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?