CHURCH NOTICES
COMING SUNDAY’S SERVICES: 9th December at 9.45 at Edrom and 11.00 a.m. at Chirnside.
THANK YOU to all who stayed for the Soup Lunch which raised over £130.00 for the Guild project, “Walking in the Light – Nigeria”
MUM’S THE WORD: This gathering of mothers and wee ones will be meeting again on Friday, 7th December, in the Church Hall at Chirnside at 10.30 a.m.
In future the pattern will be to meet on 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month.
Please tell other young mothers with babies and toddlers in the village that we meet every second week and would welcome them heartily.
BIBLE STUDY AND PRAYER GROUP: We will meet on Tuesday 4th at 4.00 p.m. in the Church Hall. The first part will be Bible study and discussion followed by a tea break and then at 5.00 p.m. a 15 minute time for prayer following the outline of the Prayer Matters in the weekly Order of Service.
COFFEE MORNING: Members and friends are invited to a Coffee Morning at Nethermains on the morning of Saturday the 8th December at 10 a.m. to help raise funds for the Guild Project for this year – the “Walking in the Light” project.
SUNDAY CHILDREN’S MINISTRY: We remind parents that the facility for children in the church is there every week with the older ones coming into the service for the first part and the younger children going directly to the hall.
EMAIL OF TODAY’S SERVICE: If you would like to have the Sunday services emailed to you week by week please send your request to Duncan at:
duncanemurray@tiscali.co.uk
PRAYER MATTERS: If you would like any prayer concerns included in “Prayer Matters” below please contact Duncan by Tuesday each week by phone or email:
01890 819109 or duncanemurray@tiscali.co.uk There are books in each church to write prayer requests in – please bring it to the attention of the elders on duty.
ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS SERVICES:
Carols at Edrom on Thursday 20th December at 7.00 p.m. This is the second year of holding this event and we invite members of all three churches to come along. Sherry and mince pies to follow.
Lessons and Carols with the Merse Singers at Chirnside Church on 16th at 11.00 a.m. Members of all three congregations are welcome to join in.
Lessons and Carols at Bonkyl Church on 16th at 4.00 p.m. This service replaces the morning service on that day. This is an annual event and members of all three churches are welcome to join in. Sherry and mince pies will be served afterwards.
Carols at the Housing Trust on Sunday 23rd at 3.00 p.m.
Christmas Eve: There will be a Candlelight Carol Service at 7.00 p.m. in the Chirnside Church. We are keen to invite members and friends from all three churches, and especially families, to this service to enjoy singing the “night time” carols. This event will be followed by suitable refreshments in the Hall.
Christmas Day: We hold one service on Christmas Day at 10.00 a.m. in Chirnside Church (note earlier starting time) to which all are invited. We will enjoy singing the “morning” carols on this occasion to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Sunday 30th December: This is the 5th Sunday of the month. We will have one service at Chirnside Parish Church for all three congregations at 11.00 a.m. Write a short prayer or testimony on how God has blessed you this past year to be used
in this service. Also on this Sunday we have a BRING AND SHARE LUNCH in the Church Hall after the service. Bring what you would enjoy and share it with others – it will be a feast!
PRAYER MATTERS
· Pray for those you know who are ill at home or hospital, for those bereaved, and those who are housebound or lonely. David Runciman, Isa Middlemass and Gunter Rahn have been in the BGH and Tom Morgan, Effie Colvine and Helen Brown in the Knoll.
· Pray for the growth of “Mums the Word” – drawing in our young mothers and their babies and toddlers.
· Pray for directions for ministry to older children and teens in our congregations. The needs are for creative ideas and committed leadership from young adults.
· Give thanks to God for your family – for the fact that through our families we reach back to the riches and blessings of the older generations, that through our contemporary family members we share love in the present links, and through our children and grandchildren we pass on the gifts of grace, life and love to those who come after us. Give thanks for the celebrations of anniversaries, marriages, births and birthdays – and pray that these events will help draw us closer to one another.
· Pray for all our congregations in the season leading up to Christmas and for all the special services that take place during this time – that these events will help to draw others in and be a blessing to all concerned.
· Pray for servicemen abroad doing duty in dangerous situations and for their families back home who are constantly anxious for their well-being while away, and especially for the families of those who have died recently in the conflict zones in which they were serving.
