for children aged 3 and up. Service for the admission of new members by profession of faith.
Sat 9th Aug. Noon till 4 pm: Tilly Mini Gala.
Mon 1st to Sat 6th Sept. The National Bible Society of Scotland will open a Charity Shop, 346 George Street. All kinds of saleable goods are required and should be taken to the shop on the Monday between 9 and 11 am (or they could be collected: phone Jan Smith on 322342)
This summer I leave sunny Tillydrone for even warmer climes! I will be part of a 9-strong student team travelling to Israel to work with the international Christian development charity, World Vision. We fly out to Tel Aviv on 22nd June and travel from there to Jerusalem. We will stay in Jerusalem for a week for orientation - getting used to the land, its people and its tensions. Then we travel to Bethlehem for a month.
We will be staying at Bethlehem Bible College. Our work will be in three main areas: helping to build a library at the college; running a youth camp in the town, and doing maintenance work in the homes of local people. The expected temperatures will be between 25 - 30oC so it will be hot work. After two weeks however we will be travelling up to the Sea of Galilee for a few days off. We return to the UK on July 29th.
I feel greatly privileged that God has called me to the Holy Land this summer. Please pray for me as I raise funds for my trip and prepare for the work ahead. Please also pray for peace and reconciliation in Israel and that we as a team will be source of blessing and encouragement to the Palestinian Christians and all those whom we meet.
Micah 6:8
Claire Wilkinson
Have you got a few hours a week to spare to help older people who are less fortunate than yourself? Age Concern Counselling and Advice Service, Aberdeen is looking for volunteers to help give information, counselling or practical help to older people who are facing loneliness, infirmity, bereavement or problems with housing and finance. Training will be provided including talks, films and discussions as well as practical information on, for example benefits services and housing. Listening/ counselling skills will also be developed. The volunteers offer the opportunity for people to discuss worries in confidence and to be helped to reach a solution to their problem or acceptance of their situation. The type of person we suggest who might be suitable as a Counsellor is someone with an interest in, and an ability to relate to, older people. They would be a good listener with an understanding of the problems older people might face. There are monthly meetings for volunteers where they receive support, advice and further training. Social Workers are on hand to act as Consultants. A regular commitment of several hours per week is required from volunteers. Volunteers usually deal with one or two cases at a time and visit people in their own homes. Age Concern Scotland pioneered the concept of counselling services for older people, their relatives and friends and the Aberdeen Service has been operating since 1978.
I want to seize this opportunity to thank the church for its regular contribution both financially and materially to the growth of my home churches since my arrival in this country. My family are members of two churches in Nigeria. One is at my place of work in Zaria and the other is at my local home village in Bisat-Kagoma. These two churches are branches of the Evangelical Churches of West Africa (ECWA). May God reward you according to His riches in glory.
In 1992, the church contributed a total of £250 towards the rebuilding of my church in Zaria which was burnt down by Muslim fanatics in 1987. Similarly, in 1995, St George’s-Tillydrone church also bought some clothes, shoes, etc. and a donation of £80 was made to transport the materials to Nigeria. This consignment was given to my other church in Bisat-Kagoma. All these gifts were received with much appreciation. The name of St George’s-Tillydrone has reached Nigeria and indeed other parts of the world because of your act of love. You have encouraged many in their faith in Christ despite the tribulations they face regularly in that country.
St George’s-Tillydrone Church has again (in 1997) ear-marked £300 for Pastor Sunday Likita for the purchase of a second-had motorbike. This money will be taken to Nigeria in June. Pastor Likita is the Education Secretary for our District Church Council (DCC). His main duty in addition to pastoring a church is to oversee the spiritual growth of the various groups in all the churches within the DCC. These include the choir, women’s and men’s fellowship groups, the YF, the BB’s and GB’s and the Sunday Schools. You are therefore contributing directly to the spiritual nourishment of these groups and indeed to the whole church. May God bless you all.
Philip Dawuda
A big thank you to all who supported Christian Aid Week, either by giving in envelopes, or by attending our Hunger Lunch. The money raised will go toward projects like those helping Moti, Anita and Anishamma that we heard about. At our Hunger Lunch we heard about the campaign to Change the Rules, by encouraging British supermarkets to work for better working conditions for their suppliers in the Third World. If you would like to know more about how you can help, please ask Penny Wallace or George McLeod.
Penelope Wallace
What is Alpha?
Alpha is a 10 week course on the Christian faith which will be running in our church this autumn. From its beginnings in a London church about 20 years ago, Alpha has become one of the most popular and exciting experiences in British churches today.
What happens at Alpha?
An Alpha meeting starts with food - prepared and cleared up by someone other than you! There is a talk presented on video followed by coffee, and then discussion in small groups. It is an evening meeting but finishes strictly on time and does not drag on late. The course also includes a day’s outing together, and a party at the end.
Why go to Alpha?
All different types of people have enjoyed and benefited from Alpha courses. They provide basic facts about Jesus and the Christian faith - but also a setting where people can raise any question or difficulty without feeling threatened. They stimulate and challenge those who have been church members for years as well as newcomers and complete outsiders. They are also a great way of making and deepening friendships, as participants share food as well as ideas!
When is Alpha happening at St George’s?
The course starts on Thursday 25th September. It will run in the church building for 10 weeks, each meeting starting at 7 pm prompt. We are planning to provide assistance with transport and baby-sitting if needed.
Alpha is for everyone, old and young. So come along, and see what God wants to do for YOU.
Try Alpha this autumn.
Penelope Wallace
A warm greeting from me, William Philip, your new assistant minister! I started with you on June 1st, beginning my probationary period of 18 months before I am a fully-fledged minister of the Church of Scotland and eligible for a charge of my own. For that period I have the privilege and pleasure of being with you all at St George’s, and my wife Rebecca and I are looking forward very much to getting to know many of you and becoming a part of the fellowship.
I have just finished divinity training at Aberdeen University. This was quite a change of career for me, since I first trained as a doctor (also in Aberdeen) and worked for a number of years at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. In fact throughout my time in divinity I have continued to work part-time as a cardiologist (heart-specialist) at Foresterhill, so perhaps I may have met some of you in the corridors without knowing it! But God made it very clear to me that his plan was that I should move out of that career to serve him in the ministry of the church. I have never doubted the change that I have made, though of course it has been hard sometimes. Yet at every point along the way, the Lord has been there to encourage and strengthen, showing the way that I should take.
As some of you know I have been very involved helping at Gilcomston South Church over the past year, particularly since the illness and retiral of the Rev. William Still. I have been a part of that congregation for 12 years, and it is something of a strange feeling to be suddenly moving; yet it is so clear to us that this is the right thing just now that we are very positive indeed about being with you from now on. You will certainly have my wholehearted loyalty for all the time we are together.
Yours, in partnership in the Gospel,
William Philip.
The Only Wise God … (Romans 16.27)
Recently I have been meditating on the wisdom of God in specific areas of His creation such as the human senses (sight, sound and smell)
The eyesight of man (and woman too!) is just perfect (I am not talking about short sightedness or long sightedness or any other deformities but the power of seeing). They eye has been created to see only that which is necessary for the normal function of life. If the eyesight was to be as powerful as the microscope it could have meant that we were able to see germs like bacteria etc. with our naked eyes. The disadvantage of this would have been that man would have been able to see millions and billions of bacteria (both harmless and harmful ones) swarming around us and settling on our skin and entering into our nostrils. We would have been scared to come our of our houses! Motorists would have been seeing tiny particles of dust (especially during summer) as huge as golf balls settling on their windscreen thereby causing accidents and/ or blurred vision. WHAT A WISE GOD IN HIS CREATION!!!
The ear of man and woman in its hearing power is just perfect. If the sensitivity of our ears was as powerful as that of a dog (which is able to detect very soft sounds) it would have meant that the slightest vibration would wake us up from sleep at night; especially during this era of technological advancement where aircraft are landing a taking off all the time. WHAT A WISE GOD IN HIS CREATION.
The nostrils of man and woman give us a perfect sense of smell. The nostrils are endowed with sensitive cells with adequate power to pick any odour around us. Those odours that are less powerful and are not harmful to the body are less keenly sensed and are unlikely to bother us. Those odours which are toxic such as leaks from gas pipes in our houses and leaks of gases from factories such as hydrogen sulphide are easy to smell and we can keep away from them. WHAT A WISE GOD IN HIS CREATION.
Since the creation of man millions of years ago, nothing has been added or subtracted from man in order to improve his quality. The present man still has the same features as the first man. This is the evidence of God’s wisdom in creation. This is a big contrast from man’s so-called creation (i.e. invention) of things. For example, the computer technology that has taken the world by storm since the 60s and 70s has undergone a lot of improvement and will continue to do so. The automobile industry has changed greatly since the day that Ford made a breakthrough. Medicine, Arts Science , Music, Sports, etc. have undergone significant changes over the years. Indeed, nothing man has made has ever stood the test of time but our God, the only wise God has created all things (including man) and these will never change. They have stood and will continue to stand the test of time. So if you lack wisdom come to our God who gives generously and graciously to all (James 1:5). Praise the Lord. Amen
Philip Dawuda
Jane and Mike Fucella have recently become our mission partners at St George’s They have been working with the Church of Christ in Thailand since 1990 in small village in the north-east. You may remember their visit to St George’s whilst on leave a couple of months ago. There is a notice board in the church hallway with their photo and information about where they are and what they are doing. Their newsletters are also available for anyone who would like to see them. I will be writing to the Fucellas regularly as the Partner Plan Correspondent for St George’s with church news and prayers of support. If anyone would like any further information don’t hesitate to speak to me.
Julie Cooper
Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phil 4:6
Pray for all thos involved in SU Camps and Summer Missions. Pray for God’s guidance and protection as they work with children. Continue to pray for the need for teachers in the Junior Church. Pray for those who will be sharing the teaching over the summer months.
Pray that Willie and Rebecca Philip will quickly feel at home as they worship and share in the life of St George’s over the next year.
Remember Cathie Aberdour as she enjoys a well-deserved break from her work in Brazil.
Pray for the preparations for the Alpha Course due to start in September.
Continue to pray for Rhona Cruickshank as she works abroad.
Further information from George McLeod