Old Parish and St Paul’s Church of Scotland, Galashiels

Old Parish and St Paul’s Church of Scotland, Galashiels, is a Charity registered in Scotland, No: SC010389

Newsletter ♦ November 2017

www.oldparishandstpauls.org.uk/newsletters.htm

Minister: Rev. Dr Leon Keller, Woodlea, Abbotsview Drive, Galashiels TD1 3SL (01896 753029)

Session Clerk: David Leckey, Dove Cottage, 69 Melrose Road, Galashiels TD1 2BX (01896) 757631

Deputy Session Clerk:

Jim Tennant, 43 Kilnknowe Place, Galashiels TD1 1RH (01896) 751003

Board Clerk: Shirley Sandison, Lynhurst, Abbotsview Drive, Galashiels TD1 3SL (01896) 758634

Treasurer: Marjorie McKendrick, 1 Hayward Drive, Galashiels TD1 3JB (01896) 752540

Everybody is going to be saved - and nobody is going to be lost!

One great danger of the church today consists in the rise and progress of a spirit of indifference to all doctrines and opinions in religion. A wave of “anything goes” about theology appears to be passing over the land. The minds of many seem utterly incapable of discerning any difference between one belief and another belief, one creed and an-other creed, one tenet and another tenet, one opinion and another opinion, one thought and another thought, how-ever diverse and mutually contrary they may be! Everything is true and nothing is false. Everything is right and noth-ing is wrong. Everything is good and nothing is bad - if only it comes to us under the garb and name of “religion”. Most think that it is kind and liberal to maintain that we have no right to think that anyone is wrong who is in earnest about his creed. We are not allowed to ask what is God's truth - but what is liberal, and generous, and charitable. Most professing Christians make cleverness and earnestness the only tests of orthodoxy in religion. Thousands nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish between things that differ. If a preacher is only clever and eloquent and earnest - they think that he is all right, however strange and heterodox his sermons may be. Popery or Protestantism, an atonement or no atonement, a personal Holy Spirit or no Holy Spirit, future punishment or no future punishment - they swallow all! Carried away by an imagined liberality and charity, they seem to regard doctrine as a matter of no importance, and to think that everybody is going to be saved and nobody is going to be lost! They dislike dis-tinctness, and think that all decided views are very wrong! These people live in a kind of mist or fog! They see nothing clearly, and do not know what they believe. They have not made up their minds about any great point in the Gospel, and seem content to be honorary members of all schools of thought. If their lives depended on it, they could not tell you what they think is the truth about: forgiveness of sins, or justification, or regeneration, or sanctification, or saving faith, or conversion, or inspiration, or the future state. They are eaten up with a morbid dread of doctrine. And so they live on undecided, and too often undecided they drift down to the grave, on the broad way which leads to eternal destruction. They are content to shovel aside all disputed points as rubbish, and will tell you, "I do not pretend to understand doctrine. I dare say that it is all the same in the long run." They are for a general policy of universal toleration and for-bearance of every doctrine. Every school of false teaching, however extreme, is to be tolerated. They desire the Church to be a kind of Noah's Ark, within which every kind of opinion and creed shall dwell safely and undisturbed, and the only terms of admittance are a willingness to come inside, and let your neighbour alone. Nothing is too ab-surd to concede and allow into the church in the present mania for complete freedom of thought and absolute liberty of opinion. The explanation of this boneless, nerveless condition of soul is perhaps not difficult to find. The heart of man is naturally in the dark about religion - has no intuitive sense of truth - and really needs divine instruction and illumina-tion. Besides this, the natural heart in most men hates exertion in religion. Above all, the natural heart generally likes the praise of others, shrinks from collision, and loves to be thought charitable and liberal. The whole result is that a kind of broad religious anything-ism just suits an immense number of professors. Ignorance, I am compelled to say, is one of the grand dangers of professors of religion in the present day. Who does not know that such people swarm and abound everywhere? And who does not know that anyone who de-

nounces this state of things - and insists that we should be loyal to the Scripture truth - is regarded as a narrow, big-

oted, intolerant person, quite unsuited to our times?

When there is no creed or standard of doctrine, there can be no church, but a Babel ...

What the final result of the present state of affairs will be I do not pretend to predict.

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and

careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own de-

sires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn

their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths!" 2 Timothy 4:2-4

Rev. Dr Leon Keller comments: “There is a lot of truth in and things to learn from this 1884 article by JC Ryle”.

Knitted Figurines of the Reformation

Project by Mary McVicker – a 15 year-old teenager from our Church

I first had the idea of the Mini Knitted Reformation on a Saturday morning in February 2017. I had found a postcard of Mary Queen of Scots and decided to try and knit her - just for fun - to see how it would turn out. I have a knitting pattern for a medieval chess set with miniature figures; I felt that the Queen piece, with a little adaptation, would do perfectly as a pattern. And so, after a few hours of knitting and sewing, Mary Queen of Scots’ knitted counterpart was standing on the table in front of me. I loved it. It had turned out much better than I’d expected. But I decided not to stop there...

When I was younger, I used to like reading children’s biographies of Reformers, and as I’ve got older I’ve progressed to more in-depth books as well as various movies and documentaries on the Reformation. Martin Luther was definitely an emerging favourite and one of the people I remembered best from my old biographies. So as I was knitting Mary Queen of Scots, the idea of a Mini Knitted Reformation was born. I was hooked on the idea and it soon took off. I had knitted John Wycliffe by Monday. After another two months, John Knox, Martin Luther as a monk, Mrs Luther and John Calvin were added to the knitted collec-tion. The more figures I made, the more ideas I had for new ones, and I got more and more enthusiastic! Together with Leon, our minister, we decided to do a display with props and scenery of the figurines on Reformation Sunday as part of our church’s commemoration of the 500th year since the Reformation. I was really excited about that and worked even harder afterwards - I had a goal now that I could work towards and was really looking forward to planning the scenery. After I knitted the Pope, the three cardinals, Charles V and Luther-not-as-a-monk followed. Then came a whole series of Luthers to make several displays showing his life story. I loved the challenge of creating a likeness to the Reformers in a knitted doll, and it was especially fun to knit extravagant capes and mitres for characters like the cardinals and the Pope. But then I had another idea: how about a knitted Leon as the modern day minister behind his tiny cardboard lectern beside Martin Luther? A few days later, I made a tiny cardboard lectern. Over a couple of months, I gradually constructed mini worlds for my characters to live in. The knitted people seemed to come to life when they were standing in front of their background. I had great fun cre-ating the different scenery! And so here we are with Reformation Sunday. It has been so enjoyable and rewarding to make all the figures and props, and it’s helped to make me a more creative knitter - and to learn about the Reformers and the Reformation.

Above: The 13 backdrops with mini-figurines Left: The Pope excom-municating Luther

Right: Luther preaching that we are saved by Christ Alone

Church Autumn Fayre

Our Autumn Fayre takes place on Saturday 18th November between 10.00 and 12.00 in the Volunteer Hall. Stalls include Cake and Candy, Books, Toys/Games, Bric-à-brac, Produce, Crafts, Jewellery and Cards, as well as hopefully a few more. Entry costs £2 per adults (children free) and this includes refreshments. If you can help by supplying cake and candy for the stall and/or tray bakes or biscuits, etc., to serve with the teas and coffees, that would be appreciated. Please bring tray bakes pre-cut into smallish pieces if pos-sible. If you would like to donate goods for the stalls please bring them to the Volunteer Hall between 6 pm and 8 pm on Friday 17th Novem-ber. If you need help with this or do not have transport, please let Shirley Sandison or Irene Glenfield know.

Under Ground Church Fundraiser for Naisi, Malawi

On Communion Sunday - Sunday 19th November - members of the Under Ground Church will be serving tea/coffee after the service and will also be doing a cake/bake stall. We are hoping also to have some tea from Malawi to sell. Money raised from this will be for English Bibles for our partner church who have recently starting having services in English as well as Chichewa.

Spring Harvest 2018

2018 Spring Harvest is going to be running at Harrogate on 3-7 April as well as at the usual Skegness and Minehead venues. What is special about the new venue is that you can opt in without having to buy a unit of ac-commodation. For £99 you can attend all the main and fringe events. You are then free to find your own accommodation at a cost that suits you (similar to Keswick Convention). The theme for 2018 is “Only the Brave”. You will have the opportunity to hear good Bible teaching, lis-ten to some of the top Christian worship leaders and loads more. It is the opportunity to have a holiday alongside attending Bible teaching. Check it out on www.springharvest.org. If you would like more infor-mation, please speak to Ishbel Adamson.

Some facts about Martin Luther

1. It is 500 years since he nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the church at Wittenberg.

2. He married a for-mer nun who was smuggled out of a convent in an emp-ty fish barrel. She was called Kathe-rine von Bora and they went on to have 6 children.

3. Luther was an accomplished musician who played the lute and the flute, composed his own original hymns and made communal sing-ing a central element of worship.

Ian Henderson

Children's Carol Concert

Galashiels Fellowship of Churches are hosting a Children's Carol Concert in our Church on Thursday 7th December from 6 -7.30 pm. If you can assist with marshalling cars, steward-ing, projection or sound, please also let Eleanor Simpson know. Choirs from all the local schools will be taking part.

Thank You!

Many thanks to all who gave so generously to Christian Blind Mission. Together we raised £125. I will confirm the full amount raised after the conversion of each ten pounds to fifty and addition of Gift Aid once I receive a receipt. But thanks to everyone for a wonderful effort!

Eleanor Simpson

Annual Golf Pairs Competition

This competition was held at Harburn Golf Club, West Calder, at the end of September. The results were as follows:

1st: Rev Duncan McCosh & Steve Fox (67 points)

2nd: Colin Hanley & Robert Lamont (60 points)

Longest drive: Iain Affleck (our host, the Club Captain)

Nearest the pin: Peter Townsend

Fewest putts: Jim Tennant

Funeral Service

The funeral of John Jardine, 11 Penman Place, took place in the Church on Wednesday 18th October. We extend our sympathies to his widow, Liz, sons Euan and Daniel, and other family members.

How and Why Should Christians Rejoice?

Three times in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians in Philippi, he tells them to rejoice.

1) In Philippians 2:17-18 he says: ‘But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. In the same way you too should be glad and rejoice with me.’

2) In Philippians 3:1 he instructs his readers: ‘Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.’

3) And in Philippians 4:4 he tells them: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again – rejoice!’ What does Paul mean?

Paul’s instructions in these verses can seem rather strange to some Christians. He tells his readers to re-joice. Yet isn’t joy a feeling that people simply may or may not happen to have? Surely Paul isn’t telling the Philippians to choose to feel a certain way, is he? In a sense this puzzlement is understandable. It is certainly true that joy is something that can be felt. And it is true too that Christians should never try to manufacture feelings of any kind within themselves. For believers to try to psyche themselves up to feel joy is all wrong. Nevertheless, there must be some course of action the Philippians could have taken to rejoice. Other-wise Paul’s words would be meaningless. Surely what he means is that his readers should consciously choose to reflect on things that they are glad about. In Philippians 2:17-18 he is telling them to reflect on how good it is that they are Christians and that they are growing in the faith. And in 3:1 and 4:4 he is instructing them to reflect on all that the Lord is to them and has done for them. All Christians should rejoice

In Philippians 4:4, as I have noted, Paul tells the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord always. There is no doubt that this is a command which applies to Christians in each century of the church. In fact, it makes sense to think that we should rejoice in all the positive things in our lives. Every good thing we experience comes from God, so rejoicing in anything good is really a kind of indirect way of re-joicing in the Lord anyway. Today, then, as Christians did in the first century, we should choose to focus and reflect on the positive things in our lives, the things we are glad about. And above all this will include what God is to us and has done for us. Rejoicing in all circumstances

Importantly, rejoicing is something that we need to do regardless of our circumstances. When a Christian’s life is relatively easy and has many things they enjoy, they should spend time reflect-ing on how positive those things are. However, even when life is very hard, it is still important for us to rejoice. We can learn about rejoicing in difficulty from the example of the prophet Habakkuk. In Habakkuk 3:17-18 he says: ‘Though the fig tree does not blossom and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the flock is snatched from the sheepfold and there are no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in the God of my salvation.’ Habakkuk is saying that even if all sources of food disappear, that will not stop him rejoicing in God! Even in a dire situation like this, he will continue to reflect positively on all that God is to him. If we are go-ing through difficult times, Habakkuk’s attitude is a great one to try to imitate. Something else that can be very helpful when we are experiencing hardship is to list things in our lives that we are glad about. It is always true that God has saved us, loves us and is with us. And every day we can find a multitude of small things in life that are positive too. Just spending a little time thinking about good things in our lives and acknowledging that they are good is a fine example of what it means to re-joice. Why is rejoicing important?

So rejoicing is something we can choose to do in obedience to God’s command. But why does He require it of us? Why is it so important that we make the effort to focus on things we are glad about? There are a number of reasons: First, there is the simple fact that God loves us and wants to bless us. He knows that if we are focusing on the good things we experience, this will be a blessing to us. Second, if we are dwelling on the positive aspects of our lives, it will be easier to endure the negative parts. Rejoicing will encourage and comfort us. Third, the more we rejoice, the less inclined we will be to feel sorry for ourselves. Self-pity is a sin that hinders our relationship with God.

continued overleaf

Fourth, the more we focus on the good things we experience, the more inclined we will probably be to feel grateful to God. Thanking Him for what He does for us is very important. Finally, concentrating on the good things the Lord has done for us can help to increase our faith and reduce doubt and unbelief. All these things are important for our Christian walk, and deliberate rejoicing serves as a fuel to strengthen them. Choosing to rejoice

If, then, you are feeling down, make sure that you take the time and effort to actively rejoice. Quietly focus on God’s love for you and grace towards you, as well as the other good things in your life that you are glad about. By doing this, you will hopefully find that the burden becomes a little bit lighter. If, however, you are in high spirits, it is still important to actively rejoice. It is often when things are easi-est that we are most in danger of taking our eyes off the Lord. Rejoicing can help to guard us against this. Basically, regardless of our circumstances, we need to choose to focus on the good things in our lives, especially all that God is to us and has done for us. This is what rejoicing is all about.

Max Aplin

Borders Street Pastors

Listening Caring Helping Registered Scottish Charity No: SCO46473

Dear Friends

December 2017 will see the 100th patrol from Borders Street Pastors. At a time when we hear so much about the decline of the Church in our society, it is so refreshing to see that Christ is alive and very much active in our Border towns. Every time that Street Pastors go out on patrol, they spend time in prayer beforehand, praying for the folk in the night time economy and also for God’s protection. As one Street Pastor recently said, every team of three always has a fourth member accompanying them: Christ Jesus. His presence is with us dur-ing the night and He is very much part of what we do. Flip flops continue to be in demand from young ladies in bare feet; some 800 pairs issued to date. With the colder nights, woolly hats: some 106 given out, and 45 foil blankets. On occasions we have had to put our First Aid training to use, with an ambulance having to be called on some 13 occasions. Lollypops are also very popular, with some 4000 having been given out! But most important has been engaging with people on the streets and the conversations that we have. We have found that more and more people want to discuss their faith with us. We won’t instigate these conversations, they come from the people themselves. Many young people do have beliefs: we may not see them in Church on a Sunday, but faith exists in today’s youth, and we pray that this Ministry will con-tinue to reach out to the youth of today (and older folk as well!). We have recently appointed Maria Sprott from Hawick as our Prayer Coordinator. Maria compiles a monthly Prayer Letter, so if you would like to be included on the contact list, please contact Maria at:

. We continue to look for folk to join our team, especially for ‘Day Pas-tors’, to assist at events in the Borders during the summer months. Rail Pastors are another part of the Street Pastor family which we haven’t touched on locally, but which the rail industry is very keen to have on the Borders Railway. Why not come out as an observer one evening to see what happens Finally, a story from the streets. A few weeks ago, there was a bus load of young men down from East Kilbride for an event. They were waiting for their bus back, but were quite rowdy, challenging local folk, etc. One of them threw a glass onto the road. We made a point of sweeping it up, and the chap who had thrown it came up and apologized for his behaviour. We engaged with him, and others, and it was amaz-ing how the tensions lifted. We weren’t judging or criticising them, we just chatted to them and gave out lollypops - that’s how it works!

Blessing, Duncan Cameron (Coordinator)

/ 01896 758248

Treasurer’s Report - September 2017

Actual General Fund income to date £56,069 Actual General Fund expenditure to date £67,551 Income shortfall to date -£11,482

Average weekly offerings compared: £864 (Jan - Sep 2016)

£841 (Jan - Sep 2017)

Budgeted Expenditure for 2017 £90,015

Budget for January-September £70,183

Income from offerings to date £32,789

Gift Aided offerings tax reclaimed to date £6,021

Investment income to date £2,163

£40,973

Shortfall (voluntary income) -£29210

Income from use of premises £9,937

Other donations to date £5,417

Legacies to date £50

£15,404

Income shortfall to date, against budget -£13,806

Charitable donation income from Missionary Dinner

Mission Amount

Barnabas Fund £40

Scottish Bible Society £24

Comfort Rwanda £215

CURE Malawi Hospital £60

Feba Radio £42

Interserve £299

Leprosy Mission £45

Mission Aviation Fellowship £75

Open Doors £90

Overseas Missionary Fellowship £60

Tearfund £45

Wycliffe £45

Total £1,040

Christ’s Second Coming: Seven Crucial Questions

Donald Cameron’s new com-pact book, Christ’s Second Coming - Seven Crucial Questions has just been pub-lished, dealing with Who?, What?, Why?, How?, When?, Where? and How can we be Prepared? This book is de-signed for the convinced to give or recommend to the unconvinced. It is written spe-cifically for young Christians, non-Christians, and those who consider themselves to be on the fringe of Christiani-ty, though others may find it helpful. The cost is £8, with any profits going to missions.

Galashiels Academy Tanzania Expedition with the Vine Trust

On Sunday 3rd December a group of Galashiels Academy Pupils will be coming to St. Paul's to fundraise for a trip to Tanzania with the Vine Trust next year. They hope to add to their total by holding a coffee morning in the Main Hall after the service. They will be bringing home-made tray bakes and cakes to entice us, so please put this date in your diary and make a point of coming through as normal that day, or if you don't normally come for coffee or tea, perhaps you would like to come to this event. Monetary donations will be sought for the refreshments and I would encourage you to be generous to them, as fundraising for a large of amount of money is no mean feat. They each need to raise £3,000 in order to take part, so please give your support. They also hope to speak at the service about their forth-coming trip and why they became involved. They have other fund-raising events planned in the Academy, namely a Quiz Night on 24th November, a Fashion Show on 9th December and a Burns Night on 26th Jan-uary. If anyone would like to know more about these events please speak to Shirley Sandison.