abbotsford.org.uk

It's NOT too late...

Ecclestiastes 3:1-8

From the age of 15 I have known the words of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, almost off by heart.

No, I wasn't a member of the "Scripture Union".

To be honest I wasn't even all that interested in religion, although having attended Sunday School, The Life Boys, The Boys' Brigade and a couple of Church Youth Clubs, I was never really far from a church.

No!..... The reason that I knew the words is that I was, and still am, a Byrds Fan.

When I first (knowingly) heard these words in late 1965 they were received with great anticipation as a follow up to the Byrds July hit of that year, 'Mr. Tambourine Man', which is still my favourite record of all time.

The Byrds ‘Turn Turn Turn’ had that same ‘jingly jangly’ guitar work of its Dylan penned predecessor, but this song had meaning in the lyrics.
Pete Seeger ‘wrote’ the song in 1959. The words are taken straight out of Ecclesiastes, but Seeger added the line "a time for peace, I swear it's not too late" and has been receiving loyalties on it ever since.
At a time when there was a great anti war / peace movement being born, the extra line gave it chart appeal but, to me personally, the original words just put everything into perspective. 

There is a time to every purpose under heaven.

As we head off into a new year full of expectation, and putting the past firmly where it belongs, it is always good to turn (turn turn) over a new personal leaf and try to do all the things that we should be doing anyway.
In the long run, however, there is a time to every purpose under heaven.

Since this is being written from a ‘Wee Congregation in Clydebank, Scotland”, the home of 'guid new years', I will leave you with a wee prayer from probably the best known Scot of all.

Then let us pray that come it may
as come it will for a' that
(There is after all, a time to every purpose under heaven)
That Sense and Worth, o'er a' the earth
Shall bear the gree an' a' that
For a' that an' a' that
It's coming yet for a' that
That man to man, the world o'er
Shall brithers be for a' that.
                            Robert Burns 

 

Please do have a good and peaceful 2012...I swear it’s not too late!

 

Watch Night Service 2011

Well what can I say?

What a turnout! (We even had people from Holland and the Outer Hebrides)

What participation!

What singing!

And above all - What a service! 

Thanks to Ruth and to Sandy for a night that will be remembered and for Sandra & her team's part in its organisation.

THANK YOU!

(See pics in photo album to the right)

The Christmas message...

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will toward men.

Peace be with you, wherever you are reading this.

Have we lost our way?

This and That make me believe that we are up the proverbial creek and the paddle has been sold off.

It is a standing joke, and it has been since I had circa 1175 working days to go, that I have a "count down to retirement". Some may say that I am wishing my life away. Others may say that I am looking forward to a real life.

I remember when I was at school from the mid fifties to the late sixties being told that, in the future, computers were going to take the drudgery out of working life and that we were all going to have more time for leisure.

50 years later, when we can claim to have found "Higgs boson", the discovery of a new particle, and planets like ours on the edge of our galaxy, we are being told on the one hand that we will have to work longer and on the other hand that the young cannot find employment. 

People will be working till they drop; others will be on stand-by to take over before the 'screen saver' on the computer kicks in.

I really think that we have lost the plot. 

Why?

To make more money for greedy people. People who have stripped pension funds during the good times, only to be caught out when the going got tough.

As we wait for Christmas Day, how many are so tied up in what they left behind in work today, that they will miss the real message of that day. Checking emails to make sure that they stay ahead of a problem created by someone else.

Happy Christmas! (?) 

(BTW -118 working days and counting)

Solstice Service 2011

As promised, below is the start & ending pieces from this evening's Solstice Service.

Again a terrific amount of work put in to an excellent evening shared by an enthusiastic bunch of people, including visitors from Dalmuir Barclay and Radnor Park churches. There are some pics in the 'Solstice 2011 Photo Album' to the right. If you have any others to share send them in. Thanks to all!

Celtic Christian Solstice

The group gathers in a rough circle around the fire. Four readers stand approximately at the cardinal points, north, south, east and west, each with a sprig of holly.

 

"THE Solstice Cupcake" (double click on image for larger view)

 

NORTH:            We come from the darkness to the firelight

 

EAST:                        From the east, where frozen lands lie sleeping

                                    <throws holly into fire>

NORTH:            From the north, where the aurora dances

                                    <throws holly into fire>

WEST:                        From the west, where the oceans roll.

                                    <throws holly into fire>

SOUTH:            From the south, where the sun still shines.

                                    <throws holly into fire>

 

NORTH:           We come to mark the Solstice

EAST:              The tuming of the year toward the light

WEST:              The promise of re-birth and renewal

SOUTH:            For the world and our community

NORTH:            We come together as the people of God

EAST:                        Anticipating a greater light to come

WEST:                        Waiting for the Star to rise in the East

SOUTH:            … for incarnation.

At the end of the Service the group again gathers in a rough circle around the fire. The same four readers again stand approximately at the cardinal points, north, south, east and west.

 

NORTH:            We leave the firelight for the wider world

 

EAST:                        To the east, where the land will awake

NORTH:            To the north, where the polestar glistens

WEST:                        To the west, and the wild wet wind.

SOUTH:            To the south, from where the sun will return.

 

NORTH:            To be the light of the world

EAST:                        The salt of the earth

WEST:                        A channel for peace

SOUTH:            A voice for justice

 

NORTH:            We depart as the people of God

EAST:                        May we walk confidently into the new year

WEST:                        A community of shared hope and dreams

SOUTH:            With the light of renewal strong in our hearts

 

Carol Service 2011

Our Carol Service 2011 seems to have been well received.

On a bitterly cold night ('bleak & crisp & even') a good number of hardy souls from 9 to 90 turned out to make it an evening to remember..

All who attended had to enter the church building through 'the stable' at the front door. The night started with mulled ginger wine and those gathered then sung, quizzed, sung, listened, sung, laughed and sung their way to a warm, cosy Christmas feeling before finishing with a cuppa and some Christmas fayre in the hall afterwards.

One visitor from another local church made the only criticism of the night, that I heard... 
"It wasn't long enough".

To ALL concerned a big thank you in your quest to keep Abbotsford alive and kicking!

You can see some pics taken on the night in the "Carol Service 2011" Photo Album (right hand column).

If you have any photos that were taken on the night, then please send them to me at lifeatabbotsford@gmail.com] and we will add them to the album. New pics added daily.

SEE 'DECEMBER@ABBOTSFORD' POST FOR OTHER EVENTS!

Clydebank - Starting point!

We told you about a month ago that the Olympic Flame would be passing through Clydebank on its way round Britain.

But what has Clydebank now got in common with Barcelona, Oslo, Turin, Reims and Warsaw?

The answer is here

Yes! On Sunday 29th January 2012, Clydebank, along with the above lesser known places (!), will be one of the starting points for the Monte Carlo Rally and will see 100 classic cars starting off on the 2000 mile journey.

The starting point will be in the shadow (if the sun shines!) of the famous Titan Crane just down the road from Abbotsford (see pics) at the former John Brown's Yard. This spot is where the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth II and Royal Yacht Brittania were born and started on their epic journey's.

So why not have a great day out and join us at Abbotsford for our morning Service before heading down to the banks of the Clyde.

It could be the start of a journey for you!

All Welcome!