Govan and Linthouse

Parish Church

Magazine

December 2015

Magazine Dec 15

Sidelines

There are certain jobs where you are always working in the wrong season. It is

in the nature of work. Modelling, for example! There is no point in getting

dressed up in a swimsuit on a blazingly hot day in August, because anyone who

intended buying a swimsuit has already done so. Swimsuits and summer clothes

are modelled in the cold of winter, to be in the catalogues when people’s

attention turns to thoughts of summer holidays.

For churches following the Christian calendar, it is similar, in fact for anything

with publishing or planning deadlines. Tonight, as I write an article designed for

the Christmas magazine, it is in fact Bonfire Night, the fireworks soaring in

clusters of coloured light and, no matter how much we anticipate the noise,

startling explosions of sound. It is hard to focus on Christmas when it is so

obviously November 5th

, just as parents struggle to begin Christmas planning

when they haven’t yet thought of a costume for Halloween.

For all the topsy-turvy nature of the planning, it is important that we follow the

Christian year. It helps us orientate our life of faith and makes the events of that

one glittering life more real. Easter, resurrection, comes with all the new

blossom and growth of Spring. The Christ-child slips into the world in the bleak

mid-winter. We celebrate harvest when all the mellow gold and russet colours

of Autumn are at their most vivid, a cycle completed, a year turning into winter.

We think of Pentecost, the moment of the dancing, joyous tongues of fire, in all

the brightness of early summer.

It is a good thing for us to have these moments and memories woven into the

fabric of faith. It has been, I must confess, something I have been most anxious

to embed in the lives of our church children, building rituals and things to

remember, each season highlighting some aspect of Jesus’ life and story. I

think, I believe, it makes it harder to forget, harder to leave behind. It cloaks

you round with memories and sensations, your own life is melded into that

divine life. It is as it should be, faith not separate, definitely not just for

Sundays, but in your DNA.

So it is worth it to me that I should be in the wrong season, so that, when the

time comes, you can be in the right one. Every blessing this Christmas, when he

comes among us again! Moyna

Building News

We have recently had a meeting with the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland.

It has been formally agreed that Govan Old will be handed over to the Govan Heritage Trust in 2016, and our responsibility as the parish of Govan and Linthouse is to continue to provide worship there.

We are also beginning funding applications to deal with the extensive dry rot in the Govan Cross building. This set of circumstances was unexpected. When we began the process of renewing the sanctuary roof (now finished), we had a contingency budget for dry rot. We and our building advisers had anticipated that there would be some dry rot. We had not expected the scale at which it had spread, nor did our budget stretch to cover this additional work.

Over the winter the dry rot will be treated to prevent any further deterioration, and in the Spring/Summer of 2016, we hope to acquire the funds to strip out and replace all the damaged timbers and structures.

Of course this means that everything will take longer than we expected, including our time in Linthouse. We are very fortunate to have another church, and such a lovely church, in which to hold our worship.

Horatio Spafford was a wealthy Chicago lawyer in the 1800's. He had a happy life with

his wife and 4 daughters and one son. At the height of his wealth his young son died, and

shortly after that the great Chicago fire wiped out a lot of the real estate he had invested

in. In order to help the family get some relief from these tragedies he arranged a holiday

to England for himself, his wife and their daughters. At the last minute some urgent

business came up and he had to stay behind, sending his family on where they would

join up with the evangelists Moody and Sankey. On the way over the Atlantic their boat

sank and Spafford got a telegram from his wife saying simply 'Saved alone, what shall I

do?.' Their four daughters had died in the sinking, all of their children were now dead.

In response to this tragedy Spafford wrote the great hymn 'It is well with my soul' which

begins with the words;

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,

It is well, it is well with my soul.

Maybe he had the same attitude as Paul did when he wrote to the Philippians, chapter 4

verse 12;

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the

secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether

living in plenty or in want.

Whatever he was thinking, however he was feeling, it is inspiring that he felt he could

pour it out in song, a hymn of praise even though he had little (on the face of it) to be

thankful for. His hymn, his attitude reminds us of the need to place our whole trust in

God even when things are conspiring against us. His hymn is as relevant today as it was

way back then. Thousands have died trying to flee from war torn Syria, lost at sea in

pursuit of safety. These are not people who are looking to come to Britain and other

countries to take our jobs or to sponge off the state, they are frightened displaced

people who have become refugees so that they might live. It is heart breaking to see the

pictures on our televisions and in our newspapers of bodies on beaches, of broken up

boats, of survivors traumatised.

And we celebrate at this time of year the boy born to be the saviour of the world, who by

the age of two had become a refugee. The shepherds, the wise men, Mary and Joseph all

had to trust in God despite their concerns. They had to place their faith in the message

of the angels and the sign of the star. God was in charge of events even when all seemed

lost. In the fear Mary and Joseph experienced, in the terror of the shepherds as the

angels visited them, God was in charge even if they didn't fully understand what was

going on. Wise men left their country following a star because they knew that somehow

God was doing something new. Mary and Joseph left Nazareth and went to Egypt where

they would be safe till Herod died. Refugees seeking sanctuary with the most precious

gift of God in danger. Could they sing 'It is well with my soul?' Can we this Christmas put

aside all that troubles us and sing with all faith that it is well with our souls?

Paul

Hi folks,

Hope you are well and doing fine. I can hardly believe we are in the run into Christmas again!

You may remember in the last magazine I wrote concerning Work Place Chaplaincy – well I have been appointed as Chaplin to Buchanan Galleries Shopping Centre. This is an exciting new challenge for me and I start on the 5th November, by the time you read this article I will have been in place for a few weeks and hope to have started on the journey of relationship building with a new raft of people. Please remember me in your prayers as you do so faithfully in Govan and Linthouse.

Take care and God bless you and yours.

Andrew

The 12 Days of Christmas

When I used to work as a primary school teacher, I once had quite an interesting argument

with one of my colleagues about the song The 12 Days of Christmas. We were sharing the

same class, and one afternoon she told them that the 12 days in the song were the 12 days

leading up to Christmas. In other words, once we get to 25th December, Christmas is over for

another year. She did not believe me that Christmas was itself a season of 12 days – from

25th December to the 5th of January. In the history of the Church, both in the East and West,

these are important days often dedicated to specific Saints – e.g. St. Stephen on 26th

December rather than the more ‘secular’ boxing day. In some traditions, gifts are given on

every day of the 12 day season, and the Twelfth Night (made famous by Shakespeare’s play

of the same name) was traditionally the night of the biggest partying.

So how did my teaching friend make her mistake? It really is no surprise when we see the

way Christmas is treated in the commercial sphere. If you go past shops closing on

Christmas Eve, you may see the ‘Christmas’ signs coming down to be replaced by ‘Boxing

Day Sales’. Before Christmas has even started it is already over – milked dry by marketing

and sales, Christmas only considered ‘good’ if sales were up on last year.

I suppose it is to be expected, and indeed it is traditional, for ministers (even probationer

ministers!!!) to complain about this every year – but there is something really tragic about

this state of affairs.

For what we celebrate at Christmas is the most remarkable, wonderful and profound event

in all creation – when the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, became Incarnate.

The God-man Jesus is both fully human and fully divine. He has bridged the gap between the

spirit and the flesh, and through sharing our humanity unites all people from all times and

places. We are no longer strangers but brothers and sisters. More than any other ‘event’ the

Incarnation has changed the world for the better.

The Incarnation does not stop being relevant on the 26th December – or even the 5th of

January. The Incarnation is the beginning of a story that will lead us to the cross and beyond.

For Jesus’ work does not stop at Easter – he continues to work on our behalf now. On the

cross Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of all who had put him there – Pilate, his disciples

who abandoned him, Judas, Adam, even us. And after the Ascension he now continues this

work in heaven, so that when we pray we never pray alone. When we pray we join in with

Christ’s own prayer, sharing it with the dearly departed and the angels in heaven.

Christmas in never an end but always a beginning. It is a new beginning for humanity and a

new beginning for all of us as individuals. When we sing The 12 Days of Christmas this year,

let us remember that we are singing about the start of an exciting journey – a journey we

are all invited to share with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. If that isn’t something worth

celebrating, then what is???

When it comes, have a merry 12 days of Christmas.

Christopher

The Guild

It’s now only a few weeks to go until we will be celebrating Christmas. The festive season has started in the shops with so much to attract our attention and our pockets.

For us in the Guild our new session started on Monday 12th October with our opening meeting. Since then we have had our Halloween party, and other good evenings. The party was pure fun and enjoyed by all with dooking for apples, games and dressing up in the usual disguises. We have had our first bring and buy sale which always helps to keep the funds healthy. We look forward to an evening with Christopher, hearing about one of our new projects, a visit from our faithful friend Helen Adams and of course our traditional Christmas Dinner on the 8th December.

So far this has been an excellent time together with fellowship and worship. Our numbers are steady and the support received is great. We have after many years ceased helping at the Lodging House Mission. There are many reasons for this but in most cases our ages are against us. I personally will miss this close contact but we will continue to support in other ways.

Our Guild service will take place on the 15th November and will have happened by the time you read this article, we are appealing for help with presents for the local Homes and Hospitals in our area.

Again I have to thank you for all your support during the Harvest appeal and the help this does for the Lodging House Mission.

Although we lose some Guilds throughout the year we still can say that we have at least 24000 members which means we are still a fairly health organisation within the Church.

Thank you all for your friendship and prayers, we would love to see you at any of our meetings.

Blessings

Elspeth

A Big and Profound Thank You

Thank you, all of you, for the lovely gifts and kind words. The flowers were magnificent, and very long-lasting. When I went on holiday I was able to leave them for my brother and sister-in-law to enjoy when they came to stay while I was away. For those of you who don’t know what was in the bag I was given, Gillian had chosen a little stone-effect tablet with a bible verse on it, which is now sitting on my hearth, and also a handy notebook. And then I came to the magnificent Amazon voucher and cash. You really are too generous. Moyna said I could use it for something sci-fi and I’ve done just that, ordering DVDs of a couple of my favourite shows, but so I don’t feel too guilty I’ve also ordered a new shoe holder for my hall.

Once again, thank you all. It has been a privilege to serve God and the congregation, and I don’t intend to stop just because I’m not Session Clerk any more.

Elsie Donald

God’s Gang

Over the last few months we have been learning about the disciples. The names of the disciples, their jobs and what it meant to those first disciples to truly follow Jesus. Laura Kate taught us a song which helps us to remember all the names of the disciples.

One of our crafts was a hand with a prayer on it. This was greatly admired by everyone.

The children took communion in September. Each time the children take part they are deepening their understanding about communion and embracing the chance to take part.

This year there is a party on 6th December for all Church children. I’m sure they will all have a great time with food, games and a visit from the jolly man in the red suit.

Our Nativity service this year is Sunday 20th December. We do hope you can come along and join in the telling of the Christmas Story.

We would like to wish you and your family a Happy Christmas and a peaceful 2016. X

Karen Stevely and all the children of God’s Gang

If you look for me at Christmas

you won’t need a special star – I’m no longer just in Bethlehem, I’m right there where you are. You may not be aware of Me

amid the celebrations – You’ll have to look beyond the stores

And all the decorations. But if you take a moment

from your list of things to do And listen to your heart, you’ll find

I’m waiting there for you. You’re the one I want to be with,

you’re the reason that I came, And you’ll find Me in the stillness

as I’m whispering your name. Love Jesus

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a

peaceful 2016.

Love from Karen, Billy and Skye xxx (This is instead of a Christmas card, donation made to renovation fund)

SHOEBOX APPEAL 2015

I’m delighted to tell you that this year we donated 152 boxes to Blythswood Care. This is a fantastic effort. So, many thanks to everyone who donated items or money. The money allowed us to buy those essential items we needed to complete the boxes. We also gifted £60 to Blythswood to help with transport costs. As well as the boxes I handed in 4 bags of goodies which Blythswood will use to top upother boxes they receive. So once again many thanks from the Girls’ Brigade.

There are 152 extra smiles this year.

I will continue to accept items for next year’s boxes!! Karen Stevely

“We have walked 500 miles”

Thank you to all who participated in our “We will walk 500 miles” event which was

held on Cumbrae on 15th August 2015.

Over 50 of us and four dogs walked around the island or as much as we were able to

do, making our total mileage on the day over 500 miles. Everyone had a great day

and the weather was fantastic.

The total raised for the renovation fund was £3386.50 Thank you to all who

contributed to this total.

Who knows maybe we will walk 500 more next year!

Fiona MacDonald

RENOVATION FUND

Due to the great effort at the “Walk 500 miles” sponsored walk this fund is well over

£20,000 now. Thanks to everyone who participated and for the generous sponsorship.

We have a few more fundraising opportunities coming soon. So watch this space!

Christmas Party

We are holding a Christmas Party for children on Sunday 6th December 2015

between 1pm and 4pm in the church hall at Govan Cross. Any child up to 12 years

old is welcome to attend.

Spaces are limited and are available on a first come first served basis and must be

pre-booked prior to the event. To ensure your child a space please contact Fiona

MacDonald or Karen Stevely as soon as possible.

The cost is £5 per child including food and a gift from Santa. All funds raised will go

to the renovation fund.

Christmas Hamper

Tickets costing £1 each will be on sale throughout December for a large Christmas

Hamper. The draw will take place on Sunday 20th December after the service.

If you would like to sell tickets to your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours etc

please speak to Sandra MacDonald.

All monies raised will go to the renovation fund.

BAPTISM

Ava McCormick – 4th October 2015

34th GLASGOW GIRLS’ BRIGADE

The new session has started well and we have been very busy.

On the 28th October we had our fancy dress party. Every year the outfits get better and better. This year we had twins who came along as Chanel handbags. We had a Polaroid camera complete with flash, a great clown and many more. Considering we were in competition with the school Halloween parties we had a good turnout of girls and we all had a great night with games, dancing, dooking for apples and a buffet table with lots to eat.

On Sunday 8th November we will be attending the Remembrance Service in the Linthouse Building on Skipness Drive.

On Wednesday 11th November we are taking the children to Gambado soft play at Braehead. This will be our second visit. This is to celebrate the company’s 85th Birthday and of course we will be taking along a birthday cake.

Our Christmas Fayre and tearoom this year is on Saturday 28th November in the Church hall at Govan Cross between 11a.m. and 3p.m. If you have any unwanted gifts for the stalls we would appreciate them. This is our main fundraiser for the year and helps pay for our capitation fees to Girls’ Brigade Headquarters.

We are selling tickets for a Christmas Hamper at £1 per ticket. Last year this raised £600. All monies raised will go to the Renovation fund.

On Wednesday 9th December we will be having our Christmas Craft/Party night to close this part of the session. We will re-start on Wednesday 6th January, 2016.

The Girls’ Brigade would like to thank everyone who supports us throughout the year and wish the congregation and friends a lovely Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

Sandra MacDonald

119TH Glasgow Company Boys Brigade

I thought I would share with the members, congregation and readers of the magazine some interesting items that have arrived on my desk during the summer months. They span many years of the company, and the service of officers, and the achievements of boys both in the past, today and I hope in the future.

In October the Company is 116 years old and is now one of the ten oldest that still exists in the very church in Linthouse that it was established.

My first item is to honour the work, dedication and service of one of our own:

Bill McGinn has been an officer in the Boys Brigade for 60 years.

In 1955 he answered a plea from the Deacons of Mosspark Baptist Church to become an officer in he 266th Glasgow Company and the company grew in strength within Crookston District. Bill then had to go off do his national service and returned in 1959, and eight years later he became captain of the 266th Glasgow. The 129th company in the early sixties had a disastrous camp after which boys left and Bill was asked to come back to his boyhood company by the church session as no one would take over as captain. Bill left to take over the 129th and was the captain for 40 years and sat on Glasgow Battalion Executive Committee

That was Bill McGinns lifeline short and sweet but I might add a few lines...

It says nothing about his commitment to the boys under his charge.

Friday nights and Saturday mornings or afternoons standing on the sideline of football parks in the rain running football teams with dreams of beating the Linthouse 119th

A host of boys remember him, I meet them, ‘is Bill McGinn still alive?’, I answer, ‘alive, kicking and at the centre of the 119th at Linthouse’ and there is another officer without a uniform, standing there by his side his good wife Betty, my praises stretch out to Bill, but to Betty McGinn her commitment to the Boys Brigade is equal if not worthy of greater praise for standing by this man.

To God is the Glory all things he has done and given us. William McGinn

My second item is also about an officer in the company, but he has passed on, and I was surprised when a parcel arrived at B.B. Headquarters addressed to the 119th Glasgow Boys Brigade from London.

John, James Edgar was taught to play the pipes as a boy and officer in the company in the 1920s. He played the pipes and was in the band that marched from Linthouse to Govan leading the 147 men and boys who had volunteered to enlist for the First World War when the ban on shipyard workers was lifted. He had never forgotten his upbringing in Linthouse and the Church, and was a lay preacher and Sunday school teacher using his years in the BB bible class. His son contacted me telling me that the pipes had driven him mad, every where he had gone the pipes were loaded first, but he wanted his Boys Brigade box sent back to Linthouse.

I opened the box and was amazed at its content, a host of membership cards through the length of his years in the company, pieces of art, also his badges of achievement, first aid, drill and of course piping and others.

The jewel in the box: The Kings Badge, the highest achievement in the Boys Brigade.

Jim Mackie and I are going through the archives of the company and intend to put them on show in the near future.

A third item takes me forward to the 1969, when a young lad Angus Mann whose father was an officer in the company gained his Queens Badge. Social media is a great thing now and Angus and I had been reconnected through mutual friends on Face book.

A 100 dollar bill arrived in the post from America, and a flood of memories from Angus of his time in the company.

In 1969, through my own contacts in Amsterdam, I had arranged a camp at Julenspad by Isloot the old Olympic sailing loch and a scout lodge. Angus was a studious lad interested in the stars and not football. He had brought with him a short band radio to follow the America Mission to the moon and at breakfast each morning the captain Lauchie Orr got Angus to update the boys on Armstrong’s epic first man on the moon.

Angus’s great memory was that at 13 he had his first pint of lager—Tut-Tut I hear at a BB camp - however I had arranged a badminton match at the scout’s church and at half time a cupboard was opened in the church and out rolled the hospitality, packets of goodies and crates of Heineken beer. The water in Amsterdam you could not drink and the two nearest factories had supplied beer as usual for the scouts.

So when in Rome do as the Romans we all enjoyed a few bottles of Heineken.

Angus Mann is now in America a professor in the University of Chicago, another boy from Linthouse who is at the very top and he is on face book.

Forward to 2015

I get criticized much for sending boys to Renfrew High, but today I stand proud as three of these six boys started at three different universities.

A letter from Jack Mcgraw, vice captain of Renfrew High, a boy from Drive Road said it all, he wanted at 11 to go to Govan High with his pals but was persuaded to go to Renfrew but he knows the wisdom of it now. I am proud of a recent crop of boys who left us last year all but one have gained life starting work and we are helping others.

This year the company have started with a handful of gold and silver medals at the Sports at Scotston.

Craig Baker & Lauchlan Short all won but the star as a new boy Stevie Cleary who won one gold and three silvers in Events.

At the final prize giving I was stunned when it was announced Champion of the p4/5 grouping at the Event: Stephan Clearie of 119th

We had 22 at the big Halloween Party at the Science Centre last Friday.

Super star event on Monday 9TH and all to the Pantomime at Ibrox Church on Saturday 5th December.

The company has still got good numbers, but is looking for new officers and if you have any spare time, talents, taking boys on hill walks contact me.

Regards

Jim McGowan

Captain

The October school holiday week is one where children can look forward to

spending longer in bed or out playing. Often churches run holiday clubs for

a spell during the day so that children have activities to fill the time and

parents can have a break. We did something a bit different! We had a

holiday club for children and parents - nobody ever invites adults to a

holiday club do they?

We met at the church every day from 11.00 - 3.00 and we had arranged a

programme which was varied and included lunch. We had built in some

outdoor activities too and hoped the weather would be kind to us, which

thankfully it was! In fact it was glorious all week with plenty sunshine. We

had games, crafts, songs, and at the end of the week a party with talent

show. The children were brilliant displaying a variety of talents from singing

to gymnastics and made their parents very proud. The week had a

Halloween slant to it but we also talked about All Saints Day so that

children thought about what a saint is and why saints are important.

Included in the week, and as our first outdoor activity, we went along to

Govan Old to visit the graveyard (since we were on a Halloween theme) and

the church. For many it was the first time they had been in the church and

they thoroughly enjoyed the visit. There was great excitement as we walked

around seeing who could spot the oldest gravestone, and playing with the

Viking swords.

I want to thank everyone who helped make the week possible, especially

Laura Kate who was fantastic. It was a lovely atmosphere and a really

valuable time to be able to spend together. It is so important to create space

for families to join together and this seems to have been a time families

valued. It won't be the last family time as we will arrange a series of events

throughout the year to bring families together for more of this special time

together. We are blessed to have so many faithful people attending the

groups we run such as Messy Mondays and Fastworks and it is always a joy

to be able to spend time with the wonderful families who come. What a great

job I have!

Paul

To all or GLPC Family and friends

I just wanted to thank everyone who donated to my sponsor sheets

over the last year. Kyle and I have got fit in the process and in

total raised nearly £800 between the three charities - Breast

Cancer Care Scotland, Cancer Research and

Leukaemia/Lymphoma (Bloodwise as it is now known). We

couldn't have done it without the support from everyone in the

congregation. I think we will hang up the training shoes for a

wee while and have a Winter rest!!

Love from

Kirsty & Kyle Thomson

xxx

Members & Elders Deaths

Tom Duffy – August 2015 - Elder

Mary (May) McLean - September 2015 - Member

Agnes (Nan) Barr – September 2015 - Elder

ACTION AID AND MARY’S MEALS

I WOULD LIKE TO WISH EVERYONE A VERY PEACEFUL CHRISTMAS AND TO

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR UNBELIEVABLE SUPPORT OF MY TWO

CHARITIES’. NEXT YEAR LOOKS AS IF IT IS GOING TO BE A VERY CHALLENGING

ONE WITH THE SAD MOVEMENT OF FAMILYS HAVING TO FLEE FROM THEIR

WAR TORN COUNTRIES AND SEEK A NEW LIFE. I HOPE YOU KEEP THEM ALL

IN YOUR PRAYERS AT THIS TIME....REMEMBER JESUS AND HIS FAMILY HAD

TO SEEK REFUGE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY TOO.

GOD BLESS AND THANKS.......ROSE.

SUNDAY CANTEEN

Help help help – I am now making up the rota for 2016 and we really are in need of some new

volunteers to help make and serve the tea on Sundays after our morning service. Any willing

volunteers please see me and you will be made very very welcome (and first dibs on the cake which

has to be a bonus ).

Jean McFarlane

FLOWER CALENDAR

Flower diary for 2016 will be available soon and should anyone like to take a date in the diary please

do so – if your chosen date has already been selected maybe you could even think of sharing the

date with the other person. My sincere thanks to all those who donate very frequently during the

year – your support is very much appreciated.

Jean McFarlane

FLUTE PHONICS CONCERT

This will be held in Linthouse Hall on Sunday 29th November 2015 starting at 7.30pm and tea/coffee

and home baking is included in the ticket price of £5 with the proceeds being halved between the

Flute Phonics and Church Funds. Do come along and enjoy their great music. Tickets are now

available. Any donations for the raffle would be very welcome.

THANK YOU LIST

Many thanks to Carol for her help in arranging the Church Flowers during our sojourn at Linthouse;

your help is very much appreciated.

The Scout Group for their help with putting up the tables on a Friday night for us on a Saturday

morning, this is very much appreciated by the Tearoom workers.

The Saturday Tearoom workers would like to say a huge thank you to all who donate sugar, tea,

coffee and baking items etc and to the many people who come along on a Saturday and give us their

custom. We appreciate all you do and would like to wish you all the very best for Christmas and New

Year.

Thanks also to May and Marion McKinnon for their help with setting up for the tea after the Sunday

morning service and to all who help to serve the tea and coffee.

Last but not least a huge thanks to Paul Cathcart and his band of willing helpers who help work so

hard at Messy Mondays – your good work doesn’t go unnoticed.

Smile

They say that if you meet someone

who hasn’t got a smile

you ought to give them one of yours

to help them for a while.

While walking down the street today

head bowed against the rain,

a child gave me a cheeky grin

and made me smile again.

I passed it to a harassed mum

and passer-by to share,

but found I was still smiling and

I still had one to spare.

A neighbour saw me smiling,

and crossed the street and talked.

We passed our fun to others while we

giggled as we walked.

We parted in great spirits,

arranged to meet for tea.

I found, the more I smiled,

others smiled back at me.

It’s nice to meet with people

and show we’re warm and caring,

the lovely thing about a smile

is that it’s meant for sharing.

by Eliza Barret.

When God sends you help – don’t ask questions

She hurried to the pharmacy to get medicine, got back to her car and found she had locked

her keys inside. The woman found an old rust coat hanger left on the ground. She looked at

it and said, ‘I don’t know how to use this’. She bowed her head and asked God to send her

some help.

Within five minutes a beaten up old motor cycle pulled, driven by a bearded man who was

wearing an old biker skull rag. He got off his cycle and asked if he could help. She said, ‘Yes,

my daughter is sick. I’ve locked my keys in my car and I must get home. Please can you use

this hanger to unlock my car?’

He said, ‘Sure’. He walked over to the car and in a minute the car was open. She hugged the

man through tears and said, ‘Thank you God for sending me such a very nice man’. The man

heard her little prayer and replied, ‘Lady I am NOT a nice man. I just got out of prison

yesterday; I was in for car theft’.

The woman hugged the man again sobbing, ‘Oh thank you God! You even sent me a

professional!’

Fun Corner

Puzzle

Here is a little something to get you thinking...

What is greater than God, more evil than the devil, the poor have it and the rich need it and

if you eat it you will die?

(You will find the answer on the back page)

PROPHECY OF JESUS’ BIRTHPLACE The coming of Jesus is predicted many times in the Old Testament. In Micah 5:2, the prophet Micah predicts that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. Read the Scripture, then use it to solve the crossword puzzle.

Across: 1. Israel's history goes back to these times. 3. Name of this prophet. 4. The Messiah would rule over this nation. 6. Prophesied place of Christ's birth. Down: 2. This other name for Bethlehem was this hometown of King David. 5. Bethlehem is this size.

We’ve been covering Exodus in church learning about all the Plagues that were sent when the King of Egypt wouldn’t listen to Moses and let the Israelites leave. I found this word search to see how many you can find.

PLAGUES OF EGYPT

Find any of the words in bold in the Plagues of Egypt in the word search puzzle: Exodus 7 – 11: 1. Water turns to blood. 2. Frogs everywhere, including in bedsheets and food containers. 3. Gnats or head lice. 4. Swarms of flies. 5. Diseases falling on horses, donkeys, camels, oxen and sheep. 6. Boils or scabs breaking out on men and livestock. 7. Thunder and hail. 8. Locusts so thick they will eat every tree. 9. Darkness for three days. 10.Death of the firstborn among all children and all beasts. R E C A Y E L G S D F V H A Q N W D S V U B N Z D

E C E K Y S N C R A C I X O E Y A O S Y E Z S V U

D N X P U R B L E Y A R R X R R A C G A E T I S W

N E R D L I H C N S M J O S K S A X S Q S K T I R

U R E T A W X E I H E Y Q N T B E T Y U R E N B P

H K C I H T N C A A L D E S S B S S C H E J Z O H

T S W A R M S I T G S S O Q H S O O O H T S U I D

N D M I E A E L N W S V M O T E L R S Y Q A U L H

T I L I V E S T O C K P S A L R E D N Y N G E S G

F S J C M K L B C P L N N O B B E P K M E W C D L

P E S H A I L Y E O M G Z D T B Z E M B B D Z X V

X A G N A O B O R M Q F L I E S V E D K S B H W R

J S O Z E C P D L F M W N O F T P E A Q L Q S G Q

B E R T R E E I M J Z Y N U P C R Q Z D F M N N X

U S F L J Y I L A O F V Z K Q V H U S Z V L M A A

Passover Exodus 12.1-14 Remembrance Sunday 8th November

2015.

We all know that, when WWI broke out, people queued in their hundreds to sign up, to take the King’s shilling, and that it was, in the optimism and excitement of the moment ‘going to be all over by Christmas’. No-one could have foreseen the bleakness; the desperation; the horror and carnage, which was to follow over four long and bitter years. The men in the trenches saw death on an unprecedented scale, and often for just a few feet of mud

which would be lost a month later.

It is small wonder that in the shock of realisation, in the trauma of the battlefield, strange rumours began to circulate about divine help, about an angel who protected British servicemen at the Battle of Mons, about the long bowmen, the archers, who had fought with Henry V at Agincourt, who came to help the British Expeditionary Forces. It was not the first time such stories had circulated in battles, think of the cross of St Andrew in the sky at

the battle of Markle against the Northumbrians.

In WWI there was even a rumour that some dead German troops had been found with strange, ghostly-grey looking wounds made by arrows. In fact, the story of the bowmen was invented by a journalist, Arthur Machen, who wrote a short story for the London Evening News, but afterwards he discovered that people needed the hope, or politicians the propaganda, and it was impossible to put the story back into a box, or a bottle. So deep was the need to be justified in the face of mindless and cruel death, so deep in our psyche the need for a just war, that he found himself unable to retract a tale which gave courage to, gave meaning to, what was happening in the trenches of Europe. God

was on our side, thank God.

It was every bit as necessary that God should take sides in the creation of that profound ritual of remembrance, the Passover – that moment when God became the apocalyptic warrior searching out the door lintels for the blood of the sacrificial lamb: the great avenger of injustice, of slavery, of death, of the forced suppression of his people. It was designed to be a festival for all time, and a festival which couldn’t become embedded in comfort, which couldn’t be domesticated – as Christmas and Easter have become to our cost – think how often we rail at the

commercialisation of Christmas, at the Easter bunny. The food eaten at Passover was not just demanding to make, it tasted bitter – there was no liking it, only getting used to it, flatbreads, and lamb with bitter herbs, and eaten on the move, with all your clothes on for a journey. It was certainly designed to make you

think, to make you remember.

‘The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall mark for you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year for you. ----- This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord, throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.’

There is no mistaking the seriousness and formality of the instructions for keeping the feast. It is equally strange, given that the blood on the lintels was designed to show which houses were the homes of the Jews, and which were the homes of the Egyptians who would suffer the final plague, that our oldest historical record of Jews keeping the Passover comes from Egypt itself, and from a garrison of Jewish soldiers and customs officials in the pay of the Egyptian government. They were stationed on a island in the Nile in the 6th century BC , part of the modern city of Aswan, and they seem to have kept this most Jewish of all festivals alongside various Egyptian religious rituals - a bit like British Moslem children, who celebrate Eid, but also receive a toy at Christmas. What was designed to be completely exclusive, showing how God defended his one, chosen race, had

become mixed with special ceremonies honouring Egyptian gods.

Festivals change! Our time-honoured rituals change! We don’t keep them in purity, but adapt them all the time. At one time, everyone wore the red poppy, remembering the dead from the poppy fields of Flanders. Even in recent years, we have seen increasing numbers of white poppies, symbols of peace, appearing alongside the red ones, as though the red ones were somehow a symbol of war rather than sacrifice. And this week, I saw a picture of a blue poppy, representing death at sea. And there has been a significant number of articles this year, recalling troops from other ethnicities, Sikhs as well as Ghurkhas, African regiments, those who fought, those who played their part on beaches and snow fields, and not just among the poppies. The ways in which we commemorate loss and sacrifice change and

adapt as time goes on. We notice those who have been left out of the recollection, we add new elements for those whose contribution has been forgotten. It is important that we remember - and give thanks for all the young lives that never reached age and the dignities of age - for their lives had been given away, in courage, in duty, in a dark dread of enemy

occupation.

I was reading this week of the death, in his nineties, of the French-American thinker Rene Girard. Girard thought that war was not an angry God winding up history, but the final chapter of human self-destruction. We are caught, in other words, in a world which rejects repentance and faith in favour of violent escalation and violent resolution. Such has been the experience of humanity in the world. But it is equally true that human beings have done some very brave things, have shown integrity and courage, have lived with generosity and unselfishness, and have died offering those gifts back to God. If our world is not perfect, that doesn’t reduce the graciousness of others in the circumstances in which they found themselves. If our world is not perfect, that doesn’t diminish the ways in which others fulfilled their lives in all honour. We should and must remember.

We must remember them. Amen.

Let us pray,

Dearest Lord,

We give thanks for all those who had the courage to serve their

country and their friends in situations of conflict.

We give thanks for their personal bravery.

We give thanks for their ready and willing comradeship.

We give thanks for the sense of duty they carried towards those

who would come after them.

We give thanks for their lives laid down, and the good they were

defending: decency and peacefulness, honesty and compassion.

And we give thanks for that other world where they will be

recompensed, and all loss restored, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Contacts:

Rev Dr Moyna McGlynn Minister

0141 419 0308 07908860997

moyna_mcglynn@hotmail.com

Paul Cathcart Youth & Children's Outreach &

Development Worker 01355 243970 07708396074

paulcathcart@msn.com

Rev Andrew Thomson Pastoral Assistant

0141 641 2936 07772502774

thethomsons@hotmail.co.uk

Elsie Donald Session Clerk

0141 883 0995 e_donald@ewkd.freeserve.co.uk

Frank Brown

Treasurer 0141 892 0283

frankbrown697@btinternet.com

Gillian McIlreavy Communication Co-ordinator

07811332632 Church Office Tel: 0141 445 2010

glpcglasgow@googlemail.com

Christopher Rankine Probationer Minister

07796293134 christopher_rankine@hotmail.com

Please visit our website at:

www.govanlinthouseparish.org If you have any feedback on the site we would be delighted to hear from you.

(Answer to puzzle – nothing)

(Crossword - Prophecy of Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem

Across: 1. Ancient; 3. Micah; 4. Israel; 6. Bethlehem Down: 2. Ephrathah; 3. Small)