- january 2018 - wordpress.com much added benefit to the congregation.” mary’s membership of...
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David Sinclair writes:
Welcome to all
Love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12)
We welcome into the life and worship of our congregation people of every race, gender, background, age, sexual orientation, mental or physical ability. We affirm our diversity and the dignity of each person. Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)
Assisting Minister: Roger Sturrock
Tel: 0141 942 7412
Wellington Office :
Tel: 0141 339 0454
Wellington Church, 77 Southpark Ave, Glasgow G12 8LE www.wellingtonchurch.co.uk Church Copyright Licence 1899714 Music Reproduction Licence 1899721 SC 000289 Wellington Church of Scotland registered charity
December 2017- January 2018
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Pastoral Letter: Dear Friends On a recent visit to the hairdressers, I was assailed by Christmas music being played on the radio in the shop even though it was still only early November! The commercial side of Christmas is now in full swing and we are being encouraged to stock up with all the goodies to (in the words of the John Lewis advert) have the ‘best Christmas’ ever! Paradoxically most of the Christmas songs are about relationships at Christmas time as exemplified by the song “All I want for Christmas is you:
“I don’t want a lot for Christmas There is just one thing I need
I don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true All I want for Christmas is you, yeah.”
Despite this, Christmas is often a time when there are more arguments between family members than at any other time of the year! This year we have been remembering the beginning of the Protestant reformation when 500 years ago on 31st October, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the church door at Wittenberg – an event that led to a cataclysmic upheaval in Western Europe. Luther was a very charismatic and controversial figure in his day but he was a devoted family man and he grew increasingly cheerful as Advent and Christmas approached. One of his students wrote about him that: "All his words and songs and thoughts concerned the incarnation of our Lord. Then he sighed and said, 'Oh, we poor people that
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we should be so cold and indifferent to this great joy that has been given us. For this is indeed the greatest gift, which far exceeds all else that God has created. Yet we believe so sluggishly, even though the angels proclaim and preach and sing, and their lovely song sums up the whole Christian faith, for 'Glory to God in the highest' is the very heart of worship." So often we as Christians are sluggish in our faith as we approach Christmas and the temptation is to get caught up in the commercial ‘rat race’ encouraged by the omnipresent media. But Christmas is about relationships and pre-eminently our relationship with the Christ - child born in humble circumstances in a cave in Bethlehem. One of Luther’s Christmas hymns has the stanza:
“Ah, dearest Jesus, holy Child, make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
within my heart, that it may be a quiet chamber kept for Thee.”
Perhaps Mariah Carey’s song can be re-interpreted by Christians since the lyrics “All I want for Christmas is you” resonate with Martin Luther’s carol! As we approach Christmas may you all know the peace and joy of remembering that the incarnate God is with us at the very centre of our lives. Roger Sturrock
The Session Clerk’s Farewell to David
and Mary on David’s last Sunday:
Could I turn to Mary first? Last week, I
received an email which said “We certainly
got a ministry partnership in Mary and
David’s time with us, which provided so
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much added benefit to the congregation.” Mary’s membership of
Wellington has indeed been a huge benefit. Her warmth goes
before her, her recognition of new people and people needing a
little encouragement to join in has helped many to feel they
belong. She has brought fascinating glimpses of Welsh culture
and language to this part of the west of Scotland. Under her
direction, the crèche has gone from strength-to-strength keeping
some of the things which my now 17-year old daughter played
with as a baby whilst quietly updating in other ways. Mary has
offered friendship and a sensible, thoughtful approach to
everything from justice and peace to tea and coffee duty, with
much of her work for the church being undertaken whilst also
doing a demanding job teaching children with special needs.
Mary, you will be extremely missed by all of us and thank you for
all that you’ve done for and with Wellington.
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Turning now to David …
This is David’s last Sunday as minister of Wellington. He came in
May 2008 for five years and we have been fortunate that, in the
event, he stayed for nearly double that time. He has been an
outstanding minister. He had been here only a matter of months
and I remember saying to someone who had been on his
nominating committee that the fit between him and Wellington’s
needs was amazing. Those on that committee ‘did good’ for us
and we have reaped the benefits for nearly a decade.
David’s preaching of the word is infused with philosophical
reflection – not much point in being a doctor of philosophy if not -
and underlain with a passion for social justice, for justice and
peace and for liberal Christian values with which many in this
congregation associate themselves. There is humour – the best
way to make some points; there is sometimes real anger and
always something to take away and think about.
He also brought us strong qualities of leadership. He faithfully
attends many church meetings so that he is fully informed of
everything in which this Church is involved and he brings this
knowledge to bear in recognising the perspectives of all. His
chairmanship of Session is decisive but he hears all voices and,
in everything, his compassion for others shines through
He has quietly taken the trouble to know everyone on the roll.
The numbers here this morning – and the numbers who have
sent good wishes knowing that they could not attend show the
esteem in which he is held. He has strengthened our links with
Hillhead High School including through personal attendance at
our Cosy Corner café still running there and has spear-headed
our strengthening links with the student population of Glasgow
University through chaplaincy and through developing the
conditions for Lizy Newswanger’s role as student outreach
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worker. He has also offered much support to the International
Welcome Club and welcomed people of a great variety of
nationalities into our fellowship Sunday by Sunday.
We could not have had a better minister or a better leader and
friend and I hope that you will remember the great affection and
respect in which we all hold you.
Claire McDiarmid
Eco-Congregation Scotland Our church has been a supporter of Eco-Congregation Scotland for a number of years – in fact, ever since it was formed. We were the first congregation in Glasgow to gain their award way back in 2003. At that time the Justice and Peace Group was led by Nonie Fisher and she inspired us to apply for the award. The plaque for this award is displayed on the wall beside the side door of the church. Our interest in eco-matters then went quieter for a number of years but was still simmering along. In 2012 we applied successfully for a second away and the plaque for that is displayed in the Woodlands Hall. We have never ventured to apply for a third award. The Eco-Congregation award system has been recently been revised and updated. The first second and third awards have been replaced by bronze, silver and gold awards. A new feature is that a congregation can apply for an award at any level. Moreover a congregation that already has an award, like ourselves, may apply for one of the new awards simply by filling in the application form and a visit of assessors to judge the application will not be required. This concession, however, only applies until 31st January 2018.
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So where does this leave Wellington? It would nice at some stage to obtain the gold award, but I fear we are not quite ready. It would involve more members of the congregation being actively involved. The first step would be to form a “Green Group” or an “Eco Group” committed to the task of preparing the congregation to apply for this award. I think it would be longer term project which could not be ready by 31st January to make use of the concession offered, but there would be advantages in submitting ourselves to a more formal assessment as we have done in the past. Would anyone who would be interested in joining such an Eco Group please get in touch with me. Robin Green (0141 357 5570, [email protected])
Reformation Week - 30 October-5 November
As part of the week’s programme arranged by Rebecca Gebauer,
on the Wednesday evening, we gathered in the Crypt for a
session entitled Reformation today – a talk about challenges.
About 20 of us, mostly Wellington members, heard talks from
Alastair Duncan, transition minister at St George’s Tron in
Glasgow’s city-centre, and Liam Fraser, pioneer (campus)
minister and honorary Church of Scotland chaplain at Edinburgh
University. It was an immensely stimulating evening and what the
speakers had to say offered many helpful insights relevant to
Wellington’s future – both in the context of the Presbytery’s ‘inner
West End Churches review’ and the development of our links with
the university.
Alastair Duncan spoke of his role as transition minister – in
working with a congregation through a difficult situation over a
period of 5 years or so. He had had the advantage of inheriting ‘a
blank canvas’ because of the particular history of St George’s
Tron. The challenge had been on how to relate to the parish
contextually and to engage and communicate, in accessible and
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relevant language, with the ‘demographic’ in the area – largely
secular and unchurched, shoppers and workers, transients and
tourists, homeless and marginalised, pubbers and clubbers, many
in the 20-40 age-group.
It was an opportunity to do something radically different, to take
risks and be adventurous and creative. Through discussion,
experiment and building relationships, partnerships had been
established with, for instance, Glasgow Caledonian University,
Work-place Chaplaincy, Street Pastors, City Mission, and
International Friends. And, within the life of the congregation
within the church building, a leadership team had been
developed, and a regular rhythm and pattern – a weekday café;
an informal ‘café-church’ at 12.30 on Sundays, involving a shared
meal, discussion and worship; a 5pm Sunday service. He
emphasised the importance of taking account of the context in
addressing ministry and mission, of collaborative working, of
learning and growing through experience and wrestling with
difficult questions – practical as well as theological, the building of
community grounded in personal relationships, the significance of
hospitality and caring in carrying out ministry.
Liam Fraser themed his talk “Reforming in the face of decline”
and started off with some concerning statistics about church life
today. 92.8% of Scots do not attend church and overall church
attendance has declined about 50% in the past 30 years. The
Church of Scotland has seen a fall attendance of 40% in the past
14 years which is the steepest decline rate in any church in the
world.
Pioneer ministry is an attempt to face the decline by giving room
to new ways of doing church. Research shows that there is huge
scepticism towards religion, however there is also a great desire
for spirituality. That means that potentially, there might hundreds
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of thousands of ‘invisible’ Christians, or people who are interested
in becoming Christian out there. However, the times where
Christianity could claim a monopoly on spirituality are long over.
In the context of his work at Edinburgh University, Fraser said that
pioneer ministry firstly provides more time than traditional parish
ministry and secondly more permission for try and failure
approaches. The challenge he finds on campus is that young
Christians tend to be conservative in outlook and will
overwhelmingly opt for informal worship-band style service or
high-church ‘cathedral style’ worship. As far as student
engagement is concerned, working with liberal Christian student
groups, providing opportunity to engage in community projects,
and simply providing space for students seemed to be most
fruitful. Much of what Fraser recommended is already being done
at Wellington, for example through links with SCM and with the
recently established Student Hub.
The talk ended with some food for thought for Wellington’s current
vacancy; Fraser suggested to reflect on the following:
What is the Church for?
What is the purpose of ministry?
What would success look like?
How far do you allow your identity to be changed and
challenged by current needs?
Rebecca Gebauer and Norman Shanks
Wellington Church International Welcome Club
Club Grows: The International Welcome Club motto is: ‘Have Fun with Friends.’ How true that is! The Friday night sessions in Wellington Church’s Library are attracting more and more people – possibly because they offer fun and social contact to people who are strangers in Glasgow.
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By the time this report is published, the St Andrew’s Night Ceilidh may well have happened. So those who were able to attend it will know for themselves how this Club’s outreach - as part of the Church - is working. For at least 15 years, the Club has offered the hand of friendship to anyone from anywhere – even if they come from Edinburgh! But mostly it covers the rest of the world – currently from Azerbaijan to Syria, from Germany to Iraq, from China to Venezuela and from Spain to Colombia.
One of the reasons Grace is travelling in China next year is to visit some of the former Club members who have kept in touch.
Along the way it is noticeable how the Club Team of local supporters manages to help the Club members who find themselves in difficulties or who have queries of any kind. Problems with landlords, with authorities, with studies, with accents, with customs, with health (including mental illnesses) and with loneliness are among the most regular encountered. The Club deals with the person and their issues in a private, quiet way to enable the best solution to be found.
In the garden of Liz, a leading member of the International Welcome Club Team, after
a summer programme walk.
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The winter programme is available on the table at the Southpark Avenue door. It extends till the end of January when the highlight is expected to be the Burns Night on Friday 26 January in Wellington’s Crypt. The church choir members – including the scholars from the Royal Scottish Conservatoire – are expected to give a splendid evening of Burns’ music and song so don’t miss it! Tickets will be sold in January.
All Wellington people who have the time and inclination to help offer the hand of friendship on Fridays are invited to contact Isabel Macmillan or Joyce Smith in the congregation to find out more. All volunteers are welcome.
Talk talk talk!
The decibel level in the Crypt Café on Wednesday afternoons is very high. Around 30 and more people are sitting at the tables - talk, talk, talking… This is the English Language Conversation Corner in action.
A pool of more than 40 native English speakers provides the Hosts at the table. Their Guests are people wanting to practise their spoken English. They come from the University - under graduates, Masters and PhD students. Some are migrant workers, asylum seekers and refugees. Yet others are Glasgow
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residents who may have lived in the city for years but still want opportunities to speak in English. Both Hosts and Guests talk about anything they want to and this is called Table Talk.
After a while we have the customary ‘tea break’ which is called Tea Time Talk. People come to the counter and get (free) tea and coffee, biscuits and buns provided by Wellington via the International Welcome Club. This enables people to mix and mingle and to talk to other folk in the Conversation Corner. Some nice friendships have been made during these sessions.
The final part of the day is Speaking Out. Everyone stands round in a circle and introduces themselves. Even if the person can only say: ‘My name is…… I come from…..’ They have spoken out publicly in English. The longest journey begins with the first step…
The International Club spotted this need around four years ago and has ministered to it every week since (except in the volunteers’ holiday month of May). Grateful thanks go to Wellington for funding the assistant – Lillie from China – who works very hard registering everyone each week, making the tea and coffee and clearing up afterwards. The volunteers who do great work every Wednesday are Liz Davidson, who will be running the International Welcome Club alongside Isabel Macmillan and Joyce Smith during Grace’s absence, and, from among Wellington’s congregation: John Murray, Maureen Small, Marion Byrne, Scott Anderson, Omid Arjomand and Lizy Newswanger.
Other volunteers are always welcome to join the pool of Hosts. It is noisy but great fun!
Garden: showing green shoots of hope
Wellington Church’s ‘breathing space’ garden outside the crypt back door – is showing little green shoots of hope.
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With the help of Woodlands Community Garden expertise in the form of Jerry Hutchinson for a few hours each month, the garden was cultivated – despite the restrictions of the scaffolding taking up about one third of the space.
The Wellington people growing things this summer were mainly Robin Green, Christine Johnston, Grace Franklin and Scott Anderson with some input from Rebecca Gebauer and Basil Kafes of the Orthodox brotherhood .
Others from Woodlands Garden community included Vicki, Erika and Jonathan. The sum of their efforts was a reasonable haul of potatoes, parsnips, onions, garlic and broad beans which used the scaffolding as their ‘beanstalk’ to grow and grow.
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But more important what was grown was a knowledge of the earth and how to use it well to feed ourselves and the tender, but vital, community spirit of strangers getting to know one another.
Long may Wellington congregation continue to enable this kind of ‘grafting’ of the living church throughout the community.
It is anticipated that work will re-start in the spring when the current crop of winter veg can be harvested and preparations made to grow things in the new season.
Be a mentor to one of Glasgow's disadvantaged young people. For 10 years, MCR Pathways has been working in secondary schools in Glasgow helping young people, disadvantaged through no fault of their own, to find, grow, and use their talents and skills. We recruit and train volunteer mentors to spend one hour a week with a young person in their own school for a minimum of a year, someone who is there each week just for them, to chat, listen and offer support. Our results have shown that having a mentor makes a huge difference to a young person's confidence, educational outcomes and future life chances. Can you offer one hour per week to mentor a young person? The expansion of the MCR programme across all Glasgow Secondary schools means we need more volunteers. If you are interested simply complete our online form at www.youngglasgowtalent.org. You will be invited to attend an Information Session where you will be able to find out more about the programme. Or give us a call on 0141 221 0200 to speak to one of the team. You can also follow us on social media @MCRPathways
Grace Franklin
This article was published first in the Glasgow Guardian:
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Any Questions? Held in Wellington Church
The BBC recently held a live recording and broadcast of the Radio 4 programme Any Questions? on Friday 13 October at the Wellington Church on University Avenue. The programme was hosted by Jonathan Dimbleby. The panellists were the leader of the SNP at Westminster Ian Blackford MP, Times columnist Iain Martin, Conservative peer Lord Forsyth and Shadow Minister for Industrial Strategy Chi Onwurah MP.
Three primary questions were posed to the panel by audience members during the recording: whether the government “[had] a clue” about how to proceed with exiting the EU; whether Nicola Sturgeon was wiser or luckier than Carles Puigdemont regarding Scotland and Catalonia’s independence referendum, respectively; and finally, whether placing a cap on energy or utilizing non-profit government energy would be better for consumers.
The first question saw all panellists, aside from Lord Forsyth, criticising the government, with Iain Martin comparing the Conservative Party’s current incarnation to “a school that knows the headmaster has lost control”. Forsyth, meanwhile, accused Brussels of conducting “the politics of Al Capone”, labelling the Prime Minister’s treatment as “disgraceful”.
The second question saw Ian Blackford call for calm dialogue and mediation over the issue of Catalonia and Spain. He made the case for Scottish independence, citing Scotland’s tax receipts of £340 billion, and argued that Scotland should have an input into the final Brexit deal like every other EU country. Chi Onwurah
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acknowledged that the British constitution allowed for an independence vote, which was not the case in Spain. Iain Martin attacked the SNP’s record on education, while Lord Forsyth criticized Nicola Sturgeon over her usage (or lack thereof) of Scotland’s shale gas.
The third and final question asked what was better for energy consumers: putting a cap on prices or making use of non-profit government energy? Chi Onwurah responded that both options could be pursued together, stating that a Labour government would initiate a price cap as well as reform the ‘broken’ energy market by bringing in local non-profit suppliers. Iain Martin argued that nationalisation would not improve the situation, and instead suggested utilising regulators as a way to put pressure on companies.
An additional, more light-hearted question – “if you went guising would you tell a joke, recite a poem, or sing a song?” – was asked towards the end, which led into Ian Blackford’s singing of the first few lines of The Banks O’ Doon by Robert Burns, prompting some of the audience to join in. Jonathan Dimbleby remarked that it was “the most unusual end to Any Questions? as far as I can remember, and a rather lovely one”. Osama Abou-Zeid
A recording of the event can be found on BBC iPlayer.
Wellington and TL Watson It was recently pointed out to me that the picture used at the top of the newsletter is to be seen in the Little Book of West End Churches being sold at the Traidcraft stall. It shows the Wellington United Presbyterian Church, University Avenue built by TL Watson from 1882-84. According to the book his classical designs of Wellington and Hillhead Baptist Church were important to the area and more widely as evidence of the power of Christian belief among leading Glasgow citizens in the Victorian period.
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Christmas and Traidcraft Fair The Wellington Fair on 4th November was very well attended. We made around £800. The proceeds from the morning will be divided 50/50 between Traidcraft and Church funds. Many thanks to all the helpers who made it such a good morning. Photos thanks to Fumi and Yushin.
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Choral Scholarship Scheme Wellington are pleased to welcome Jasmine Munns as our Soprano choral scholar this session. Having gained a 1st class honours BMus degree at the University of Leeds, Jasmine is currently a postgraduate student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, currently studying on the MMus Vocal Performance Course. Wellington at Christmas Nativity and Carols
The morning service on Sunday 17th December will be Nativity and Carols - and we hope for an augmented choir. If interested, please see Alan Kitchen beforehand.
There will probably be a week night rehearsal prior to this service, date to be confirmed.
Alan Kitchen Advent Studies Roger Sturrock will be leading a series of Advent Studies based on the film The King’s Speech. Come and “find your voice” in Wellington Church’s library at 7.30 on Wednesdays: 22nd, 29th November, Thursday 7th December and Wednesday 13th December. All Welcome.
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Door Duties
26 November 2017 Side Door Bearer Ken Fyfe Front Door Bearer Fumi Nakabachi Side Door Plate Yushin Toda Front Door Plate Lizanne McKerrell Sound Donald Murray
03 December 2017 Side Door Bearer Norman Shanks Front Door Bearer David Swinfen Side Door Plate Andy Cardwell Front Door Plate Catherine Shaw Dunn Sound David Blackhurst
10 December 2017 Side Door Bearer Donald Murray Front Door Bearer Helen Sturrock Side Door Plate Nancy Porter Front Door Plate Jackie Murray Sound Robin Green
17 December 2017 Side Door Bearer John F Anderson Front Door Bearer Isabel Macmillan Side Door Plate Kate Fyfe Front Door Plate Christine Scott Sound Claire McDiarmid
24 December 2017 Side Door Bearer Norman Shanks Front Door Bearer Yushin Toda Side Door Plate Fumi Nakabachi Front Door Plate Catherine Shaw Dunn Sound Jim Michael
25 December 2017 Side Door Bearer David Blackhurst Front Door Bearer Andy Cardwell Side Door Plate David Swinfen Front Door Plate Donald Murray Sound Ken Fyfe
31 December 2017 Side Door Bearer John F Anderson Front Door Bearer Lizanne McKerrell Side Door Plate Jackie Murray Front Door Plate Helen Sturrock Sound Robin Green
07 January 2018 Side Door Bearer Jim Michael Front Door Bearer Sheila Craik Side Door Plate Fiona Gibson Front Door Plate Caroline Jennings Sound Claire McDiarmid
14 January 2018 Side Door Bearer Kate Fyfe Front Door Bearer Christine Scott Side Door Plate Nancy Porter Front Door Plate Christine Scott Sound David Blackhurst
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21 January 2018 Side Door Bearer Petra Hardie Front Door Bearer Isabel Macmillan Side Door Plate Yushin Toda Front Door Plate Fumi Nakabachi Sound Robin Green
28 January 2018 Side Door Bearer Arthur Allison Front Door Bearer Joyce Allison Side Door Plate Lizanne McKerrell Front Door Plate Caroline Jennings Sound Niall Hardie
Deadline for next edition: 7/2/18
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Christmas Services
Sunday, 10th December: 11.00 am Gift Service in Wellington Sunday, 17th December: 11.00 am Nativity Service in Wellington and Christmas Lunch in the Crypt. 7.00 pm Lessons and Carols by Candlelight in Kelvinside-Hillhead Sunday, 24th December: 11.00 am Family Service in Wellington 11.00 pm Tea/Coffee/Mincepies in Wellington 11.30 pm Watchnight Service in Wellington
Monday, 25th December: 11.00 am West End Parish Grouping Service in Kelvinside-Hillhead
A Winter Chorale
Concerts by Candlelight
The Scottish Ensemble is holding a concert in Wellington on Wednesday 6th December at 7.30. Tickets can be obtained from www.glasgowconcerthalls.com or telephone 0141 353 8000.