25 February 2006

We give the assurance of our thoughts and prayers to all who are unwell, awaiting or undergoing treatment, or anxious or grieving for the loss of loved ones.

Lent

• City Centre Churches : Lent Study groups will meet in Meadowside St Paul's at 7.30 pm, for five Mondays from 26th February to 26th March inclusive. The course will be “Can We Build a better World? Learning from William Wilberforce” - books available from Wesley Owen @ £3.50.
• The Broughty Ferry Churches Group will hold Lent Study Groups as follows, using 'Slave trade abolition' material:
  • Wednesdays from 7 pm to 8 pm in the New Kirk Kippen Hall, St Vincent Street, Broughty Ferry (map) led by the Rev Catherine Collins;
  • Thursdays from 12.30 pm to 1.30 pm in St Luke's & Queen Street Church of Scotland, West Queen Street, Broughty Ferry (map), led by the Rev Graham Taylor.
• All are warmly welcome to these Groups.

Face 2 Faith Photo Competition

See noticeboard for details of this competition run as part of the Face 2 Faith Initiative of the Methodist Church (as proposed by Youth Conference).

Churches are encouraged take part in Face 2 Faith in 3 ways:

• praying for better inter-faith relations in Britain and the world
• doing something to encourage better relations in their own community
• entering the Photo Competition.

The competition runs to 31st May. See also websites www.methodist.org.uk or www.face2faith.org.uk or write to the Inter Faith Office, Methodist Church House, 25 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JR)

World Day of Prayer - Friday 2nd March

Services, to which all are invited, will be held on Friday on the theme “United under God's Tent”, using material prepared by Christian women of Paraguay. The Service for City Centre Churches will be in the Salvation Army halls at 2.30 pm. Please also look in local press for details of other services in local communities.

International Women's Day

As part of the worldwide consideration of women's experiences, next Sunday morning's worship at 11 am in Meadowside St Paul's Church of Scotland will focus on this. It will be led by the Rev Maudeen McDougall, who will be pleased to hear from anyone interested in contributing material or taking part.

Meetings this week

Support other Organisations

Scottish Bible Society

Our support through the Bible-a-Month Club is invited in February for work in Puerto Rico and in March for work in the Ivory Coast. See library area noticeboard.

Our prayerful attention is drawn this week to

• meeting of United Bible Societies in Malta on Tuesday to discuss issues and challenges in the Europe Middle East Region;
• work and its promotion in New Zealand;
• World Book Day SBS art competition for primary school pupils;
• World Day of Prayer support for Bible Society work, Paraguay as the 'writing country';
• use of the Kurmanji Kurdish New Testament, completion of the Old Testament, and the first-ever Turkish Bible Dictionary;
• literacy classes preceding the launch of the Akyé New Testament (1 of 78 languages) in the Ivory Coast; further Bible translations there.

Emmanuel Health Care

EMMS International is continuing the series of fund-raising events begun in 1992 by a sponsored bike ride and sponsored trek:

• November 2007 cycling in Israel - Dan to Jerusalem, supporting the work of Nazareth Hospital in its ministry of healing and attempts to bring peace and reconciliation to a divided land;
• March 2008 trekking in the Himalayas in Nepal - funds raised to help the TB and Leprosy Clinic at Surkhet expand its community programme of treatment and rehabilitation.

See noticeboard / Vestibule table for details or contact Joe Cooney at EMMS International (tel 0131 313 3828; email joe.cooney@emms.org)

Forthcoming events

Prayer Points for this week

• President of Conference at the Forces' Chaplains Conference, Monday - Wednesday;
• Connexional Strategy & Resources Committee, Tue - Wed;
• District Ministers' and spouses' Retreat, Tuesday - Thursday;
• Montrose Pastoral Committee, Monday;
• work of the FairTrade Foundation (Christian Aid);
• The Leprosy Mission's work in Botswana, D R Congo, Zambia;
• Kigali Anglican Theological College, Rwanda (Feed The Minds);
• Bible Society work in Puerto Rico and in Ivory Coast;
• we pray with and for the peoples of Germany and of France;
• we remember fellow Methodists in the Whaley Bridge Uniting Partnership Circuit (Manchester and Stockport District) and in Abbeyhill (Edinburgh & Forth Circuit).

• 18 February 2006
• 04 March 2006

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