abbotsford.org.uk

Notices 11th February

Here's the notices for this week in case folk don't make it to church...

Contemporary Communion: NOT on tonight but next week.

Craft Daft: A night off. Way ahead of ourselves. How did that happen? Back next week for coffee, chat and creative activity.

Lunch with the Almighty: 12.15 on Wednesday with tea and coffee afterwards.

Living the Questions (evening): Cancelled for Wednesday but will be back for definite, on 20th February – possibly.

Next Week: Just when you thought you had a handle on Jesus, calling disciples, preaching on the plain, he goes and turns into a neon sign for heaven: The transfiguration. It’s one of the great big mysteries. We explore it next week, the last Sunday before Lent.

Door Duty Next Week: N Hendry, L Davidson, I Hood, M Smith, S Brown, R & K McKie, W Caldwell

Living the Questions Bible Bashers: For those who have got the discovery bug. A slightly different way of doing Bible study with lots of coffee involved. Time and date still to be sorted but open to everyone whether or not you’ve tried out Living the Questions.

Big Quiz: Dalmuir Barclay challenge us to a big quiz on 7th March at 7.30 in Dalmuir Barclay. Up to three teams of five. £1 each. This could advance inter-church relations or… well that depends who wins…

In the mix of being church

Just had the Session meeting. It was good. Large discussion about various things. One of the questions that came up was what was the personality of Abbotsford? What is it that makes it essential to folk and what is it we've got that is unique that we'd like to share becuase it makes a difference to folk?

It's a question we ought to regularly ask, and indeed do, which pulls us back to our essence and our passion for being who we are and the reason why we do it. So when we go off on a tangent with new ideas, these questions are what we should ask, to keep everything connected and tangled together: what makes us tick, what is our personality, what do we have in this community that makes a difference to folk?

Anyone care to answer? Or tell us their story?

What makes church in general essential? Why do we do this thing rather than shopping or dog walking or working?

It would be good to hear from you, not to encourage but to inform. We just take so many people for granted without actually asking what they like, need, or hope in.

New Blog

I've started a new blog tonight. I'm trying to think of a good way to keep people informed of what's gong on and you know what my mind is like: sieve, caldron with a hole, empty space etc. So I'm publishing a daily diary blog that you can tap into and see what's going on. It may be totally irrelevant, arrogant or cathartic but you'll at least get a wee minding of what's going on. You can go here to catch up with it or find it on the side bar over to the right. But don't all rush. All the really happening (?) stuff will be posted here.

It's called: this elastic's going to snap with refers to nothing else other than the state of the week and the amount we all have to crush into it. There's an exponential discussion waiting to be had about this but we'll hold off for now.

Diary Dates

You know how there are only seven days in the week, and how that isn't anywhere near enough to do everything? And you know how every so often the elastic that seems to stretch just enough to let you do the important hings equally as often snaps? Well that seems to have happened throughout most of February. I'd quite like to cancel the whole month at this stage. Failing God answering that particular prayer here's a suggestion on how we'll get through the month (It's provisional because no doubt something will happen that changes the whole lot again. It's finely balanced and might just work...)

Sunday 11th morning: Guest Preacher
evening: NO creative Communion
Mon 12th: NO Craft Daft
Tues 13th: NO Living the Questions
Thursday 15th: Breathing Day
Friday 16th: Panic day (for Sunday)
Saturday 17th: Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang
Sunday 18th: Morning worship
evening: Creative Communion

Okay, week one sorted

Monday 19th: CAOS Steering group AND Craft Daft
Tuesday 20th: Evening ed of Living the Questions
Wednesday 21st: NO afternoon Living the Questions
evening: meeting about the lighting of the tower (all welcome)
Thursday 22nd: breathing Day
Friday 23rd: Panic day (for Sunday)
Sunday 25th: Morning Worship with the GAP. Start of Lent
evening: Holy City (Renfield St Stephens)

Okay, we're getting there

Monday 26th: CAOS Task Groups (with Peter McCaughey)AND Craft Daft
Tuesday 27th: CAOS Steering Group (with Jennifer Stewart)
Wednesday 28th: NO afternoon Living the Questions
Thursday 1st: Breathing Day
Friday 2nd Panic Day
Sunday 4th: Communion

Plus A Big Sing is we can slot it in
Plus 'Look whose coming to Dinner' sometime in February or March

I'm really sorry about changing the date of stuff but at the moment that's the only way it can all fit in. I've quite a few Edinburgh commitments on Wednesdays wqith Worship and Doctrine, Pray Now and Mission and Discipleship and CAOS and Living the Questions aren't quite in sync at the moment but should be by the end of February.

If anyone can find some new elastic that would be great...

Inspiration

What is it about the church community that inspires you and what draws the life out of you?

I was at Presbytery tonight and the Presbytery Plan was agreed but the discussion at some points make me pause because it seems the church sets itself up to hammer ambition, inspiration and ideas. It's as if we only have one model and that the way we've always done it and the church is very reluctant to throw it's nets out the otehr side (like we did on Sunday) and let people run with ideas and propositions that work.

Go to Luss Church for a wee look to where ideas take shape.

I have a pet theory (and it is all mine and I take the blame for it entierly, not that it is going to make a big difference to the world anyway). The chruch expects its typical ministry to be highly qualified, thus they expect two university degrees or equivalent. To get a degree you need to be a fairly logical thinking on the whole, linear even, discussion/dialogue type thinker, thus the leaders of the church, by necessity of their qualifications, as linear thinkers, debaters, logical people.

Are creative people like that? I'm not sure they are. Creative people don't think logically, or linearly. They tend to be more incoherent, ideas sparking ideas in different places, thinking off at tangents, even in a quantum fashion, a spark here moves a spark way over there. So the leadership of the church does not tend to be creative becuase it's education system only allows those who think linearly into the powerful positions.

It's true that 90% of the leadership of the church has the opposite kind of personality (Myre Briggs) from the members of the church. Maybe that's is what is needed to be a leader but it would be a much jucier and inspirational place if the ledaers thought a little more creatively, daringly willing to throw their nets out the other side of the boat once in a while.

We've not good at looking after the people who have ideas...

Rant over.