strings

SNOW

The roads and pavements haven't been gritted following the overnight snow, and as a consequence are very dangerous. A recipe for broken bones for anyone who falls.

paradise

Paradise - Chelsey's Story from Central Online on Vimeo.

Barry Dennis is currently running a training course in the Lghthouse which we hope will lead to our community and Church being a place and a people where those facing various addictions can find love and compassion, and hopefully release. Here's a video which Steve Aisthorpe has just sent me which I hope will inspire and encourage

STRINGS @ HILTON

Last month, we had an all age time together at Hilton focused around bubbles with Philip Noble. This Sunday night at 5pm, it's an hour with string. It's not quite going to be all age since apparently it's a little difficult for under 7's, but I'm sure there will be some fun for them too in the midst.

ARE YOU IN THE PICTURE?

This week the Lighthouse has been offering free family/individual photographs taken in front of a Bethlehem tableau. Costumes have been provided and Chris Watt has been taking the photos.

Singing God's song

Come to the Launch of Singing God’s Song

70 of John Dempster’s Christian Viewpoint columns
from the Highland News, North Star and Lochaber News

@CLC Bookshop
23 Castle Street, Inverness
Monday 12th December 3pm All welcome!

Published on 12th December by the Merkinch-based
charity For the Right Reasons which supports people who are addressing and overcoming addiction problems.
All profits from the book will go to support the work of For the Right Reasons
Available from local bookshops - £6.00

advent

taize @ advent

advent

I think we all feel as if Advent has arrived early this year. It doesn't feel like a year has past since the last one. After two very demanding advent seasons in terms of activity and creativity, we are having a much simpler time this year. Along with the lectionary, we are simply re-telling some of the advent accounts with the help of Cloth for the Cradle. Angela and Angus retold the story of Mary and Gabriel today and did it brilliantly.

For the last 3 years we have followed the lectionary readings as part of weekly workship. From today, I am going to use the daily lectionary readings. Over the last 2 years I have used the daily readings in Celtic Daily prayer, and found them exceptionally helpful. For me, they have the great attraction of not being too long.

If you are looking for something inspirational this advent, I would recommend Common Prayer - a liturgy for ordinary radicals. For something on line, I would recommend Advent Synchroblog.

the divided brain

I have just watched a most remarkable 10 minute presentation on the human brain. I don't understand a fraction of what is being said, but find it completely awesome. ht to Jonny Baker.

sunshine

We are having the most beautiful weather I can ever remember in November. Last year, we had to cancel services in November because of the bad weather. This November it has been constant sunshine and blue skies.

UPDATE - Today I saw someone on the golf course playing in shorts! Apparently the temperature in the Highlands this month is five degrees higher than average.

Vine Trust in Tanzania

Tomorrow morning, some of the Hilton team members from the recent workparty to Peru will be sharing during the morning service. In the evening, I have been invited to share in a service at Dalneigh Church where several of their congregation will be sharing about their experiences on the same workparty. It's been quite amazing to see the development of this ministry through the Vine Trust over the last few years, and to see so many people going to Peru and now Tanzania. It's also exciting to hear that the new Barge HQ has received a design ward. , the first of many I suspect. It's an amazing place.

Lighthouse

Over the last 3 years, Primary school children have been coming to the Lighthouse in ever increasing numbers at lunchtime. Sometimes we have had as many as 40 children queuing at the hatch! In reality, the Lighthouse (in terms of staff and size) simply isn't big enough to cope with that kind of number of children. The management team therefore decided to limit the number of children at lunchtimes by requiring children under the age of 12 to be accompanied by an adult. We still have children coming, but the atmosphere is much quieter. We also became aware that many adults had stopped coming over the lunchtime period because of the noise and general commotion created by so many children being in such a small area. We hope the new arrangements will encourage them to come back.

missional church

The link to the video is here. Several of us within the Lighthouse and Hilton Church have been exploring Missional Communities. How do you make and raise up disciples who have a heart and a passion for those who are not yet followers of Jesus? A great deal of Christian life in Inverness seems to be about already Christians joining and/or moving around different congregations rather than the congregations actually growing with new believers. I think that is a pretty common phenomenon across the Western world. In the main, larger congregations aren't better at mission or evangelism, they simply offer a more attractive context for already Christians to share in.The Missional Communities website shares some wisdom as to how that might be different.

lighthouse volunteers

Over the past 3 years, we have not really suceeded in recruiting many folk linked to Hilton Church to serve within the Lighthouse. This has been a bit of a surprise to many of us who were in the vanguard of the project, since we thought it would be an ideal way of serving and sharing the local area. On Sunday, Christine MacDonald, one of our management team members shared the need for volunteers during the service, on the basis that a diffferent voice might have a different outcome! We also stressed through Christine, that 2 hours per fortnight could make all the difference to the Lighthouse, and you could serve in a variety of different ways according to your gifts. After the service, I was immediately approached by a lady who is in her 80's who feel she is fit and able to welcome and serve in the Lighthouse for one session a week. She has now met with Wendy our manager, and begins this Thursday lunchtime. An encouraging start to the week for those of us who long to see the Lighthouse growing in its service to the local area.

update I have just heard from Christine that we had a further 2 offers of volunteer help on Sunday, so a very encouraging outcome indeed!

71,000 at prayer meeting

Here's an account from Andrew Jones of an extraordinary prayer meeting in Cairo on Friday night.

Os Guiness in Inverness

The Solas Centre For Public Christianity (www.solas-cpc.org) have arranged an evening with the well known author and apologist Os Guinness at Smithton on 17 November at 7:30pm.
Os’s subject will be “Challenging The Darkness – Towards a new Christian renaissance”, in which he argues “for the vision of a new Christian renaissance that is faithful, hope-filled, and culture-shaping at the same time.”

LIGHTHOUSE MANAGER POST

We had a very productive Lighthouse management team meeting last night. Wendy Budge has done an outstanding job as manager of the Lighthouse over the past 5 months, but sadly (for the Lighthouse) she is returning to New Zealand with her family at Christmas. We now find ourselves in a position where we need to recruit a new manager before Christmas. In the very near future, I will post a more formal advert, but if the possibility of being involved in a leadership role within the Lighthouse excites you, why not give Wendy Budge a ring to find out more 01463 224477.

EILIDH

I haven't had much time for the blog lately between one thing and another. It's been a time of change for us with our daughter Eilidh departing for a gap year in New Zealand. Eilidh is going to be doing an internship with the Pacific Partnership Trust. If you want to keep up with her news , you can find her blog here.

Stuart Farmes

Congratulations to Stuart Farmes who was inducted at Pultneytown Parish Church last Thursday evening. Stuart recently completed his probationary time at Hilton Church. We wish him and his congregation well as he begins this new chapter in his ministry.

last night

We began our Sunday evening experiment last night. An extravaganza of Bubbles with Philip Noble from 5-6pm, with Storylines or Christianity Explored from 6.15 -7.15pm. We had a very encouraging start, and the Lighthouse also worked well for hospitality and sharing. We will probably tweak some things as we go along, but trying something different definitely feels like the right thing to do.

congratulations

Delighted to hear that Jody and Muir Morton had a baby girl, Niamh Grace on Wednesday 19th October.

tanzania

The workparty to Tanzania during the October break was a great experience judging by all the reports I have heard over the past week. We look forward to hearing all about it over the coming weeks.

MONEY TALKS

The media has been awash with news on the camp outside St Paul's this week, and the question of "What would Jesus do?" has never been far away. The Guardian described St Pauls as a "whitened seplulchre" echoing Jesus' rebuke to the Pharisees. These are tough times, and the news that on average the directors of ftse listed companies received 50% income increases during the last year is nothing short of obsence. Mammon is alive and well, and it seems that St Paul's in the popular conciouseness has aligned itself with Mammon rather than the poor. Where ever you look, things don't feel or look right. Jesus would have wept according to Visual Theology. I am inclined to agree.

john stott

highly recommended

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 7.30pmEvent Free of Charge – donations welcome

Business Breakfast with Mark GreeneThursday 3rd November. Waterside Hotel 8.30amBooking is essential for this event and places are limited.Costs £5 per head which includes hot breakfast roll and tea/coffeeinfo@alivefestival.co.uk

spiritual fair

Dear Friends of Blue Flame,
As many of you know, we have been using a "Spiritual Fayre" format in recent years to help people in an unchurched culture to step into an encounter with Jesus. We use non-church language to offer prophetic ministry and healing ministry.
At our largest annual fayre at the Belladrum Tartan Heart festival we have ministered to queues of literally hundreds of people, helping people to take steps closer to Jesus at their own pace. At a smaller fayre in Hilton we saw a hunger within the local community for spiritual answers to life and "like scales falling off people's eyes" as they encountered the presence of Jesus for perhaps the first time.
So our next Blue Flame event will be a Spiritual Fayre. We will be running this one in a building that is normally associated with church and we are making a special invitation to churched folks who are intrigued by this style of evangelism to come along to "taste and see" for themselves. Perhaps you've never received prophetic ministry or healing ministry before? Perhaps you have a current need? Or maybe you're intrigued to see how we organise a Spiritual Fayre and to find out first hand "what it feels like". You can also invite churched and non-churched friends who are wanting ministry.
All the details are on the flyer below which uses non-church language to describe the use of biblical spiritual gifts. Please feel free to share it with friends, churches, and anyone else.

moderator

Over the past 7 years, we have been blessed though our involvement with the Vine Trust in Peru. We are therefore delighted to note that the next Moderator of the Church of Scotland is going to be Albert Bogle, the founder of the Vine Trust. I wonder how the work with street children and the medical ships will be reflected on the floor of the Assembly?

congratulations

Congratulations to Steven and Leanne, who were married today.

tanzania workparty

Tonight, a Vine Trust workparty from Inverness which includes quite a number of folk from Hilton church departs for Tanzania. We look forward to hearing all about their experiences when they return and pray for a safe and enjoyable journey.

change and transition

Sacred Space at Linne Bheag
School Green, Anstruther, KY10 3HF
01333 310477www.linnebheag.co.uk

Change and Transition
Saturday October 15th 2011
The only certainty in life is change. Nothing stands still. We have to cope with external changes, in the wider world and in our own personal circumstances. Internally we struggle with change too as we try to re-orientate and make the best of things.
This day course addresses these issues. How to make the transition from the secure known to the scary uncertainty of the future. How to find a secure standing place whilst we negotiate the next stage. Where to find courage. How to live with indecision. How to remain at peace while the world turns you on your head.

10am – 4pm
Cost £40

This course will be facilitated by Dorothy and Peter Neilson. Lunch and snacks will be included in the price. Contact Ann for a booking form.
annvt@btinternet.com

CAKE HEAVEN

Over the past 3 years I have maintained a reasonable level of self discipline when it came to the Lighthouse. I have tried to limit myself to the occasional bacon roll. I have to confess that my self discipline has been faltering over the past few weeks, as Wendy has begun baking the most amazing cakes. Today's cake was as tasty as it looks!

WWW

The world wide web may have its downsides, but it most definitely has so many positives. I am so grateful for the daily opportunity to key into what many different people and groups nationally and globally are thinking and doing. Today I have been especially encouraged by this post and this post. Frank Skinner and the gift of not fitting in. Plenty for me to mull over as I get on with various meetings and visits during the day.

youth inclusive too

Youth Inclusive is a small youth work charity which began in 1999 and now works largely but not exclusively with young people in the Hilton area of Inverness with the goal of building bridges between young people and the community.
http://communityforce.rbs.co.uk/project/256
Take a look at Youth Inclusive with RBS CommunityForce. Vote for them to win £6,000. http://communityforce.rbs.co.uk

dornoch firth

Hi Everyone
If you would like to help the Dornoch Firth Group to raise £6,000, please visit the RBS Community Force website and vote for us. If you really want to help, pass this email on to others.
http://communityforce.rbs.co.uk/project/213
ThanksJohnJohn McMurray

Community Outreach Worker

Dornoch Firth Group SCIOScottish Charity Number SC042553

Mobile 07801496609

flying upside down

For anyone of a nervous disposition (like me!) when it comes to flying, here's a flight to remember for some passengers.

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.