The Methodist Church in Scotland

Author: Wesley

  • Advent letter from Anita Shaw

    I arrived in Wishaw mid-August 2014 having served the Methodist Church in Lytham St Annes for the past five years. Since then I have been trying to find my way around the area, the transport system, the streets of Lanarkshire and the various groups associated with the Strathclyde Circuit. I say trying to find my way around, because at some point of each week I have found myself ‘lost’; in unfamiliar streets, in unfamiliar towns, on unfamiliar train stations amongst unfamiliar people. (Don’t even mention how lost I feel trying to decipher the phone conversations!) As always, some people have been very helpful in coming to my aid and as always some have not. One morning, as I made my way to Singer on the train, it was suddenly put out of service. A young women student came my aid and shared her taxi with me so that I could get to my destination, all be it a little late. Her act of grace had enabled me to move from a place of vulnerability to a place of safety. Can I hear you asking, ‘What has this got to do with Christmas’?

    Two thousand years ago Jesus left the heavens (I guess a very safe and familiar place to him, and probably a bit further than Lytham St Annes, although the serious theologians amongst us may want to rightly debate that statement) to come and offer grace and mercy to the lost.

    All of us can find ourselves lost at Christmas: lost in the commercialism, lost in the financial demands, lost in the traditions of the new in-laws, lost in bereavement and certainly lost in ‘time’ without a Tardis.

    As Mary and Joseph were just as human as you and I, then we can deduce that they felt somewhat lost in their situation. They too, lost in the new fan dangled commercial Roman registration (and you can guarantee someone somewhere was making a fast buck), lost in financial demands, lost in an ‘in-law’ tradition as one of the shepherds gate crashed the stable claiming to be Joseph’s cousin’s brother-in-law on his mother’s side (perhaps) and lost in an untimely labour.  But just as I was aided on my train journey by a young woman’s grace, so Mary and Joseph were offered hospitality by the grace of an inn keeper. It’s hard sometimes to find the small acts of grace amongst the tinsel but I pray that you, in your Christmas, will
    find the grace of God in the places where you need it most. May you too, amongst the hype, be like the inn keeper and offer God’s grace to those who come your way.

    Christmas greetings.
    Anita Shaw

    Deacon Anita Shaw has pastoral responsibility for Netherton and New Stevenston Methodist Churches.

  • Edinburgh churches use computers to understand their buildings

    Churches and Computer Hackers Join Forces to Fight the Cold!

    As autumn chill descends upon Edinburgh, two churches have joined forces with scientists, engineers and computer programmers in order to bring warmth to cold buildings across the city.

    HeatHack is a computing and electronics club formed by the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church and Christ Church Morningside (Scottish Episcopal Church). The club will set up temperature and humidity monitoring in buildings, time lapse photography (for gas meters and boilers), public displays and phone apps that help communities understand their buildings – plus some special engineering challenges like how to find out whether a pump is operating correctly and where the heat actually goes.

    Many community buildings in Edinburgh are old and expensive to heat – and costly to the environment – but this new ‘hacker-space’ is being formed to understand how to make the best use of the energy that is put in.

    As well as special events, HeatHack will meet regularly on Tuesday evenings starting in October. They welcome anyone with an interest in electronics, computer programming, or an interest in how these old buildings are maintained and kept at their best for their use by the community.

    Jean Carletta, a researcher at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, is the originator of the ‘heat hack’ concept and has been actively involved in improving comfort and reducing energy use at Christ Church Morningside. She says, “Victorian buildings are fascinating, but complicated. The internet makes it possible to monitor heating systems and check their performance remotely. HeatHack will speed up improvements by bringing together property owners, users, students, and volunteers to share data and understand their heating problems.”

    Lou Davis, pioneer minister at City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, “I’m very excited about the possibilities for HeatHack. Not only will we be finding solutions to people’s problems, but we’ll also be learning lots and having a great deal of fun along the way. I’m really keen to get a soldering iron in my hands and make something!”

    HeatHack launched officially on Sunday 28 September at 12.30pm at the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church at 25 Nicolson Square, with an opportunity to see the technology in action.

    Email: info@heathack.org

  • Scotland Today – The Context for Methodism

    The Learning and Development Forum are hosting this event to continue our focus and thinking together on current issues in the life of our nation and church.

    The facilitating Speakers will be Professor Lindsay Patterson, Professor of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, and Alastair Cameron, Chief Executive, Scottish Churches Housing Action.

    All interested are invited – please register via the District Office by Friday 17th October if possible: fiona@methodistchurch.plus.com; 01786 820295. Notice of particular needs (eg diet) would be useful – thanks!

    Date:        Wednesday 29th October

    Time:        4.30pm to 7.30pm (at the latest!)

    Venue:     Creative Scotland, Old Town Jail, St John Street, Stirling FK8 1FA

     

  • New Scottish President of Methodist Women in Britain

    Methodist Women in Britain celebrate the Commissioning of their new Scottish President at 2pm on Saturday 20th September at Shettleston Methodist Church.

  • Scottish Parliament Motion supports church initiative

    The City of Edinburgh Methodist Church has been officially informed that Sarah Boyack MSP has lodged a motion at the Scottish Parliament to commend the church on its recent partnership with Capital Credit Union, to facilitate the provision of credit union financial services to staff, members and the wider community in Edinburgh, Lothians and Borders. Ms Boyack had not been able to attend the church’s launch event for the partnership but wants to support the initiative.
    The motion has attracted strong cross-party support.
    MSPs have not been able to sent out their regular newsletters in the lead up to the Scottish referendum on independence, but Sarah plans to send out a newsletter immediately after the vote, which will include information about credit unions generally and about our initiative specifically.
    The motion reads:
     Motion S4M-10847: Sarah Boyack, Lothian, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 20/08/2014
    Access to Credit Union Services
    “That the Parliament congratulates the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church and the Capital Credit Union on their new joint credit union scheme, which aims to offer affordable loans and mortgages as an alternative to payday borrowing; welcomes the commitment by the church staff and trained volunteers to offer weekly workshops that aim to provide access to credit union services to churchgoers and across the wider community, and further welcomes the plans by the Methodist Church in Scotland to work with the Church of Scotland and the Church of England to launch the Churches’ Mutual Credit Union on 1 October 2014.”
    So far, the motion has been supported by: David Stewart, Anne McTaggart, Margaret McCulloch, Hanzala Malik, Annabelle Ewing, Jayne Baxter, Richard Lyle, Patricia Ferguson, Mark McDonald, Neil Findlay, Mike MacKenzie, Elaine Murray, Stuart McMillan, David Torrance, Jackie Baillie, Dave Thompson, Cara Hilton, Nigel Don.

  • Call to prayer for Iraq and Syria on 31 August

    The President and Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Ken Howcroft and Ms Gill Dascombe, are asking Methodists to ensure that they spend some special time in prayer for persecuted minorities during worship on 31 August, and consider donating to Christian Aid’s Iraq appeal.

    Text of letter

    They have written a prayer for Syria and Iraq for use by churches and groups:

    “The situation in Iraq and Syria can only be described as a living nightmare,” said Mr Howcroft and Ms Dascombe, adding, “as Methodists we stand in solidarity alongside all those who are persecuted. As followers of Jesus who was crucified we stand with all those who find their religion twisted by others out of all recognition in order to justify horrific acts of violence. We stand in prayer, crying out together to a God of justice, peace and mercy. May God have mercy on us all.”

  • Money for All – Citizen’s Income

    What might the future of economic and social cohesion look like? What about a ‘Citizens Income’, where all members of society would receive a basic income: a fair way to eradicate poverty or a recipe for producing a something-for-nothing society?

    Chair: Bishop John Armes (Scottish Episcopal Church)
    Panellists: Annie Miller (Chair of the Citizen’s Income Trust), Alison Johnstone MSP, Rev Shuna Dicks (Church of Scotland).

    Tuesday, August 19, 2014
    6:00pm – 7:30pm
    The Hall at St John’s
    St John’s Church, Princes Street
    Edinburgh, EH2 4BJ

    Ticket Price: £5, available via http://www.justjust.org/calendar-just-festival-2014/2014/8/19/money-for-all-citizens-income or the Just Festival box office.

  • Credit Union partnership launched

    The City of Edinburgh Methodist Church has launched a new credit union partnership based at the Church. 
    We’re delighted to be forming this partnership with Capital Credit Union, an experienced Edinburgh-based credit union, to offer financial services to our community. These services will help church staff and members, students and other local people build up savings, and access mortgages and low-cost loans.
    As a church we want to support the “not for profit, not for charity, but for service” ethos of the credit union movement and invite you to support us in this initiative.

    EDINBURGH CHURCH TAKES UP THE ‘WAR ON WONGA’

    The City of Edinburgh Methodist Church is taking a stand against payday lenders by joining forces with a local credit union to bring fair and affordable savings, mortgages and loans to church members and the wider community. The church will promote the financial services of Capital Credit Union, an experienced Edinburgh-based credit union. This partnership is the first of its type in the city.

    As with all credit unions, members are required to save a specific amount each week, which is then pooled and can be loaned out again at low interest rates. Information sessions will be held at the church on a weekly basis and run by church staff and specially-trained church volunteers.

    The credit union partnership is officially launched at 6pm on 19 July at an event at the church’s Well Café at Nicolson Square in Edinburgh.

    Belinda Letby, minster of the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, says:

    “As a church, we see every day how tough times have been over the last few years for our members – and not only for them, but for their families and the community around us. We want to help protect people from predatory payday lenders, who seem to offer a quick way out, when in reality they not only prolong but exacerbate the problem. The wonderful thing about credit unions is that all members save, so they will always have something to fall back on. This, more than anything else, is why we have set up the credit union, because we believe that by working together we can help prevent problems before they even arise.”

    Capital Credit Union CEO, Marlene Shiels, says:

    “We are incredibly proud to be in a position to work with the City of Edinburgh Methodist Church in this way. Credit unions are built on the ethos of people helping people, and this is a perfect illustration of our philosophy in action.”

  • Local Preaching Taster Day

    Feeling that you might be called to preach?
    Just curious about what it is that local preachers do and what their training involves?
    Already a local preacher and feeling that you would like to encourage others on their way?

    Then why not come along to our LOCAL PREACHING TASTER DAY at Paisley Methodist Church?
    SATURDAY 24 MAY 10.30am- 3.30pm (Wesley Day)

    Find out what becoming a Local Preacher involves, and take time to explore with others the possibility that God might be calling you in this direction. No need to enrol – just turn up. All welcome!

    No pressure, no recruiting sergeants, just space to reflect

    PROGRAMME

    10.30am: Coffee and time to chat
    11am: “Hearing the Call” prayers and reflection with Kathleen Pearson, Local Preacher in Ayrshire and Renfrewshire Circuit
    11.45am: “Exploring the barriers”, with Rev Liz Adam, Superintendent of the Ayrshire and Renfrewshire Circuit
    12.30pm: Lunch (bring your own packed lunch, hot drinks will be available). There will be an opportunity for those who wish to have private conversation with an experienced preacher
    1.30pm: Testimony from Local Preachers
    2.15 pm: “What happens if I say yes?” What the training involves – an introduction to the process and course materials, with Rev Chris Foxon, Local Preacher Tutor and Minister in the Glasgow Circuit
    3pm: Closing worship

  • Local Preachers & Worship Leaders Weekend 2014

    1 – 2 February 2014

    Download the report of this weekend.