30 January 2011

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.

Homelessness Sunday “Cup of Tea” Day

As part of Scottish Churches Housing Action's marking of Homelessness Action Week (30th January to 7th February), all church congregations were invited to take part in the above event, whereby church members and friends have a cup of tea / coffee, making a suggested minimum contribution of £1 to the work of SCHA.

As this coincides with our café-style service today, it has been decided that, like last year, a second offering plate will be on each table for contributions in support of work with the homeless. Last year, Dundee Methodists were one of 90 congregations contributing in this way to SCHA's work of providing starter packs, befriending schemes, hygiene packs and toys for homeless children all over Scotland.

United Service

An invitation is given to all to the United Service at 6.30 pm this evening in Meadowside St Paul’s , which will be led by members of Meadowside St Paul's Church of Scotland, Dundee Congregational, and Dundee United Reformed Churches. The Rev Mary Patterson is to preach.

Methodist Prayer Handbook : 2011-12

Contributions for next year's Prayer Handbook are invited from all interested. Please send prayers and / or photographs to fit the theme “Run the Race”. For more information, contact the District Office (01786 820295) or see the papers in the plastic folder on the upstairs office noticeboard. The closing date for material to reach the District Office is Thursday 24th February.

Date of next Worship Group meeting

The next Worship Group meeting will be at 6 pm on Wednesday 16th February, (not Thursday 17th).

Vacancies to be filled as soon as possible please!

There is need to make appointments now to the two following vacant posts:

• Circuit Meeting & Circuit Leadership Team Secretary (to succeed Sue Marshall-Jennings)
• Dundee Church Council Secretary (to succeed Matthew Phillips).

Please contact the Rev Mary Patterson or an appropriate Steward if you can assist with filling either vacancy (or both!)

Year of the Bible 2011

Answer to last week's question:

1. Prince Louis Lucien Bonaparte (1813-1891) commissioned a series of versions of Books of the Bible in Scots, based on the King James (Authorised) Version, during the 1850s-60s.
2. William Laughton Lorimer (1885 - 1967) (frae Strathmartine) translated the New Testament into Scots from the Greek text (published in 1983).
   For his biography in Scots see http://sco.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Laughton_Lorimer

For MP3 users : The Bible Society campaign, “You've got the time”, is releasing the whole of the New Testament as MP3's, free for people to download and listen to. Each MP3 is 28 minutes long - users could listen to the whole New Testament in 40 days. Access via http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/support-us/ygtt-2010/

The Library Area

One of the ways in which Clare Small, whom we greatly miss still, contributed to our life together, was through her tending of the library area. Please take time to look at the books there and borrow any that are of interest to you.

If you wish to donate or lend a book to the library, please do so - we can intimate it through the news-sheet if you wish. As books can be quite expensive, this may be a useful way of sharing resources and “holding things in common” as the Week of Prayer text exhorted! Tom has done exactly this and draws our attention to the following 2 publications he has placed in the library:

• “Unmasking Methodist Theology” of which he says “The chapters are quite short and you can dip in and out of it to hear what various members think on a range of issues - they don't always agree but it can be an interesting way of exploring your faith”
• “Operation World” - “a book with the statistics of every country on Earth in it alongside national prayer points for that country. It can complement other prayer guides and prayer manuals.”

Meetings this week

Support other Organisations

Scottish Bible Society

Our support through the Bible-a-Month Club is invited for work in January in India and in February for work in the Democratic Republic of Congo. See noticeboard in library area for more information.

Our prayerful attention is drawn this week to

• plans by the Bible Society in Democratic Republic of Congo to reach isolated river bank communities by launch;
• new Children's Bible aimed at children and teenagers in Armenia;
• increased Bible distribution in Georgia;
• work among migrants, street children, and orphans in Azerbaijan.

Forthcoming events

Prayer Points for this week

• The President and Vice-President of Conference in the Lincoln & Grimsby District next weekend;
• Connexional Stationing Committee meeting, Monday;
• members of the District Executive and other District officers;
• appointments of secretaries for the Circuit Meeting / Leadership Team and Dundee Church Council;
• residents and staff in the Sheffield District (Methodist Homes);
• bomb-damage reconstruction of The Al-Kafaat Foundation supporting children with cerebral palsy in Lebanon, (BibleLands);
• The Leprosy Mission's administrators in changing times;
• continuing impact of the Tax Campaign (Christian Aid);
• Bible Society work in India and in Democratic Republic of Congo;
• we pray with and for the peoples of the United Kingdom and of the Republic of Ireland (WCC Ecumenical Calendar);
• we remember fellow Methodists in the Birmingham (Elmdon) Circuit (Birmingham District) and in Stirling (Central Scotland Circuit).

• 23 January 2011
• 6 February 2011

© 2002—2021 Dundee Methodist Church Scottish Charity number: SC037954.