Valentine’s Day

Today is Valentine’s Day – named after a Christian saint but not particularly a Christian festival now. So if today you’re celebrating being “in love”, enjoy the day. But of course, not everybody is celebrating today – for some it’s a day when they may feel a wee bit extra sad, or lonely, or hurt or let down. As it happens, this year is also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, when many Christians start to focus on the journey towards Easter, as Jesus moves towards his cross and resurrection. The cross, Jesus’s sacrifical death for all the world so that all who trust in Him may come into God’s family, is actually the supreme gift of love, the greatest that the world has ever seen or will over see. So, however you’re feeling today, loved up or unloved or somewhere in between, may you know that you are deeply loved by and precious to God.

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Happy New Year, or same old same old?

Now that the Christmas decorations are away and most of the New Year parties are over, for many of us life will get back into its normal routine, perhaps with added gloom over the next few weeks until we notice the days lengthening. Many of us too are probably entering 2024 with a bit of apprehension or even fear, because it seems to hold plenty of challenges at either a personal or national level. Certainly the world can seem a pretty depressing place at the moment. But at the heart of the Christmas celebrations is the good news that God has come, in person, in His Son Jesus Christ, to begin His work of putting the world to rights. In our Sunday services we’ve been thinking about God and the world’s big story. Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Back in the autumn we started at the beginning, when we looked at the first three chapters of Genesis, and how this amazing world which God has made has gone wrong. Over the next few months we’re going to look at the middle of the story, at Jesus who is the centre of history, and who is worth putting at the centre of each of our lives. When we make Him Lord of our lives, then we can know that whatever the future holds we do not face it alone, and that we are part of what God is doing in making all things new. So you are welcome to join us any Sunday at 11.00 am to hear more about Jesus. You can join in person or online via Zoom. If you’d like to join online, please just send us a message and we’ll send you the link.

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Celebrate Christmas

“Child in the manger”. This Christmas we invite you to join with us at our services on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We have a service of readings and carols old and new in the morning at 11.00 am, and then at 11.30 pm we have our Watchnight service. In the midst of the busy-ness of this season, why not take some time to focus on Jesus, the one who is God with us.

If you’d like to join us but can’t manage in person, then you’re welcome to join us online. Please drop us a message and we’ll send you a Zoom link.

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All-age Christmas service

This Sunday, December 17th, at 11.00 am, we have our all-age Christmas celebration. There will be crafts, Christmas songs, and a puppet nativity play…and of course some cakes and mince pies afterwards. Everybody is welcome to join us as we explore the theme of “Following the star, looking to the Light”

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If Christmas is not just a time of joy…

Christmas can sometimes be a time of sadness as well as joy, as we remember loved ones no longer with us, or as we reflect on all the difficulties of the last few years. This coming Thursday, December 7th, at 7.30 pm, we have our annual Service of Memories. This short service of readings, prayers and reflection lets us bring our sadness and loss to Jesus – the one who is “God with us”. There will be tea and coffee afterwards for all who wish to stay on for a chat.

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Remembrance Weekend

This weekend, the nation celebrates Remembrance. To help provide a focus to our own remembering and our praying for peace in a violent world, the folk in our craft group have prepared a poppyfall. The church will be open between 10.30 am and 12 noon on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th November for anybody to come and spend some time in quiet reflection. On November 11th we will also have a short act of remembrance at 11.00 am. Then on Sunday November 12th, at 10.50 am we will have our Remembrance Sunday service. Everybody is welcome to join us for any of these opportunities to remember

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We’re joining in the world’s biggest coffee morning…

This Friday, September 29th, we’re joining in the world’s biggest coffee morning as our Cheery Cup Drop-in hosts a Macmillan Coffee morning, between 10.30 am and 12.30pm. So if you fancy coming by for some home baking and coffee or tea, and to support a really worthwhile charity, you’ll be very welcome

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Back on the (Roman) road again

Last autumn and into spring of this year we were looking, in our Sunday morning gatherings, at Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. We paused that journey as we celebrated Easter and Pentecost, but we’re back on our journey through this amazing book of the Bible. We’re currently looking at Paul pondering the relationship between God’s ancient people, the Jews, and God’s new people, the church. This letter was written to the church in Rome, but, like all Scripture, was also written for us, as it points us to God’s amazing grace in Jesus, and shows us how to live in response to that.

We gather each Sunday morning in the church, but you can also join our services via Zoom. And if you want to catch up at another time, please let us know, and we’ll send you a link to the recording.

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Easter at the Church by the Loch – Remember, Reflect, Rejoice

The Easter weekend is the key weekend in the story of God’s love for the world and the salvation which He offers. It tells us of the self-giving love of His Son, Jesus, born as one of us, as God-with-us, though without sin. Yet Jesus offers himself as the willing sacrifice, to take on himself God’s judgement on the sins of the world. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, our sins are paid for, and death’s power is broken. It need no longer be the path to separation from God. Instead, for all who turn to Him and trust in Him, we have the wonderful privilege of knowing God through Jesus, now and for all eternity.

And that’s worth celebrating! So over Easter, Christians around the world remember this story, from the solemnity of the Last Supper, the injustice of Jesus’ trial, the horror of the crucifixion, and the glorious surprise of the resurrection.

We have a service on Good Friday, April 7th, at 7.30 pm, when we remember the Last Supper as we take communion together, and then reflect on the significance of Jesus’ death. The church is open for personal prayer and reflection on Friday April 7th and Saturday April 8th, from 10.30 am to 1.00 pm each day. And then on Sunday morning we gather at 11.00 am to celebrate the good news for all the world that Jesus is alive. You are welcome to join with us in any of these opportunities to remember, reflect and rejoice.

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Now there’s a view…

We’ve not posted about our Sunday Services for a wee while, so time to put that right. We’re thinking about views tomorrow. What’s your favourite? A mountain scene? A breathtaking waterfall, or an amazing beach? Views can inspire and lift our spirits. We’ve been spending the last couple of months exploring Paul’s letter to the Romans, and this Sunday, the 5th February, we’re going to think about a view that Paul gives us to inspire us and to encourage us to press on in hard times – a view of creation healed, restored and made new. You’ll be welcome to join us either in person or via Zoom – if you want to join us online just message us and we’ll send you the link.And speaking of views, sometimes there are some pretty amazing ones right on our doorsteps, if we know where to look…

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