Annie and Mark's Wedding

Congratulations to Annie, Assistant Manager at the Lighthouse, on her wedding day on Thursday, 5th July.

Soul Survivor...

Iwona Grant and I are looking for an extra adult to come down to Soul Survivor with us this year.  We're leaving Inverness on Thursday 26th July and we get back on the evening of Wednesday 1st August.  The ticket will be paid for by the church. 
If you were willing to help out with some of the driving (it's a nine seater car, just so you know) that would be great.  But, other than that, it would essentially just be spending time with 23 brilliant teenagers from the church, 5000 others from across the UK and God.  What more could you want?!
Oh, and maybe I ought to mention that you'll be camping!
It'll be awesome fun.  Let me know if you're interested by dropping me an email (jonathan@hiltonchurch.org.uk) or giving me a call (07540 168744).
Jonathan.

EVENING SERVICES

During the holiday period, there will just be one Service each Sunday at 10am. The evening service will begin again at 6.30pm on 24th August.

CAN YOU HELP?

We are trying to get some much needed maintenance and cleaning done at the Lighthouse this week. If you have an hour or two spare on Thursday night to help with painting, we would love to see you. Please bring your own tray and roller/brush. We only had 3 volunteers from Hilton Church last night. I'm concious that life is very busy for people at the moment as the summer holidays begins this coming Friday. I think we will need to reflect on how to be more effective at engaging volunteers from the congregation Some folk have suggested that Saturday would be a better day than a mid week evening. I have wondered whether we could actually do some volunteering together as a congregation on a Sunday when we are all together anyway. What a lot we could achieve with 200 plus volunteers! We could worship God by painting as well as praying together. 

 

Julie Keen had organised a concert - Music for a Summer's Evening - here in the church on Saturday, 30th June, from 7:30pm.  If previous concerts are anything to go by this will make for an excellent evening of entertainment.  All the proceeds are being split between Tiyanjane and Ndi Moyo Paliative Care Services in Malawi.

christian vision for men

Dear Guys


I want to let you know that the first Scottish Regional Day of the national movement Christian Vision for Men (CVM) is taking place in Inverness this June as part of the aLive Festival. It takes place on Saturday 23rd June at Culduthel Christian Centre and will run between 9.30 – 4.00pm.

I am very excited about this event, it is the first of it's kind to be held in Scotland, and it is happening right here in Inverness!

The ethos of CVM is for local men to reach local men and they want to help you to do just that. The day will feature food, music, seminars, fellowship and teaching from CVM General Director Carl Beech and will address real issues men face in today’s world. I attended one of their regional days in London last year and can highly, highly recommend the event, it is a very relaxed, enjoyable day.

Can I PLEASE ask that you consider coming along, and to encourage as many men as possible from your church or ministry to come along to this worthwhile day? Tickets (which include lunch and refreshments) are now only £15 per person but there is a saver price of £10 for bookings of 10 or more! We are also running a buy one get one free offer, so you can invite a friend for nothing! Click here to get your ticket.

You can find out more about Christian Vision for Men at http://www.cvm.org.uk/ and the aLive Festival at www.alivefestival.co.uk and I have also attached a booking form. If you don’t think you’re the right person to “rally” everyone together for this could you forward on to someone who may be able to and therefore ensuring the men at your church don’t miss this.

Please can I ask you to consider supporting this special Men's Day, uptake has been very low so far, and it is proving hard to encourage Christian Men to come together for an event such as this, Your support would be really appreciated.

Thank You

David Maclean
aLive Festival

Curry House for a Cause

This should be a great night.  Come along with family - invite friends - and be cooked for and waited on by the young people in the church.
The cause, just so you know, is getting all the young people down to Soul Survivor (hiring a minibus, petrol and so on) and making sure that they're fed and watered when they get there.  Our funds are still a bit short for this so come along and help us out!
If you want to book a table please call me on 01463 233310 or email me at jonathan@hiltonchurch.org.uk.
Thanks,
Jonathan

MODERATOR @ THE LIGHTHOUSE

The blog has been pretty quiet over the last few weeks. I will try and update it, with some of the things which are happening, over the next few days. Later today we welcome the Moderator of the General Assembly, Albert Bogle to the Lighthouse. We are also hosting an event for the Moderator in the Lighthouse tomorrow evening.

worship

ordination service

Jonathan's ordination service last night was a wonderful occasion. A large congregation in great voice, a magnificent worship band, a brilliant sermon from John 10 by Peter Donald, and a joyful time of fellowship through in the Hall afterwards. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the preparation of food , and to those who helped serve during the evening. It was also marvellous to see so may of our youth and children there together with their families. All in all, one of the landmark occasions in the history of Hilton Church.

JONATHAN'S ORDINATION

Tomorrow is a very special day for the Fraser family. At 7pm in Hilton Church, a service of ordination will taking place and Jonathan will be ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament.

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.