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The Stobswell Window

February/March 2021 No. 104 (829)

The Winter of 2020. Photograph by Audrey Sievwright.

Congregational Roll Minister`s Letter Lectionary One More Step Church Finances Obituary The Life and Times of Our Church

The deadline for the next Window is 14th March.

Stobswell Parish Church 172, Albert Street

Dundee, DD4 6QW. Scottish Charity Number SC000384

stobswellchurch.org.uk

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Congregational Roll

Change of address:

Mr. Marshall Rogers has moved to Bishopton.

Peace be to you and peace be to your house and peace be to all that you have. 1st Samuel 25:6

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Deaths

Mrs. Jean Williams died on 30th October 2020.

Mr. John Allardice died on 26th November 2020.

Major George Grant died on 16th December 2020.

Mr. Noel Patrick died on 30th December 2020.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies.” John 11:25

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The Cover The picture on the front page of this magazine was taken by Audrey when one of a series of Stobswell NightLights was held on the Tuesday evening before Christmas when our Church building was colourfully lit up for an hour by AudioWave (in conjunction with The Stobswell Forum). Unfortunately this event was not publicised in advance as, for obvious reasons, they did not want people to congregate, so, most of the people who saw the live spectacle were passing motorists. What a shame as it really was something special! Those of you who receive the magazine by e-mail will be able to see the Church in glorious technicolour but, unfortunately, the paper version shows the picture only in black & white. However, if you wish to see a selection of the photos in colour please look up the Church web-site : stobswellchurch.org.uk - Click on “our church” then click on “some photos of our church” . Enjoy! Doug Sievwright

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Stobswell Manse January 2021

Dear Friends,

The last year has been frustrating and for many people tragic and now I'm writing to you at a strange time when we are once more living under in-creased Covid restrictions. It was sad that we were unable to hold our usual Christmas services and I know how disappointed many of you were to miss family gatherings at Christmas and the New Year. I share your vexation, nevertheless two things give me hope :- Firstly, I continue to be impressed by the way friends and neighbours sup-port one another, helping, keeping in touch and creating a renewed sense of community. Secondly, I am encouraged by the number of church members who have told me that they have already received the Covid vaccine and we thank God for all the advances of medical science and the work of all doctors, nurses and carers. In words of St. Paul that will be familiar to many of you - "Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes! He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God. Just as we have a share in Christ's many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God's great help". (2 Corinthians 1: 3 - 5).

As we journey through Lent, towards Easter, let us re-member that the darkness of Good Friday gives way to the light, hope and promise of Easter Sunday. I look forward to welcoming you back to Sunday worship before too long,

William McLaren.

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Lectionary

Here are the Bible readings till the beginning of April. You may wish to read the Scripture lessons for each Sunday at 11 a.m. or at any other time and to say the Lord's Prayer. February 7th: Epiphany 5

Isaiah 40: 21-31, Psalm 147: 1-11 & 20c, 1st Corinthians 9: 16-23, St. Mark 1: 29-39. Here are the Bible readings till the beginning of February. You may wish to read the Scripture lessons for each Sunday at 11 a.m. or at any other time and to say the Lord's Prayer. February 7th: Epiphany 5

Isaiah 40: 21-31, Psalm 147: 1-11 & 20c, 1st Corinthians 9: 16-23, St. Mark 1: 29-39. February 14th: Transfiguration

2nd Kings 2:1-12, Psalm 50:1-6, 2nd Corinthians 4: 3-6, St. Mark 9: 2-9. February 21st: Lent 1

Genesis 9: 8-12, Psalm 25: 1-10, 1st Peter 3: 18-22, St. Mark 1: 9-12. February 28th; Lent 2

Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16, Psalm 22: 23-31, Romans 4: 13-25, St. Mark 8: 31-38. March 7th: Lent 3

Exodus 20: 1-17, Psalm 19, 1st Corinthians 1: 18-25, St. John 2: 13-22. March 14th: Lent 4 Mothering Sunday

Numbers 21: 4-9, Psalm 107: 1-3, 17-22, Ephesians 2: 1-10, St. John 3: 14-21. March 21st: Lent 5

Jeremiah 31: 31-34, Psalm 51: 1-12, Psalm 119: 9-16, Hebrews 5: 5-10, St. John 12: 20-33. March 28th: Palm Sunday

Psalm 118: 1-2, 19-29, St. Mark 11: 1-11

April 4th:Easter Sunday

Acts 10: 34-43, Psalm 118: 1-2, 14-24, 1st Corinthians 15: 1-11, St. John 20: 1-18.

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Church Finances

Back in the Spring I asked members, while the Church was closed, to send me their FWO envelopes. Regretfully with it looking increasingly likely that the Church will remain closed after the Government review at the end of January I am asking again. Please send your cheque along with one FWO envelope to me at 30 Kinnettles Terrace Dundee DD3 9RH. Alternatively you can make a bank transfer to our account. Phone me on 813067 and I will give you our bank details. While the Church remains closed it is still necessary to maintain our income. Ian Stewart FWO/Gift Aid Treasurer

STOP PRESS

Rev. Donna Hays, Interim Moderator at Trinity Parish Church, and the members of the Nomination Committee are pleased to announce that they have a Sole Nominee, the Rev Dr Jean Kirkwood, for the charge of Trinity in deferred linkage with Stobswell. Jean is currently a minister in Dunfermline and has Dundee connections. All members should already have received further details and voting slips. Please vote. Please contact the Session Clerk if you have not received a letter.

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MISSION GROUP / “ONE MORE STEP”

Despite the Covid-19 restrictions, our Congregational Christmas Cards were delivered to approx. 4300 homes in our Parish area and another 100+ were posted or delivered to members who live outside the Parish and others were collected during the services leading up to Christmas. Whilst we were not able to hold our usual Christmas services, our card was able to spread the real meaning of Christmas and to remind the community that we are on their doorstep and everyone is welcome to join us when we are open again.

I would like to pay tribute to all of the local voluntary organisations who have been active since the start of the pandemic to help to support those in our community who may be struggling for whatever reason: Stobswell Forum, Boomerang Centre, Dundee Foodbank to name but a few, all of which give of their time and effort for the benefit of others.

Congratulations are also due to the members of our congregation for raising a total of £2898 for our “One More Step” Charities during 2020. Despite being closed for a few months and then open again with severe restrictions, Stobswell Church kept up its reputation for generosity.

The Smartie Challenge raised £1314 for St Columba RTS in Sialkot. In the middle of the year the total was only about £200 but, thanks to the usual late surge in donations plus Betty Wood’s face mask sales, we easily beat our £1000 target. Since the Smartie Challenge started in 2001 we have now raised a total of £30000 – isn’t that fantastic!!!

Our Christian Aid contribution was £440. This compares with £1415 in

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2019 however there was no Plant Sale & Coffee Morning this year which accounts for most of the deficit.

Blythswood Shoebox Appeal. £300 was given towards the cost of delivering the boxes. All of this money was a donation to Stobswell Church from the Dundee Masonic Charity Fund and, again, Betty Wood should be thanked for this. (See large cheque at the back of the Church).

Poppy Scotland received £167. This was all due to Betty Wood selling her face masks for Remembrance Sunday.

Erskine Hospital received £292 from our retiring offerings on Remembrance Sunday.

Dundee Foodbank received £290 from our Harvest Thanksgiving Service collection.

Roxburghe House received £95 from a retiring offering.

As you can see, Betty Wood’s name appears regularly in this report. Since the middle of the year, Betty has been making and selling face masks. When the Church opened for services in August, Betty set up her stall at the front door and offered a range of colours and designs (including a Dundee United version). Then, along came her Remembrance Sunday special designs which were sold out with the money going to Poppy Scotland. This was followed by her Christmas editions with many different styles all of which sold “like hot cakes”!! So, well done to Betty! Singlehandedly she was responsible for raising over £800 for “One More Step” and it’s various good causes. No doubt we will have to keep wearing Betty’s face masks for some time to come – so wear them with pride!

Doug Sievwright From The Courier of 31.12.20: Obituary, Major George Grant

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Major George Grant, MBE, who was awarded the Mil-itary medal for bravery in the Italian campaign of the Second World War has died just weeks before his 101st birthday. Born and brought up in Tayport, George was one of five children. George joined the 6th Battalion, The Black Watch at the age of 17 and was sent to France two years’ later at the outbreak of the Second World War. He was rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk after the Germans forced his unit back to the French coast. Soon after, George was sent to North Africa with the 51st Highland Division and there he escaped death after being shot by an enemy sniper – the bul-let passing millimetres from what would have been a fatal outcome. He then fought in the Italian campaign from 1943 and Mr Grant’s gallantry at the Battle of Monte Cassino in the first half of 1944 saw him honoured with the Military Medal. After a conflict which began at the start of the year, George and his battal-ion were involved in an attack on May 14 in a determined bid to break Ger-man resistance. The soldiers were going to advance behind the cover of tanks, but smoke and heavy mist meant the armoured crews could not nav-igate their way across the battlefield. Surrounded by German troops and the threat of mines, George walked in front of the tanks with a white tissue to guide them on. The capture of Monte Cassino followed days later, but at a heavy cost to the Allied forced with more than 50,000 casualties. George received his Military Medal from King George VI later that year. He retired from the Army in 1962, but maintained a military involvement after assuming a role with the local cadet force, continuing in that position for many years. His dedication to the Army Cadet Force was recognised with the award of the MBE in 1983 for services to the organisation. George was proud to receive the honour from Her Majesty The Queen. On his 100th birthday at the end of January, he enjoyed a large gathering which included former Black Watch colleagues and raised a four-figure sum for his favourite charities. His son, Nigel, said at the time his father was a

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“living history book” who had survived a remarkable life with amazing sto-ries to share of his military career. Retired Black Watch Major Ronnie Proc-tor, the secretary of the Black Watch Association, said Mr Grant was a fig-ure who has an “amazing and varied career.” “He was a kindly, fatherly figure with a remarkable memory of the events he had been through,” said Mr Proctor, the Provost of Angus Council. He recalled a Black Watch Association trip they were part of together to the scene of the Monte Cassino gallantry which saw Mr Grant recognised with the Military Medal. “George was an unassuming and very nice man,” he added. “He was a great supporter of the Black Watch Association and con-tributed greatly to all aspects of it throughout his life.”

(With kind permission from the editor of the Courier.)

Another Stobswell NightLights photograph

The Life and Times of Our Church

The following is taken from perhaps the earliest Monthly still in existence. It has no cover or title and is simply headed Ogilvie, April 1884:

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“The past month has been one of considerable activity in the Congregation. On Sabbath 9th March a series of Evangelistic services were begun and con-ducted for a week by Rev. David Low of London road, Glasgow. These Meetings, we are happy to say, were well attended on the whole and many have testified to the excellence of the addresses delivered, and the health-ful impressions they produced.

It was a matter of great satisfaction to the Pastor to be able to announce that the entire debt on the church edifice was now, through the good prov-idence of God, swept away. Ogilvie Church was opened for public worship in May 1876. The cost of the buildings was over £5000, so that within eight years this huge sum has been cleared off by the liberality of the Congrega-tion and many friends who have generously assisted. The collection at the Anniversary Services amounted to £28-12-7d which more than meets the balance remaining.”

Time-travel forward another 109 years, and especially for the carpet bow-lers who are missing their Monday get-togethers, the following is from The Monthly of April/May 1993:

John Snaith ( 2nd right, back row) writing as “Ubique,” wrote

A tongue-in-cheek introduction to the men`s carpet bowls.

“Having been invited to join the Men`s Carpet Bowling Club in Park Hall and, although I`d never played the game before, I decided to give it a try. Rather than go into the hall and be thrown straight into the pack or scrum or whatever carpet bowlers are called, I stood listening outside the door to

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try and visualise what might be taking place inside. So, I ask you to picture the scene - me standing outside listening to the voices within, and the vi-sions and thoughts they conjured up for me.

The first voice I heard says: “What is it? Two heads and four tails.” The second voice filled with dismay: “It`s a coggler.”

I thought, this is no place for me. I don`t fancy being chased up some dark close in Park Avenue by a wild coggler. I`ve never seen a coggler; come to think of it, I`ve never heard of a coggler. But, if it has two heads and four tails, I`m in no particular hurry to meet one.

Another voice: “Give it plenty grass, Dave.” Ah, I think, it must be feeding time. And with two heads and four tails this coggler must take some feeding.

Yet another voice: “There`s a toucher.” A toucher. What`s that?

The mind boggles. How many heads does it have? Is this toucher compat-ible with the coggler? Do they have a veritable collection of creatures run-ning loose in there? Does the minister know what`s going on? What about the Environmental Health? Will Willie Davie be recompensed for any dam-ages?

Then I hear: “Stick, Jack.” Stick Jack: Are the cogglers and touchers getting out of hand? Is Jack going to lay into them with a big stick? Or have I put the wrong interpretation on this cry of “Stick , Jack”? Are they literally going to stick Jack? But stick him where? In a cupboard or maybe half-way up the wall? Or perhaps they are playing pontoon and Jack is the dealer. Again I ask myself, does the minis-ter know what`s going on under the guise of bowling?

And then another voice: “You`re far too heavy, Ben.” I never knew you had to be a certain weight for this bowling lark! The same voice: “You`re too wide, Ben.” The same voice again: “You`re not heavy enough now, Ben.”

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Great Scott! Ben`s gone from being too heavy to too light in a matter of minutes. What have they done to you, Ben? Cut a leg off? Are you still too wide , Ben, or have they slimmed you down as well? Some other voice: “Ben`s in the ditch.” What a shame, after all you`ve gone through, Ben, to be thrown into a ditch. Does the minister really know what`s going on?

“T up” I hear. Is that a call to tee up or a call that tea`s up? I know I`m a complete novice, but I`m pretty certain they don`t put the bowls on tees before chucking them up the carpet, so I assume it must be tea time. Now as I`m rather partial to the odd cup or two or three, I`ll venture in and, keeping a wary eye open for any roaming cogglers or touchers, join the bowlers for refreshments and maybe find out what this bowling business is all about.

We are now all seated either side of a long table laid out with cups and biscuits, even some chocolate biscuits, and I`m informed on good authority it`s been known for Ben (that`s the same Ben with the weight problem) to bring sliced black pudding. Wow! What echelon of society have I moved into? Having never experienced such a gastronomic delight as chocolate biscuits and black pudding, I`m not sure how one eats this delicacy. Do you nibble a chocolate biscuit and then have a bite of black pudding, or do you make a sandwich of the black pudding between two chocolate biscuits? Not wishing to reveal my ignorance, I`ll follow the example of the refined should I ever be lucky enough to partake of this exotic fare.

What can be said about the tea? Well, not a lot, as I`m sure the recipe is protected by the Official Secrets Act. Suffice it to say if you`re innocent enough or daft enough to ask for a second cup, you`d best have a cork-screw handy to ease it out of the spout. I`m not saying it`s too strong, but it would come as no surprise to me to learn that Mr. Macadam of road

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surfacing fame was a past member of the club. During the refreshment break, there`s polite conversation such as : “Wha sket the tea?”, “Whaur`s the milk?” or “Come on now, who scoffed a` the chocolate biscuits?” One group discussed the skill of a certain member. I quote: “Did you see that jammy shot of Alistair`s at the last end?” I forgot to mention that seated at the head of the table was Marshall, the club president, who keeps the club ticking over like a well-oiled clock. Looking at the members, I should probably have said a well-oiled grandfather clock. Norman, the treasurer, was at the opposite end because he is the only one qualified to deal in high finance and Jack, the secretary, the only one who can do joined-up writing.

With the tea break over we move into the hall where the secrets of bowling are about to unfold before my very eyes. Three carpets stretch from one end of the hall to the other and are each separated by about a foot of flooring. There`s sixteen black bowls and one smaller white one per carpet, plus a narrow piece of wood about eighteen inches long sitting in the middle of each carpet. The white bowl - or jack, for the tech-nically minded – is placed near one end of the carpet and the bowler rolls a black bowl to rest as near to the jack as possible, ensuring it doesn`t touch the stick in the middle in the process. And that`s all there is to it. Easy! Easy!

Now, what about the two-headed, four-tailed cogglers, the touchers and being heavy or too light, being thrown into ditches etc? Well, the cry of two heads and four tails was only the bowlers tossing coins to decide on teams. But what is a coggler? I discovered the bowls are biased (not unlike a United supporter) and will curve gently in the direction of the bias when delivered properly, but a coggler is the name given to a bowl played by a bowler who doesn`t know his bias from his elbow and, instead of rolling smoothly, gallops down the carpet like a centipede with wooden legs.

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A toucher is a bowl which, through great skill on the bowler`s part (so the bowler says) touches the jack. This is also known as a fluke by his oppo-nent.

Being far to heavy is the restrained way of saying the bowl is travelling up the carpet like a bat out of hell. Being too light is obviously the opposite and could mean that malnutrition has set in and you haven`t the strength left to roll a wee bowl a few yards up the carpet.

What about the ditch Ben was in? The dictionary states a ditch is a narrow excavation, but carpet bowlers are nothing if not ingenious and manage to have ditches at ground level. Actually, the edge of the ditch is a white line and, if the bowl crosses the line it`s classified as being in the ditch and so out of play. This can lead to arguments when the bowl fails to cross the line completely. What is the point of preponderance of a biased bowl sit-ting on a painted line?

The grass I heard Dave being asked to give was not the grass favoured by horses and cattle, but an instruction to bowl wide on the carpet. Remem-ber, Ben was too wide. The stick that Jack was involved with was a re-minder for him to re-position it.

This, then, was my introduction to carpet bowling. I have still to practise the rituals carried out by all experience bowlers prior to, and after, delivery of the bowl. It seems you must be a study of concentration, with a look of determination, followed on delivery by body gyration combined with ges-ticulation. But the expectation may turn to mortification by the bowl`s des-tination – the ditch. And from your opponent? No word of consolation.” Ubique

It would be interesting for us to read whether the 21st century carpet bow-lers feel that much has changed. Black pudding? Men only? Please let us know.

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A History of the Bible

A book recommendation

I am enjoying reading “A History of the Bible, The Book and Its Faiths” by John Barton, an Anglican priest and scholar. I will put a little about it in the Window whenever there is space; here`s a quiz based on the introduction, to whet your interest:

Here are some famous biblical phrases, cultural reference points. Then, in no particular order, the chapter and verse where each can be found. Can you pair them up? 1. Am I my brother`s keeper? 2. Man does not live by bread alone. 3. The skin of my teeth. 4. Three score years and ten. 5. There is no peace for the wicked. 6. The salt of the earth. 7. Pearls before swine. 8. No room in the inn. 9. The powers that be. 10. A labour of love.

A) Matthew 5:13. B) Genesis 4:9. C) Psalm 90:10 D) Romans 13:1. E) Deuteronomy 8:13. F) Isaiah 48:22. G) Thessalonians 1:3. H) Job 19:20. I) Matthew 7:6. J) Luke 2:7. (Answers on last page.)

Thus is the bible a living part of our language. It is also studied by faith communities seeking the truth, meaning and relevance of their faith. Whether the reader is fundamentalist or liberal in approach, the bible is important and profound. In the chapters that follow the author will ex-plore how it came to be written, who its authors were and what it actually means. I would be happy to lend the book to anyone who would like to read it. Lin.

Find us online at stobswellchurch.org.uk

The deadline for the next Window is 14 th March 2021.

Answers for biblical phrase quiz on page 14:

1B, 2E, 3H, 4C, 5F, 6A, 7I, 8J, 9D and 10G.