POST NUMBER 2000!

I have been noticing over the past few weeks that we have been approaching the 2000th post, and today is the day! The blog began in March 2007 as a means of keeping folk in the loop with the happenings around Hilton Church and generally highlighting other matters of interest. For the 2000th post, I want to highlight the plight of an Iranian pastor who today faces the very real threat of the death penalty for refusing to recant his Christian faith. You can read more about him here.Please pray for Pastor Nadarkhani, his family and legal team.

sunday evenings @ hilton

We hope to have the lighthouse cafe open on Sunday evenings for 7 weeks from 30th October, so we can increase the level of opportunities for service,fellowship, sharing and hospitality. We will probably experiment with 5-8pm and make some changes as we go along depending on how it all goes. To do this, we need volunteers to help with the lighthouse kitchen and serving drinks and cakes. Can you help. If you can, please email me at duncan@hiltonchurch.org.uk

We are also going to run a Christianity Explored Course (6.15pm - 7.30pm) To run this, I need a few folk who can be helpers on the course. If you have been a Christian for a year or two, or even a bit or much longer, I would love it if you would consider helping out on the course. Email me if you would like to help.

At the same time time as Christianity Explored, there will also be a course for those who want to go deeper into the Bible called Story Lines. This course will be led by Jamie Grant. The aim over the seven weeks will be to demystify the Bible and make it fun to read with the help of the Soul Survivor crew. Using Andy Croft and Mike Pilavachi’s book Storylines: Your Map to Understanding the Bible as the basis for our discussion. We will look at six of the Bible’s main themes – Jesus, Covenant, Presence, Kingdom, Salvation, Worship – to see how these key ideas help us make sense of the whole book.

On Sunday 30th October and 5th December, there will be 2 special sessions from 5-6pm led by Philip Noble. These events will be all age and everyone is welcome. The first will involve lots of Bubbles!

Sundays changing @ hilton & the lighthouse

You can read about some of the changes here and here. We hope to have the lighthouse cafe open on Sunday evenings for 7 weeks, so we can increase the level of opportunities for service,fellowship, sharing and hospitality. We will probably experiment with 5-8pm and make some changes as we go along depending on how it all goes.

To do this, we need volunteers to help with the lighthouse kitchen and serving drinks and cakes. Can you help. If you can, please email me at duncan@hiltonchurch.org.uk

We are also going to run a Christianity Explored Course (6.15pm - 7.30pm) which you can find out more about below. To run this, I need a few folk who can be helpers on the course. If you have been a Christian for a year or two, or even a bit or much longer, I would love it if you would consider helping out on the course. Email me if you would like to help.

new hq from scratch

MINISTRY IN THE WORK PLACE

I would highly recommend these events. I saw Mark Green in Capetown last year, and his talk was nothing short of inspirational.

Open Meeting with Mark Greene, Exec Director of LICC
Wednesday 2nd November
Kinmylies Church of Scotland 7.30pm
Event Free of Charge – donations welcome

Business Breakfast with Mark Greene
Thursday 3rd November. Waterside Hotel 8.30am
Booking is essential for this event and places are limited.
Costs £5 per head which includes hot breakfast roll and tea/coffee

info@alivefestival.co.uk

Mark has produced a number of workplace resources, notably Thank God it's Monday and the widely distributed Supporting Christians at Work - Without Going Insane. In addition, he has developed Christian Life and Work, a 6-part small group DVD resource, and edited Pocket Prayers for Work. He is also the writer and presenter of the Imagine DVD and, with Tracy Cotterell, the editor... of Let my People Grow - a collection of essays on whole-life disciple making. Most recently he edited and contributed sections to Trevor Cooling's LICC resource Supporting Christians in Education.

SLEEPERS WANTED!

In the past, I have been very successful in sourcing various items for the Lighthouse and Church through the blog, so I am enboldened to ask for something which might be a bit more challenging. For some time now, we have been speaking about getting railway sleepers for the Lighthouse car park, so we can zone the area more effectively for parking. If you have sleepers which are surplus to requirements or know of a source, could you let me know. Many thanks.

THE ART OF HEARING GOD

THE ART OF HEARING GOD a course by Streams Ministries International
October 27-29 INVERNESS, Kings Fellowship
A fantastic course for anyone who wants to increase their ability to hear from God through a solid biblical foundation. It can help grow in confidence, character and spiritual gifts and is strongly recommended for those interested in serving on mission teams
For booking and more info go to www.northatlanticdreams.net

10 YEARS IN AFRICA

Marsali Campbell (who is Laurence Phin's cousin) of Dwelling Places in Uganda visited us at Hilton about 18 months ago. She has just celebrated 10 years of service in Africa and you can Click Here to read her latest newsletter.

help needed

Our Lighthouse manager, Wendy Budge is in need of additional help during the 2 weeks of the October holiday. If you can help, even with a couple of hours during that time, she would be grateful if you could contact her in the Lighthouse 01463 224477.

street pastors

Street Pastors are looking for more volunteers … with a twist … in addition to our usual night-time work in the City Centre, and evening work in Merkinch and Hilton, we're also looking for people who want to volunteer for daytime work in the City Centre mid-week and/or Saturday.
AND we're looking for applicants for an Assistant Coordinator's post who will be based in the City Centre working with our volunteers and partners to help the wheels turn smoothly.
ALL of this is dependent on the outcome of a funding application we're waiting on, but we've been advised to start planning on the basis that we will get it. That will mean if the funding is approved we will be appointing an Assistant Coordinator in October, and training volunteers throughout November and early December for street work starting in January. So we need to be receiving interest NOW.

for more info -inverness@streetpastors.org.uk

NEW VINE TRUST HQ

After 9 years of operating from an HQ in Port Seton, the Vine Trust moves this week to a state of the art HQ in Leith, just next to Ocean Terminal. The Barge was formally opened by HRH Princess Anne yesterday afternoon. It has been a massive task for Willie MacPherson and his staff to pull off this amazing project. Carpets were being fitted right up until the last hour before the formal opening!

christianity explored

beginning @ the lighthouse at 6pm on 30th October for 7 weeks.

stuart farmes

Congratulation to Stuart Farmes who has been invited to become the minister of Pultneytown linked with Thrumster, in Wick. Stuart has been the probationer assistant at Hilton for the last 14 months, and will take up his new appointment in early November.

HTC GRADUATION

I attended the graduation ceremony at HTC yesterday afternoon. It was the 17th such ceremony for HTC, and the first as part of the new UHI. Hector Morrision, Principal of the College chaired the ceremony, and Jamie Grant, Vice Principal was also involved in the awards. Murray McCheyne is now Chairman of the Board of Governors, so he was also presenting awards. It was a day of celebration for Andrea Boyes and Scott MacRoberts who were both receiving their degrees.

property day pics

Some of the work done on the property day.

Property Day

We had a remarkably profitable property day yesterday. The weather was excellent, and we had over 40 volunteers who came at various points during the day. We completed painting the fences, re-painted rooms in the Lighthouse, tidied up all the paths and front garden, added more bark to the Lighthouse garden, re-felted a shed, prepared some windows for painting and gave a good deep clean to various parts of the building. There is still plenty to do, but we certainly made a significant dent in the list! A massive thank you to everyone who helped. As a church we perhaps need to reflect more deeply on how we can build in some time on a regular basis to keeping up with maintenance rather than organising occasional days like yesterday. I have already had some volunteers who have offered to maintain specific parts of the garden area which is great. From a personal perspective, the experience of working together throughout the day was very rich, and it's great to share in these kind of days together.

out of the box

Over the past few weeks we have been looking at the TRIANGLE LIFESHAPE. Today our focus was on the flow of mission outwards. As part of the Service, Chris Watt, shared about the growth and development of Out of the Box, a ministry he began after serving as a Childrens and Youth worker in the Church. It's great to see all that has been achieved over the past 2 years, and if you want to find out more, read here.

fresh expressions

an excellent talk on fresh expressions from Archbishop Rowan Williams here.

LIGHTHOUSE - more than a cafe!

I have just been into the Lighthouse, and the cafe is packed for lunch. There have been people coming and going all morning. It seems to me that what used to be a busy day, is now the every day life of the cafe. It's been an important lesson to me. Most community projects require a long period of time to develop, much longer than we might perhaps imagine. We have taken 3 years to reach this level. I think we will see things expanding substantially over the next period of time. To do this effectively we will need more staff and volunteers who have a heart to serve and share in what we believe is "...more than a cafe!" Eilidh has been working all summer, and has done an outstanding job,especially at times when we have struggled with low staff numbers. She is finishing today, and next month is going to New Zealand for a gap year. This leaves a significant gap in our staffing. If you would like to be a part of the future at the Lighthouse, here's the advert.

Discovery Cruising

For many years, Melville Paton has been leading cruises for Discovery Cruising around the west coast of Scotland. This week, Stephen (who is a Trustee) and Ingrid are on the final cruise before Emmaus is sold. I had 3 cruises on Emmaus, and like so many people, have wonderful memories of so many diffferent places I saw, not to mention the experience of sharing with a small group on a boat for a week.

LIGHTHOUSE

The Lighthouse is advertising for new staff.

Café Assistant (2 posts)
Light House Cafe


We are looking for enthusiastic individuals to join the existing team within the Light House cafe, to help us provide a quality cafe service. The Light House is located in the heart of the community of Hilton and is part of Hilton Parish Church. In addition to providing high quality, good value meals for customers it offers facilities and catering for specific events.

In this role your responsibilities will include preparing and serving food, keeping the kitchen area clean and hygienic, receiving cash takings, washing down tables in the cafe area and generally maintaining the whole cafe clean and in line with Health and Safety legislation.

Previous experience of a similar role would be advantageous but equally important to the role is your ability to work flexibly as part of team to deliver high quality customer service.

The hours of work will be either 8.30 am to 2 pm Monday to Friday or 12noon to 4pm Monday to Friday. These will be subject to review after 8 weeks to ensure they are in line with customer demand

Application forms and further details are available from the Light House Café Manager Wendy Budge.Please specify your preference for the morning or afternoon role.

vine trust

This is a time of major change and development for the Vine Trust. Last week, they hosted a major conference on global citizenship. The week after next they are moving to a new HQ in Leith. I am going down for the official opening, so will try and take some pics for the blog.

WE NEED YOU - TAKE 2!

Over the past few weeks I have been highlighting the urgent need we have for folk to share a little more in terms of a little practical help with the maintenance and upkeep of our buildings. I think our problems have stemmed largely from too few people having too much to do, and becoming discouraged by lack of others willing to help. You'll get the idea from the photos posted above. I have set aside next Tuesday to spend the day doing some work myself, and I wrote a letter to everyone involved in leadership within the Church. I've also publicised it at the Services and put out sign up sheets. After all these efforts, I have 16 volunteers who have signed up. I am aiming for at least 50! I'm hoping that it's just a matter of people not having signed up, but are still intending to come. I am possibly a bit old fashioned about these things, but I feel quite strongly that we all happily use the buildings for all kinds of different activities, so I think we should all be prepared to invest a little of our time in helping to keep them to a reasonable standard. By nature, I always try to take a very positive view of things, but I have to confess to being a bit disappointed about this. I've wondered whether it might be an idea just to move from our Worship Service on Sunday morning straight into an hour of practical work. We could worship God through the offering of our practical skills as well as through our songs. Perhaps some of you have other suggestions as to how to get volunteers to help. Hopefully the outcome will be a good one, and we can get the buildings sorted out before the Winter comes.

consumer pressure

I have just read this fascinating article about consumer pressure on families within the UK. "Parents in the UK feel powerless before the consumer pressures on their children, suggests international research into family life."

el gruer

storylines - grasping the Bible's big picture

From Sunday, 30th October, we are going to be experimenting with a new format on Sunday evenings. We hope to have the Lighthouse open as a base for folk to hang out together, and alongside that, we will be offering a number of different options. Here is one which Jamie Grant is going to lead:

Reading and understanding the Bible can be a real challenge! It’s so long and it all happened so long ago!! And besides, how does it all fit together?

Over seven weeks our aim is to demystify the Bible and make it fun to read with the help of the Soul Survivor crew. Using Andy Croft and Mike Pilavachi’s book Storylines: Your Map to Understanding the Bible as the basis for our discussion. We will look at six of the Bible’s main themes – Jesus, Covenant, Presence, Kingdom, Salvation, Worship – to see how these key ideas help us make sense of the whole book.

ALBERT @ 30

Albert Bogle is celebrating 30 years of ministry at St Andrews, Bo'ness this week. We have great reason to be grateful for Albert's ministry, because for us at Hilton it was an entry point into working with the Vine Trust in Peru. Albert established the Vine Trust as a response to the Ethiopian famine of 1985, and over the years it morphed into a major project in Peru, and now in Tanzania. Over the last few years, I have worked alongside Albert on various iniatives linked to Peru and Church without Walls, and have been amazed by his passion and courage. I hope I am as enthused about life and ministry as he is now, when I reach his stage in ministry!

Christianity in China

An interesting article here on the growth of Christianity within China.

christianity explored

We are going to be running a Christianity Explored Course at the Lighthouse , on Sunday evenings from 30th October. More details to follow.

vine trust fundraising

I am part of Hilton work group that is going to Tanzania with Vine Trust on the 7th of October. Friends I need your help with fundraising to help build safe houses for the street children of Moshi. So THIS Thursday Night at the Hilton Light House. Wendy Budge is helping with a LADIES NIGHT! A fun night of coffee, fab cakes, prizes and entertainment. All for £5 come along and Ill tell you more of Tanzania
Heres the link to the Tanzania Project http://www.vinetrust.org/know/about/tanzania_project

Andrea

evangelism

Here's a short video which I am going to use this Sunday. I have been struck recently by the impact of quality video clips in services. Over the last couple of weeks I have the second clip on Mission which has had a massive response.

TELL.SHOW.BE. - English from Tell.Show.Be on Vimeo.

three years

The media is understandably full of coverage of 9/11 at the moment, as the 10th anniversary approaches this weekend. On a more positive note, this weekend also marks the 3rd anniversary of the beginning of the Lighthouse project. What an amazing journey we have been on over the past 3 years. The funny thing is, that it still feels as if we are only still at a very early stage in the project. If you want to be involved in a community project, you need to have a great deal of patience, because the establishment of the work is generally going to take several years. My heart is filled with a sense of gratitude this morning for all the many people who have played a part in the story so far, and I'm excited about the future as I see new people and new initiatives beginning to gather around the Lighthouse.

healing on the streets

Dear friends in local churches,

Please share the following with your churches, networks and friends.

Have you seen Healing On The Streets on Inverness High Street every Saturday morning? This gentle but powerful ministry has been demonstrating the reality of Jesus to the Inverness public for over 4 years where we hear wonderful stories nearly every week of people being healed and taking steps closer to appreciating and following Jesus.The Healing On The Streets team comprises people from a number of different local churches in the Inverness area and we're keen to help other believers to discover healing, to understand and to become more confident concerning healing, and to have the opportunity to join with us on a Saturday morning if that is in their heart.

So we're very pleased to extend the following invitations to anyone and everyone from local churches.

1. Tuesday 20th September, a "taste of Healing On The Streets" at The Kings Factory, Smithton Industrial Estate.

2. Saturday 1st October, "Healing On The Streets training" at Hilton Church Of Scotland, Tomatin Road.

On Tuesday 20th September, 7pm for 7:30, at The Kings Factory, Smithton Industrial Estate, the Healing On The Streets team will have all their equipment setup just as it is on the street every Saturday morning. They will show us what this gentle and powerful ministry looks like and they will invite anyone who needs healing to experience The Father's love for them at their point of need. That could be you. That could be a friend. Invite your friends, whatever their background.If you like what you see at the taster evening, then we have an exciting offer for you to take things further. Join us on the streets on the morning of Saturday 1st October to observe and to assist with welcoming people, and then stay with us for an afternoon of training at Hilton Church Of Scotland. Then, if you're feeling ready, you can become part of the team.Saturday 1st October10am for 10:15 on the High Street (near Marks & Spencer)followed by 1:30pm for 2:00 at Hilton Church Of Scotland, Tomatin Road (why not buy some lunch or a coffee at the Hilton Lighthouse Café next door? http://www.hiltonlighthouse.org/cafe.htm)

Please share this invitation with anyone and everyone who might be interested, and we hope to see you there.in Jesus,Mark--Mark Hadfieldhttp://facebook.com/markhadfieldhttp://twitter.com/morewithoutmobile: 07761 293 10822 Mackay RoadInverness. IV2 4JJ

WE NEED YOU!

Here's an email which I have just sent out to all the leaders within Hilton Church. Over the past few months, I have had to spend a massive amount of time dealing with property issues. Hilton Church is no different from many others churches in that we struggle to get folk to offer practical help around the buildings. I feel quite strongly that everyone who is part of a church has some responsibility for trying to help, even if it's a couple of hours per annum, so I'm aiming for a large turn out on Tuesday 20th September.

Dear All,

The nights are beginning to draw in, and we have a significant number of jobs that need to be done.

To be perfectly honest, if the usual happens, and I ask for volunteers, and a small team of the usual regular helpers appear, we simply won't get all the work done.

BUT, if you as elders and board members ALL come on board, and actively encourage others to help, we can make a massive difference in ONE DAY!

Many of the jobs aren't skilled, so please, no excuses on that front!

Raking car park stones, gardening,painting fences and other surfaces, cleaning..........there is a long list of low skilled jobs. If you can bring along some materials to help with your preferred job ( a paint brush or a spade or a rake or a duster!) that will be really helpful.

I am officially excusing anyone who can't come on health grounds , but beyond that, I really hope that you will make your presence at some point during the day a priority.

Consider it an opportunity to worship God through the offering of your body in service, and I promise you that you will be blessed through sharing in service with others, and perhaps getting to meet some new folk.

I will be getting the boiler suit on and working around the church throughout the day on Tuesday,20th September. You are welcome to join me at any point. We will be working until 8.30pm, and at that point we'll break for a brief Congregational Board Meeting. There will not be a kirk session meeting that night, but I do sincerely hope that the elders will all turn up and help.

I'm not sure how I can be any blunter about this WE NEED YOUR HELP!

Blessings

Duncan

PS PLEASE FEEL FREE TO FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO EVERYONE ON YOUR ADDRESS LIST IN HILTON CHURCH

artysans

The last 3 years have been a sharp learning curve for us all in terms of working out how to run a project like the Lighthouse. It's always good to learn from fellow travellers. This morning I connected with this remarkable cafe Project, which we hope to visit soon.

a history of christianity in 15 objects

Here's an interesting project which I found on this link.

Vine Trust Coffee Morning

In a months time, a team of 25 from Inverness, including quite a number from Hilton Church are going to Tanzania to work on a project building homes for orphans. This Saturday morning from 10.30 - 12.30 there will be a coffee morning to raise money for much needed building materials in Hilton Church Hall. There will also be cards on sale. For more information about the project, you can read the link here to the Vine Trust website.

duke special

folk on

IDMC GOSPEL CHOIR

After the communion service on Sunday morning, this group really got the crowds dancing.

the art of hearing god

new monasticism

A number of our youth are going down to Perth tonight for this event along with Jonathan. It was interesting to note that at greenbelt last weekend, a similar event was entirely sold out, with many folk still outside. New Monasticism is clearly touching a cord in our current culture of church. It will be good to hear more about it on the blog, when Jonathan gets back.

Let's begin again!

Jonathan Fraser has completed a year of reading through the bible with daily accompanying notes on the blog. This has been an epic commitment on his part, and it's great to hear of so many folk who have been accompanying him on the journey.

EUGENE PETERSEN

Watch the full episode. See more Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.

THE GLASGOW PASSION

IS THIS WHAT YOU NEED?

GETTING YOUR KIDS THROUGH CHURCH WITHOUT THEM ENDING UP HATING GOD is the title of a special lunch for Church Leaders and Youth & Family Workers, with Rob Parsons of Care for the Family and Gavin Calvin, National Director of Youth for Christ. You will be able to: find out about the ‘big five’ killers of faith; reflect on the concept of the ‘perfect Christian child’ mould; and get the inside track on what might be achieved together. 21 September, 1–3pm, Woodhill Evangelical Church, Wester Cleddons Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow. G64 2NH. Free. For further information and to book, contact 01506 846476 or visit www.careforthefamily.org.uk/lunch

msm

We hosted an MSM course at Hilton Church during 2010. It's great to see this course now being rolled out in various new centres across Scotland.

You are invited to share a one-year learning journey in a supportive community, to be equipped for a lifetime of good practice and learning in growing fresh expressions of church. 1 October 2011 – 21 April 2012, Sheddocksley Baptist Church, Aberdeen. £300 per person, which covers all materials, refreshments and a weekend away. Financial support may be available. For further information and to book, contact Anna Reid on 0131 225 5722, areid@cofscotland.org.uk or visit www.missionshapedministry.org/aberdeen11 To view a video sequence featuring participants speaking about their experience of the recent Edinburgh course, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=dniYV6JURyc

rural churches forum

People from rural congregations in Inverness and neighbouring Presbyteries are invited to an informal lunch and an opportunity to discuss the particular opportunities and challenges of rural parishes. Facilitated by Mission Development Worker, Steve Aisthorpe. 15 September, 12–2.30pm, The Lighthouse, Hilton, Inverness. £5 (to cover lunch). For further information, contact Steve Aisthorpe on 07966 286617 or saisthorpe@cofscotland.org.uk To register, contact Gillian Brown on 01463 224477 or office@hiltonchurch.org.uk

adding colour to life

el gruer

When we arrived at Greenbelt on Friday evening they had run out of programmes. One consequence of this was that we didn't get a proper chance to read a programme until much later into the weekend. We therefore failed to see that El Gruer from Inverness was performing over the weekend. It was a real pity to have missed her performance, but hopefully we can put on an evening for her show at Hilton Lighthouse in the autumn.

walking the wall

I went to a remarkable two hour show by Mark Thomas on "Walking the Wall." Mark walked the entire length of the wall separating Israel from the West Bank. I was especially struck by Mark's communication skills. He was able to hold an audience in excess of 1000 people (without comfortable seating!) for nearly 2 hours.