MACMILLAN COFFEE MORNING SUCCESS

 

In addition to being enjoyed by everyone, the MacMillan Coffee Morning raised over £700, and there was enough left over to sell after church on Sunday!

 

DOORS OPEN DAY 

 

We open our gates and doors in September to welcome visitors for Doors Open Day!

 

During the Doors Open Days, guided tours of the church, graveyard, and the adjacent hall will be available upon request. The church hall features murals and displays that provide information about the church's history.Knowledgeable guides will lead fascinating tours of the graveyard, the church, and the nearby church hall, where visitors can enjoy refreshments and explore an engaging information display alongside the vibrant murals. This site has housed a church since the 1170s, with the current structure dating back to 1774. A recent study conducted by a group researching the history of the gravestones and graveyard uncovered the oldest visible grave, which dates back to 1703.

 

STATED ANNUAL MEETING

 

The primary purpose of the meeting is for Mr. Des Laverty, our treasurer, to present the Trustees’ Annual Report and Accounts for the previous year. Once approved, the report of accounts is submitted to the Office of Scottish Charity Registration (OSCR), charity number SC000609.

  

NEW WAY TO MAKE DONATIONS AND OFFERINGS TO THE CHURCH

 

We are excited to introduce a new way for you to make donations and weekly offerings to the church using digital technology. If you're familiar with using a bank or credit card in places like supermarkets, you'll recognise a small device called a terminal. We have placed one next to the traditional collection plate in the church entrance foyer. 

 

To help you navigate this process — especially if it's your first time — we have provided an instruction sheet. Don’t worry! Assistance will always be available if you need it.

 

 

 COMMUNITY LINK

 

After a very successful Communion Lunch at Easter, Community Link organised another lunch after the June Communion Service. It was a joyous and chatty occasion! Guests enjoyed a choice of three soups, a variety of sandwich flavours, and a selection of sweet treats to finish. All of this was served happily and efficiently by volunteers, who embodied a spirit of generosity.

 

 

 

 

Loaves and Fishes

 

Our Community Link volunteers collect donated grocery items and deliver them to the Loves and Fishes Foodbank, which provides over 150 food parcels weekly to our local community. This effort supports families, pensioners,  veterans,  and all sectors of society.

 

LEAVING NO (HEAD) STONE UNTURNED 

The EKOP Church Heritage Group has been researching the history of our graveyard and the individuals interred there. They aim to publish a book detailing their findings about the approximately 450 burial "lairs" they have identified so far. In the meantime, be sure to check out Fiona's monthly "History Corner" articles in our church magazine, the EKO, and watch for information about Doors Open Day in September.

 

Many notable individuals are buried in the graveyard, including the parents of famous surgeons William and John Hunter and Rev. James French, who tutored the young Walter Scott. The oldest flat gravestone belongs to John Warnock, dating back to 1703 (Lair 448), and it was discovered by the group in February and March 2022. The oldest readable upright gravestone dates from 1712.

 

If you are interested in learning more or if you have valuable skills, old photographs, or family history information to share, please use the "Contact Us" section on this website or speak to Bill Arthur at the church.

 

 

THE COALBURN SILVER BAND CONCERT  

 

We had a fantastic evening of entertainment with the Coalburn Silver Band. The turnout was so great that we even ran out of biscuits and raffle tickets!

 

In addition to performances by the entire band, we enjoyed solo performances from a talented singer and four instrumentalists. A big thank you to Kirk Life for organising this wonderful event!

 

 

 

PRESBYTERY MEETING RE MISSION PLANNING

 

For the  Motion sheet, please  Click Here

 

Result of the Meeting:

 

The outcome of the special Presbytery meeting was unexpected and as a result, any decisions have been deferred yet again.

A number of motions and one counter-motion had been submitted for debate. After the first two amendments had been debated and decided Presbytery turned to the single counter-motion. The thrust of this counter-motion was to replace Sections of the Draft Plan with a quite different Section to defer consideration of the Draft Plan to a future meeting. The rationale for this being to give the Mission Planning Team time to provide congregations with more details behind the proposals it had made. There were complaints from some congregations that really significant recommendations, such as dissolution, had not been communicated to, or discussed with, incumbent Ministers who were finding that they and their families faced being uprooted and with personal challenges on re-location, housing, schooling and so on without any notice. While there were only about two such instances referred to there appeared to be considerable support for the counter-motion on the basis of the absence of concern apparently shown by the Mission Planning Team.

The contrary position that, even though there were imperfections, the Draft Plan provided something for congregations to work from and develop, was put strongly but lacked the emotional impact of other speakers.

After debate this counter-motion was carried by a narrow majority.

The Presbytery is already over 9 months overdue in submission of a Mission Plan so this decision will now extend this by several months. The Convenor of the Mission Planning Team has resigned and this too will create further delay. The Presbytery Clerk has acknowledged that this now takes Presbytery into uncharted territory as it is not clear how the position might move forward. The Clerk was instructed to seek advice and support from the General Trustees. The decision also had the effect of nullifying any further debate on all the remaining motions before tonight’s meeting and also of cancelling the two further special Presbytery meetings later this week and next week where congregations from other areas within the Presbytery had been cited to attend to discuss the Draft Plan insofar as it affected their congregations. The Draft Mission Plan is now no more than a set of options for discussion.

Our Kirk Session will now have to decide what we might do in the weeks ahead. It seems unlikely that very much will emerge from Presbytery by way of guidance in the near future. There are grounds for believing that West Kirk and Stewartfield might be amenable to discussions with the Old Parish on progress towards union. Moving in that direction might help keep some momentum going and begin the process of planning how integration of the congregations and assets might be brought about and what might be realistic timescales for implementation. Members of Session might wish to give this some thought before we meet formally to decide on a course of action. (AW)

 

Please see a summary of the latest position as of 12 September (the Draft Presbytery Plan) in Focus (on our Home page) and the full, detailed Draft Mission Plan.

 

July EKO Magazine 

Note: While guidelines now allow us to resume personal delivery of the magazine by Helping Hands, if you wish to receive the EKO by email, please contact Isobel Gray - you can use the Church Office number: 01355 279004, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .