FOCU S

On February 18^th I celebrated the 30^th anniversary of my ordination as a minister of word and sacrament. The winter of 1978 was one of the coldest on record, and after our wedding in the middle of January Irene and I set off on honeymoon en route to our first manse, in the fishing village of Helmsdale, Sutherland. Unfortunately, the community was cut off by severe snowdrifts and we were stranded in Aberdeen with friends for a week on the way north! You may recall that the snow was so bad that people were stuck for days on the A9 and one travelling salesman kept himself warm by putting on the ladies’ nylon tights that he sold! Thirty years is a long time, and ministers have traditionally tried to complete forty years’ service, which is my hope. In order to have the resources to enable me to see that through, I have decided to take the Study Leave, spread over the next three years, which is due to me and which has accumulated over the years to the maximum of 14 weeks. With the approval of Lanark Presbytery, I plan to take six weeks this autumn, from September 15^th to October 27^th, during which time I will spend time researching at the Centre for the Study of Christianity in the Non-Western World, at New College, Edinburgh. I will also take part in the Presbytery exchange visit to the East Seoul Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Korea, in October.

My focus will be the influence of Scottish Presbyterians on the planting and growth of the churches in Manchuria and Korea. The key figure in that was Rev Dr John Ross, from Easter Ross, who served as a missionary of the United Presbyterian and United Free Churches around the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. He was an amazing Christian visionary and mission strategist who could speak 11 languages and translated the New Testament into Korean when he was serving in Moukden, north-east China, now known as Shenyang. There is still a hospital and a theological seminary in that city, both of which can trace their origins back to the Scottish and Irish Presbyterians who pioneered the work. Through John Ross and his associates, the Chinese Presbyterian Church experienced wonderful growth, and the faith was exported over the border into Korea, which was then virtually closed to the outside world. Today, the Presbyterian churches in Korea are growing amazingly and sending out thousands of mission partners to serve the churches worldwide. The day will soon come when we will have some Koreans serving as ministers of the Kirk!

Of course, the Church of Scotland has changed considerably over the last thirty years, and even more so during the century and more that separates us from the days when Dr Ross was engaged in one of the most remarkable missionary careers in Christian history. When I started in ministry as an assistant back in 1976, the national Kirk had 1,020,400 members in Scotland, more than 20% of the entire population. By 2006, that had fallen to 504,360, less that half of the total thirty years earlier. Yet while there were 47,735 elders in 1976 that had reduced only to 40,650 by 2006. That means that in 1976 there was one elder for every 21 members and in 2006 one elder for every 12 members. Compare that with the 1,200 parish ministers currently in charges who on average have some 420 members to care for in addition to parish outreach. In our two congregations the combined membership figure is 425. At least on paper, we are a denomination which is numerically rich in leaders, yet we know that only one third of our members are active in worship, fellowship and service. Why is that?

I think it is because we have lost sight of a basic biblical principle, that Christian leadership must always be Leading by Example. In fact, that is the title of my new book which is to be published by Paternoster Press around Easter of this year. It’s my third book, following Prophecy Now (1989) and Virtual Morality (1998), both of which appeared in the Christian best-sellers lists in the UK. Over the past four or five years, in my spare time I have been exploring the teaching of the First Letter of Peter in the New Testament, which includes this challenge to ministers: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care….eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”(1 Peter 5:2-3) That means that every minister should win the respect and affection of his or her congregation only if he or she sets an example that others will want, in some way, to emulate. Ministers can only ask of their people what they themselves are prepared to attempt for God and expect. Peter tried to follow the example of Christ, despite all his human weaknesses, and planted churches in which he ordained ministers who in turn followed his example. Down through the generations the message has not just been preached, but lived. It is the same with elders and their districts, who are called to follow and set an example. If leaders fail to set a good example, then members will not respond enthusiastically. The Korean church is growing remarkably because ministers and elders set high standards and have challenging expectations of their fellow Christians. That doesn’t mean that members should be encouraged to sit back and expect everything in the church to be done by their leaders, nor does it mean that ministers should be doing all the work that elders do in addition to their tasks.

During the seasons of Lent and Easter, surely those questions need to be asked, and answered. Let me know your thoughts on this, by email to gandih@onetel.net by phone, or by letter. I would love to hear from you.

Daldowie Crematorium Dec 12^th 2007 Douglas Halliday 54 Grange Road Pettinain

February Mr and Mrs. Robert Black, 47 Main Street, Symington from Blackhall, Edinburgh.

This year the appeal went to help the establishing of the Kilbryde Hospice for South Lanarkshire in the grounds of Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride. The combined total from both congregations was £678.

Since the last issue, the two job vacancies advertised have been filled. We are delighted to announce that Charlie Todd, Thankerton, has agreed to succeed Rena Mitchell as our FOCUS Editor, with effect from the next issue. More of that in the summer issue. In addition, Sheena Carlyle, Symington, has volunteered to take the place of Marianna Watson as Christian Aid Organiser from this year’s Christian Aid Week in May. Many thanks are due to both for their willingness to serve church and community in these ways, and to Rena and Marianna for many years of sterling service.

As featured in the Lanark Gazette, December 2^nd was a great night for the church and parish of Cairngryffe in celebration of the completion of the kirk renovation project. In addition to the new Session Room which is now used for Sunday School and Session meetings, the church lighting has been replaced and many have commented on how this has enhanced the interior of the church. The red carpets have also created a new warm atmosphere along with the renewed heating system. Many thanks are due to those who participated in the Celebration.

The well known Scottish folk singer and entertainer, Alastair McDonald, is appearing in concert at Cairngryffe Kirk on Thursday April 24^th at 7.30pm. Tickets priced £5 are available from Sandra Stewart or any elder. This is a great opportunity to invite friends to experience the recently renovated church and enjoy an evening together, including refreshments.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 3^rd and 4^th, this big event is being staged at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, near Edinburgh. Speakers include the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, Alister McGrath the well-known theologian and writer, and John Bell, Scottish hymn writer and worship leader. Day tickets are £10 and full details can be obtained from the website www.cwwresources.org.uk

If you would like to learn more of the new hymns and songs in the Church Hymnary Fourth Edition, come to the sing-along planned for Wednesday April 2^nd at 7pm in Greyfriars Church, Lanark, organised by Lanark Presbytery. All are welcome.

This is to keep all our members up to date with what is happening in the Kirk Session at Cairngryffe.

* Remember our website for Cairngryffe Kirk is now up and running. The address is www.cairngryffekirk.org.uk Jim Watt keeps it updated so please use it and let us know if you feel we have missed anything important.

*We have been receiving many encouraging comments regarding the refurbishment work carried out in the Church. This is now almost finished. We still have some fine tuning to do to the heating and ventilation. This should be completed soon.

* The retiring collection on Christmas Sunday and the Watch Night Service on Christmas Eve was for the new Kilbride Hospice Project this year and we sent the sum of £324.00 to them from Cairngryffe.

We received a nice letter of thanks from them and I would like to thank all who contributed to this worthy cause.

The Coffee Club continues to meet in the Church Hall on Tuesday mornings at 10:30 am. The last meeting of the session will be on Tuesday 25th March 2008.

The joint Cairngryffe and Symington Churches Prayer & Praise Services continue to be held on the first Thursday of every month and we invite everyone to come along and be a part of it. The next Prayer & Praise Service will be held in

Many Christians have left Iraq fleeing anti-Christian violence and have crossed into Syria and Jordan.

Some are linked to the Roman Catholic Church and others are members of the Syriac community.

1.1 billion people worldwide still have no access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion live without a clean and safe toilet. As a result 5,000 children die every day from water-related diseases.

Afghanistan has one of the poorest health records in the world. Life expectancy is only 45 years. Fewer than 30% over age 15 can read and write. 2 million girls are unschooled. Pray for WorldVision’s new large scale programme covering literacy, nutrition, child protection, etc.

Pray for the completion of SU Peru’s programme for street children through the Sacred Valley orphanage near Cuzco, supported through the Vine Trust’s Amazon Hope project.

Jesus said - ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.’ (John 6:35)

Our January meeting proved a great success when, following an excellent exhibition of card-making by Myra Gibson, members enjoyed creating their own cards. On February 28 we look forward to a talk by Carrie Duthie on Creative Embroidery and at our last meeting on March 27 Nikki Carlyle will describe the benefits of complementary therapies and massage.

Our Closing Dinner will be held on 24 April and we hope that all members, past and present, will join us on that occasion.

The Trailblazers have been busy as ever over the past few months. We have been looking at some Old Testament stories including the battle of Jericho and tower of Babel. There were some very scrumptious Babel towers made from chocolate with jelly sweet decoration (bet you wish you’d been there!). We are so looking forward to some better weather when we can once again get out and about. As always new members are always welcome. Just come along on Sunday mornings at 11am at the moment for songs, stories fun and games.For more information, contact Lynda Tucker at 01899 308943.

Sunday School meets at 9.30 am in the church and spends the first part of the service in the church. After the children's address the children and the leaders go into the new meeting room to continue their studies through scripture, art and worksheets. Throughout Lent the children will be looking at the events running up to the first Easter in some depth.
Sunday school will start at 9.30am from now till the end of April.
Sunday school holidays will be the same as school holidays.

At the time of writing this report the 2007 Accounts are being audited. This is slightly later than usual as it took longer for me to prepare accounts in the new layout required by OSCR (Scottish Charity Regulator).

I can tell you though we have ended the year with a surplus of £2582.89. This includes the sale of pews which came to £1560. There was a 4% increase in offerings this year which has also helped our finances, and there were no large one-off expenditure items this year (CH4, s in 2006). This is good news because for the past few years we have had slight losses.

The cost of refurbishment to the church has not come from our general every day account and details of all costs on that can be seen when the accounts are presented to the congregation in March / April.

More members have changed to paying Gift Aid contributions by Direct Debit and if any one else would like to start doing this please contact myself or Henry McMahon.

The accounts for 2007 are now completed and have been audited. Income over the year has increased by 0.8% to £40,130 and our expenditure is up 7.2% to £31,528 compared to the same period last year.

The Church’s finances are in reasonable shape given that the surplus for 2007 was £8,601. Nevertheless there is a concern that the % increase in expenditure exceeds the % increase in income.

By the time you read this, choir members will have completed a mini concert for the Evergreen Club in Biggar on Monday 25^th February. Weekly practices continue on Wednesday evenings in the church at 7.30pm, until the choir season ends at the end of April. This session we have been blessed with some new members but more will always be made welcome.

The following have been nominated by Presbytery for the General Assembly Councils and Committees; Rev Roy Cowieson (Carluke: St John’s) for the Ministries Council, Rev Dr Graham Houston (Cairngryffe l/w Symington) for the Publishing Committee and Rev Sarah Ross for the Ecumenical Relations Committee.

The Church Without Walls National Gathering will be held at Ingliston, Edinburgh on the 3^rd – 4^th May 2008.

Child Protection training for volunteers has been arranged for 27^th May 2008 in the Gilliespie Centre, Biggar.

The Congregations attending this year’s General Assembly will be Lanark: Greyfriars, Forth: St Paul’s, Kirkmuirhill, Carluke: St Andrew’s and Carluke: St John’s.

Many congregations are now using CH 4. To this end an open sing-a-long evening has been planned in Greyfriars Parish Church on 2^nd April at 7pm for anyone interested in learning some of the newer materials.

Rev Helen Jamieson has been appointed Chaplain at Roadmeetings Hospital, Carluke.

There are so many Christians who work abroad, either specifically as missionaries or in general areas but living a Christian witness. For example, recently we got to know a couple from London. She is an oncologist and he is a radiologist. They have retired early and become involved in a missionary organisation called Interchristian Fellowships' Evangelical Mission (IcFEM Mission) working in Kenya. In the recent upheavals Kenya needs our prayers as do our friends working there.

I would like to invite anyone from Cairngryffe or Symington to my house at 32 Biggar Road Symington on 19 March at 8pm for about an hour to think and pray about how we should support overseas mission. We would be happy if you just turn up but it would be helpful to have some idea of how many wish to come so, if you remember please phone 01899 308331 first.

This year the events around the Christian Aid Appeal in Symington will be under the new management of Sheena Carlyle. More information will be available from her later in the year. In the meantime here is a special message from the outgoing coordinator,

We are well through our winter session now and our prize giving and Dance will take place on Friday 4^th of April in Rigside Hall. The band this year will be the Jim Gold Scottish Dance Band, even if you are not a dancer this young band is well worth listening to the dance starts at 7.30 and simply call me if you want tickets We play every Tuesday night in Carmichael Hall and after the dance it will continue during the summer and be open to all.

Meetings are held fortnightly on Thursdays in Thankerton Village Hall at 2.00pm. and all who are young at heart are welcome!

Carmichael WRI meets on the second Monday of each month in Carmichael Hall at 7.30pm. Forthcoming meetings are:-

Thankerton SWRI holds its meetings on the first Thursday of each month between September and April at 7.30pm in Thankerton Village Hall. The final meetings this year are:-

Pettinain WRI meets in Pettinain Village Hall at 7.30pm on a Wednesday. Why not join us? New members are welcome.

New members are always welcome to join us at our meetings in Symington Village Hall on the first Thursday of the month at 7.30pm. We enjoy a talk or demonstration each month on a variety of subjects.

Biggar Probus Club, open to men over 50 who are fully or partially retired, residing in Biggar and the surrounding area, continues to meet in the Municipal Hall, Biggar on the first and third TUESDAY of each month until the end of April. We begin around 9.45am for a cup of tea and a chat followed by a visiting speaker, finishing around 11.30am

Membership currently costs £5.00 per annum plus refreshment costs. Any man who wishes to join should come along to a meeting or telephone one of the numbers below. He would be assured of a warm welcome.

Adults play on Mondays from 7pm - 9pm, Juniors on Fridays from 7pm -9pm. Both groups meet in Pettinain Village Hall and cost £1 per night to cover cost of Hall Let, refreshments and renewing equipment.

For the past year the Community Council has been trying to find a site in the village for the provision of a Bottle Bank to help with the recycling of glass bottles, jars etc which would otherwise go to landfill, which currently raises a charge to South Lanarkshire Council, in turn affecting your Council Tax.

The Community Council is now pleased to report that such a site has been found and as a result a Bottle Bank has now been provided in the Car Park of the Tinto Hotel.

All residents are urged to use this facility rather than dispose of their empty bottles etc in the general rubbish.

This group for little ones from 0 to 5 years continues to meet in Carmichael on Mondays and Thursdays from 9.15am to 11.15am. The children enjoy a good variety of activities and all will be made very welcome.

More details of location and times can be had from the playleader Catherine Hamilton on 01555 665239.

The sessions take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.30am till 11.20am. There are still a few spaces for new children. Why not bring your child along to join in the fun?

Tinto Toddlers meet every Monday and Friday in Symington Village Hall from 9.45 to 11.15am. Parents and carers with children from newborn to nursery age will be warmly welcomed. Older school age children can join in during the school holidays as the group now operates throughout the year. There is a range of toys to There is a range of toys to play with, a baby area and equipment for arts and crafts and music sessions. We charge £1 per session for Toddlers and 50p for babies, which includes a healthy snack, with tea or coffee for mum/dad. If you would like further information , call Rhona Spence on 01899 308432

Please note that only the Rainbows gave me up to date information for this edition of Focus so parents need to check with group leaders to find out what the current position is.

Rainbows are for girls aged 5-7 years and meet in Symington on a Monday during school term time. Currently there are spaces available so if you have a little girl who would like to join, please contact

This pack enjoy a variety of fun activities on meeting nights, including games, crafts and working towards Brownie badges

We are open to all 7 - 10 year old girls. We meet on a Monday evening in Thankerton . The weekly meeting consists of the girls participating in crafts, games and working towards Brownie interest badges. We have an annual pack holiday and up to two outings a year. We do currently have places.

Guides, for girls aged 10-14 meet on Mondays from 7.15 – 9.15pm in Symington Village Hall. The senior section for girls aged from 14 to 25 now meet on Tuesdays in Symington Hall. Both Guide groups are currently full but if you would like to add your daughter’s name to the waiting list or for more information on joining our team of leaders

1^st Biggar Tinto Beavers, Cubs and Scouts meet in Biggar on Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout term time. They currently have a waiting list in all sections. If you are interested in joining, either as a Beaver, Cub or Scout or are interested in helping as part of the leadership team, for full details of meeting times and venues and of the waiting lists involved.

We have had a busy time over the last quarter. We were delighted to be successful in our grant application to Forward Scotland (a Scottish Executive initiative for Community projects) for nearly £10500 for a fantastic adventure trail which has been installed at the school. We were also delighted that two first team Motherwell players came along to the official opening, as well as Karen Gillon, MSP and local Councillor, Hamish Stewart.

The Chess Club is currently lying joint second in the Lanarkshire league and plays again on 21st February. The UK Chess Challenge is also underway and will be played out over the next couple of months.

In Badminton, Katleyn Reilly is playing in several competitions over the next couple of months and we wish her well. We are also delighted to report that Rachel Currie will be taking over the reading club from Lynda Tucker and we would take this opportunity of thanking Lynda for all her efforts over the last three years.

We continue to look for members of the Community to get involved with our garden project - please contact Jane Stevens on 01899 308713 if you would like further information.

The first committee meeting was on 18th February and preparations are now in full swing, but we would love to see more local members of the Community getting involved! If you would like to help in any way, please contact Alison Rogers on 01899 308069 or Jane Stevens on 01899 308713

The Board at Symington Church and the Kirk Session at Cairngryffe have been engaged in some discussions as to how best to become more involved with, as well as provide some service for the young people in both parishes. A small working group was set up to look at this. As a starting point it has been agreed that the possibility of commissioning some youth work over the summer holidays should be examined. This could take the form of workshops in such areas as music, drama or similar areas. The target age group would be

11 – 13 year olds, though this may vary according to demand.

Clearly, before proceeding with any detailed proposals two essential factors must be established. Firstly, what might our young people be interested in participating in? Secondly, would there be sufficient demand to justify proceeding.

To this end parents AND youngsters are asked to register interest, preferably with some preferred sphere of activity specified.

The contacts to register interest are:-

For Symington: Jane Stevens Tel: 01899 308713.

For Cairngryffe: Denham MacDougall Tel: 01899 308312

Editor's Note

I would like to express grateful thanks to everyone who contributed material for this edition of Focus and for all the other editions

over the past 6 years. I am sure that the new editor will receive the same staunch support. Please remember that unless secretaries, leaders or chairpersons of groups continue to take the trouble to contact the Focus editor, the information in Focus will be neither accurate nor up to date. It only takes a few moments, four times a year at most. Rena Mitchell

The summer edition of FOCUS will be issued late in May 2008. Contributions from church groups and organisations, covering the period from June 2008 to the end of August 2008, should be sent to the NEW editor by Sunday May 4th at the latest. Please note the earlier deadline. He can be reached at: -

Charlie Todd, 63 Station Rd, Thankerton, Biggar ML12 6NZ Tel: 01899 308327 or by email at MTB345@aol.com

Tel: 01899 308327 or by email at MTB345@aol.com

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