FOCUS

Palm Sunday Family Services at 9.30am (Symington) and 11.00am (Cairngryffe) on Sunday April 5^th .

Prayer and Praise Services Thursdays at 7.30pm: Symington March 5^th, May 7^th; Cairngryffe April 2nd and June 4^th. All are welcome.

Lent Discussion Group Sundays at 6pm-7.30pm in the Manse from February 9^th to March 29^th “What Christ Thinks of the Church” Studies in Revelation 2-3. All are welcome

Friday 8^th May – Kirk Ceilidh in Carmichael Hall 7.30 – 11.30 with Cameronian Ceilidh Band, Alan and Eleanor Potts and Denham MacDougall entertaining

Many people in Scotland today are asking whether there is a future for the church in our land. Numerical decline in membership continues apace, and vacant charges in the Church of Scotland now number 200 because of the shortage of ministers. Every minister needs to be sure that he or she is in the right place at such a time as this. It is possible to make predictions that the Kirk will cease to exist in about 20 years if present trends continue, because over the last 40 years we have lost some 18,300 members nationwide every year. But is that all there is to say? This year as we approach Easter our theme in Sunday services is “What Christ Thinks of the Church”, based on the vision of John in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. That section of scripture contains messages from the risen Lord Jesus Christ to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia, modern western Turkey, through the aged apostle John who was exiled on the Aegean island of Patmos. The messages contain encouragements and warnings to the churches which represent the worldwide church throughout the ages. In some cases the Lord has congratulations for Christians who are faithfully gathering for worship week by week and leading exemplary daily lives of faith and service. In other cases he has criticisms about character and commitment. Most messages are a mixture of positive and negative. In some situations Jesus warns professing Christians that God will take away the light of the gospel and churches will close unless their members repent of their sin and return to the Lord in penitence and faith. Yet always Jesus holds out the promise of victory to all who keep right on to the end of the road of faith. So we need to have the courage to ask ourselves “What does Christ think of us?” Of course, that is a question about judgment. We know that each of us is accountable to God for our lives and that one day we will all be called to account, at our death or on the day of reckoning at the end of time. And we know that the standard of judgment is the true humanity of Jesus Christ and the extent to which we are following him. It’s no use looking around at others and consoling ourselves that we are no worse than them. It’s much wiser and more rewarding to accept God’s views about us now and to take action before it’s too late to change. I challenge every member and invite others too in our parishes to join with the congregations as we listen to what the Lord has to say about us at this time.

Of course, the problem with church is that “church” means gathering. In fact most of us who read this are “unchurched”, like the majority of Kirk members nationwide, in that we seldom if ever actually join with others in worship. The fourth commandment about keeping the Sabbath has become an optional extra rather than an essential aspect of our lives. The seven messages in Revelation 2 and 3 were originally sent to seven churches and read aloud in their worship services. In days before mass communication, the news got around by word of mouth, and such was the challenge from Christ to the churches that you can be sure that tongues were buzzing! Today we also have this channel of communication to get the message across, but none of us can really hear what God is saying to us today if we are absent from worship. It is there, on the Lord’s Day, that God loves to meet with his people, just as he met with John on that fateful day nearly 2000 years ago. The call to return to the Lord which comes through these messages is primarily an invitation to worship. Attendance figures weekly in both of our congregations leave much to be desired, and the faithful few who come week by week are often discouraged by that fact. Yet the Lord continues to hold out the hand of welcome. In one of the most famous appeals in these seven messages, Jesus Christ says to us all: “I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me...Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”(Rev. 3:19-22)

Here is the gospel in a nutshell. God’s love is freely offered to us all, but it is not a love which is content for there to be little or no response. It is a love which longs to see people changed to be more like Jesus. It is a love which calls us to turn back to the Lord and seek his forgiveness and a fresh start. It is a love which alone can motivate us to change our conduct and build our characters. At the heart of that is a loving relationship with Christ our elder brother, of trust and obedience into which all are invited, such that Jesus promises to enter our homes and our hearts and share everyday things with us, so that Christian faith

and love become second nature to us. That love is signified and sealed in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, Communion, where we are invited to eat and drink with the Lord who is the unseen host at his table. Approaching Easter we have two opportunities to celebrate the sacrament together, and to listen carefully to what the Spirit is saying to us. We also have a Sunday evening discussion series during Lent on the application of the messages to the churches for today. Will we hear Christ’s voice and open the doors of our lives to let him in? Remember that the Lord will not break the door down. It is up to us to ask Jesus in.

If you travel to Turkey today and visit the former Roman province of Asia you will see many ruins which show just how big some of the ancient towns and cities were. For six hundred years the churches there were at the forefront of Christian mission and theology. But today there are no churches at all in that region which for centuries has been dominated by Islam. What happened there can happen here in Scotland, unless you and I are determined otherwise. Don’t delay. The time to believe and obey is today. That alone can bring us a truly happy Easter. What can you lose by opening the door? The handle is on the inside. The future of the church is in your hands.

This year went to help the Aberlour Children’s Trust which provides advice and refuge for children who have run away from home in Scotland. Of the 9,000 who do so each year, only one third are reported to the authorities. The combined total from both congregations was £525. Thanks are due to all who contributed.

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

* Our calendar for 2009 was very successful thanks go to Lily and Rena for all the work they put into this task. Next year we plan to do one using old local photos and we would be interested if you have any showing what life was like in our parishes last centaury. All will be handled carefully and returned, we have already a good collection that were copied for Charlie’s local history books.

*The money collected at our special Christmas services went to Aberlour , Scotland’s Charity for runaway children .They sent us a nice letter thanking us for the donation of £263.61 Thank you to all who contributed.

*We have now sealed the roof vents and repaired some of the windows to try and cut out the draughts improve the heating on a Sunday. We will continue to monitor the situation now to see if additional heating is required .

*Finally could you continue to let Mary McLellan or Lily know on a Sunday if you are aware of any members who are ill or in hospital so the flowers can be sent to them.

As we did at Christmas, we would like to form a small group to sing 2 songs during our Easter Day Service. This will involve short rehersals after morning service on the Sundays between now and then. Previous and new volunteers will be welcome – please discuss with Eleanor or Alan as soon as possible.

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 current session will continue till June when we will take a short break for the summer. The next Prayer & Praise Service will be held in

The Lord promised ‘Call and I will answer, knock and I will open and stretch forth my hand to pardon your sins’

O Lord God, who alone can make holy, who alone can pardon and remove our sins, blot out our many, great and innumerable sins and those of your people. O Lord, in your goodness have mercy on us and bless us. O Lord remember us and our families and all faithful members of your holy Church. Strengthen us, we pray, in body and spirit. Ever refresh us with your grace and mercy. Save us from all evil and lead us your children to dwell with you for ever. May we grow in grace and knowledge of you. To you we offer praise and thanksgiving, for ever and ever. Amen.

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)

As a member of the Ministries Committee, I was on the interviewing panel for the post of chaplain to Lady Home Hospital at Douglas. The panel was headed by Rev Bob Devenney who is Head of Spiritual Care for NHS Lanarkshire. It is gratifying to note that the NHS takes this post seriously and, in fact, pays for the service of chaplains even though the time for which the payment is made may not be much - around four hours per week for the Lady Home. Bob Devenney had been a minister in Lanark and in case you are puzzled, it was Lanark, Ontario, not our Lanark. You will also be interested to know that Rev Susan Cowell was appointed to the post.

The Ministries Committee was required draw up a ten year plan suggesting how best to use resources in Presbytery. The plan was approved by Presbytery and by the Presbytery Task Group in Edinburgh. Part of the plan required more cooperation between the parishes of Biggar, Coulter, Blackmount and Liberton and Quothquan. Now that Rev Jim Francis is leaving Biggar, urgent discussions are taking place between the congregation of those parishes and Presbytery representatives to try to reach common agreement. Jim Francis is leaving Biggar to be a chaplain in the Army, he will be sadly missed in Biggar and in the Presbytery. The Rev Beverley Gauld is also retiring from Carnwath

Better news is that Law Parish Church have a new minister. She is the Rev. Una Stewart who will be inducted on 26^th February. She is moving from Strathaven

Because of the number of vacancies, pressure is put on neighbouring ministers who act as Interim Moderators thus increasing their workload. It is suggested that elders, with training, could take on this administrative job. So if there are any elders who would be interested in taking this on, please see Graham or myself.

Presbytery has been asked to appoint a Youth Representative to the General Assembly and to appoint representatives to the National Youth Assembly in September. These are tremendous opportunities for anyone aged between 18 and 25 who are regularly involved in the life and worship of the congregation. At the General Assembly, youth representatives have a private meeting with the Moderator and are invited to the reception at Holyrood with the Lord High Commissioner. They also can, and do, take part in debates at the Assembly.

The Presbytery also agreed to pass the proposals for the changes to the sanctuary in Symington Kirk to the General Trustees for their approval.

Sandra Stewart has handed over the reins as Convener of the Social Committee to Charlie Todd. Many thanks to Sandra and her Committee for their efforts over the past few years. At their first meeting on Sunday 15^th February the new Committee discussed various ideas and decided on a Ceilidh in Carmichael Hall on the 8^th May 09 and a Quiz Night in Thankerton Hall in October 09 (exact date to be decided) to get the ball rolling. Ideas for social / fund raising activities from anyone in the community are invited.

Our January meeting banished the winter weather when Ian O'Brien showed excellent slides on his cycle ride from Canterbury to Rome. On 26 February we look forward to 'Poetry on Childhood' by Alex Baird, and our final meeting of the year will be a talk on the RNLI by Ann Gordon.

Our closing dinner will be held on 23 April and we hope all members, both past and present, will join us on that occasion

In the absence of Mrs McLellan on holiday, Mrs. Watt welcomed ladies to the first meeting of the New Year. It was good to see the ladies who had braved the recent freezing weather and energising to see the early signs of spring.

Hymn : - One written by a Guild member, sung to the tune of ‘Morning Has Broken’.

Mrs. Watt welcomed our guest speaker, Ms Mona Third from the Garvald Centre at West Linton. The Centre offers creative opportunities and support for adults with learning disabilities. Its work is rooted in the Rudolph Steiner philosophy.

· World Day of Prayer to be held this year in Carstairs Junction Church at 7:30pm on Friday, 6^thMarch. Two members are invited to be readers – Mrs McLellan and Mrs S Summerville. A short rehearsal has been arranged for Sunday, 15^th February at 3:00pm. Posters and information leaflets will be delivered to Mrs McLellan.

· The Annual meeting of The Guild is to be held in the Caird Hall, Dundee on Saturday, 5^th September. The theme for the day, and for the 2009-2010 session, is ‘Called to Act Justly’, year 1 of ‘What Does The Lord Require of You?’. Anyone interested should contact Mrs McLellan or Mrs Watt as we have to apply for tickets.

· An invitation has been received from St Andrew’s Church, Carluke to an illustrated talk by Mrs Issy Sanderson on ‘The Cloths of Heaven’ on Thursday, 19^th February at 1:30pm in the Church Hall.

· An invitation was received from Lanark Greyfriars Guild to a Scots Night on Wednesday, 21^st January and 5 of our members had attended this very successful evening.

· South Lanarkshire Community resources have sent an invitation to hear the Noise Ensemble, 10 percussion drummers, at the Town House, Hamilton on Thursday, 26^th February at 7:30pm.

· A reminder that the Spring Rally in Greyfriars Church Hall, Lanark is coming up on Friday, 27^th march. Arrangements for anyone requiring transport will be made at our meeting on 11^th March.

Mrs. Watt thanked the committee ladies for their contribution to the evening and closed with a well known passage about Jesus entitled ‘One Solitary Life’..

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 2008 Accounts, again prepared to conform to the new OSCR (Scottish Charity Regulator) requirements, are being audited.

Any members who would like to pay their Gift Aid contributions by Direct Debit please contact myself or Henry McMahon.

Income in 2008 has fallen 14% compared with the previous year while expenditure is up 8% over the same period. The income is down since there are fewer people donating via the Gift Aid and Weekly Freewill Offering schemes.

The major concern is that we cannot continue for any significant time in a situation where our expenditure is increasing at a faster rate than our income. This situation will only be exacerbated by the current financial situation.

Symington Kirk Choir are planning to have a concert on Friday 27 March at 7-30. The concert -choir pieces, solos, humorous readings and musical selections- will be held in Symington Kirk with wine and savouries afterwards in the church hall. Tickets, including refreshments are £5 and will be available from choir members from the beginning of March. Please come along and support the choir on this occasion.

Weekly practices continue on Wednesday evenings in the church at 7.30pm, until the choir season ends at the end of April. New members will always be made welcome.

We are well through our winter session now and our prize giving and Dance will take place on Friday 3rd April in Ravenstruther 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:-

Any lady interested in coming along to any evening, or in joining, will be made most welcome

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.

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 Kate Melanby on 01899 308432

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

Debbie Grierson at 01899 830385

Brownies

1^st Symington Brownies

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

Girls aged 7 – 10 years old wishing to join will be made very welcome.

For further details on meeting times and location please contact

Gillian Aitchison, 01899 308098 or Alysoun Wilson, 01899 220609.

1st Tinto Brownies

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.

For further information please contact

Mandy Reilly on 01899308387.

Symington Guides

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. Please contact

Anne Galloway at 01555 870865.

Beavers, Cubs and Scouts

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. Please contact

Alex Clark at 01899 308330.

Tinto After School Club

Another busy time of year for the After School Club. The 2009 UK Chess Challenge gets going in March and the Chess Club is also looking forward to rounds 2 & 3 of the Lanarkshire Chess League, where they are currently lying in joint 6th place (out of 24 teams). We were also delighted to have a Xmas Choir for the first time, thanks to Fiona Mathers and Alison Rogers - talented parents in our midst! They sang, not only at school events, but at the Community Xmas Fayre and at the Evergreen Xmas lunch in Thankerton. The Club is looking forward to another busy term and hopes to run its first fashion show in conjunction with M & Co, in the Spring. Jane Stevens will be stepping down as Co-ordinator in April, after working with the Club for 5 years, and we are delighted to welcome Rhona Spence in her place and are sure you will all wish her well in her new role. Should you have any talents you can share with the children or would like to help out in the school garden, please contact Jane on 01899 308713

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.

symington Village Day

We are looking forward to having our first meeting in March to discuss this year's Village Day and would love to welcome some new faces to give us some new ideas. Please consider helping out this year, it really is just a few hours of meetings and then helping out on the day - the more bodies we have, the easier the organisation will be. Please contact Jane (308713) or Alison (308069) for details of the first meeting.

THE THREE PARISHES HISTORY PROJECT

Individual detailed histories of the parishes of Carmichael, Thankerton/Covington are now available from Mr William Fleming (tele 01555 661386) or the Focus Editor at a cost of £15 each. Each book contains about 300 pages of information and some photographs and illustrations. Pettinain will be available very shortly. Separate volumes containing a wide variety of photographs of life and work in the parishes are presently being prepared by the Editor.

Editor's Note

I would like to express grateful thanks to everyone who contributed material for this edition of Focus

The summer edition of FOCUS will be issued mid May 2009. Contributions from church groups and organisations, covering the period from June 2009 to the end of August 2009, should be sent to the Editor by Sunday May 10th at the latest. I can be reached at: -

Charlie Todd, 63 Station Rd, Thankerton, Biggar ML12 6NZ Tel: 01899 308327 or by email at charles.todd@southlanarkshire.gov.uk

SUNDAY	CAIRNGRYFFE	SYMINGTON
1^st March 2009	Maureen Bannatyne	Sheena Carlyle
8^th March 2009	Isabelle Struthers	Ella Hodge
15^st March 2009	Annie Callan	Etta Prentice
22^th March 2009	Margaret Smith	Marlyn Masterton
29^th March 2009	Margaret Struthers	Mary Hodge
5^th April 2009	Mamie Gilmour	Jean Atwood
12^th April 2009	Cathryn Forrest	Ollie Hunter
19^th April 2009	Mrs Warnock (Pett)	Margaret McGregor
26^th April 2009	Jean Gilbert	Anne Hill
3^rd May 2009	Elizabeth Warnock
10^th May 2009	Liz Hiddleston	May Lindsay

17^nd May 2009	Agnes Mundell	Nan Warwick
24^th May 2009	Isobel McClymont	Penny Nisbet
31^st May 2009	Carol Gardiner	Jean McCurrach

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