15 June 2014

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.

General Church Meeting

Please note that this annual Meeting will take place next Sunday in the context of worship beginning at 10.45am. It is open to all Members and friends; business includes the appointments of the Church Stewards and representatives to the Church Council. Nominations should be given to the Rev Mary Patterson in advance of the CGM, the consent of the nominee having been obtained first. There will also be conversation on current issues and concerns in our church life together.

Celebration of the Life of Elma Burness

A warm invitation is given to this afternoon's Service of Thanksgiving for the Life of Elma Burness, a Local Preacher in this circuit and former missionary in Sierra Leone. The Service will be held in her “home church”, St John's, Ponderlaw Street, Arbroath, at 2.30pm. Elma maintained a keen interest and support for the work of the Church locally and world-wide, her fellow Preachers, and Sierra Leone until her 100th year. Warm tributes were paid to her at our recent Preachers' Meeting and the Service has been organised to give opportunity for others to celebrate her life, following the donation of her body for medical research.

Gift Appeal

Following discussion by the Church Council anent our financial situation, it was agreed that a Letter of Appeal for donations be prepared and distributed in advance of the General Church Meeting on Sunday June 22nd. The letter and Gift Aid envelopes are being distributed by Pastoral Visitors; money received by 22nd June will be dedicated by the Rev Mary Patterson during worship on that day. Copies of the Appeal Letter and Gift Aid envelopes are also available in Marketgait. The Church Council prayerfully commends the Appeal to all Members and friends.

Preaching Plans

The Plan for June - August has been distributed by email to those on the list and some printed copies are on the glass Vestibule table. Please contact Jenny or David Easson for inclusion on the email list or for further printed copies.

Dundee Methodists and Food Banks

We support the Dundee Foodbank by bringing in any of the suggested items from the Shopping List (on the table on the upstairs landing) and placing them in the large blue Bucket provided nearby. An explanatory slip is also available. There is also need for plastic carrier bags of suitable size; please place any spares by the Bucket. Monetary donations are also welcome. Contact Liz Kay for further information.

Faith in Foodbanks has been published this week by the Methodist Church, Baptist Union, the URC, and Church Action on Poverty as a 3-part resource about the growing food poverty crisis. There is also a Methodist-produced podcast.

Solas Festival - The Bield, Blackruthven - 20th to 22nd June

2 free tickets are available for every church in the District; contact Gary Williams for details/ booking - williamsg@methodistchurch.org.uk; 0141 332 3196.

District Youth Event

Information is available about this gathering at Dalguise Perthshire from September 5th - 7th; two places will be reserved until June 6th for young people (P7 to S4) for each Circuit.

If you are interested please advise the Rev Mary Patterson and also contact Hayley Dunn Hayley@ymcaedinburgh.com or Terry Wright wesleyhorse@googlemail.com .

Meetings this week

Support other Organisations

Scottish Bible Society

Our support via the Bible-a-Month Club is invited in June for work in Argentina. Our prayerful attention is drawn to

• Translation programmes into 76 different Indian languages - 45 of these do not yet have a Bible translation;
• Bible Society work in Fiji;
• literacy programmes run by the Pakistan Bible Society especially reaching out to women in remote and slum areas.

Forthcoming events

Prayer Points for this week

• the President of Conference at the Wesley Study Centre, Durham, Monday - Wednesday;
• the President-designate of Conference, the Rev Ken Howcroft, and the Vice-President-designate, Mrs Gill Dascombe;
• Scotland's representatives to Conference in Birmingham;
• the Circuit Leadership Team;
• the Deaf Unit, Cairo and its director, the Rev Farag Hanna (Embrace);
• serving in Sudan and reaching out in Uganda ( MAF);
• work in North Lancashire ( Methodist Homes);
• partners and work in Brazil, hosting the World Cup (Christian Aid);
• work in south India ( The Leprosy Mission);
• Bible Society work in Argentina;
• we pray with and for the peoples of Brazil (WCC);
• we remember fellow Methodists in Winchester (Southampton District) and in East Kilbride (Glasgow Circuit).

• 8 June 2014
• 22 June 2014

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