messy church

Our first Messy Church took place this afternoon from 4-6pm. We really didn't know what to expect, but the reality was certainly very encouraging. Elna who was administering the event counted over 100 into the building, with the vast majority of children and adults not being part of the congregation.. It was great to have so many folk from the Hilton Church and Inverness Community Church willing to help with running the event. We could probably do with even more for the next one on 24th June. There is always plenty to learn on the first day. Cooking a meal from scratch for up to 100 people in 2 hours is a major logistical achievement. Simon Varwell gets a gold star for leading the catering team so well. Highlights of the afternoon for me were seeing so many folk sharing food together in the large hall and watching all the children playing in the Lighthouse garden. A great start to Messy Church, and plenty to build on for the next one.

cherry blossom

Angus & Angela's Wedding

Afternoon Teas

A good number shared yesterday afternoon in afternoon tea. The next meeting on 30th May will mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

MESSY CHURCH - 1 WEEK TO GO!

Mairi Crawford and her team have done an amazing amount of work bringing together all the plans for the first Messy Church at Hilton. It's been great to see so many folk envisioned by this new opportunity for service and outreach.

easter sunday 2012

Bacon rolls and porridge on dores beach. No rain! Baptisms, professions of faith and testimonies to God's grace. Christ is Risen. Hallelujah!

new doors

The new doors for the various entrances to the church have been completed. It's amazing how bright the various areas inside the doors are now! The old wooden doors meant that the areas were so dark without lighting. The whole area is now visually far more welcoming.

Mike and I would be keen to see whether it might be possible to clear away the very dark back corridor and the whole stage area in order to create a much more welcoming gathering space. I think there are major structural issues involved in such a ploy, but it's always good to have dreams and visions to work towards!

GOOD FRIDAY

This depiction of the Cross highlights the suffering of Christ on the Cross, which we especially think about today. There is a Good Friday Service in the Church at 8pm tonight.

HILLWALK.

After a break of 12 months from hillwalking, I climbed my first Munro of 2012 last week. The day involved a 10 mile cycle each way -Dalwhinne to Culra Bothy, together with a bit of a slog of a climb. It was also quite stormy on the summit of the mountain, so we were glad that we were well equipped for the conditions.

april snow

After record temperatures in March, we are back into the snow again today.

EASTER 2012

GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE @ 8PM in Church.

EASTER SUNDAY

DORES BEACH @ 8AM

ALL AGE WORSHIP @10AM in the Church

Evening Worship@ 6.30pm in the Church

solar pv for community cafe

I see that our solar panels have hit the press.

Jonathon's ordination

The date hasn't been confirmed by the Presbytery yet, but it seems very likely that Jonathon's ordination service will take place at Hilton Church on Friday 4th May at 7pm

THE CROSS in HOLY WEEK.

Currently planning towards the morning service on Sunday. I'm wondering about concluding the service with the congregation gathered around a Cross in the front garden. Jesus was crucified in a very public place on Good Friday. To take the congregation outside the building may help to remind us of the reality of Jesus' public humilaition and our need to take a step outside the church walls with our faith. Jonny and I are working on some ideas to engage with people through the Cross during Holy Week.

palm/passion sunday

We have a real treat in store this Sunday, with El Gruer leading our evening worship. I have just spent some time talking over the content of the hour with El, and I think it's going to be a really special time. Sunday is the first of April, and marks the beginning of a 3 month residency for El at the Lighthouse. She will be with us at the Lighthouse for a couple of days each week, and we hope that this new venture will lead to all kind of creative developments.

WORKS

Everywhere you look, there appears to be works going on at Hilton Church and Lighthouse. This week the solar panels for generating electricity are being installed on the Lighthouse roof. The accesses are also nearly completed and the new doors are being installed at the end of the week.

IAIN & MAIRI HOLD RYDER CUP.

PHILIP CREATES BUBBLES IN STORNOWAY

aLIVE FESTIVAL

Hello there,
Hopefully by now you will have received programmes and information on all the events taking place as part of the aLive Festival this June. We don’t wish to clog up people’s inboxes with lots of emails and tend therefore to do most of our updating through our facebook page but as not everyone is on facebook I just wanted to highlight a couple of important things:

31st March (next Saturday) is the last date for the “early bird” prices for the Equip conference, Ladies’ Night and the Christian Vision for Men Day. Tickets will of course still be available after that date, they just cost a bit more! The Equip conference in particular has the potential to be an outstanding day. To be held at Smithton & Culloden Free Church, it is packed full of inspiring speakers, seminars and workshops and we have 18 different local and national ministries represented at the day. The whole day is aimed at “equipping” you and your church to impact your community. Please encourage as many folks as you know to book their place early. The early ticket price of £10 covers the whole day, people can stay for it all or come and go as they desire – it also include the worship evening with Dave Bilborough. Tickets are available at www.alivefestival.co.uk or CLC bookshop in Inverness.

Eden Court have now released the rear circle seats for the Keith & Kristyn Getty with Stuart Townend and New Scottish Art Choir concert on 6th June. The tickets have been selling rapidly for this event – could you please help us ensure that people are aware tickets are going fast and if they are hoping to attend should be considering purchasing their ticket soon – these are available from Eden Court box office only.

If you are a “facebooker” please do “like” our page following the link in the first paragraph of this email. This is the most effective way of keeping up to date with what’s happening. Our own website is at www.alivefestival.co.uk . If you have yet to see a programme for this year’s festival please let me know by return email and we’ll get one to you.

Kindest regards
Annette Maclean

Communion

We shared in communion last Sunday morning, and the feedback I have received since the Service has been very positive. Church of Scotland communions can be very formal. We have tried to loosen up the formality by involving a variety of different folk in serving communion, both young and old. We have also stopped using the wee communion cups, and now use common cups with the bread being dipped into the wine. The congregatiion are invited forward to receive communion.At the same time, we also have a number of our elders at various stations around the church, offering prayer accompanied with annointing with oil. During all of this time, the band plays and the congregation can continue in worship and praise. Communion is now an experience for the whole church family to share in. We didn't sing this song on Sunday, but it's a particular favourite of mine for communion.