LECTIONARY READINGS

As I will be away on holiday for two weeks, here are the Lectionary Readings for:

Sunday 5th July 09
2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10Psalm 48
Corinthians 12:2-10; Mark 6:1-13

Sunday 12th July 09
2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19Psalm 24
Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-29

Sunday 19th July 09
2 Samuel 7:1-14aPsalm 89:20-37
Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Sandra

ROAD DIGGING OPERATIONS AHEAD!

The Council have just laid a lovely new surface on the road in front of the Light house and Church - Tomatin Road. Judging by most other new roads around Inverness, this must mean that we will soon be seeing the Gas Board Board, the Water Board and various other groups soon moving in to dig it up again!

GARDEN TRANSFORMATION

We are very dependent on volunteers to make progress in terms of so many aspects of our work as a fellowship. You would always be glad of more volunteers, but in truth we have many outstanding people in the church who really go "the extra mile" I want to particularly highlight the magnificent work done by Steve along with his wife Ailsa in the Light house garden. The garden is now beginning to take shape and should be ready for use in 2010.

Next Saturday morning, we are going to concrete the area at the rear of the Light house. The lorry is arriving at 8am, and we hope to have it all unloaded and down by mid morning. Lewis and Iain are leading these operations. If you have a couple of hours to spare, your assistance would be much appreciated.

SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE

The boys really enjoyed themselves, as did the staff who came along. They were really taken with the warm welcome and how 'up-beat' the service was. In fact they enjoyed it so much that some are hoping to come back next Sunday morning.......The sum raised was £ 470 which is just magnificent! Many many thanks again.
Annice Morrison

HEALTHY DRINKING

I am thrilled to see that all that tea I drink is actually doing me some good!

RECORDERS and GIVING

We had a very memorable morning service yesterday. The congregation enjoyed a performance by 6 pupils of Drummond School who played their recorders as part of a fund raiser for a Special Olympics event later this summer. The boys played brilliantly. We wish them every success in their sporting endeavours.

In the evening we had a very thought provoking service led by Ken Walker based on Paul's encouragement to give generously in 2 Corinthians 8. At the end of the service, there was the opportunity to get into groups (entirely optional!) over coffee to discuss the following question (which I'm paraphrasing from memory!):

The government's economic rescue plan may fail. In all likelihood the UK will at some point cease to be one of the richest countries in the world. In what ways might this affect our giving as a Church?

Unfortunately I had to leave before the discussion, because of another commitment. Hopefully Ken may post some of the responses here when he has time. The basic idea of having an impromptu group time at the end of a service is a good one. It gives a time for discussion and response when the issues are still fresh in our minds. It's something we should do again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MURDO ADAMS

Happy Birthday to Murdo Adams who is now 80 years young! Murdo was our church officer for 37 years. Hilton church, as I reflected yesterday, has a significant number of people who have been committed to its fellowship for decades. It's a great dimension of our life together as a church, that we have people like Murdo who were actually present when the foundation stone of the church was laid 53 years ago.

BITS& PIECES

The BBC webite always has something about faith and today there are 2 articles. One of significance for our culture and times and another which probably only makes sense in the US!

On a completely different level, I listened to the Bristish Lions rugby match on the radio yesterday. By all accounts the referee had an absolute shocker of a match, making several mistakes which were very costly for the Lions. I'm struck by the report on the BBC, in which none of the defeated team members make any reference to the failings of the referee. Why is it that so often in football all the criticism centres around the referee, while in rugby, decisions are accepted and not brought up after the match?

PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP

I'm sitting here doing some preparation for the services in the morning. I'm not the only one making such preparations. Some will be preparing for Sunday Club, while others will be working on music and prayers. I wanted to highlight the theme of preparation this morning, and express gratitude for all that so many do to make our experiences on a Sunday postives ones. I also wanted to highlight the preparation of one very special lady in Hilton Church who has been preparing every Saturday for decades. At the age of 87, she still goes to Simpsons in the Market to pick up flowers every Saturday morning. She then spends a considerable time in the afternoon arranging them, ready for Sunday. But not content with that level of preparation, Norma is then in the church kitchen by 8.30am every Sunday morning to set out the various drinks, so that we can all enjoy hospitality after the Services. She then repeats the same exercise at night! I honour Norma's unique service through this post and hope that she will have many more years of good health which will enable her to continue sharing in these vital aspects of our weekly worship.

BANA TRUST NEWSLETTER FOR JUNE

Another really encouraging newsletter from Robyn which you can read here. We are all really looking forward to having Robyn and Palesa back in Inverness for a few weeks over the summer.

Teenscene and Nitelife

It has been a real pleasure working with the young folk of Hilton Church over the past four years. They are an amazing bunch of people. Here are a few photos we took last Sunday morning.

CONGRATULATIONS to JAMIE GRANT

We are delighted to note the following piece of news from the latest HTC newsletter. We are very privileged to have Jamie serving as one of our elders at Hilton Church.

The Board of Governors of Highland Theological College UHI has also unanimously approved the appointment of Jamie Grant as Vice Principal of the College. After studying law at the University of Dundee, Jamie worked for seven years in Poland with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. He gained an MA in Biblical Studies from Reformed Theological Seminary in the States and a PhD on the Book of Psalms from the University of Gloucestershire. Jamie joined the staff of HTC in 2002 as Lecturer in Biblical Studies. He is also Postgraduate Studies Co-ordinator.

MISSION SHAPED MINISTRY 2

In relation to my previous post about Mission Shaped Ministry, I was intrigued to read this post.

The more you think about the issue of mission in 21st century Scotland, the more complexities emerge. There is no one size fits all panacea. So much of our efforts as a church centre around forming groups of one kind or another, but...

"........ it was interesting to read the following caution by John Finney, The Four Generations. Finding the Right Model for Mission. (It’s a Grove Book, which I find an increasingly useful resource). He noted that groups attract a certain type of person - more likely the curious, the gregarious, the educated, the articulate, those who have time. And that’s not everyone. “A vast number of people in this country go to work in the morning, come home, watch the television, do a bit of DIY and never go out except for excursions to the shops or on outings or to see other members of the family. They belong to no organization, join no group, seldom go to the pub; they are self-sufficient.”

MISSION SHAPED MINISTRY

A very significant aspect of our life as believers in Christ involves seeking to be shaped in such a way that we can effectively communicate the good news about Him. We have been experimenting with Cafe Church and Impact Cafe's over the last few years in an attempt to broaden the base of our life as a church together.A new strand of encouragement in this direction is going to emerge later this year! You can read all about it here.

YOUTH WORKER

I promised that I would post the advert as soon as it was available. Over the next few days, we will be trying to send it out to as many different churches, colleges and centres as we can think of, where potential youth workers might see it. Can you help please! If you know of anyone who might be interested or can post it on a notice board, please do so.Click here for full job advert

Your own personal Jesus

We have received a fascinating email from Al MacInnes and Fin MacRae which you can read on their blog.

RUNvideo

I've just seen this site recommended on Jonny Baker's blog. Our very own Rob & Gwen Barlow are a part of the team who created this video site. It looks really great. Many of the videos have been used at our regular Impact cafe services. It's very exciting to be part of something along with Rob & Gwen, which is at the cutting edge of emerging church.

CONGRATULATIONS

Congratulations to Stuart and Elna who have just announced their engagement. They are getting married in October.

HILTON YOUTH PROJECT WORKER

The financial target for employing a Youth worker at Hilton Church has nearly been reached. We have pledges amounting to nearly £25,000 per annum. The task force charged with taking this project forward met on Sunday evening, and we hope to be able to start advertising the post through all the various networks available to us as soon as possible.I'll post details of the advert on this blog , just as soon as they are available.

CLASH ON TV!

I’ve have had an amazing time this March and April, flying down to London for Mondays and Tuesdays to film a new children’s television programme with the BBC called “Clash ”. There were two teams of mixed boys and girls playing different instruments (I was playing my clarsach). They were from all over the U.K. We competed against each other in musical challenges and in a final competition reworking a well-known piece of classical music into a pop track! I travelled all over London to recording studios and other secret locations to film the programme. I met many amazing people and I did lots of exciting things. I’ve really enjoyed my journeys to London. The programme is due to be broadcast on Tuesday 7th July, I can’t wait! Tune in to see which team won!

Megan Kiln

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Reading for June 28, 2009

Samuel 1:1, 17-27 Psalm 130
2 Corinthians 8:7-15; Mark 5:21-43

IMPACT CAFE

Hello, Gwen Barlow here just to announce that it's Impact cafe with Rob and myself this Sunday evening at 6.30. With special cakes from Michelle and helpers from the Light House and an interactive evening. The theme is "The Spirit of The Age". We look forward to seeing you there. Blessings!

LIFE & WORK

We're still very concious that many folk are still just discovering the Light house, many months after we first opened - despite all our efforts at publicity! Today, a feature writer from the Church of Scotland's monthly magazine, Life & Work, came to see the Light house. She did a lengthy interview with Gwen, and there is likely to be a feature in the magazine in September.

LAPTOP CRASH!

My laptop crashed about 6 weeks ago, and I've just received it back after some very skilled surgery by Iain Ross. One of the consequences of such a gap is that I haven't looked at quite a few of my favourite blogs for a while. Brian McLaren's blog is always brim full of stimulating thoughts like this article on Fathers Day. Tim Chester from Sheffield's blog is also well worth reading. Today I have learnt that a book edited by our very own Jamie Grant has just been published, as per picture.

MEGAN KILN in CLASH!

What an exciting Spring it has been for Megan Kiln. She has been flying to London every week to participate in a BBC programe called Clash. It sounds a bit like a team version of Fame Academy for CBBC with a classical twist. Hopefully we can get Megan to do a post soon to tell us all about it.The series of 6 programmes starts on BBC1 Tuesday 7th July @ 4.35pm. You can read some more details about the programme here

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Reading for Sunday, 21 June , 2009
1 Samuel 17:(1a , 4-11, 19-23), 32-49
Psalm 9:9-20
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
Mark 4:35-41

BANA TRUST

Robyn & Palesa have been hosting the Hutchisons over the past 2 weeks. She has also just moved house. You can read all the latest news here.

HIGHLAND FESTIVAL

The Highland Festival with Luis Palau is now in full swing at various locations across the Highlands. It climaxes at the Bught Park, Inverness this Friday and Saturday. You can find full details on this link.

THANK YOU

Gwen has put together a nice little collage of the weekends events at the Light house which you can see here.

the big picnic

As we left Inverness for Nairn on Sunday after church, there were still nagging doubts - it might not be warm enough, maybe no-one will come, what if the tide's in, will it rain? But remembering the scripture shared at the morning service, the promise was claimed - if you have faith as big as a mustard seed . . .

And God blessed us - in abundance. Just over 100 folk came to the "Big Picnic" on the East sands at Nairn, the sun shone beautifully and brightly all day, the tide was fully out when we arrived, and great merriment followed.

And now, on Monday morning, I close my eyes for a little while and images fill my mind

- a collage of colourful travel rugs, pop-up tents, picnic hampers, sun-hats.
- Races on the wet sand for the children (and not-so-little!), and my heart strings being pulled when the pre-schoolers ran towards the line with their teddies.
- the all-age-Team-challenge with buckets to fill the water containers.
- a "tide fight" with the challenge to build a strong tower against the incoming tide. I can still see Rosie and Jim standing guard over their 'creation', and Simon Thomas smiling as his castle was the last one standing!
- The biggest kids (i.e. Chris and Lewis) attempting to catch Alan and throw him in the sea!
- Meghan and Rosie's Dad encouraging the kite-flying. What a glorious sight against the clear blue sky.
- all the teddies having a shot on the parachute, and the laughter that followed.


And the enrichment that I feel? I'm sure it lies in a sharing with a thankful heart. And the way of such a heart is the way of joy - that so much has been received, and maybe (dare I say it?) much may be given.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this a very special day in the life and days of Hilton Church family.

Morag Macritchie.

TEDDY BEAR PICNIC PICTURES

TEDDY BEARS PICNIC

A great afternoon at Nairn beach. I'm leaving it for Morag to post a report on what was a wonderful afternoon. Thank you Morag for organising such a great event for everyone.Photos to follow!

SOWING SEEDS

A great service this morning led by Iain macritchie. He encouraged us to be sowers of seeds for God's kingdom. There is a wonder and a mystery in the way that seeds that are sown grow. The grass sown in the Light house garden is already beginning to emerge. The tree in the centre of the garden was only planted about 15 years ago. At first, it required a stake to keep it from falling over. Now it is tall and strong and has a central place in the garden.

CONGO MISSION

A team from Hilton Church visited N. Carolina in 2006. Many firm friendships have flowed from that trip, not least with my wonderful hosts, Randy & Barbara Walker. One of the truly impressive aspects of our visit to North America were the insights we got regarding the mission budgets of the churches we visited there. The budgets of many churches for developing world projects often run to seven figure sums anually. This Monday, Barbara is going on a team from Myers Park Presbyterian Church to the Congo. You can follow the trip blog here.

OPENING PHOTOS

OFFICIAL OPENING PHOTOS

Thank's to Arnold for his photographs during this afternoon's events.

THE OFFICIAL OPENING

I'll try and post some of the photographs from the afternoon, later this evening. We've had a very successful afternoon with the Light house being very busy from 2-5pm. It's great to see the building up and running and operating so well. A big thank you to Gwen and Michelle, together with all the many volunteers who contributed to such a memorable weekend.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

I'm afraid I listen more to Radio 5 Live (Bloke FM!) rather than to Radio Scotland, so I don't often hear Thought for the Day. The following one which I found here is worth pondering on.

MORE CONGRATULATIONS

Last month, we congratulated Scott MacRoberts on being accepted for ordained ministry. This month, we are delighted to note that Michael Robertson has also been accepted as a candidate for the Church of Scotland ministry. Both Scott and Michael plan to do their training at HTC. It is great that those training for the ministry nolonger have to leave the Highlands when they embark on their training. While Scott and Michael are beginning, Rob Barlow is nearing the end of his training. He will hopefully graduate from HTC in the autumn, as well as completing his probationary 15 months in Beauly.

LIGHT HOUSE OFFICAL OPENING

The Light house is being offically opened tomorrow (Saturday). The Cafe will be offering free hospitality from 2-5pm, together with face painting, bouncy castles and various other attractions. David Sutherland CBE, will be unveiling a plaque to mark the official opening around 3.30pm.

GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!

We have an unusually high proportion of boys in our Sunday Club at Hilton Church. We are therefore delighted to note that the balance has been dramatically redressed in recent days with the addition of 3 baby girls. Juliette to Stuart & Fiona Blackhall, Rebekah to Rod & Jane MacLean, and now a baby girl, as yet unnamed, to Stuart & Emily MacQuarrie.

Ben Mhanach

My holiday began so well - a 25km walk on the first day to Ben Mhanach. Unfortunately, I didn't manage another day on the hill. I went down with a severe throat infection which resulted in a perforated ear drum. Today, I'm not fit enough to walk 1 km! These times, as well as slowing you down, help you to appreciate your health when you have it. I had hoped to try and complete my remaining Munros this year, but it may well have to wait until 2010 now.

CHRIS MOYLES on CHURCH

In March, we all saw Chris Moyles on Kilimanjaro! I have just listened to Chris Moyles on Church! It is one of the most heart warming, funny and informative pieces of radio I have heard in a long time.

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Readings for Sunday 14th June 09

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

Psalm 20 / Psalm 92

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (11-13), 14-17;

Mark 4:26-34

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Readings for Sunday 7th June 09
Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29
Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17

MUNRO MIST!

One of these days we are going to get a good day in the Scottish hills! A poor forecast again this week, so we went to Glen Feshie near Aviemore. We climbed a top called Carn Ban Mhor, but spent most of the time walking in mist. The views on the way down across Strathespey were good and it was great to be able to see so many beautiful trees like the Caledonian Pines.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Amidst all the furore of this year's Assembly, some very inspiring events took place. There was a very significant presentation by Bishop Graham Cray on Emerging Church. This is something we are particularly interested in exploring at Hilton Church, so take a look and see what you think. Archbishop Desmond Tutu also spoke to the Assembly and received a standing ovation. I haven't had an opportunity to watch either presentation yet, but you can acess them via this link.

asbo jesus

brilliant.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY

I had to go down to Edinburgh for a meeting yesterday. I'm glad that these trips are not a regular part of my work. The General Assembly is taking place, so there were some familiar faces going into the buildings above. It has been a very controversial Assembly. A Special Commission has been set up to look at the matter of human sexuality and will report back in 2 years time. The issue is now very clearly and unavoidably on the agenda of the National Church.

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Readings for Sunday 31st May 09

“The Holy Spirit brings Redemption”

Psalm 110:1 Joel 2:28-32
John 21:15-19 Acts 2:1-41

seed is sown

A good turn out on Thursday evening ensured that the grass seed was sown within 90 minutes. This included a break for refreshments while more grass seed was purchased. Thanks to everyone for helping and we look forward to seeing green shoots emerging soon.

mountain magic

The weather forecast for today wasn't great, so we went for our hill walk here. Congratulations to Peter, Lynn, Donald and Martin who all climbed their first Munro.

bridge builders

Steve Taylor has some inspiring thoughts here about bridge builders. I would recommend adding Steve to your favourites and taking a look at his blog on a regular basis. He has so many fresh ideas which seem to me to be so possible in our own situation at Hilton.

general assembly is using Twitter.

The General Assembly opens today in Edinburgh. You can follow it on twitter! You can also GO LIVE!

COLOURS

On my way to a meeting on the Black Isle this morning, I was struck by the bright colours, and stopped to take a few photos.

SITUATIONS VACANT

It's been a day and then an evening of meetings. We try and minimise the amount of nights for meetings, so tonight we had the Light house management meeting at 7pm and then the Congregational Board meeting at 8pm. I was on my way home by 9pm, so that for me is an efficient use of time!

We are now officially in a period of transition with a number of important roles requiring to be filled within the Congregational Board. Scott Jeffrey has completed his 3 years as Treasurer, so we are now looking for someone who is can take on this important role for the next 3 years. Ali Barron has completed 3 years as Clerk to the Board, so we are now also seeking someone who can keep the minutes of the meeting, prepare the agenda for the bi-monthly meetings and deal with any necessary correspondence.

Perhaps you are reading this and feel this is an opportunity for you to offer your gifts within the life of Hilton Church. If so, please have a word with me in the near future. We are not looking for a life long commitment. We would be happy for you to serve for a time limited period, before handing on the role to someone else.

can you help please?

On Thursday evening from 6pm, we hope to get the grass sown in the Light house garden and in the area behind the church hall. We desperately need volunteers with rakes who can help to get this job done. Please come and help if you can. Refreshments are being provided by the Light house.

Iain Ross

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN LESOTHO!

Here are a few ways in which you could make a difference in Lesotho! You can find out more in Robyn's latest newsletter.

Want to be more involved? Know someone who does?
We are looking for:
• Someone to come for a short period of time who has DIY
skills e.g. bed building, plastering, making a table
• Someone who might come for six months or so to work with
the house father in counselling the boys
• Used clothes for boys aged twelve and thirteen
• A regulator so that young babies from MIS can have oxygen
given without having to be hospitalised

A NEW ARRIVAL !

Stuart & Fiona Blackhall
are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter,
and a sister for Samuel.
Juliette Elena
Born at 10.55pm last night
Weighing 8lbs 131/2 oz.

Crongratulations to you both!!

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Readings for Sunday 24th May 09

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1
1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19

HILLWALK

If you would like to join the hillwalk this Saturday, please be at the church car park ( at the back of the church) for 8am. We plan to go to Clunie in Glen Sheil which is about a one hour drive away. We have a variety of options planned depending on the weather conditions. If you have any further questions, ask them on the comments section of the blog and we'll reply asap.

CONGRATULATIONS

We are delighted to hear that Scott MacRoberts has been accepted as a candidate for the Church of Scotland ministry. He will be starting 2 years of study at HTC in the autumn.

MUNRO MAGIC

I have received a few emails inquiring about my silence on the blog. A very hectic few weeks, so things like the blog have been squeezed out, I'm afraid. I was down in Perth on Thursday evening speaking on behalf of the Vine Trust.

The Congregational Board is currently looking at possible designs for a new sign. I was really impressed by the sign at Letham St Marks in Perth. It looks a lot more striking than any of the designs I have seen so far.

On Friday, I climbed my first munro of 2009 along with Iain macritchie. I think I just have to think of a hillwalk and the clouds and rain roll in! 25km's in wind and rain. A great walk, but my bones are sore today!

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Readings for Sunday May 17th, 2009

Acts 10:44-48; Psalm 98
1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Readings for Sunday 10th May
Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:25-3
1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8

good news banking story!

The greed and excesses of the banking system has been referred to in one or two of my sermons recently. For the sake of balance, I'm posting the following link about Leonard Abess Jr., a Miami banker. I think it's worth recording that Banks have also been engaged in some very positive ways. Lloyds TSB paid for the medical centre in Puerto Belen on the Amazon. They also funded the wonderful kitchen that we have in the Lighthouse. The current banking crisis will probably have severe implications for many outstanding projects in Scotland who have been receiving vital funding support from the Banks.

LECTIONARY MUDDLE!

From time to time disasters strike, like for example mistakenly deleting your Sunday morning sermon on Saturday night! Not a great feeling. This week I realised on Thursday afternoon that I have been preparing from the lectionary readings for 10th May and not 3rd May. I'm not quite sure how I made the mistake. Sermon outline in the bin and start again! C'est la vie.