HIGHLAND FOOD BANK

The Highland Food Bank regularly receives donations of food from the congregation. Ali Barron is one of the volunteers who helps with distribution at Madras Street and he keeps us updated on the specific needs. I note that the Food Bank has hit the national press today. The recession is causing great strain on many people and requests for help have increased by 50% this year. You can find out more here and here.

CHURCH LIBRARY NOTICE

If there is anyone who would like to read The Shack please put your name at the back of the book at the church library as there is a short waiting list. This is a very different kind of book and well worth a read.
Could I also ask that you all search for any books that you may have that are outstanding and have finished reading, and please return them.- (just tick them off in the book and leave in the basket on top of the book table to be catalogued).
Thank you.
Margaret Johnston/Wilma Robertson

HILLWALK

Last August we had a very successful walk in Torridon. On Saturday 23rd May, we are planning another hill walk. If the weather is good we will probably aim for climbing a Munro within striking distance of Inverness. You won't require to be super fit for such a venture, but a reasonable level of fitness will make the day more enjoyable for you. It's also a walk which isn't suitable for young children unless they are already involved in such activities. Laurence Phin and Mairi Crawford, who are experienced walkers will be leading the day. If you are interested in coming, please email the church office or put your name and email address on the sign up sheet in the church foyer.

ROLLER REQUIRED

The garden needs to be rolled before we sow the seed. Does anybody have a roller?

TREES

Yesterday, I posted some pictures of the cherry blossom next to the church. I was really struck by the blossom on the trees in many of the gardens within Hilton on my way to church this morning. It's funny how you can suddenly notice things that have been there all the time over the years. Here's a few pictures I took on the way to the service this evening. What a difference trees make to the landscape.

CHRIST IS RISEN

This morning we were reflecting on Jesus' post resurrection experiences. I concluded that we are called to make the resurrection credible through the ordinary lives that we lead seeking to follow Jesus. I wish I had found these words by AN Wilson beforehand:

"The Resurrection, which proclaims that matter and spirit are mysteriously conjoined, is the ultimate key to who we are. It confronts us with an extraordinarily haunting story.
J. S. Bach believed the story, and set it to music. Most of the greatest writers and thinkers of the past 1,500 years have believed it.
But an even stronger argument is the way that Christian faith transforms individual lives - the lives of the men and women with whom you mingle on a daily basis, the man, woman or child next to you in church tomorrow morning. "

AN Wilson is a well known historian and ( and until recently!) athiest who even wrote books challenging Christian faith. He has now come to believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus.His journey towards faith has been largely linked to the faith of family and friends.

"My belief has come about in large measure because of the lives and examples of people I have known - not the famous, not saints, but friends and relations who have lived, and faced death, in the light of the Resurrection story, or in the quiet acceptance that they have a future after they die."

What an encouraging story. You can read the entire article here

THANK YOU!

I want to express gratitude today to and for the person who had the foresight to plant these wonderful trees next to the church. Every year, we have this glorious display of cherry blossom. It would be interesting to know how long these trees have been there for, and who planted them? I must ask around!

READY FOR GRASS SEED

bored with contemporary worship

We are blessed at Hilton to have so many outstanding musicians. The most regular compliment I receive in relation to the services is linked to the worship bands. I was struck by the following post by Jonny Baker which highlights the fact that there appears to be a growing restlessness about contemporary worship within many of the communities which pioneered the movement in the first place. One of the links is an article called bored with contemporary worship. I think a great strength of our approach to worship is that there is a breadth in terms of the various traditions that we tap into. We could quite easily have a service which reflected Hillsong, psalms, taize and Iona community. We aim to provide a worship service which has something very everybody. We don't always suceed, but I'm very concious of the need for breadth and diversity which reflects the kind of congregation we are. The links on Jonny's blog have some very good suggestions which are worth reflecting on.

SUSAN BOYLE

I have just read Jim Gordon's post on Susan Boyle, and the link to the Glasgow Herald article. I commend both of them to you.

LECTIONARY READINGS

Lectionary Readings for 26th April
Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4 (UMH 741)1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

Lectionary Readings for 3rd May

Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23
1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18

Day in the life of a hospital chaplain

The National Secular Society has called for public funding of hospital chaplains to be phased out, saying it costs the NHS at least £40m pounds a year. This article provides a welcome balance.

sophia network

A new website called The Sophia Network has been launched. It is aimed at all female youth and children's workers, volunteer and employed, full time, part time or spare time.

UNREST IN MASERU

"Awoke this morning to find that someone has attacked the army and the Prime Minister’s house. The government is saying nothing so no-one knows what is going on." More about it here

There appears to be some civil unrest taking place in Maseru today. I spoke with Robyn on skype and she seems to be pretty cheerful about life notwithstanding the sounds of gun shots etc!

THE WORK GOES ON....

I forgot to take my camera tonight, so no photos! I'm glad to report that we had around 10 volunteers tonight raking and picking up stones. The garden looked fantastic by the time all the work was done. Thank you to all the volunteers. I'll try and get some photos for tomorrow.

6 month update on the Light House

Last Sunday morning a team of us from the Light House had the privilege of being able to give a six month update on progress at the Light House to the congregation. The following video tells the story in pictures...
Blessings!
Gwen

VOLUNTEERS PLEASE!

Duncan, Iain, Murray, Steve and Mairi made great progress this morning! The vast majority of the ground has now been turned over and many stones have been removed. If we can get the help of some willing volunteers next week to rake out more stones, we should be in a position to the sow the grass seed by the latter part of next week. Tuesday night has been earmarked as a key opportunity for rakers, but if you can help at any other time, contact Iain or Steve.

THE WORK CONTINUES

GARDEN UPGRADE

Steve has been working hard on the Lighthouse garden. A path from the Lighthouse to the large hall has been dug out for slabs and the area behind the kitchen/conservatory has been prepared for concreting. Tomorrow the main area will be rotivated. This year we will get the basics in place, with a view to the garden being in use by the Spring of 2010.

LECTIONARY READINGS

SUNDAY 19TH APRIL
The readings are as follows:

Acts 4:32-35; Psalm 133
1 John 1:1-2:2; John 20:19-31



Readings for SUNDAY 26TH APRIL

Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4
1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

FOUND!

Balloon sent by Helen aged 4 found at Lachlanwells Farm Alves Forres on Sunday at 2.30pm

ROTIVATOR

We are hoping to do a bit of landscaping at the back of the Lighthouse in the near future. Does anyone have or know of someone who has a rotivator we could borrow for a day or two?

EASTER SUNDAY 2009

Thank you to Chris Watt for taking such good photos of our services at Dores Beach (8am) and Hilton Church (10am). The weather was wonderful this morning. What a difference a bit of sunshine and the absence of hail stones makes! During our 10 am service, we spent some time putting Easter messages on cards. At the close of the Service, we all gathered on the front lawn and launched the balloons avec easter messages. Last seen heading in the direction of Nairn.....

Easter morning in pictures

Easter Morning in pictures

Easter Breakfast at the Light House

Feeling hungry...? Fancy one of these...?

There's a special breakfast on the menu

at the Light House today up until 2pm.

Wishing you a Blessed Easter!

SIMON VARWELL

Simon has some great news which he is sharing here. Congratulations!

Highland Theological College UHI appoints new Principal

Congratulations to Hector Morrison on his appointment as the new Principal of HTC. You can read the full college report here.

now that is what i call a baptism...

Hilton Church has a congregation with many different backgrounds and traditions. This is a very enriching aspect of our fellowship, but it can present us with some challenges in certain areas such as baptism. Jonny Baker's photo above particularly appeals to me, as it combines the baptism of a child with a real drenching with water.