A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE!

We realised tonight that the new cafe won't be big enough to host Impact Cafe, if the numbers that came tonight keep coming and/or increase! We had over 100 there tonight. There was a great atmosphere with the band from the new SOULED OUT event playing, Peter Noble sharing a few songs linked to the themes of the prophet Joel, and Chris Dowling sharing his vision for an Intergenerational, multi denominational event at the Ironworks beginning on 1st November. We also had a new team doing all the catering and serving tonight. They did a sterling job hosting such a large number of people on their first night. Rob & Gwen Barlow did such a great job of establishing the cafe service. It was a bit daunting doing it without them tonight, but so encouraging so see the event continuing to develop.

DORES & BOLESKINE CHURCH

This morning, I was preaching at a joint service at Boleskine Parish Church. Stuart Jeffrey, Laura McCheyne's father, is the interim moderator of this congregation. Peter got some tuition on bell ringing prior to the service!

IMPACT CAFE

We have our first Impact Cafe service of the new session at 6.30pm tomorrow evening. We are going to take a look at the prophet Joel, with the help of Chris Dowling from the Kings Factory. The band from the Kings Factory are also coming along, and we have our very own Peter Noble sharing some of his songs too. Next Friday, Rok are handing the real cafe over to us for painting, so it shouldn't be too long before we can hold these kind of events in a real cafe setting.

TORRIDON HILLWALK

I'm just back from a very enjoyable hillwalk near Torridon. The weather forecast wasn't very favourable, but we had a clear day with no rain.

LOCH NESS BAPTISMS

It has been an exceedingly busy week, so time to put news on the blog has been sparse. Last weekend was a social whirlwind with a 40th birthday bbq at Nairn East Beach for 3 "young" folk from the congregation. If someone else has a photo or two from that special afternoon, they might want to post them for all to see. On Sunday afternoon, there was a picnic at Dores Beach followed by the baptisms of Michelle and Martin, who came to faith through a recent alpha course. The weather wasn't quite as kind as Saturday afternoon, but the water of Loch Ness was slightly warmer than I had expected!

GOOD NEWS

I have been very hesitant over the last 2 weeks about putting news regarding Iona's condition on the blog. On several occasions, I have posted encouraging news only to hear within minutes that her health has deteriorated. BUT!!! Jonathan has phoned tonight and he wanted everyone to know that the news is very good. Iona has had a very stable day and the hope is that tomorrow the medical team can start doing a variety of procedures which will take her closer to moving on from Intensive care.

BABY IONA UPDATE

Iona was taken back to theatre last night as her blood pressure had dropped very low. This was causing the medical team concern. The surgical team were called, but by the time she was examined in theatre her heart was functioning properly again. The hospital have no straight forward explanation for this. We are all pleased to hear that Iona has come through another crisis. We can only hope and pray that today will be a good day for Iona and her parents.

Over the last few days, we have seen the emergence of a prayer text chain as news of Iona's situation from day to day has been shared for prayer. Thank you to all who are praying and supporting Jonathan and Susie at this difficult time.

BABY IONA UPDATE

Shona and I travelled down to Yorkhill Hospital yesterday (Monday) to visit Jonathan and Susie. They were looking remarkably well considering the ordeal they have been through since Iona's birth. They received very good news from the doctors just before we arrived about Iona's condition. Unfortunately Iona's condition has again taken a turn for the worse this evening (Tuesday) and she has just been taken down for further surgery which is expected to last several hours. Please pray for Iona and for Jonathan and Susie.

Minor prophets

What a brilliant introduction by Hector on Sunday evening. My appetite is certainly whetted for what is to come in this series. The whole teach/preach was inspirational, but what impacted me most was that the Major Themes of the Minor Prophets is The Day of the Lord. This Day incorporates both Judgement and Salvation. How apt is that for us all--Christians, non-Christians and the Church? Folks, don't miss out on what God through His Word is going to teach us over the next few months on Sunday evenings. Bless you, Hector, for sharing your insight with us.
Doda

BABY IONA UPDATE

Iona's operation finally took place yesterday at Yorkhill Hospital. The operation took over 7 hours. Iona is now in Intensive Care and the medical team continue to monitor her condition. These are anxious hours for Jonathan and Susie. They have been told that the next 48 hours are critical.We continue to pray with them for a positive outcome to the surgery. Please pray for them too.

church hillwalk

Given the range of ages, we have opted for a walk which will take us to one of the most dramatic places in Scotland – the magnificent Coire Mhic Fhearchair, one of the finest corries in Scotland. A popular and straightforward hillwalk reveals the classic view of the towering Triple Buttress reflected in the waters of a beautiful lochan. The walk is about 14km and in the guidebook takes 3.5 to 5 hours. We will depart from the rear church carpark at 8.30am next Saturday morning.(30th August) If you need or can offer a lift to others, can you let the church office (233310)know by Wednesday. Please take suitable clothing for such an outdoor enviroment, together with a food and drinks.

Sermon recording

The recording of Hector's opening sermon on the minor prophets is now available on the church website. Click here

Minor Prophets

Great start to the series on the minor prophets with Hector Morrison giving an outstanding introduction. You can read about it here , here and here. Hopefully we can post the download too in the near future.

Cafe project

The project has gone a bit quiet over the summer on the blog, but on the ground it has been action packed as far as Rok Construction and the Project Team are concerned. The building is due to be delivered on 5th September and we are aiming towards having the bulk of the landscaping and painting done by 20th September. Our project chairman, Iain Ross will be reporting to the congregation on Sunday, and his report will be posted on the blog afterwards.

BABY IONA UPDATE

Jonathan and Susie have been in touch to let us know that the operation has been postponed again. This is obviously a tortuous wait for them. We continue to pray for them and we''ll give you a further update once the surgery takes place.

OPERATION MOBILISATION

We received this request from Sharon Rose of Operation Mobilisation. Is this something you could help with or perhaps you know somebody who would love to be involved.

I received this email from the Logos Hope and wanted to pass it in to you for your prayers. If this is something that you could consider or you know of someone who could get involved please get in touch.

We have a few critical skill needs onboard the Logos Hope at the moment, to help us keep momentum towards finishing the project and to get us into ministry as soon as possible. These are for:Plumbers,Carpenters and Welders

Could you please ask people to pray for God to provide and to consider asking any friends with these skill sets to come out and help us on the Logos Hope for 2 to a few weeks? If anyone is interested, please direct them to follow the links on our website: www.logoshope.org .

BABY IONA UPDATE

I know that so many have been praying for Iona today. It was expected that she would go through surgery today. Unfortunately the surgeon was unwell , and the operation has therefore been postponed until tomorrow (Tuesday). We'll keep you posted on any news tomorrow.

THE LOST OLYMPIAN

The Olympics in Beijing are now in full swing. I read a fascinating article today which reminded me that Eric Liddell, one of Scotland's great athletes ever and Olympic gold medallist in 1924 is buried about 2 hours outside Beijing. He was born in China and returned there as a missionary. He died there in 1945 in a Japanese POW Camp.

BABY IONA

It has been an especially anxious 48 hours for Jonathan and Susie Fraser. Iona became very ill on Wednesday night and was flown to Yorkhill Hospital on Thursday afternoon. Iona's condition has stabilised and it is likely that she will undergo surgery at the beginning of next week. It has been amazing to see and experience the reality of love, concern and prayer for Iona and her parents at this difficult time. Please continue to pray for them. (Philippians 4v19)

Holiday Club

What a great week!!!! What a great team!!!! What a great bunch of kids!!!!

I think the children left the church today happy that they had been here for Holiday Club, at least that is what I hope. If happy faces are an indicator on how well things are going then it must have been brilliant. We crammed quite a lot into the programme which kept everybody on their toes, especially when I changed the order of things round all the time (sorry about that Team). The singing was great, our new song written by Peter Noble went down extremely well. The DVD was good, the games were brilliant, the challenges were funny and the Drama was first class. Only the Sunday service to go now and that will be Champions Challenge all finished.

I want to thank all the team for all they did this week, they were such a good team of folks. I would like to ask you now to pray for the kids who were at Holiday Club as they head back to school. Pray that what they have learnt about Jesus this week won't stay in the church but that it would make a difference in their young lives. I will get the opportunity to work with most of these children again in the next year, whether it be at Hilton or Cauldeen Primary School or SU Group or through Hyphop, MYC, Jump or Sunday Club and so I would value prayer that I will be able to build on what we have done this week at Holiday Club.

All the groups I mentioned above are not just run by me, it takes a team 0f people, exactly like Holiday Club, in order to make the groups happen. Therefore this is my shout out to anyone who is interested in helping reach the children and young people of our area with the Good News of Jesus. Come and be part of a team involved in children's/youth work at Hilton Church. We need you. Please speak to me soon.

Chris Watt
Youth Worker