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Christmas 2010

VILLAGERTH

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C h u r c h N e w s f o r t h e V i l l a g e

Issue 18 . Christmas 2010

This is the daft question we adults often ask younger folk at this time of year! We know the answer that will be given and are never disappointed. Presents, parties and feasting are eagerly anticipated. The excitement builds as the great day approaches. It is a time of HOPE.

However, the reality when it appears is never quite as good as the anticipation. The present received quickly becomes part of life and the anticipated benefi t is taken for granted. The family time disintegrates into fatigue-fuelled argument. The feasting ends with indigestion and a desire for a break from ‘all that rich food’.

This is perhaps an inevitable and common disappointment that results from treating Christmas in isolation from the rest of the year. However, the Christian festival of Christmas is not an end in itself. It is meant to remind us of a greater hope – the coming of the Saviour Jesus.

We were created by him and for a purpose. That is where hope comes from. Life has a meaning that is realised only in him. Without him — “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the teacher “utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes1:2). The gift, the feast and even the family will all come and go, so what is the point?

What a contrast with the hope written of 700 years before the fi rst Christmas, ‘For unto us a child is born, the government will be on his shoulders ...of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end... he will establish justice and righteousness for ever’ (Isaiah 9:6) Christmas, the birth of Jesus, was the start of its fulfi lment. It will only fully be realised at the end of time, in Heaven.

Keep this at the front of your mind this Christmas. Share it with your family and with others who hope in Jesus. Be sure that this hope will not fade with the ‘boxing day blues’!

Nigel Barge

‘Are you lookingforward to Christmas’?

inside this issue: Future Vision . Thanking God this Christmas . Torrance Past . Christmas Events

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Christmas 2010

Recently, we have been seeking God for a vision of what he wants to do with us as a church over the next few years. As part of this process we drew up a vision statement —

“Torrance Parish Church desires that its people would

make Jesus known by word and deed through loving

service in their daily lives in the village, throughout the

wider church and wherever God sets them”.

To help us begin to move towards realising the vision, we have set 12 objectives that we are beginning to work on. Below are 5 of these objectives which we hope the rest of the village might be particularly interested in.

Objective:“To initiate provision of sheltered housing accommodation for the elderly in the village”

Folks are reluctant to move from Torrance! However, there is no provision for older folk in the village when they reach the point of needing sheltered housing. Such a facility would be a great asset for ‘older residents’ and also for people in the village who would like to care for elderly relatives locally.

Objective:“To open the cafe 5 days a week in the morning”

For many, somewhere comfortable, welcoming and reliable, where people could meet for a quiet coffee in the centre of the village would be an attractive proposition.

Objective:“To make the history of the village available”

We have a great local history that many of us are ignorant of. Some folk, whose families go back generations, are gathering information on the village of the past. We hope to help make this available to all interested.

If you would like any more information or could offer help and advice in any of the above objectives, contact us on info@tpc.org.uk

Objective:“To set up a prayer clinic in the village”

We believe in the power of prayer in Jesus’ name. The prayer clinic would be an accessible, comfortable and confi dential situation for folk to drop into, and receive prayer either for themselves or loved ones.

The full document of the church vision can be found on the website –www.torranceparishchurch.org.uk

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Christmas 2010

Objective:“To involve 150 people in small groups by end of 2011”

Launch weekendAt the end of the planning process, we

had a weekend at the beginning of October when we presented the vision to the congregation. On the Friday night we had a congregational meeting at which every member received a copy of the full vision document.(This can be found on the website – www.torranceparishchurch.org.uk)

On the Sunday morning, we celebrated the goodness of God over the past year

with a traditional Harvest Thanksgiving service, for which the church was suitably decorated. We rounded off the weekend with a celebration of praise on Sunday evening at which the former minister Rev David Stewart brought the word.

In this individual age there is often very little personal engagement with others. We exist as strangers to those we live

among. We believe that small groups are a real expression of church life. There are many groups in the church already ranging in size from 3 to 12. They meet throughout the week and share friendship, hospitality, prayer and Bible study together. They are for everyone, from the casual seeker to the long time member. We aim to extend this network.

ALL WELCOME

Come and sing well known

carols accompanied by the

choir at Torrance Parish

Church, on

Monday 13th December at 7:30pm.Enjoy the candlelit atmosphere and a mince pie or two!

Carols by Candelight will also be held in St Rollox Church, Sighthill on Sunday 19th

December at 6.30pm.

Carols by Candlelight

every Friday

at Torrance Parish Churchfrom 9am to 2pm

(except during school holidays)or why not drop in for a nice cup of tea

or coffee, and some delicious baking!

Lunches are served at

The Coffee ShopCOFFEE SHOP -

NEW OPENING

We are opening the coffee shop in Torrance parish church every Wednesday from 9.30am – 12.00 noon.

NEW DROP-IN PRAYER CLINIC

HOW ARE YOU FEELING? If you feel in need of physical or emotional healing; or encouragement for yourself or others, we would like to pray with you.

We now have a Drop-In Prayer Clinic (no appointment necessary) on a Friday morning 10:45am to 12:15pm at the church. There is also a ‘Prayer Box’ if you prefer to write your requests down and we will commit to pray for you.

All requests and prayers are totally confi dential.

Our fi rst morning will be on 1st December, so why not come along and take some time out from the bustle of Christmas shopping, and relax over tea, coffee and scones amongst friends.

We will be open until 22nd December but will close on 29th December to break for the holidays until 5th January 2011.

“You will � nd a warm welcome”

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Christmas 2010

We Are All Thanking God This ChristmasHere at Torrance Parish Church we are thanking God for Jesus – for be-

ing in our lives. We thank Him for Torrance and the great community

it is. Our prayer is that you all have plenty of things to be thankful to

God for this Christmas and above all things that you would know His

love for you. That He is real, He loves you and wants to spend time

with you – a relationship with a friend like no-other.

If you read this and are really wondering who God really is – ask Him

to show Himself to you this Christmas.

May God bless you all and give you His peace.

‘Ask and it will be given to

you, seek and you will fi nd;

knock and the door will be

opened to you. For everyone

who asks receives; he who

seeks fi nds; and to him who

knocks, the door will be

opened.’ Matthew 7:7

Anne Marlin“I would like to thank God for bringing me through another year with all the highs and lows it can bring, for answered prayer, my amazing family and friends who are always there for me. Thank you for placing me in Torrance Church where I have been nurtured and cared for. Thank you God for my ‘Bible study group’ who are truly committed Christians; they have taught me so much.

If you would like to come to church and are maybe feeling somewhat apprehensive, please join us we would love your company.

Sandy and Allison Lunan We are grateful for God’s protection in 2010 after some life changing events hit our wider family in 2009. We are very thank-ful to God for our church family where so many give of their time and talents to make Torrance Church

a great place for families. We are looking forward to Christmas in Ireland and celebrating the wonderful news that ‘God is with us’.With love at Christmas the Lunan family.

Nigel and Jen Barge “I thank God for the Christian Hope. Amidst all the ups and downs of the past year, the expectation that the best is always yet to come, and the assurance that God has a good purpose in this world that he is working out”

Nigel.

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Christmas 2010

Lyn, Alaister, Laura, Ian and Amy Walker

Ewen and Louise McMillan This Christmas we are giving thanks to God for His faithfulness throughout the fi rst year of our married life and look forward to the birth of our fi rst child in the New Year. Praise the Lord for His blessings and strength. Merry Christmas from Ewen and Louise.

“We’re thankful to God for all the things we take for granted and shouldn’t; a happy

marriage, a beautiful house to live in, jobs that we enjoy, families that love and support us, friends who make us laugh, holidays and of course Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Brigade!”

John and Frances Hair Frances and I have many things to thank God for this Christmas.

We both came to faith some four years ago through the Alpha Course and we have seen our lives change over the years through the grace of God and His Holy Spirit. We thank God for that every day.

There have been good times and not so good times during the past year for us. Over the past three years Frances has had several sur-gical operations to her knees, the last one a few weeks ago. It has been a long struggle helped by prayer and we would like to thank everyone who prayed for her recovery. The power of prayer is tremendous. It is a great encouragement to know that whatever the problem, no matter how big or small, all you have to do is pray to God anytime, any-where, and through His grace and love, He will help to lighten your burden. That’s how we get our strength.

We are blessed with two lovely daughters and two gorgeous grand-daughters and are looking forward to spending quality family time with them this Christmas. Our eldest daughter Angela was baptised this year and married in October to a wonderful boy called Callum. We are so pleased that she commit-ted herself to Jesus through her own desire. We pray that she will come to know the love of God through her baptism and that He will bless their marriage.

We thank God for the fellowship of our church in Torrance and the good work that it does within the village.

Lastly, and most importantly, we thank you Father for sending us your son Jesus, all these years ago, to die on the cross for our sin.

Merry Christmas to everyone

Phil andJune Malloch“This Christmas we give thanks… for the warmth and comfort of our home and family, for the warmth and welcome of the church family in Torrance, for the warmth and gracious provision of the love of God in sending his Son to save us.”

The Walkers’ year is nearly done, and we have had lots of fun,A 21st and a driving test passed – thank goodness that is the last!

Lots of cities on a holiday spent, and it didn’t cost a lot of rent.We thank you Lord that you were there,and in all those things You did share.

Craig and Joyce Thomson

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Christmas 2010

1st Torrance Girls’ Brigade

A group of people from the village have now formed a Trust to look after and manage the Caldwell Hall.

Margaret Hyde will be nominated as the Chair of the Trust and whilst she recovers her health, Rona Thomson the Vice Chair will be fi lling that role.

The Trust is in the process of becoming a registered charity and after months of negotiation has now instructed lawyers to document the transfer from East Dunbartonshire Council. This is due to take place on 17 December. The Council have replaced the boiler and carried out some essential repairs to the roof/gutters

Caldwell Hall Update

as part of the transfer process to ensure that the Trust isn’t burdened by large bills for essential repairs at day one.

The Caldwell Trust aim to keep the Halls an integral part of village life with several groups meeting regularly there including the WRI, Girl Guides and the Badminton club, as well as birthday parties and a very popular Zumba class.

The Trust is endeavouring to grow the number of members and groups using the Halls, and will be far more pro-active than the Council ever were. We think a facility such as this is vital for the vibrancy of Torrance and anything you can do to attract either users or new members onto the Trust would be very welcome.

Lottery Funding will be applied for in the New Year. One of the items that the Lottery look for, from any grant application, is how well supported by the local community the project is. The simplest way for the Caldwell Halls Trust to demonstrate this is to have a large percentage of the village as members. Membership will be free (although donations will not be turned away!) and anyone can join by contacting Rona Thomson on 01360 620725.

Ladies,Hold the Date: Fundraising clothing saleFriday 3rd December

All ladies are invited to support our fundraising clothing sale on Friday 3rd December at 7.30pm in the church. The Fashion Show and Sale Company have a variety of designer and high street ladies clothing available in sizes 8 – 20 for one night only. Lots of bargains! Tickets are £5 and include teas, coffee, soft drinks and goodies. This event has proved very successful in the past so we know you’ll not be disappointed. Tickets can be purchased from any of the Girls’ Brigade leaders.

With the help of friends and relatives,

1st Torrance Girls’ Brigade donated

44 shoeboxesto Blythswood Care.

These boxes will be delivered to children,

teenagers and adults

in Eastern Europe, India and Pakistan.These treasures seem so small to us;

a new hat and scarf, a toothbrush with some toothpaste,

a small toy, some soap; but they will bring great joy

to many on Christmas day.

Girls’ Brigade meets every Wednesday at Torrance Parish Church:Explorers: 6:15pm – 7:15pm (P1 to P3)Juniors: 7:00pm – 8:15pm (P4 to P7) | New recruits welcomeBrigaders: 7:00pm – 9:00pm (S1 to S6)

orrance Girls’ Brigade

Hold the Date:

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Christmas 2010

TORRANCE CINEMA CLUBMovie Night!

At Torrance Parish Church on Saturday 18th DecemberDoors Open 7pm | Programme Begins: 7.15pm

Featuring: Timeless Classics:

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The fi lms will run at the same time, so bring the childrento watch the Muppets while you enjoy a classic Christmas movie.

Don’tmissout–Comealongearly!•AdmissionFree

Refreshments offered for sale:Mince Pies | Teas | Coffees | Juice | Popcorn!

Details from offi ce@tpc.org.uk or 01360 620970

The fi lms will run at the same time, so bring the childrento watch the Muppets while you enjoy a classic Christmas movie.

“It’s A Wonderful Life” (U)

Starring

Jimmy Stewart

lms will run at the same time, so bring the childrento watch the Muppets while you enjoy a classic Christmas movie.

Don’tmissout–Comealongearly!•AdmissionFree

lms will run at the same time, so bring the childrento watch the Muppets while you enjoy a classic Christmas movie.

“Muppets Christmas Carol” (U)StarringMichael Caine and Kermit the Frog

Boys’ BrigadeThe Boys’ Brigade meets every Thursdayat Torrance Parish Church:

Anchor Boys: 6:15 — 7:30pm (P1 to P3)Junior Section: 7:00 — 8:15pm (P4 to P6)Company Section: 7:30 — 9:45pm (P7 upwards)

New recruits welcome

Vera the Centenarian!Vera Petzold is a regular at the ‘Tor-rance Friendship Lunch’ which meets on the fi rst Tuesday in the Month. The July meeting was a special one as Vera had just celebrated her 100th birthday on 3rd July!

Originally from London, Vera was born in 1910 and lived through two World Wars and spent her time working as an Administrator for a Solicitor in London dealing with compensation claims.

On her birthday she enjoyed a family party, and long time friends came to visit from Switzerland and London to celebrate Vera’s special centenary. She received Greetings Cards from the Queen and from MP Iain Duncan Smith.

Vera has a daughter Vivienne, three grand-children and 9 great grandchildren with one more on the way! Congratulations Vera!

Britain’s Got Talent!In September, at the Friendship Lunch, the entertainment was provided by The ‘Elderly’ Brothers starring Donald Goldie, Gordon Capie and Tom McLean. Their musical talents were hailed as a great success and enjoyed by all. Take a bow gentlemen!

The Friendship Lunch is

held on the fi rst Tuesday

of every month

at Torrance Parish Church

from 1pm.

If you are retired why not come along and join us — you will be made very welcome.

Friendship Lunch

Youth Prayer GroupYoungsters meet on a Tuesday from 4pm to 4:30pm for a prayer group. It has been so encouraging to watch them grow in their faith and hope that great things will come from this for the growth of the church.

Junior ChurchYoung people gather on Sunday morn-ings during service times and what a joy it is to see so many children attend the Junior Church each week where they learn about Jesus. The Junior Church teachers use crafts and fun to engage the children in learning the Bible.

Each day, from 9th to 13th August, around 70-80 children came along to Torrance Church where leaders read Bible stories, played quizzes and games and sang songs and it was encouraging to see that the children were eager to hear about Jesus.

Learning about Jesus is great fun when you are at Rocky’s Plaice!

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Christmas 2010

Brian Buist, a member of Torrance

Parish Church, is one of the people

who has extensively researched

on the history of Torrance, and

there follows a brief extract of

some interesting facts (taken from

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

including a selection of photo-

graphs from his collection.

Torrance Past The village of Torrance was once known as ‘The Clachan of Torrance’ and used to mainly consist of farmland, but now is a growing town and is home to 2,500 persons. The town was once famous as a resting place for workers on their way to the Campsie Fells 4 miles north.

The village was known for centuries as ‘The Eleven Ploughs of Balgrochan’. The Eleven Ploughs were part of the estate of the Grahams of Mugdock (Milngavie). They received their name in 1630 when Montrose, the great military leader of the Covenanting period, sought to raise money for his campaigns by feuing off part of the Mugdock lands. The ‘Eleven Ploughlands’ were feued off to local occupiers willing to pay a grassum (lump sum) on the understanding that their annual rate of duty would be held at a moderate level. Three of the Ploughlands were at Carlston, four at Easter Balgrochan and four at Wester Balgrochan. “The eleven ploughs

o’Balgrochan were acquired at that time by eleven sturdy carles, as they ca’ed them lang syne”.

Some time after the enclosures of 1735, the village of Torrance began to develop. Some of the earliest inhabitants were ‘country weavers’, weaving linens or woollens in association with local industry of some signifi cance. During the late eighteenth century the improvement of local roads and the opening of the Forth & Clyde Canal, with a wharf at Hungryside, provided routes to market for local agricultural and mineral production.

When the Eleven Ploughs were feued off by Montrose in 1630, the large meal mill at Balgrochan was at the same time fueud to a Robert Ferrie.

Three hundred years later the mill was still grinding corn and celebrating three centuries of Ferrie family ownership. In

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Christmas 2010

Torrance Parish Church and St. Dominic’s RC Church

1933, however, it was closed and sold to a Glasgow fi rm for the manufacture of talcum powder. The mill wheel at Balgrochan was said to be the second largest in Scotland. It was cut up for scrap in 1949.

The canal wharf at Hungryside remained for many years as Torrance’s principal link with the outside world. In 1879, however, a station was opened at Torrance by the Kelvin Valley Railway Company and the village, somewhat belatedly, was linked to the national rail network. The line ran from Kirkintilloch to Kilsyth and from Maryhill to Kilsyth. It might have been thought that Torrance would then have developed as a commuter dormitory for Glasgow, but infl ux of new residents was slow in arriving. Indeed it was not until after the railway was closed to passengers in 1951 that commuting began in earnest. During the mid 1970s, for example, Henry Boot Homes built a considerable number of houses at Meadowbank and West Balgrochan.

The 1991 census registered a population of 2387 and the 2001 census registered a population of around 2,500. The village contains a local school – Torrance Primary School which has around 250 pupils. The name comes from the Gaelic An Toran which means ‘under the hills’. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torrance%2C_East_Dunbartonshire

DO YOU HAVE A STORY / PHOTOGRAPHS ABOUT TORRANCE IN BYGONE DAYS?

We would love to hear about your past memories of Torrance.Email: offi ce@tpc.org.uk

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Christmas 2010

When we were back home for a three month vacation recently, we were able to share our “Thailand” experiences with many people and were extremely encouraged by the level of interest and support we received at home. It was great to have an injection of all the things we have missed like salt and vinegar crisps (here its spicy shrimp or seaweed fl avour) Cadbury’s Freddo’s, Heinz beans and Bovril sandwiches. It already seems a long time ago as our feet hit the ground running when we got back.

Child Protection Offi ceThere was certainly enough to catch up with after three months away from the project, with many organisations nearing completion of the ‘Child Safe Organisation’ process, new partnerships and ‘success’ stories.Originally funded for a four year period, the project staff are currently discussing options for future direction, support and continued growth – part of this has involved charging organisations out with

When we were back home for a three month vacation recently, we were able to share our “Thailand” experiences

News fromthe Muir Family in Thailand

‘core funded’ groups. For Alastair’s part he’s working with several International Schools in Chiang Mai — trying to teach and control 70 teachers in a room gave him a different take on ‘school discipline’ — but this new teaching role is actually quite enjoyable!

The project continues to gain credibility in Thailand, linking with Government departments, Royal Thai Police, Schools, Hospitals and many key care giving organisations. As a result there is increasing direct involvement with child abuse cases. Each of these is a learning curve for all parties. Coming from a policing background, Al fi nds law enforcement in Thailand often complex and frustrating, but there are some fi ne individual offi cers who are committed to improving the provision of justice for children. Such cases are emotionally draining and time consuming but worth the struggles when a child is safe, has a chance of justice and hope for the future. Any conviction for the offender is a greater bonus!

Women’s Outreach Chrissy has been really encouraged by some of the encounters and relationships that are being built through the women’s outreach group. She was challenged by a few people when on home leave on what was achieved by supporting and befriending those in the booming commercial sex trade in Thailand. Is it really worth it? Aren’t these women free to make such choices? These are very valid questions.

Recently she has been meeting two ladies

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Christmas 2010

on Fridays’ who we’ll refer to as M and P. Typically they both come from Issan (the poorest region of Thailand) they both support children and family, have a low level of education and are eldest daughters, so the burden of fi nancial responsibility falls on their shoulders. On the surface of things it would appear that, yes they are free and they carry that charming Thai smile that would deceive you into thinking they don’t have a care in the world.

Dig a bit deeper though and you fi nd a history of poverty, family dysfunction and rejection. Chrissy has really enjoyed the company of these working girls. They are a continuous reminder of God’s love for the broken. P was offered free Japanese, English or cookery lessons but she was not interested. What really interests her at the moment is learning about Jesus. Sometimes we are blinded by thinking we are pretty noble or good people. These girls have no such illusions and as a consequence are often incredibly open to the message of the gospel. The news of God’s unconditional love can be astounding and hard for them to understand. Love has been a business deal cut in a seedy bar and it is shallow, cruel, and self seeking. They are abused by it and use it to abuse others. It’s about money and control. Perhaps that is why P is more interested in what the Bible has to say than in English, Japanese or cookery classes. All those things are good but God’s “fi erce” love is what changes a life!

Carrot Cake Club “Carrot Cake Club record TV show scene with fi lm star in Torrance”

The Carrot Cake Club is a group for S5+ that meets on a Sunday evening for lively discussions, guest speakers and fun. Recently the group had the opportunity to be extras in a future television show. The programme is written and directed by the group’s host, Norman Stone. It’s a dramatised documentary marking the 400th anniversary of the writing of the King James Bible. The scene where the young people became ‘the stars’ pictured a modern day bonfi re night (fi lmed in May!). The historic gunpowder plot was integral to the back-story of King James and the Bible translation that he commissioned. The Carrot Cake Club members had the opportunity to meet the narrator of the show, John Rhys Davies. His most famous role is Gimli the Dwarf in ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Weirdly, for a man playing a dwarf, he was one of the tallest member’s of the cast at 6 foot 1! He also starred as an ally of James Bond in ‘The Living Daylights’ and as a

trusted sidekick with Indiana Jones in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and ‘The Last Crusade’. There are two other Torrance connections with the fi lm. Young Bruce Sangster and also John Gillespie both played in the drama as King James VI at various stages of his childhood. Don’t forget to bow next time you see them! ‘KJB – The Book that Changed the World’ will be on your TV screens sometime next year, and will also be available on Amazon.co.uk from December.”

Crossover Crossover is a club for children in P7 to S3 which meets on the fi rst Saturday evening of the month.

The evening’s entertainments will be either a great evening of activities held in the Church or a fantastic outing to somewhere exciting and interesting (but within reasonable driving distance). In October Crossover held its fi rst ever pirate party –The ‘Buccaneers’ Ball — where the youngsters dressed in pirate costumes and enjoyed pass the parrot; sword fi ghting; a pirate sing-a-long; terrifying tales from the Bible about storms and shipwrecks; pieces of eight and, of course, plenty of (non-alcoholic) grog!

On 5th November, about 20 youngsters headed in a minibus to Strathclyde Country Park for the Fireworks Display and Carnival entertainment where they had a great time!

Come and enjoy the fun at Crossover on the fi rst Saturday of the month at 7pm and you will be made very welcome. Parental consent forms are required, but are available on the night.

e Club record TV show

that discussions,

had television

by dramatised

of

in May!). The back-story of King James and the Bible

6 foot 1! He also starred as an trusted and ‘The Last Crusade’

There Bruce drama Don’t forget to bow next time you see them!

‘KJB screens Amazon.co.uk from December

Next session Crossover will be meeting on 8 January, 5 February, 5 March and 2 April. Check the notice board in the church or the “news” section of the website (www.tpc.org.uk) for more details.

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Christmas 2010

Torrance Parish Church of Scotland is a Scottish Charity No. SC016058

www.torranceparishchurch.org.uk

Children’s PartySaturday 11th December 2pm to 4pm

Carols By Candlelight

Monday 13th December 7:30pm

Christmas EveFamily Service 7:30pm

Watchnight ServiceFriday 24th December 11:15pm

Christmas DayFamily Service 11am

Christmas Events

‘May the God of hope

fi ll you with all joy

and peace as you trust

in him, so that you

may overfl ow with

hope by the power of

the Holy Spirit.’

Romans 15:13

Torrance Parish Church

Services unless otherwise advertised are at 10:15am

and 6:30pm every Sunday.

A crèche is available for under 3’s and

JUNIOR CHURCH for 3 years and over.

ALL ARE WELCOME.

Rev. Nigel Barge 01360 622 379 Torrance Church 01360 620 970

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