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It’s Remembrance Sunday this week.
In observing the Armistice as a part of our worship we are doing something in order to aid our memory and frame our present and future.
Forgetting isn’t good. In the Bible the ‘ungodly’ become just that because they ‘forget’. Jesus, asked us to ‘remember him’.
Giving one’s life for a friend (John 15) the ultimate demand of Christianity, almost seems like an impossible task. For me I’m helped every year at this time by remembering Father Maximilian Kolbe. The Pope canonised him and he’s up there as marble statue on the entrance door of Westminster Abbey as one of the notable twentieth century martyrs. In his experience we have a fresh reminder of the kind of bravery, humility, and love for God this type of self-sacrifice takes.
On July 29, 1941, after Polish prisoner Zygmunt Pilawski fled Auschwitz, Nazi SS guards grabbed 10 other prisoners to die for the man’s escape.
Father Kolbe heard one of the men chosen, Franciszek Gajowniczek, lamenting this fate, mourning the lost life with his wife and children. Moved by the prisoner’s grief, Father Kolbe asked for Gajowniczek’s life to be spared, telling the guards to take him instead. “I am a Catholic priest,” he said. “Let me take his place. I am old. He has a wife and children.” Franciscan Father Kolbe pointed to the prisoner and repeated, “I am a Catholic priest from Poland. I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children.”
The guard allowed the exchange. Prisoner No. 16770, Father Maximilian Kolbe, lived for another 15 days in a starvation cell located inside Block 11, enduring beatings and torment at the hands of SS guards. Despite this ongoing anguish, survivors of the camp share memories of the starving prisoners 'praying and singing hymns’, led by the one priest who had volunteered to die. Father Kolbe died from a lethal injection of carbolic acid Aug. 14, 1941. He was 47 years old.
In church and together this Sunday we will remember the sacrifices of the many and of the few. We will also remember those who left us during the pandemic and offer prayers for the families and friends of the bereaved, some are planning to be with us.
Come to church this Sunday.
Come back to church this Sunday.
Why? Because one day Jesus stepped forward and said “let me take his-her place”.
Remembering is who we are. And together ‘praying and singing hymns’ is where we belong.
Brian
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Weekly Prayers
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On this week
Friday
9.30am - Sonshine Kids
Saturday
10am - Mearns Churches FC match at Muirend
Sunday
Refreshments from the cabin only before the 10am service this week
10am - Worship Service (available online) with Bright Sparks & Live Wires, and Fusion, featuring an Act of Remembrance at 11am
11.30am - Worship Service
After 11.30am service - Tea and coffee and Prayer Ministry
7pm - Edge Activate
8pm - Roses house group
8.30pm - YF
Monday
2pm- Art group
8pm - Football Team training at 3M Mearns Castle
Tuesday
Morning & Evening - Small Groups
Wednesday
10am - 1pm - Oasis cafe
10am - Knit and Knatter in Oasis
12.00pm - Midweek Worship Service, also available onlineFuture Dates
Saturday 4th December - Christmas Fayre
Sunday November 21st to December 12th - Collection for Castlemilk Community Church Christmas outreach - see poster below
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Fusion
Please note that Fusion will now only run at the 10am service.
Tea & Coffee this Sunday
Refreshments will be available before the 10am service this week, served at the cabin only. They will be available after the 11.30am service as normal.
Creation Care this Sunday
Each week during our Caring for God's Creation theme there is going to be something for the kids to bring. The thing for kids to bring this week is a piece of rubbish/recycling.
Christmas Fayre
We are planning a fundraising event for Tearfund in the church on Saturday 4th December from 12-2pm. Come and enjoy Christmas activities, crafts and stalls. Ticket at the door for your soup and refreshments, family ticket £10, single ticket £3. If able please walk to the church or park by St Cadoc's school. If you would be interested in selling crafts or doing an activity at a table, please speak to Lesley Anne Sheppard or email the office.
Livestream
This Sunday (14th) will be the last time the services is available live on YouTube at 10am. From the 21st, there will be a video uploaded to the channel before 8pm every Sunday featuring highlights of the service plus the full sermon.
Prayers
Brian is conducting an Anniversary/Celebration service this morning in Coatbridge and similarly in Buckie on the morning of the 21st Nov. Pray for this following recent retiral of the minister there and the death last week of one of the church leaders in Coatbridge.
Football Team
The football team finally got their first win in the league last weekend with a 3-0 win over Kings Park Baptist Church at a wet and blustery Overlee playing fields.
Check out our goal of the game and follow us on twitter @mearnscfc
With a cup Quarter-final to look forward to in a few weeks time, things are looking brighter! Next up this Saturday though is a local derby vs Greenbank Church of Scotland at Muirend 10am kick off.
If you or someone you know is interested in getting involved please contact Chris Rose (07745 227269).
Mon the Mearns!
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There are many ways to donate.
- Bank transfer with the reference 'Harvest' to the church bank account (80-11-80 / 00537651)
- Cheques or cash via the envelopes dotted about the sanctuary
- Via the card machine which will be available during refreshment time (this charges 1.69%)
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ARMISTICE 14TH NOVEMBER 2021 - 10AM SERVICE
On Armistice Sunday the 10am service will conclude at the slightly later time of 11:10am to allow us to observe a 2 minute silence at 11am.
The 11.30am service will feature an Act of Remembrance but will not observe a silence.
There will be refreshments served in the Oasis Cafe from 9:40am but not following the 10am service. Refreshments will be served following the 11:30am service as usual.
In both services we will remember also the lives of NMBC brothers and sisters who died during the lockdowns. Remembering forms a central part of our Christian faith and expressing thanks to God for the lives of those who have left us enables grief and gratitude to strengthen those who remember. As family in NMBC we look forward to Remembrance Sunday 2021 with added significance as we hope to welcome as guests some family and friends of those who passed away during the lockdowns.
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