Notices (31 Oct)

Smithton Church

• There is a YF tonight at the Free North Hall immediately after the evening service.
• The ladies bible study will meet tomorrow at 9:30am in the home of Laura MacGowan.
• The Pop In is on this Tuesday at Smithton Hall from 10am to 2pm.
• Community Groups meet this Wednesday at 7:30pm. We would love to see others who have not been yet, to give it a try. Please see Charlie so that he can allocate you a group. Please pick up a study/question sheet before you leave. The venues for each group are as follows:-

• • Smithton/Culloden – George and Mary Maclean’s
  • Culloden Moor – Willie and Rhona Forbes
  • Balloch – Ian and Aileen MacGillivray’s
  • City South – Calum and Morag Graham’s
  • Cradlehall – Scott and Lizann Lauder’s
  • City West – David and Jean Sutherland’s
  • Westhill – Jane Lauder’s (note, new house)
  • Fortrose – TBA
• If you are interested in mentoring or being mentored by another member of the church, please take a flyer from the back table or sign up to be placed in a mentoring group. See Ethan Smith for more details.
• Weather permitting, we hope to tidy up /cut weeds etc in the car park this Saturday 6 November from 10am – 12 noon. Anyone wishing to help would be welcome. Bring along your gardening equipment.
• We will be hosting a special meeting of Release International at Culduthel Christian Centre on Wed 10 November to hear Helen Barhane and her work in Eritrea. This is part of a UK wide tour.
• Anyone wishing to contribute to the Building Fund have now the opportunity to do this online via our website. Click here. Then click “Donate Now”.

Community

• The YF are collecting average-sized shoeboxes and basic items that can be given to children and teenagers in need for the annual Blythswood Care Christmas Shoebox Appeal. All donations should be in by today. See flyer in back of hall for details on items to be donated.
• Ladies are invited to a Chit Chat Women’s Event tomorrow evening at 9 pm at Culduthel Christian Centre. Khandu Pratt will be speaking about the charity SHE who helps takes girls off the streets in Thailand.
• Nominations are invited for the election of 16 Community Councillors for the Smithton & Culloden Community Council. Anyone interested in putting their name down for election can pick up a form at the back. Closing date for completed nomination papers is 9 November 2010.
• The autumn sale in the YMCA will be held on 6 November in the YMCA, Bank Street from 10 a.m. till noon. Proceeds will go towards a new lighting system in the lower hall.
• Celebrate 50 years of Free Church Youth Camps at a half-century reunion on 6 November, 10am-4pm, at Kingsview Christian Centre. Cost is just £6 and includes soup & sandwich lunch. RSVP by 30 October by calling Laura Macleod on 01312265286.

Rotas

• Wednesday 3 Nov Tea :: Frances Loch & Ali Meredith
• Sunday 7 Nov. Door Duty :: Elaine McRury, David Sutherland & John Lee
• Sunday 7 Nov. Crèche :: Mairi Forbes & Angela Kennedy
• Sunday 7 Nov. Welcoming Team :: Mairi Macleod & Ishbel Eglinton

Ignite Event

From Ignite Event Organiser, Chris Dowling:

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Great news! The next Ignite event will take place on Saturday the 27th of November 2010 at 7.30pm in The Ironworks in Inverness.  This will be our 6th Ignite and we are delighted by how many different churches have been represented over these 6 events.

November’s event will be led by the Ignite event band and the speaker will be Rev. Jim Turrent from Central Baptist Church in Dundee. Jim previously spent 10 years at Culloden Baptist Church in Inverness and we are delighted to be able to welcome him back to the city.

Join together! Ignite is not an event for just young people, we aim to bring as many people from across the North of Scotland together to worship God, and be challenged and encouraged to look for opportunities to serve locally, nationally and internationally.

We will be joined on the night by CLC book shops & local Christians Against Poverty representative Gordy Mackay who also heads up our stewarding team with his wife.  Featured in the Inverness Courier on the 26th October (page 5),  CAP is a fantastic programme & it would be great for you to come along & see if your church could benefit from working along side CAP especially in these tough financial times!!

How do I get a ticket? Attendance at Ignite is just £2 and tickets are available from the Ironworks Box Office. Bookings for tickets placed via phone or e-mail will incur an admin fee.

Got company? The all-seater event has a maximum capacity of 500, and tickets in the past have sold out before the event.  For group bookings please contact either David Eglinton (07720 057522) or Chris Dowling (07919 066139).

Visit the website for more details.

Community Groups

If you are not already involved in community groups at Smithton, we would love for you to join. There are groups meeting fortnightly on Wednesday evenings throughout the city. For information on joining a group, contact Charlie in the office via email or phone (01463 793191).

Listen to Smithton Church member, Mhairi Mackintosh, answer questions about her community group experience:

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Notices (10 Oct)

• Creche available this morning. See steward on door.
• Holiday Sunday School today for pre school – primary 1
• Services next Sunday: 11am & 6:30pm.
• The Pop In is on this Tuesday 21 September at Smithton Hall from 10am to 2pm.
• Prayer Meeting this Wednesday at 7:30pm at St Mary’s in the Field.
• Mentorships are a way for intergenerational relationships to form and for the church of God to be built up in Christ. If you would like more information on being a mentor or being mentored, please take a flyer from the back table or speak with Ethan Smith. There is also a sign-up sheet for those who would like to be put in a mentoring group.
• Please remember our Food Bank. Meals should be delivered to the Lauder’s home at any time.
• The first meeting of the singing group will not now take place until after the October holidays.
• We have a number of Christmas Cards available for sale on the back table. Proceeds will be donated to Women for Mission / Disaster and Relief work. 10 cards and envelopes for £3.50.
• The next Ladies Night Out will be on Thursday 28 October to the Archive Centre. Meet there at 7:30 and afterwards for coffee and cakes at Sandra Munro’s. There is a signup sheet on the table at the back for those intending to go.
• The autumn sale in the YMCA will be held on 6th November in the YMCA, Bank Street from 10 a.m. till noon. Proceeds will go towards a new lighting system in the lower hall.
• We will be hosting a special meeting of Release International at Culduthel Christian Centre on Wed. 10 November to hear Helen Barhane and her work in Eritrea. This is part of a UK wide tour. Linda and Brian Oxburgh will also be there.  Please put this date in your diaries. Further information will follow later.
• Hear Rev Lagos Alexander, auxiliary Bishop in the Sudanese Church, speak at Inshes Church on Saturday 30 October. This is part of a UK tour organised by AIM.
• Anyone wishing to contribute to the Building Fund have now the opportunity to do this online via our website at www.smithtonchurch.com  See Building Updates link.
• We are now well into our third year for the Building Fund. Those who have pledged on an annual basis to contribute to this Fund should place their donation in an envelope marked ‘Confidential: Building Fund’ and place it in the plate or hand it to Charlie. Anyone wishing to donate for the first time should put their contribution in the plate marked ‘Building Fund’ or donate on line (see above intimation)
• Any outstanding book money from the Weekend Away should be placed in an envelope and put in the plate marked ‘Books’ or alternatively pass this to Andrew MacGowan.
• Please pick up your copy of the October edition of The Record and Free magazines from the table.

ROTAS
Wednesday 13 Oct. Tea   Donna MacLeod and Jim Chalmers
Sunday 17 Oct. Door Duty  Jean Sutherland, George Maclean and Laurie Chancellor
Sunday 17 Oct. Crèche  Tina Chancellor and Rachael Roberts
Sunday 17 Oct. Welcoming Team David Eglinton

Mentorships

In Titus 2:1-8, the Apostle Paul says, You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

As a youth worker, I’ve seen teenagers active in the youth fellowship and church but then fall out when they leave school. And more times than not, it’s because the youth have basically been segregated from the rest of the church. They are seen as “the church of the future” instead of the “the church of today”. So when they graduate school, they graduate the church as well.

One of a few ways to prevent this is for teenagers and young adults to build godly relationships with older men and women in the congregation. Mature, Christian adults teaching youth and young adults sound doctrine, sober-mindedness, self control, faith, love, what it means to be a godly husband or wife or parent or friend. Saying “no” to ungodliness and “yes” to purity because of what God has done for us in redeeming us through Christ.

I’ve spoken with a number of people, both teenagers and adults, who are intrigued if not excited by the idea of mentoring or being mentored. It is very, very simple. A mentor meets with one or two mentees once or twice per month or more if desired. Sharing a meal, prayer, Scripture, joys, struggles, etc. And it goes both ways, not the older person just listening to the younger person and helping them with their problems. Both lives need to be shared.

Now, I realize this is already taking place in many peoples’ lives — you are meeting regularly with one or two others who are praying with you, challenging you, helping you wrestle with sin … and if that’s the case, amen, by all means continue to do what you are already doing.

But I’m sure there are many who have been interested in this but didn’t know where to start or even some who have never heard of something like this but are interested. If that’s you, contact me if you would like to be paired as a mentor or a mentee. We will work hard to be effective in matching people up. And, while I will be coordinating this, I am not looking for it to turn into another church program that needs to be maintained. I want to this to eventually be a natural part of peoples’ lives. I truly hope this is something you feel is worth investing your life in.

Thanks,

Ethan Smith
Youth Worker

New YF Website

If you have not yet seen the new YF website, head on over and check it out. If you remember the old website, you will notice how much cleaner and simpler this site is. We want to focus more on the content of the blog. There are blog posts for parents and youth alike, plus a special section just for parents. Also, make sure you browse through the resources and check back often for updates. You can even sign up for an email subscription, meaning whenever there is a new blog post, it will be delivered to your email inbox straight away.

Click here to be directed to the YF website.

Notices (3 Oct)