I n the last few days it has been no-ticeable that the mornings are slightly brighter and there are some snowdrops in the garden. These are

signs of spring and we know that Easter is coming. Before we get there though Christians all around the world observe the period of Lent as a time of reflection and sacrifice. It has become a tradition to ‘give something up’ and that is often something relatively trivial such as chocolate or crisps. The idea is that as we reflect on the extent of the sacrifice Jesus made we should respond by making a significant sacrifice of our own. Sometimes people do the opposite and start doing something positive. Whichever is chosen, the outcome should have a positive effect on the individual and others. Ideas come from many different sources and it can be difficult to think of an appropriate response year after year. This year, an idea had grown and been shared through Facebook which is: the challenge to give up Negativity! Some of us in church went on a Negativity Fast for Lent. In a Scottish culture dominated by dourness and pessimism we felt this would be a welcome change! But, you ask, what is a negativity fast? Well, let me explain: 40 Day Negativity Fast - Igniting Faith in 40 Days What a Negativity Fast is Not: 1. It is not denying that problems exist 2. It is not concentrating on things that are wrong

3. It is not critical of others who may be struggling 4. It is not irresponsible concerning things that need to be done What a Negativity Fast Is: 1. It is determining to focus more on God’s promises than on personal problems. 2. It is learning to speak with hope about even the toughest of issues. 3. It is becoming “solution focused” ra-ther than “problem focused”. 4. It is refraining from reacting and giv-ing voice to pessimism, criticism of oth-ers, self-criticism and other forms of unbelief. 5. It is speaking about problems to the right people in the right way, to achieve a positive outcome. 6. It is replacing negative words and thoughts with positive words and thoughts based on the promises of God. This is not just trying to put a positive spin on things, or wishful thinking! When God’s word says that he loves us it is not wishful thinking for us to take him at his word and believe that we are loved. Recently, we got our young people into groups where one group had to think of positive words and the other negative words. It probably wasn’t a huge sur-prise to the adults present that they came up with many more negative words than positive ones. It is very easy to see what is wrong with the world, church or Society, but the ability to identify areas

Spring Edition

www.mpnchurch.org.uk Charity Number SC004271

which are ‘less than optimal’ becomes a curse if it is not accompanied by proposals for improvement. I hope that by the time you are reading this you might have noticed a difference in those who are taking the challenge and, of course, there’s still time to join in. Last night, as you slept someone, somewhere was praying 24-7. In fact, right now, as you read these words, people are interceding in scores of places around the world. This has been going on every minute of every hour of every day since 1999. Participating groups simply find a venue in which to establish a night-and-day prayer vigil by splitting each day into one-hour shifts, thus filling anything from a weekend to many years with an unbroken chorus of prayer and worship. The rules are kept to a minimum and individuals or groups are encouraged to make their place of prayer as creative and accessible as possible. The Discipleship committee have decided to make space available during Holy Week for a prayer room in the church. We have done this before and there is the danger that someone might think, “I’ve done that already”, and not sign up this time. Equally, it may be that someone might think, “That’s not for me.” I want to encourage you that prayer is for everyone, regard-less of how much, or little, you’ve done before. Most of us start off by thinking we couldn’t possibly pray for an hour, but there are readings and other activities in the room to help. If you don’t feel confident about being on your own ask a friend to come with you! Plans are underway for a host of events during the year: Easter Services and an Easter event, Messy Church, Summer fair, Prom Day, Holiday Club, Alpha course and various others. It is important to be involved in the

community and we are very thankful for the work done by the CIA team as they deliver food week by week. That work could not be done without the generous giving of members and others in the community. During this year we seek to build on our existing relationships to enable us to share the gospel in new and fresh ways in our community. God is already at work among the people we have been called to serve and we need to prayerfully consider where he wants us to join in. Jesus’ final instruction was that we should make disciples. At Easter we remember both the cost and the joy of being a follower of Jesus. He loved us enough to die for us and death could not hold him. The same power and authority that raised Jesus from death is what God brings to bear in the world to bring salvation and transformation. The amazing thing is that he allows us to share in his work. There is much to do but God is with us. Rejoice! He is risen. Easter Blessings,

David

LUNCH CLUBS Another session of lunch clubs started in February and after much thought and taking into account costs we have decided to raise the price to £3.50 each for two courses followed by tea/coffee biscuits. Prestwick— Wednesday 6th March, 3rd April, 1st May and 5th June Monkton—Thursday 21st March, 18th April, 16th May and 20th June. Menus: March—Soup, Mince potatoes and peas. April—Sausage casserole with potatoes and peas, jelly fruit and ice Cream. May— Chicken casserole with potatoes and peas. Trifle. June—Cold meat salad with potatoes. Apple tarts and ice cream. We meet at 12 noon and the lunch club teams would be delighted to see you.

W E L CO M E. On Sunday 16th December we celebrated the baptism of Sophia Archibald followed by a Church Family buffet in the Church Halls provided by the Archibald family and served by members of our Church family. We as a Church Family welcome Gareth, Trish, Rachel, Naomi and Sophia into our Church Family and wish them many loving blessings in the fellowship of God’s people in Monkton and Prestwick.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY.DATES FOR YOUR DIARY.DATES FOR YOUR DIARY.DATES FOR YOUR DIARY.

Coffee morning in aid of Church Funds on Saturday 20th April in large hall

Concert by Ayr Amateur Opera on Friday 17th May in Church at 7.30pm. Ticket

prices still to be arranged but a date to put in the diary!

Summer Fete is planned for Saturday 22nd June along the usual format of previous

fetes.

1st PRESTWICK BOYS’ BRIGADE

COFFEE MORNING

to be held in

Church Halls, Monkton Road, Prestwick

on

Saturday 2 March 2013

From 10.00 am - 12 noon

STALLS: Home Baking; Toys/Games; Books; Hand Made Cards; DVDs/CDs

TICKETS: On Sale from B.B. Officers and Boys or Pay at the Door

PRICE: Adults - £2 Children - £1

“I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink…I was naked and you gave me clothing.” Matthew 25- 35.

CHRIST IN ACTION - Update Emergency Food Parcel Project Although Christmas is now behind us, we are able to share with the Church family just how gracious and faithful the Lord has been and how many hearts and minds have been touched both by the act of giving and receiving of food. The CIA Project was given a significant funding boost from three organizations within the Church and thanks to the Church family and others out- with our Church, the food store has never been empty. The run-up to Christmas was busy and not just with food. The project volunteers were also, thanks to the staff at Sainsbury in Prestwick, able to distribute Christmas gifts to many of the children of families who had been previously referred to the project. What a joy that was. In particular, we were asked if the project could make a special provision of food to enable a mother to be re-united with her three children on Christmas day, if certain conditions were met. One Christian outreach organization were able to provide all the presents for the children and the C.I.A. Project were asked if we could provide and deliver the food on Christmas Eve. Through the generosity of the Church family this was done. We were even able to add Christmas crackers to the food parcel because a box of crackers had anonymously appeared in the store, some days earlier. Why do people need an Emergency Food Parcel? There are many reasons why people arrive at a point of crisis in their lives. Receiving a food parcel may not resolve all the issues they endure but it will help to alleviate the immediate distress they are in. The project meets people where they are. It shows that someone cares whether they eat or not. There is no “typical” person who ends up needing this kind help as we hope some of the following examples will show. A very elderly lady who had been in Hospital for some time was discharged to her home. She lived alone, had no next of kin and her benefit (state pension) had been suspended because of her hospital stay. A support worker arrived next morning to find the lady had only £2 in her purse and some out of date food in her cupboards. The ICES (Inter Care Enablement Team) at the hospital were alerted to her situation. They tried for several hours to get food for this lady before being given the CIA number. The C.I.A. team were able to respond immediately. A vulnerable lady had her soft drink spiked by two family members, she passed out and her Post Office card was stolen. The money in her account was taken. The lady was assisted to Care and Share at the Riverside Church. They helped her with the trauma of going to the police and they asked if the C.I.A. Project could help with an emergency food parcel as the post office account held her fortnightly benefit. A victim of domestic violence is taken by Social Services to a place of safety with her child. We are not allowed to know the address. The social worker asks if we can provide an emergency food parcel and baby products until the necessary support can be arranged. The CIA team meets with the Social Worker in the car park to hand over the necessary items.

Criteria

A young man is tagged and under curfew at a temporary address Youth Services have found for him. He has no money or food. Benefit applications can take a lengthy time to process. Another Agency tells Youth Services about the CIA project. The Youth Services Agency were concerned as to whether or not this young man would fit the emergency food parcel criteria which they assumed the CIA project would have. They were delighted to find out that the “criteria” for feeding the hungry had been firmly established over 2000 years ago for all those who believed and were followers of Him. [Matthew 25-35]. They just kept saying – “that’s amazing”. Volunteers The CIA project is now delivering between 4 and 6 emergency food parcels a week and we really need more volunteers. Volunteering does not mean that you have to sit at home waiting for a phone to ring or commit to every day. If you would like to find out more about volunteering with the project, please feel free to speak to any of the existing volunteers. Julie Hubbert, Liz Ewing, Eleanor Johnstone, Anne Wilson, Lily Dougan, Peter Wilson, Ed Sutherland. We also have a reserve list. If you would like to add your name to that, please speak to Julie Hubbert. The glory of this project belongs to God alone. The C.I.A. volunteers are simply foot soldiers. He breathed the project into life and has provided whatever has been needed to sustain it. We thank and ask Gods blessings on all the people both in and out-with the Church family for their continued support, encouragement and prayers. The C.I.A. Team.

1st Prestwick Boys’ Brigade Annual Display – Our display is being held on Friday 3 May at 7.00 p.m. and we will be delighted to welcome members of our Church family who can manage to come along. A short programme of events allows the boys to show everyone a little of what they have been doing during the session, ending with the presentation of certificates and awards that have been gained by each crew or individual boy. Uniform – We are looking for the following items to help us complete the uniforms of some of our Company Section boys viz. Belts, Haversacks and Lanyards. If you have been a member of a Boys’ Brigade Company and have any of these items, which you no longer require, please contact either Captain Sam Gilmour on 01292 470614 or Lt. Lewis Wheatley on 07888 999513

Removed by Certificate. Millar and Liz Donaldson to St. Nicholas Church.

GUILD. Every Thursday at 2pm since the beginning of October 2012 we have enjoyed meeting with our friends, hearing a variety of speakers and also a tea and a chat. Thanks to our Church family who supported the joint coffee morning we were able to give donations to the Church, the Guild Projects and Christ in Action food bank. We celebrated 125 years of the Guild with hundreds of others at a song of praise and party complete with birthday cake. On 28th February we are looking forward to Mr. Neil Grant who is going to talk about Energy Saving. Friday 1st March is the World Day of Prayer at St. Ninian’s Church in Maryborough Road at 3pm. Saturday 2nd March 36 members are going to the Gaiety to see Beauty and the Beast followed by tea at the Carlton. We have a meeting on 7th March, the Spring Rally at South Church on Thursday 14th March at 2pm and 21st March is our AGM and daffodil tea. The Summer rally is on Thursday 6th June at 7.30 pm in Ochiltree Parish Church. Our next session will begin in October 2013 when we hope to welcome new members both men and women to join us in friendship and fellowship—and no one is too young or too old. Margaret Thomson—Guild Secretary—477045 or 07773944872.

WORLD DAY OF PRAYER.

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me” The World Day of Prayer this year was held on Friday 1st March when Christian people throughout the world joined in services entitled “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” which was written by the Christian women of France. Each year, the first service of the day is held on the island of Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean, close to the international date-line and services continue for a period of 36 hours until that same date concludes in Alaska to the other side of the dateline. In Scotland, many Churches and other Christian Groups host the services. The times and locations of these services were widely advertised in local areas and are open to an-yone who would like to attend. Apart from some small adaptations to suit local circumstances the service held in a country kirk in Scotland would be just the same as the one held earlier in Tuvalu. Reflecting the theme of the services this year, people taking part were encouraged to wear bright and warm colours to represent the warmth of the relationships in our churches and communities. The service was an opportunity to think carefully about how we treat the strangers we meet and the nature of the welcome we give them. These services were to celebrate the positives and encouragements of life.

Holy Week - 24/7 Prayer:

Due to the success of last year’s 24/7 Prayer we are proposing to repeat this event again. The start time will be from 2.00p.m. on Sunday 24 March (Palm Sunday) finishing at 11.00a.m. on Sunday 31 March (Easter Sunday). If you want to book a slot please use the following link http://www.24-7prayer.com/signup/ab687c or alternatively speak to a member of the AV team who will be on the Chancel, at the close of the Service, each Sunday from now until 24 March. Unfortunately it will not be possible to book single slots this year.

PIONEER CAFÉ We have had a successful year at the Café and must have had lots of satisfied customers as we collected £1000 in Tips. We also made a surplus of well over £6000 which has been given to church funds. The £1000 was divided between the following local charities:- Christ in Action (Food and supplies given by our church to needy local families) Young Carers (Ayrshire), Girls Brigade (MPN), Wheels in Motion (Bus with soup and support for needy people in Ayr one evening per week) Crossroads Ayr Hospital Radio and the Ark. All groups have been very grateful for the donation. As always we are in need of volunteers. Extra help will be required on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings from mid March to the end of May. If anyone can help please contact the Café tel. 471153 or Margaret Goodlad tel. 470903. The café is a very pleasant place to work with a happy atmosphere.

PATRICK & THOMSON BUILDING PATRICK & THOMSON BUILDING PATRICK & THOMSON BUILDING PATRICK & THOMSON BUILDING

SERVICES LTD.SERVICES LTD.SERVICES LTD.SERVICES LTD.

Hello we are ALAN and HUGH and we started our own business over two years ago when our boss retired. We are a qual-ified brickie and a joiner. We are honest and hardworking and use only time-served tradesmen. We can and have done all sorts of jobs large and small. For a free estimate ‘phone ALAN 07852918099 or HUGH 07708949835 or Free phone 08002118503 or See Margaret Thomson who will take your details.

INTO GOD’S KEEPING.

Mrs. Annie Campbell Mrs. Maimie Morrison Mr. Jim Love Mrs. Ruth Gilles Mrs. Helen McKay Mrs. Daphne Bartlem

MONKTON FLOWER LIST.

March 10th Mrs Margaret Paton

March 24th -

April 8th Miss Anne Brown

April 22nd -

May 12th Mrs Evelyn McHarg and

Mrs Isobel Shields

May 26th Mrs Helen Megraw

June 9th Mrs Elspeth Manson

June 23rd Mrs C. Hannah

NEWS FROM NEW ZEALAND.

During a recent trip to Australia and New Zealand, we visited the First Church of Otago in Dunedin which was opened on 23rd November 1873. The first minister of this church was Thomas Burns D.D. Rev Thomas Burns, who was the nephew of Robert Burns, our national poet, had previously been the minister of two churches of Scotland in Monkton and Prestwick. The two Ayrshire churches are depicted in the Sesquicentennial Tapestry of the First Church of Otago, 1990, along with the First Church. There are many references to Rev Burns in plaques throughout the church. We had the pleasure of meeting the Rev John Sinclair, the volunteer in attendance at the Heritage Centre in the church. On hearing that we came from Prestwick he asked if we could take good wishes and gifts to Monkton and Prestwick Parish Church. These gifts consist of an original ‘Communion Token’ and some literature. Anyone interested can find these items displayed in the Session House. The congregation of the First Church of Otago is obviously very proud of their Scottish connection. David and Liz Geddes ——————————————————————————————————— There is a black and white copy of the tapestry in the magazine and also colour photo copies at the front door of the Church and in the large hall. Valerie.

Hi Everybody, I trust that this will find you well by God’s grace. I can hardly believe that it has been two years since my family and I moved from Aberdeen to further north in Peterhead where we have been serving the Lord at St Andrew’s Church. As always, the Lord has been good, though we are still settling in, learning the new lingo -- “the Doric of Peterheid”, getting to know the folks in the Kirk/Parish and the area. We received a very warm welcome and, by God’s grace, we have been enjoying journeying with the folks here in the Kirk and the community where God wants. A lot of good things have been happening in the Kirk. For instance, besides having seen new folks joining the Kirk (some as regular members and others as adherents or faith seekers), we have seen the birth of an exciting wonderful and growing food programme as a tangible witness of the Kirk to the community. As far as everyone in the family is concerned, my wife Elisee has been working as a carer in one of the Nursing Home care, which is only a few minutes walking from the Manse. She is thoroughly enjoying her work, which she sees very fulfilling. Pistis (now 21 years old, very tall!) is working in Security in an oil office in Aberdeen. He has been trying to save some money so that he can join the college, hopefully in September 2013, which will cost him a least £10,000 per year (excluding the accommodation). Elpis – the daughter (now 17 years old)—is finishing her 6th year in the Academy. She has been offered a place in Dundee at the University of Abertay where she going to a degree in Biomedical Science, commencing this coming September 2013, God willing. Her fees will be at least £ 12,000 per year (again excluding the accommodation). Both Pistis and Elpis are categorised as overseas’ students, in case you are wondering why do we have to pay all this money. Isaac (the boss, now 9 years old!) is still enjoying the primary (P5) school. God willing, I will be travelling to Congo in June for three weeks (4th – 25th) to teach and train pastors/ministers and other church leaders. I will be going there also to install some computers and projectors in our theological college. Once this technology will be put in place, it will allow me (and other colleague friends I met during my course of study here) to teach from wherever we are. Elisee and I are very excited about this. For it will help tremendously the training down there in Congo. We thank God who has given us the grace to save some money towards this project. At this point of our news, let me say that it was with deep gratitude that I received a surprise of £165 from some of you friends as we gathered for tea/coffee at Monkton on Thursday, 31st January 2013 while I was down there to visit mum Elizabeth and dad Tom. I would like say a huge thank you to you all for all your generosity. I have decided that this mon-ey will be used towards the cost of this project above mentioned. There is also another project in the long term that Elisee and I want to provide: that is to set up the first ever library in the town we grew up in Congo that we believe will be very beneficial to ministers, churches, and the community at large. We keep you posted on all these projects. Meanwhile, I am even more eager to fulfil them, by God’s grace, and one day leave a legacy when I think that the Lord has graciously and miraculously spared from death after I had an accident last Thursday morning, the 7th Feb (I have told mum more detail about this accident)! Last but not least, thank you very much for all your friendship and partnership. As I said in my thesis which has now been published, your immeasurable love and sacrificial generosity will nev-er be forgotten. With lots of love, thoughts and prayers. Abi & Family 1 Landale Road, Peterhead, AB42 1QN e-mail: abi.t.ngunga@gmail.com

PRESTWICK – NEW ZEALAND LINK

The Reverend Thomas Burns was minister of the old St Cuthbert’s church in

Monkton and the old St Nicholas church in Kirk Street, Prestwick – a very lucrative

living at the time. He preached in both churches and as they were very crowded he

organised the building of a new church called Monkton and Prestwick Parish

Church. This building was often called ‘Burns Folly’ and was opened in 1837. St

Cuthbert’s, and St Nicholas churches were suppressed in 1834 and so it was possible

to use their names for St Cuthbert’s (now New Life) and in 1908 the present St Nich-

olas church. The Rev Burns became dissatisfied with patronage in the church and

left the Church of Scotland at the Disruption,1843. He was involved with setting up

the Free Church and moved to Portobello, preaching to many ‘Free’ congregations.

Our own church was built as a United Free Church and opened in 1874.

The Rev Burns was chosen to lead the first group of Scottish Settlers to New

Zealand to Dunedin in the Otago region on the East coast of the South Island. They

left in the ‘Phillip Laing’ from Greenock on 27th November 1847 with 15 babies

among the passengers. They were stormbound for 10 days in Lamlash bay and again

for 10 days at Milford Haven, finally reaching Port Chalmers, the nearest port to

Dunedin on 15th April 1848 – a very long voyage. Thomas Burns had wanted to be a

farmer but was forced to train to be a minister after his younger brother John, who

was at college training to be a minister, died. His father was determined to have one

son a Minister.

The Burns family lived in a wooden house brought out on the ‘Phillip Laing’. A

church was built of wood and stone. It was enlarged twice and also used as the school

before the First Church of Otago was built in Dunedin. Thomas Burns liked walking

and often spent a week visiting (on foot) everyone who lived in outlying areas wheth-

er members of his congregation or not. When he sailed the 8 miles to preach in Port

Chalmers, there would be no service in Dunedin as he was the only minister, so most

of his congregation accompanied him, also in boats! As gold was found in Otago there

was money to build a very fine ‘First Church’ – a large stone building with tall tower

and spire. [We attended the Watch Night service in 2002 with 700 others – the at-

mosphere and singing were wonderful] The church was opened in 1873 only 25 years

after the settlers first arrived. Sadly Thomas Burns did not live to see the church

completed as he died in 1871 aged 76. He was instrumental in setting up schools and

churches in surrounding areas and the University in Dunedin. He also had a farm

and grain from it kept many early settlers alive. He was able to practice his first love

– farming.

The people of Dunedin are proud of their Scottish connections and there is a statue

of Robert Burns in the town centre.

Margaret Goodlad

Sesquicentennial Tapestry—First Church of Otago Dunedin, New Zealand, 1990.

The story of the Settlement of Otago in 1848. Depicted are the two Churches of Scotland, Prestwick and Monkton,

where Rev. Thomas Burns was Minister. The Pillar of Light represents Christ accompanying the

two ships, John Wickliffe and Philip Laing, bringing the emigrants to Otago.

Lastly, First Church is pictured with a background of houses of the city and countryside.

If you would like to see this most impressive tapestry in colour there are photo copies at the front door of the Church and in the large hall. The history of our Church and the Ministers who have served in Monkton and Prestwick and elsewhere is very precious and to know that we have this close link with a country on the other side of the world is amazing. Valerie.

Young Church

Well, Christmas is well and truly behind us, and what a busy one it was for the Young Church! On Saturday 15th December, the Sparklers had a visit to Kidz Play in Prestwick, where they had great fun and had a surprise visit with Santa – thanks to a kind parent! The Trailblazers and Seniors had a movie night on Saturday 22nd December, where they watched 'Nativity' (the movie) and 'Ice Age, A Mammoth Christmas'. To finish off the cinema experience, we provided hot dogs, popcorn, drinks and snacks. After the Trailblazers left, the seniors continued the evening with I'm a Christian Get Me Out of Here”, unfortunately, we could not provide the Jungle but we did provide a number of challenges for the young people to complete. They ate 'eyeballs', drank liquidised 'bugs', retrieved stars from gunge and generally got into a lot of mess! All in all, good times were had by all. On Sunday 23rd, the Young Church led the church service with a Nativity play, which held some surprises for a number of the congregation, who became 'Honorary' members of the Young Church for the day. Thank you to everyone who took part. The New Year brings more busy times, we have introduced a semi regular joint Sparklers and Trailblazers teaching session, where we will be using drama, puppets and singing to share the message of Jesus with the children. The seniors now remain in church for one full service a month. We have 20 young people preparing to go to Teen Ranch for a weekend in March, we are planning a visit to the Heads of Ayr farm park for the younger members, 24/7 Prayer overnight event on Saturday 30th March and the end of session trip and celebration service in June, so we are all really busy, but enjoying it all. If there are any children/young people from the age of 3 to 18 who would like to join us, please come along at 10.45 on any Sunday morning and join the fun! Margaret MacBain.

PANTO TRIP. On Sunday 6th January a group of our Church Family had a very happy experience of a date with Cinderella at the Gaiety. We were a multi age party from the very young to the “more mature” and everyone had a whale of a time. As it was the last performance the cast involved the audience even more than usual and this added to the hilarity. So many of the party have said how much they enjoyed the afternoon and the general air of high spirits said it all. Jeanette Munro.

INDIAN PSALM 23 Translated from the Cree.

The Great Father above is a Shepherd Chief.

I am His and with Him I want not. He throws out to me a rope and the name of the rope is love and He draws me to

where the grass is green and the water good and I eat and lie down satisfied.

Sometimes my heart is weak and falls down, but He lifts it up again, and draws me into a good road.

His name is Wonderful. Sometimes, it may be soon, it may be longer it may be a long, long time,

He will draw me into a place between the mountains. It is dark there but I’ll not draw back, I’ll be afraid not, for it is there,

between these mountains, that the Shepherd Chief will meet me, and the hunger I have felt in my heart all through this life will be satisfied.

Sometimes He makes the love rope into a whip, but afterwards He gives me a staff

to lean on. He spreads a table before me with all kinds of food.

He puts His hands on my head and all the “tired” is gone. My cup He fills until it runs over.

What I tell you is true. I lie not. These roads that are away ahead “will stay with us through this life and afterwards I will go to live in the “Big Teepee” and sit down

with the Shepherd Chief forever.

Alpha Vision Day

On 2nd February, along with 23 others from our Church Family, I headed off to Queen’s Park in Glasgow to the Alpha Vision Day. There were 2 venues this year, one for the under 30s and one for the overs!!! The event started with worship and some personal stories, an ex offender, Darrell Tunningley, shared his amazing story, it had you laughing and crying all at the same time, an amazing story. The most emotional, just indescribable story of the day just had to be from Andrew Whyte, Vicar of Baghdad. We just can’t imagine! I’m quite a visual person, so normally when I listen to a speaker, I like to visualise what they are sharing about, but this is just beyond our understanding, the circumstanc-es, the danger they face everyday, it’s just way beyond anything I could ever imagine, but yet, the incredible faith and courage, the stories of God just be-ing right there in the midst of that situation, a place where seeing people healed was just the norm, it was just the most incredibly moving story. To watch this man, clearly struggling from his own illness, yet hear him say that God needs him to have that illness in order to reach these people, it was just the most amazing story. We were able to enjoy lunch in Queen’s Park then head off in the afternoon to different seminars led by different speakers. It was very interesting to hear how God is working in different areas and different communities across Scotland. We then came back together for a time of worship and reflection from Paul Davie. Later we were able to enjoy dinner together and share with each other our different thoughts and experiences from our day. I found the day very emotional and at times quite challenging, yet very enjoyable. Elaine Wardrop

CHRISTIAN AID NEWS.CHRISTIAN AID NEWS.CHRISTIAN AID NEWS.CHRISTIAN AID NEWS.

There will be a Christian Aid Ceilidh at Prestwick Indoor Bowling Club

on Saturday 23rd March 2013 at 7.30 pm..Saturday 23rd March 2013 at 7.30 pm..Saturday 23rd March 2013 at 7.30 pm..Saturday 23rd March 2013 at 7.30 pm..

Tickets £10 adults £8 youth. Music by Ian Muir. Tickets available

from Christian Aid team—Scott Wardrop, Mary Yuille and Margaret

Ferguson.

Please support this event. Will be a good night and a chance for you to

do some serious jigging.

Messy Church Funday Who - For everyone When – Saturday 23rd March, 2-4pm Where – Monkton & Prestwick North Church What - Face Painting & Tattoos Games & Fun Activities Tea, Coffee, Juice & Goodies Book & Toy Stalls ...and much, much more!!! Please come and support Messy Church, every-body welcome. We really appreciate your contin-ued support.

*Please note, due to a special visit from the Fire

Engine, the church car park will be closed. We look

forward to seeing you on the 23rd

.

The aim of the Discovery Process is to enable the church to bring about positive change in our community. Together, we have been working our way through the Discovery Toolkits. We have split into three small focus groups, each of the groups is currently looking at ways of gathering information from the people in our community. The three key areas we are currently looking at are:- the youth, the elderly and the Vulnerable We were delighted to have Abi join us at our last meeting, he kindly agreed to share with us, how God is working in his church in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, bringing Church & Community together, and how God raised awareness though children attending Holiday Club. We recently attended the 2nd day of Discovery Training with Kevan Leckie from Tearfund. Kevan is very passionate about Discovery and we had a very informative day with lots of fun and laughter too. Thank you to everyone who helped provide lunch, and special thanks to Sandi and Jeanette for giving up their time to come and serve lunch and teas and coffees. Hopefully we are now equipped to go on to the next stage, and over the coming months, we can begin to look at all the information gathered, pull it all together and start plan-ning for action in order to bring about positive change in our community, therefore im-proving the lives of our vulnerable people. We would be very grateful to hear from you if you have any suggestions or questions regarding Discovery or if you would like to help in any way. Please speak to any of us. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Kevan for his continued encouragement and support and we would ask that you continue to pray that God would guide us, ena-bling us to go and share His love through action in our community. Together, with our awesome God, we can make a difference. The Discovery Team Duncan Campbell, Lily Dougan, Liz Ewing, Julie Hubbert, Richard Howie, Emily Kerr, Rob-

in McKay, Elspeth Manson, Elizabeth Mitchell, Tom Mitchell, Ed Sutherland, Margaret

Thomson, Elaine Wardrop, Kieran Wardrop, Ann Wilson,

Well, our Messy Church is almost a year old and what a year it has been. We are so grateful to everyone who has supported us and to all our new friends who are now part of our Messy Church family. We hope and pray that in this next year we will continue to grow and have many opportunities to share Jesus’ love with many more who may never have experienced God’s presence in their lives. This year we are making a few changes. Until now Messy Church has been on Thursday evenings from 5-7pm. However, due to hall bookings we were only able to be on during school holidays. It was also difficult for many working parents and a bit too late for very young children. To address this, we will now hold Messy Church on Sunday afternoons from 4-6pm at Monkton Community Church. We hope this will still suit our loyal regulars and allow many more to join in with some Messy fun. Another change this year is that we will be holding two fundraising events. We are ex-tremely grateful to our Church family and the Kirk Session for all of their support over this past year but in these tough financial times we hope to be self funding. To this end, our first fundraiser will be a Messy Funday on Saturday March 23rd from 2-4pm at Prestwick North Church Halls. We are having a visit from the Fire Brigade and lots of stalls, activities and fun competitions to entertain all ages. Please come and support us. Also any donations of toys, books and home baking would be gratefully received. Details of when and where these will be collected will be in the intimations or ask one of the Messy Church team. Thank you again to all who have made our Messy Church such a success. We hope that you will continue to support us and remember us in your prayers as we continue to share God’s love and serve Him in our community. We hope to see as many as possible at our next Messy Church on Sunday March 3rd at 4-6pm in Monkton and at our Messy Funday on March 23rd at 2-4pm in Prestwick. With love and blessings, the Messy Church Team. Messy Church Dates - 2013 (at Monkton 4-6pm) Sunday March 3rd

Saturday March 23rd (Messy Funday in North Church Halls, 2-4pm) Sunday April 14th Sunday June 16th

Sunday August 11th Saturday October 26th (Messy Tea Party, details to follow later in year) Sunday December 8th

1st Monkton & Prestwick Girls’ Brigade The Girls’ Brigade are looking forward to quite a few events over the next few months, and have also started planning for our Display which will take place this year on Monday, 13th May, 2013. Our first event will be our annual Mother’s Day craft stall during the Fellowship Break on Sunday, 3rd March, the week before Mother’s Day. We will have lots of lovely things for sale from hand-made cards to home bak-ing. The Divisional competition takes place at Troon St. Meddans Church Halls on Saturday, 9th March. This will be a turn up and do competition, and we will be looking for as many girls as possible to attend. Our Explorers won the Divisional trophy last year, and the Juniors won the trophy the year be-fore, so we have a good track record! We are also submitting a team this year to the Scottish National Bible Com-petition, and all the girls have been busy with drawing pictures, writing poems/songs, and creating a power point on the theme of ‘Run the Race’. The Company was lucky enough to get a grant to buy some much needed equipment last year, and with the sports equipment that we have bought, we will be hosting a Divisional sports day on the 27th April to celebrate 120 years of the Girls Brigade. However, the biggest event for us this year takes place on Friday, 5th April, 2013, when some of us are attending the opening of the new Outdoor Resource Centre at Dumfries House, Cumnock. The Resource Centre is being opened by Prince Charles with the Duchess of Rothesay and other members of the Royal family also in attendance. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support in so many ways. We are truly blessed with the help we receive

Susan Campbell Captain.

Victory Outreach Praise & Testimony Evening

On 16 February, we were both entertained and inspired by the praise band of Victory Outreach Scotland. As well as music, the event featured testimonies by six young men whose lives have been transformed by Christ from some of life’s most desperate circumstances. Thanks to Pastor Alex Muir and his team, as well as to all of our members who contributed to the success of this event. If you want more details of the work of VOS, please contact Ed Sutherland -07833 468 491.

Christ in Action

The Christ in Action group would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the ongoing success of the project. We have all been overwhelmed by the generosity of supporters and the faithfulness of God in blessing the project. From our food bank, we are continuing to support 4-6 people per week, all of whom have found themselves in a situation of urgent need.

FLOWER LIST Donated by Delivered by

A few dates are still available in the six months up to Christmas. The Flower List is still on the Chancel or contact Margaret Ferguson 01292 479472

6th January Margaret Goodlad

13th January Pat Simpson Linda Welsh

20th January Margaret Thomson

27th January Annabel Wilson John Clayton

3rd February Elsie Ferguson Elaine Wardrop

10th February Mary Black Jim McLauchlan

17th February Sadie MacKay Jan Armour

24th February Jim & Jennifer Bond Carrie Lamont

3rd March Evelyn Reid Morag Hamil

10th March Julie Hubbert Rita Mitchell

17th March Tom & Elizabeth Mitch-ell

Katrina Carswell

24th March Linda Clarkson Tom & Lily Dougan

31st March Helen Smith Tom & Elizabeth Mitchell

7th April Jim & Margaret Goodlad Nan Dagostino

14th April Pat Simpson Gail Hunter

21st April Linda Welsh Marion Balish

28th April Margaret Ferguson Elizabeth Ewing

5th May Ann Wilson & Alice Crombie

Jeanette Munro

12th May Valerie Greig Kathlyn Richmond

19th May Leslie McCarrell

26th May Susan Campbell

2nd June Elspeth Manson (Prestwick

& Monkton)

Margaret Goodlad

9th June Elizabeth Welsh Linda Welsh

16th June Nan Dagostino Margaret Thomson

23rd June Molly Paterson John Clayton

30th June Sadie MacKay Elaine Wardrop

BIBLE STUDY Tuesdays 10.30 am Margaret Thomson

Telephone : 01292 477045

BOYS’ BRIGADE Friday pm (Various)

Pat Simpson Telephone : 01292 477289

GIRLS’ BRIGADE Monday 6.00 pm Susan Campbell

Telephone : 07863868863

GUILD Thursday 2.00 pm

Jan McGill Telephone : 01292 477112

MONKTON BROWNIES Thursday 6.30 pm

Monkton Community Church Irene Boyle

Telephone : 01292 478376

KIDDIEWINKLES Monday 10.00 am

Christy Watson/Francis Tippett Telephone : 07826639785

TOTS-TOWN

Wednesday 10.00 a.m Monkton Community Church

Toni Burns Telephone : 07886449563

THE YOUNG CHURCH

Sunday 11.00 am Margaret MacBain

Telephone : 01292 479092

MINISTER Rev. David Clarkson

Telephone : 01292 471379 Email : minister@mpnchurch.org.uk

SESSION CLERK

James U Riach Telephone : 01292 476458

Email : james@jriach2.fsnet.co.uk

TREASURER/HALL BOOKINGS Robert Gibson

Telephone : 01292 479248 Email : property@mpnchurch.org.uk

ORGANIST

David Watson Telephone : 01292 314867

CHURCH OFFICE

Telephone : 01292 678810 Email : office@mpnchurch.org.uk

KIRK SESSION

COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVES

Discipleship Sam Gilmour

Telephone : 01292 470614

Fabric & Finance Ed Sutherland

Telephone : 01292 849554

Outreach Anne Ferguson

Telephone: 01292 470975

Pastoral Care Jim Riach

Telephone : 01292 476458

Worship Scott Wardrop

Telephone : 01292 670513