ST
ANDREW’S PARISH CHURCH
COATBRIDGE
OUTLOOK
– SEPTEMBER 2003
Minister: Session
Clerk:
Rev Ian G. Wotherspoon Mr
Alex McKee
77 Eglinton Street 34
Woodlands Drive
Coatbridge Coatbridge
Tel: 437271 Tel: 421191
St Andrew’s Church Tel: 431385
www.saintandrewscoatbridge.org
Dear Friends,
We have a very full magazine this month
so there is little space for me to write this letter.
One item I would draw your attention to
is the class for New Communicants. I
hope you will all do your best to encourage people to join the church
particularly at this time. Next year
the Presbytery will be looking at our Congregational Roll and so it would be
good to add new names to it. A number
of people attend church but are not members, it would be nice if they joined
now, not just for our sake but to show any prospective ministers in the future
that this is a congregation which is alive and active.
With best wishes and every blessing,
Yours sincerely,
Ian G. Wotherspoon
PARISH
REGISTER
BAPTISMS
24.
08. 03 Adam Campbell Caulfield, (d of b 7. 05. 03) 36 Drumpark Street,
Coatbridge
WEDDINGS
22. 08. 03 Joanne Farrell, 41
Coltswood Court, Coatbridge to Scott Mills
FUNERALS
24. 08. 03 Mr James Rankin,
80J Sunnyside Road, Coatbridge
27. 08. 03 Mrs Mary Wilson, 18
Dunure Street, Coatbridge
31. 08. 03 Miss Janet Milligan, 7 Gilchrist Street,
Coatbridge
COLLECTIONS F.W.O. Open Plate Total
1 week July £1156.20
£44.55 £1200.75
5 weeks August £6131.75
£112.46 £6244.21
HARVEST
THANKSGIVING – 28th September
As we have done in the past few years, once again we
will decorate the church on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday and flowers will be
distributed after the service to hospitals and homes. The Kirk Session has decided that the Harvest Thanksgiving Appeal
this year will be for ‘Helping Hands’ an organisation which supplies homeless
people in Coatbridge with soup in the evening, they are short of funds and the
first £200 of the retiring offering will be for them. The balance of the offering will go to Christian Aid for their
work in Liberia.
NEW
COMMUNICANTS
It is some time now since we had a class for New
Communicants and there may be some people now who would like to explore the
possibility of joining the church. I
try to make the arrangements as flexible as possible and so would welcome
a phone call (Tel: 437271) from anyone
who might be interested.
Ian G.
Wotherspoon
SUNDAY
SCHOOL
The new session of the Sunday School has now started
and it was good to welcome the children back, along with some new faces. I would like to thank everyone who helped
with the Summer Club, you did a great job and the children enjoyed coming
along. In this connection, if anyone is
willing to go on a Child Protection Course (male or female) please see myself,
the minister or Irene Milligan. George McCall 764065
BOYS BRIGADE
The new
session of the boys brigade has started. We are on the lookout for new members.
Times, place and ages are as follows;-
Anchor
boys p1 - p4 every Wednesday from 6pm -7.30p.m
Junior
section p5 - p7 every Wednesday from 6.30pm - 8p.m
Company
section - 1st year Secondary School up every Friday 7pm. - 9.30p.m
St.
Andrews Church, Church Street, Coatbridge
We are
also looking for extra help for any of these sections even if you can only help
now and again it would be much appreciated. Jim
Elliot, Captain
6th COATBRIDGE
GIRLS’ BRIGADE
Girls’ Brigade will restart the session for
2003/2004 on Tuesday 2 September 2003 at 6.30p.m.
Girls aged 5-18 years will be made very
welcome. We have organized a full
programme for the session and will also be taking part in Division
competitions. We look forward to seeing all past members and will welcome any
new girls who join our company.
Thank you to everyone who supported our
fundraising disco on 29th August 2003. We raised the fantastic amount of £450 which will help purchase
arts & craft materials and sports equipment. Thanks again for your continued help and support. Irene
Krebs, Captain
All sections have now restarted and all girls will
be made very welcome when they come along.
The Brownies have a completely new syllabus for this session and all
girls between the ages of 7 and 10 will be very welcome to come along on Monday
nights and join the fun.
The Guides also meet on a Monday night and the
Guiders are looking forward to girls between the ages of 10 and 15 coming along
to enjoy Guiding.
The Senior Section also meet on a Monday night for
girls aged 15 and over. They have their
own programme and will be working towards gaining their Queens Award.
The Rainbows meet on a Friday night and is for
girls aged 5 to 7. This is a very
friendly unit and is a step into Guiding.
All units have prepared a very varied and
interesting programme for the new session and hope that all girls who come
along will enjoy their time in Guiding.
As usual we will have various fund raising events
to help raise money to run the units.
Our main event is the Webb Ivory Christmas catalogues which are
available from all girls and Guiders.
This is an important event as it helps raise money for the Census.
If you require any more information about our
units or Guiding please do not hesitate to contact me on 755222. Alexis
Crichton, Guide Guider
THE GUILD
The Guild Opening Social will be on Wednesday 8th
October when we will be entertained by Kilsyth Close Harmony. Tickets, price £1-50 will shortly be on sale
Rosemary Wotherspoon
THURSDAY CLUB
The Thursday Club will start on 9th
October 2003 at the usual time of 2pm.
Full details will be shown in October Outlook. Netta Stoddart
The Annual Christmas Fayre will be held in Coatbridge High School on Saturday 15
November 2003. All handcrafts, bric
a brac, bottles, cosmetics, stationery or anything else you can save up will be
greatly appreciated. November 15 seems like a long way off but 10 weeks will
fly by, so please begin your preparations now.
The fundraising committee and anyone else with an
interest in the Christmas Fayre are asked to meet in the Memorial Chapel on
Thursday 18 September at 6.45p.m.
SUNDAY TEAS
The
appeal in last month’s Outlook for help with the Sunday Teas failed to attract
any volunteers. Jean MacDonald has
dish-pan hands being on duty Sunday after Sunday and would really be grateful
if at least four volunteers would come forward. The Teas make a very valuable contribution to church funds and it
would be a great shame if they had to be discontinued through lack of helpers.
If you
are able to spare an hour after the Sunday Service please see Jean MacDonald or
telephone her on 425301.
The first of the winter social evenings will be held on the first Saturday of October, and thereafter the first Saturday of November and December. The whist starts at 7.15 p.m. and the Beetle at 7.45 p.m. Everyone would be made most welcome so why not come along? Admission £1 payable at the door.
Our usual church afternoon game was played on
September 6th and the next one will be later in the year. We have also the return match against the
Bellshill Churches to look forward to, and details will be given when
available. Enjoy your indoor bowling!
The Willis organ in our church is now over 130
years old and still going strong. It is
probably one of the best, if not the best, organs in Coatbridge and the quality
of its sound is remarked upon by all who play it. Apart from services it is not heard much, but on Saturday 4
October at 2.30p.m. that is going to be rectified when Giles Brightwell,
Organist to the University of Glasgow, is giving a concert on it for the
Lanarkshire Society of Organists. This
concert is open to all and it would be encouraging to see as many of the
congregation present to support the event for which there is no charge. Refreshments will be served at the end of
the concert. I look forward to seeing
you there.
CHOIR PRACTICES
Choir practices will resume towards the end of
September and we in the choir would love to welcome new members. Rehearsals are not all hard work, there is
much laughter as well which makes for enjoyable Thursday evenings. Why not come and join us. Stewart Alston, Organist and
Choirmaster
CHILDREN AND THE CHURCH
How safe are children within the Church? It is commonly assumed that children are
welcomed into a safe, friendly environment when they participate in any of the
organized groups or activities within a Church. Thankfully, this is a generally correct assumption.
Since the tragic events at Dunblane Primary
School, Acts of Parliament have been passed and legislation introduced to
safeguard children whilst in the care of others. The Church of Scotland has actively pursued a policy of child
protection and has introduced measures to ensure the safety and wellbeing of
children in our midst.
In 1997 the Child Protection Unit was established
in Edinburgh. Each congregation has a
nominated Child Protection Coordinator, who is part of the congregation’s Child
Protection Panel, and has been trained by the Child Protection Unit. One of the duties of the coordinator is to
maintain a register of all persons over sixteen years of age who regularly come
into contact with children within the Church.
Registered persons are actively encouraged to attend training sessions
organised by the Child Protection Unit.
Since June this year, new volunteers wishing to
assist with children’s organizations run by St Andrew’s Parish Church, require
to provide two references which will be taken up by the coordinator. They are also required to complete a
Disclosure application form which will be verified by the Central Registered
Body in Scotland. Following the satisfactory
completion of this process, it is the Kirk Session’s responsibility to endorse
any such appointment. Volunteers will
take part in discussions regarding their appointment and will be provided with
an appropriate job description.
In its various organizations, St Andrew’s Church
has healthy numbers of children which continue to grow. However, present-day leaders are finding it
difficult to continue at times, as adult staffing levels do not grow to match
the demand. If you would be interested
in volunteering to help, the co-ordinator would guide you through the
procedure. Do not let the
aforementioned measures put you off!
They are in place to ensure, as far as possible, that our children are
safe within the Church and that there they can thrive and develop, secure in
the knowledge that we care. Do you
care? Can you
help?
Irene Milligan – Child
Protection Coordinator