SteepleTalk

The MagazineOf

Bourock Parish Church

2

Interim Moderator Alan Birss 889 3587Locum Margaret WhyteSession Clerk Elizabeth McKenzie 880 5077Deputy Session Clerk Linda Dye 876 1201Treasurer Isobel Lawson 881 9457Roll Keeper John Whyte 571 4787Halls Convener Bruce Brown 571 6403WFO Envelopes Fiona Auchincloss 880 7132Junior Church Linda Dye 876 1201Guild Irene Draper 881 6507Boys’ Brigade Captain Gregor Condy 0790 033 2461Boys’ Brigade (Company) Gavin Cooke 0777 533 5286Boys’ Brigade (Junior) Jean Hepburn 880 8492Boys’ Brigade (Anchor) Katie Gibson 881 8362Guides Ilene Easdon-Hynds 881 9961Brownies (2nd) Susan Morrison 580 5292Brownies (3rd) Barbara Hughes 881 2119Tweenies Morag McKenzie 880 5077Bourock Friends Group Susan Morrison 580 5292Mother & ToddlerVariety Club Linda Dye 876 1201Coffee Club Ann McMillan 881 8348Craft Club Dorothy Ramsay 571 5260SteepleTalk Ken Dye 876 1201Life And Work Andy Ramsey 571 5525Christian Aid Marjory Brown 571 6403Stravaigers Allan Ramsay 571 5260OrganistChild Protection CoOrdinator Wilma Lundie 880 5320

Who’s Who In Bourock

Web Site www.bourock.co.uk (find us on FaceBook)Interim Moderator minister@bourock.co.ukSession Clerk elizabeth@bourock.co.ukDepute Session Clerk linda@bourock.co.ukSteepleTalk editorial@bourock.co.uk

Christian Education Linda DyeMission And Outreach Ken DyePastoral Care Moira McCartneyProperty Robert McKenzieFinance Derek Palmer

Business Committee Convenors

Internet Addresses

Charity Registration No SC 016467

3

Dear Friends

I write this letter to you while there is still some uncertainty as to the timescale for forming a nominatingcommittee to find a new minister for Bourock – but what I can say is that it is now generally agreed thatBourock will have a minister and that we should not have to wait too much longer for permission to form thenominating committee and proceed. In the meantime you the members of the congregation and I as interimmoderator are richly blessed in having Margaret Whyte as the locum, Geoff Orry dealing with so manypastoral concerns and Elizabeth McKenzie and the other office bearers attending to all the practical matters.Team work is always important in the life of a church and never more so than during a vacancy and we havean excellent team at Bourock.

‘And the Word became flesh and lived among us.’ Those words from John’s Gospel take us to the heart ofthe meaning of Christmas – that the little baby born of Mary in a stable in Bethlehem, born into poverty, borninto a family that would soon become refugees, that baby was none other than the eternal Son of Godincarnate, the one through whom all things in heaven and on earth were created. Because of this we can beassured of two things. First, God knows what it is to live our human life, with its joys and its sorrows, itshopes and disappointments, its happiness and its pain. Second, because of where Jesus was born, we knowthat it is when we show care, compassion and love to those for whom life is a struggle that we are closest toGod. That is why, for example, your support of the Samaritan Purse Operation Christmas Child project is soimportant a part of Christmas at Bourock. What could be more in tune with the meaning of this great festivalthan the giving of a gift in love to a child for whom life is a real struggle?

I hope you all have a very happy and blessed Christmas and assure you all of my prayers for you.

Alan BirssInterim Moderator

Christmas JourneyHow far is it from Nazareth to Bethlehem? If you’re in Pennsylvania, it’s about 9 miles and takes about 10minutes by car. But if you’re in Nazareth of Galilee, and you’re travelling along with your pregnant wife, asJoseph was, it’s about 80 miles to Bethlehem. That journey probably took Joseph and Mary about a week, andthey didn’t stay in a nice hotel when they got there. All Joseph could find was a stall in a stable, and that’swhere Mary delivered “her firstborn Son” (Luke 2:7).But the journey for the infant Jesus was much farther than 80 miles. He left His place in heaven at God’s righthand, came to earth, and accepted our humanity. Eventually, He was stretched out on a cross to die, and Hewas buried in a borrowed tomb. But the journey was not over. He conquered death, left the tomb, walked againamong men, and ascended to heaven. Even that is not the journey’s end. Someday He will return as King ofkings and Lord of lords.As you take a Christmas journey this month, reflect on the journey Jesus made for us. He came from heavento earth to die for us, making salvation available through His death on the cross and His glorious resurrection.Praise God for that first Christmas journey! - David C. Egner

When God stepped out of heaven aboveAnd came down to this earth,

He clothed Himself in human fleshA Child of lowly birth.

D. De Haan

Jesus came to earth for us so we could go to heaven with Him.

4

A Christmas Message

Christmas is coming; and coming fast. Yes, it does seem to come around quicker every year. I heard alight-hearted debate on the Radio and all of the voices agreed that Christmas should not begin to be eventhought about until the beginning of December. They were appalled that Christmas Lights were beingswitched on in many towns so early in November; that shops had been advertising toys and goods from aboutAugust and Supermarkets had been plugging their festive food since September. No one should even whisperthe word Christmas until the first of December.

However seeing the shops decked out already with their Christmas finery does indeed give a bit of colour andexcitement in this dreich season. As it really is our busiest time, Ministers usually groan and moan aboutChristmas from September onwards, though I am not one of them, as I love every minute of this Holy, HolyTime.

There is nothing more special than this Christmas season; there is nothing more wonderful, more magical,more holy, more spirit filled; nothing more designed to melt our hearts as a tiny baby clutches at our heartstrings, nothing more designed to make people happier, mellower, more generous, more sociable, more loving- than Christmas. It is God’s special gift to the world.And don’t we wish those feelings would last all year round!

Elizabeth, your Session Clerk has already given me a list of Christmas Services, as I like to be organised andI am really looking forward to sharing this special time with you. I was commenting to Susan Palmer onSunday that our first real flavour of Bourock Church was at the Christmas Show last year and here we areagain looking forward to another one. I couldn’t have imagined at that time that I would be leading worshipSunday by Sunday now – and what a wonderful experience that has been for me. Thank you for all yourkindness to Tom and I and all your encouragement.

The most wonderful Christmas gift is our Saviour’s loving presence… May his blessings always fill yourheart, your home and your life. Tom and I wish you every joy at Christmas and in 2013.

****************For the New Year.May each day unfold for youLike roses, sparkling with dewThat open to the morning sunAnd bloom until the day is done.

And may each passing moment bringA song as pure as angels singBut may there be above all thingsA peace that only God can bring.

Dear Lord, As my life moves along I can look back and see the many times where your hand has helped me.There is nothing in my mind that would make me think that this will not continue, because my faith and trustis in you and you have faith in me. So all I can do is to thank you Lord… Amen.The Lord is with us… the Son of God is come… 1 John 5:20

fromMargaret Whyte

5

Junior ChurchAdvent is a busy and exciting time for all the younger members of our Church family and the children are wellinto their Christmas preparations. They enjoyed making the stars and wise men’s gifts to decorate the backwindows of the church and are now looking forward to their party on 22nd December which is for all ages ofJunior Church. The Nativity Service will take place as always on ChristmasEve at 7:00pm and it is hoped that all the children will take part in this veryspecial Service. It is wonderful to see their gifts from Santa on Christmasmorning and look forward to seeing them at the Christmas day Service at10.30amThe response to Operation Christmas Child has been amazing and a huge thankyou to everyone in the congregation who has wrapped boxes, knitted hats,donated toys or simply given us postage money for the boxes. We will bepacking the boxes on Wednesday 28th November – a job the children reallyenjoy. It is wonderful that we are able to brighten Christmas for so manychildren who otherwise would possibly receive nothing. As always we will put a Christmas Card in each boxsending Christmas Greetings to every child.

Christmas Blessings to all from Bourock Junior Church

6

Barrhead Church Kibera ProjectCoffee Morning 6th October 2012

A fundraising Coffee Morning was held in the Lower Hall of Bourock Church on Saturday 6th October. Abig ‘Thank You’ goes to everyone who donated baking, bottles and goods, and who bought tickets. Thanksalso go to those who came along on the morning and supported the project, raising just over £400.

Visit to Barrhead 2013

As we have previously announced, preparations have begun to bring Rev Moses and Ken Ntongai fromKibera, to visit Barrhead in 2013. The Church of Scotland’s Head Office has provisionally booked the flightsand is awaiting confirmation of the visitors’ visa applications. They would begin travelling from Nairobi onThursday 18th April and leave Barrhead on Wednesday 1st May.If anyone has any suggestions for places that they could visit during their stay here, or know of any eventsscheduled to take place during that time period, please let me know.

Update from Silanga High School

By the time that you read this magazine the students will have completed theirexamination period for 2012, and will now be enjoying their main holiday period (inKenya the school year runs from January to the end of November).We are in the process of finalising sponsorship for 2013. For the first time in threeyears there has been a significant increase in the costs, due to the high rate ofinflation that has affected Kenya in recent years. If anyone is interested in helpingto provide an education for a teenager, please contact Jim Mitchell (Chairperson),David Miller (Treasurer), or myself.

Finally, the committee would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and best wishes for a happy, healthyand peaceful 2013.

Debbie Mitchelldeb.mitchell@ntlworld.com

Remembrance Day PoemWe remember the brave soldiersAs they fight the foeBut in Flanders Fields the dead lie in a rowIn the trenches way down belowThey hide from the enemyAs the poppies grow

The larks are still bravelySinging above but downBelow they were lovedThe field is covered in redBut as the ladies saidDon't go.

Eve McDermott (Junior Church)

7

Following Purity’s graduation, the Bourock Friends Group now sponsors Rachael Mbuvi. Rachael enrolledin Kitui Seed of Hope Centre this year. She was born in 1985 and has five siblings; without sponsorship shewould be unable to attend school.

It is term three for schools in Kenya, the final term of the year. For some students this means exam preparationas they get ready to study for their KCPE (Kenya Certificate of Primary Education) or KCSE (KenyaCertificate of Secondary Education), which will affect the path their future takes.

Kitui is the fourth Seed of Hope Centre, and was opened in October 2006. Kitui is a poor area in the EasternProvince of Kenya, 170km (107Miles) east of Nairobi. Kitui is home to the Kamba speaking Bantu who arealso in Machakos, Makueni and Mwingi districts.

The district is semi-arid and around 98% of the land in Kitui is subject to drought. Crop failures and foodshortages are common, and around 85% of the population has no source of potable water within 8km (5 Miles)of their homes. This means having to walk this distance to fetch water from a local river. This is done by eitherusing donkeys or women and small children to carry water on their back using plastic containers.

The latest sponsor updates are displayed on the noticeboard in the Lower Hall, along with more informationabout the Seed of Hope and Vision Africa charities.

You may also be interested to know that over 1000 girls have graduated from Seed of Hope Centres over thepast ten years.Debbie Mitchell

Seed Of HopeAutumn/Winter 2012

Talking With HedhehogsThere were shepherds in the fields on the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem.It’s only a few miles from Jerusalem and I sometimes imagine the shepherds visiting the city one day for thefirst time - leaving the sheep behind, of course. They fight their way through the crowded bazaars, the shopscrammed with goods they could never afford to buy. Then the narrow alleys broaden and there in front of themis the Jewish Temple. Great flights of steps, marble everywhere. The courtyards crowded. Robed priests andsacrifices. And next to it, the Roman fortress, all battlements and armed guards.On the other side of the city, not far away, is King Herod’s palace. High stone walls, beautiful gates, moremarble and gold. But the shepherds would only see the palace and the fortress from the outside, of course.They were places of wealth and power. The only way shepherds would ever get in would be if they got intotrouble and were arrested. And all they’d see then would be the dungeons.And yet, the angels came to the shepherds in the fields on a cold, dark winter’s night. I’m not sure what angelsare. We could argue about that all day - it leaves me in a fever pitch of apathy - but whatever they were, theremessengers brought the news that Jesus was born into our world.They tell me that God is more often found among the poor than among the rich and among the powerless thanamong the powerful. So Christmas is for the poor and powerless - although you wouldn’t believe it when youlook at the shops.Lord of the poor, may I begin to see the world through Your eyes and see the glory in the ordinary.

Eddie Askew

8

BOUROCK VARIETY CLUB

Bourock Soup Stop

‘Christmas Holiday’ by now is possibly finished and hopefully has been a great success. The show runs from4th to 8th December at 7.30 pm every night so maybe you still have time to ‘pay at the door’ The show is alot of hard work for everyone involved but also a great deal of fun. As I write this we still have one rehearsaland 2 dress rehearsals to go and then it is ‘Curtain Up’. This is the point where everyone gets a little nervous– lines are forgotten and dance routines fall apart! But as this is our 34th show, we have to be confident thatonce again it will all come together for ‘opening night’. After the show the Club is looking forward once againto leading the congregation in the Carol Singing before the Watchnight Service.Our AGM will be on Thursday 31st January 2013 and if you would like to find out a bit more about the VarietyClub do come along at 8:00pm to the lower hall. We are always looking for new members and even if youdon’t see yourself ‘on the stage’, there are plenty jobs backstage which are just as much fun. We meet everyThursday at 7:30pm and would love to see you then - or speak to any member of the club.

Linda Dye

We are delighted to announce that we were able to present a cheque to Breast Cancer Care on Friday 30th

November for £3,000. This fantastic amount was raised during the month of October from our Ladies PinkLunch at Fereneze Golf Club and our monthly profit from Soup Stop.Our next event will be our Christmas Lunch on Friday 21st December and we are pleased to report that ticketsare selling fast. We will be closed for the 2 Fridays following and then reopen for business on Friday 11th

January 2013.We would like to thank all our customers who have supported us throughout 2012 and look forward towelcoming along faces old and new any Friday between 12:00noon and 2:00pm.Do come along and enjoy some good food and fellowship.

Soup Stop Ladies

9

2nd Barrhead Boys’ BrigadeAnchor Boys

At the start of this years session I enrolled 30 boys which have slowly risen to a very healthy35. We have had a very busy start to the session. We attended a church service and JuniorChurch which was thoroughly enjoyed by all boys and I personally hope that this willbecome a regular event. A local community policeman has been to visit us to talk to theyoungsters about Stranger Danger and our elder visit happened to fall on the same night. OnSaturday 10th November I had the pleasure of taking 7 Anchor Boys to a Battalion event inPaisley. These boys were a credit to the company and their families. Wednesday 14thNovember was a very important day in the Anchor Boy diary as 31 boys led Cross ArthurliePrimary School’s assembly in the morning and I was one very proud Officer in Charge. That evening was ourSpotty Party for Pudsey Bear/Pizza and Chips night where we raised a staggering £83 .2013 for the Anchor Boys will be exciting as we are all looking forward to a visit from a Meerkat (a real one)and we will be holding an alternative Coffee Morning in aid of company funds.... all will be revealed.

Many thanks for your continued support.

Katie and the boys in the red jumpers.

The Guild session got off to a great start with our “Guild Olympics”. What greatsports we have in Bourock Guild and the highlight of the evening had to be ourswimming champion who deserved a gold medal all to herself!

We have enjoyed really good attendances at our other meetings as we enjoyed avisit from Jean Malcolm with her lovely Jewellery and Accessories; a speaker fromEast Renfrewshire Carers, Erskine Hospital and our Bring and Buy sale in aid ofour Guild Projects.

We have also joined up with our friends from Arthurlie, South and Levern andNeilston Guilds as well as those from St John’s and other local Womens Groups inthe town when we were visited by Iain Whyte, the General Secretary of the Churchof Scotland Guild. Iain is the first male to have held the post and I’m sure he was happy to see a few men inthe audience that night.

At our final meeting this year we will be entertained by the Albany Singers. Although we will not be havinga party this year we will exchange gifts as usual. We all look forward to seeing what’s inside those parcels.

The highlight of this part of the year has been our appeal for jumpers for the “Fish and Chip” babies. Althoughwe have not yet counted them, the total I know will be amazing. Please keep an eye open after Christmas tofind out what it will be. The members of the Guild would like to thank everyone who has contributed. Thejumpers may not arrive in time for Christmas but I am sure that the folks who receive them for their new bornbabies will feel that Christmas has come for them all the same.

The Guild

10

Finance Report - November 2012At the time of writing I only have income & expenditure figures up to the end of October 2012 and at thisstage our expenditure exceeds our income. However I do anticipate that our income will fully cover 2012’sexpenditure, due again in no small part to the income from our Gift Aid claim added to income received fromhall lets.

This year’s Gift Aid claim has been assessed and a claim for £13,455.84 has been submitted to HMRC, whichagain highlights the importance of members giving by either Standing Order or WFO envelopes.

Again, I will ask that anyone who currently contributes to Bourock by either Standing Order or WFOenvelopes and pays sufficient income tax but has not signed a Gift Aid declaration to consider doing so, asthis enables us to claim back the income tax on the value of that person’s givings.

For any new Gift Aid declaration we are able to claim back the income tax on the member’s contributions forthe last 6 years.

If you have not yet done so, it will take you less than 2 minutes to complete the form - if you do Bourock willbenefit accordingly. Please contact me if you wish to set up Standing Order and/or complete a Gift Aiddeclaration.

I will again repeat the importance of this source of income, emphasising that it is one we must continue to takefull advantage of.

Finally, on a personal basis, I would like to thank all members of the Finance Committee as well as the WFOconvenor for their assistance during 2012.

Derek PalmerFinance Convenor

Craft ClubAt the time of writing the members of the Craft Club are putting the finishing touches to what we will havefor sale at our Christmas Craft Sale. It is very satisfying to see the results of our hard work over the year.Tickets have been selling well and we are grateful to everyone who supports us as we raise money for thechurch.

The sales table reminds me of a wedding. We have “Something old and something new, something borrowedand ( I’m sure there must also be) something blue.” If you want to have a really good choice you have to getthere early.

This year we have been delighted to welcome some new members and have had to add extra tables to seateveryone on Monday afternoons. It is really easy to add extra places, so if you would like to join us we willbe delighted to see you on Monday afternoons starting again on 14th January at 2p.m.

In the meantime the members of the Craft Club would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a HappyNew Year.

11

Bourock StravaigersOn Saturday 17th November the Stravaigers met for the last time in 2012 when wewalked around Kilmalcolm.

When we met at Bourock the weather was cold but fairly bright but by the time thewalk started we were pelted with hailstones and it was very wet. In spite of this, andthe deepest mud I have ever been stuck in, dogs and people all enjoyed the walk. What

a relief it was to find that our boots were fit for the challenge!

I have to say that although we have had a few wetter walks this year, we have been very fortunate over theyears we have walked together. When the weather is good we all enjoy one another’s company and on thedays when it is not so good our fellowship is stronger than ever.

We do not have another walk until January 19th next year, but we do have our annual “Fish Supper Night” tolook forward to. This will take place in the Lower Hall on Saturday 12th January, and this is when we will planour programme for 2013. We will include walks of various lengths and difficulty as usual and will try to havesomething for all the family.

Even if you have not yet managed to join us for a walk, please feel free to come along that night and find outa bit more about us. We are always delighted to have new members and will make you very welcome.

12