‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast’. Ephesians 2:8-9

Douglas Allan, Interim Moderator for Tiree Parish Church, invites everyone to pray with him at 12noon every Wednesday. Below is the prayer for this week:

Lord, keep us under the shadow of your mercy in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, and lift up all who are brought low; that we may rejoice in your comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love.

Lord, we have just been on an extraordinary Lenten journey unlike no other we have ever experienced before, and an Easter morn spent physically apart but united by the encouragement and hope of the Resurrection. More than ever we need to sustain a hope in the future despite ongoing fears and concerns for our health and wellbeing. Many of us are fortuitous in our circumstances even in these trying circumstances however not all people are so lucky. Today, as we pray together as a Presbytery, we bring to mind those on the margins of society who are in danger of being pushed further towards the margins as a result of the pandemic.

Lord today we pray for those whose limited budgets and family circumstances mean that they need to prioritise whether to stay warm or eat and who in the current situation are pushed to ever more desperate decisions especially when there are children involved. We pray too for those who through social circumstances live on their own and whose isolation has now become more acute. We think too, of those who live on the streets enduring freezing cold nights and are exposed to personal danger that a pandemic imposes on a vulnerable population. We bring to mind the prison population, both prisoners and staff, who are at greater danger of infection due to the difficulties of implementing social distancing in circumstances that impose separation from families and friends. We especially remember those who experience mental health issues particularly those who find life challenging and who in these straightened circumstances, will find the lack of normality and routine especially challenging. We remember too, those people who live in remote and rural parts of Scotland and in particular the remote islands of our Presbytery where day to day living can be a challenge with an, at times, fragile dependency on tourism, crofting and fishing along with reduced transport links. Lord, in a society that purports to be all inclusive there are so many parts of the community who live on the margins and are particularly exposed to danger at this time. We pray that you reign your blessings upon us all at this time that they feel and keep safe as possible in these circumstances and that they will experience the protection that you can offer them through your love and compassion.

We pray too for all those who work to protect and care for the marginalised at this time. We bring to mind those whom we know whose job takes them into direct contact with those most in need and for the army of volunteers who care for those who need it most. We remember today the increased workload experienced by food banks and we pray that they won’t be overwhelmed by demand and that donations will continue to be plentiful. We pray your protection on those involved in handling goods and in their delivery to doorsteps. We pray for those striving to find a safe indoor space for the homeless and the ability to keep all those at risk safe and for those whose responsibility it is to oversee the prison population, a task that presents a daily danger to staff without the need to maintain social distancing. We pray too for all those involved in caring for mentally challenged people in our community; a task that depends on direct and personal interaction with clients now becomes so much more difficult and thus places both carer and client in increased danger. In the fragile economy of remote and island communities we give grateful thanks for crews of ferries, buses, trucks and planes who strive to maintain vital and essential links and supplies to those communities; keep them all safe and well at this time.

Lord, Eastertide is a time of hope and renewal but for many it is difficult to feel this at the moment, sustain us all and those we worry about so that we can lift our eyes to the horizon and see and experience the hope that your sustaining love and care holds for us.

We are not people of fear: we are people of courage. We are not people who protect our own safety: we are people who protect our neighbours’ safety. We are not people of greed: we are people of generosity. We are your people God, giving and loving, wherever we are, whatever it costs For as long as it takes wherever you call us.

We ask all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

In the midst of the current pandemic there is much fear and anxiety and it is good to remember verses from God’s word which give us hope and encouragement. ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid;do not be discouraged.’ Deuteronomy 31:8

Presbytery is having a weekly time of prayer at 12 noon each Wednesday. It would be good for us to join in prayer at this time.

The prayer for this week is below.

kind regards, Pat

Lord keep us under the shadow of your mercy in this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, and lift up all who are brought low, that we may rejoice in your comfort knowing that nothing can separate us from your love.

Lord we seek your protection for all those who still need to travel to engage in essential tasks to keep the rest of us safe. Today we bring to mind all those front line staff working in hospitals, testing stations, ambulances, police and fire stations, supermarkets and pharmacies.We give thanks for their dedication and hard work and we pray that they stay safe at this time. We remember those too who maintain our mail delivery helping us to maintain contact with others and for delivery drivers and local shopkeepers who bring essential goods to our doorsteps. We give thanks and acknowledge the willingness of local volunteers to look after the vulnerable in our communities and we are all reminded at this time of the importance of looking out for our neighbours.

Lord we are challenged to maintain our faith in these difficult times having been deprived of the sense of community worship. Lord we give thanks for the sterling efforts of all those who have endeavoured to learn new digital skills so that corporate worship of all sorts can continue throughout Argyll and beyond. We pray that those who have embarked on this form of ministry are able to sustain us all through these difficult times. We especially pray for our ministerial colleagues who strive to maintain pastoral care at a distance, an alien concept in a world where personal interaction and presence are crucial but now no longer possible.We pray too for those times when they might be called upon to conduct funeral services, help them to find ways of consoling the bereaved that is meaningful in these difficulties.

We are not people of fear, we are people of courage. We are not people who protect our own safety, we are people who protect our neighbours safety. We are not people of greed, we are people of generosity.We are your people God, giving and loving, wherever we are, whatever it costs for as long as it takes wherever you call us.

We ask all this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Morning Worship at Tiree Parish Church will be suspended until further notice. If anyone wishes to speak to an Elder about any matter, please feel free to do so.

“If people humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land ” 2 Chronicles 7 v14

During WW2 when Britain was on the brink of defeat, King George VI called for a National Day of Prayer. This was on 26th May 1940 when millions of people flocked into churches and prayed for deliverance. This led to the miracle of Dunkirk when 335,000 soldiers were rescued from French beaches using small craft.

In view of the severity of the coronavirus it is not only national prayer but global prayer that we need.

Let us all pray.

The Church of Scotland and Tiree Baptist Church will hold a number of services over the Christmas period – please read on for further details…

Sunday 23rd December

11.00 am at An Talla – Morning Service (Baptist Church)

11.30 am at Heylipol Church – Morning Worship led by Douglas Allan

Monday 24th December

4.30 pm at Heylipol Church – Service of Nine Lessons and Carols followed by hot chocolate and mince pies

11.30 pm at Baugh Church – “It came upon a midnight clear” Joint churches service

Christmas Day

11.00 am at Heylipol Church – “Celebrating the Birth” Joint churches service

Sunday 30th December

11.00 am at An Talla – Morning Service (Baptist Church)

11.30 am at Heylipol Church -Morning Worship led by Rev Dave Slater

Mr. Douglas Allan has been appointed Interim Moderator for Tiree Parish Church. Our thanks go to Rev Dr Iain Barclay for his support, pastoral care and ministry over the last couple of years. Douglas is looking forward to taking up his role and has asked that if anyone would like a home or hospital visit, to please inform their elder who will pass the message on.

The Tiree Parish Church profile is now available to view.  Please click here to learn more about the Church, the island and the community of Tiree.

The Tiree Baptist Church, Church of Scotland and visitors to the island all joined together at TMF 2017 for a morning worship service in the Community Tent.  Tea, coffee and delicious home baking were served before the service, and the  congregation then enjoyed music, drama and a presentation about Mainly Music in Lebanon (for which a collection was taken at the end of the service), whilst  youngsters at the service took part in a craft activity.  The service closed with prayers and a chance to admire the youngsters’ craftwork.  More information about the Mainly Music organisation can be found here:  https://www.mainlymusic.org/

Many thanks to all who played a part in organising this fantastic service, and to all who attended too!

(photos courtesy  of Alan Millar)

Message from Tiree Parish Church: 

We recently wrote to members and adherents of the church to share news and update them on progress in different areas. As we seek to be a church for everyone who lives or spends time on Tiree, we wanted to share this with the readers of our website.

 Vacancy

You will probably be aware that in September our minister, Rev Elspeth MacLean, was called to be minister of Forth St Paul’s, in the Presbytery of Lanark. Since then our worship has been led by visiting ministers and local volunteers. We hope you will join us in thanking Elspeth for her ministry on Tiree and praying for her in her new post.

In January an interim moderator, Rev Dr Iain Barclay, was appointed to support and guide the congregation during the vacancy. He has begun to put in place the things needed to begin the process of seeking a new minister. The first of these is the compiling of an electoral register of those who will be able to vote for the nominating committee and for the approval of a new minister. If you have had this letter sent to you because you are a member or an adherent of the church then your name will automatically added to this list. If you know anyone who has not received this letter but would like to have their name added to the list of members or adherents they should contact an elder for more information. The list will be attested at a meeting on the 21^st April.

 Right to Call ….. Good News!

As of 3^rd April, the congregation has been given permission by presbytery to call a minister to Tiree. The nominating committee to oversee this process will be elected on Sunday 23^rd April 2017 at close of worship.

 Renovation of Heylipol Church

The work at Heylipol is not yet completed. Much work has been done to the exterior of the building and there has been considerably less water entering the building. Bids have been sought for the work on the interior of the building and the Congregational Board is continuing to work on this.

 Upcoming Events

Easter this year will be on the 16^th April, and we look forward to celebrating Christ’s resurrection with as many of you as possible. Details of services for Holy Week and Easter, and all other services, are published here on our website and in An Tirisdeach. Please note that there will be no service at Heylipol Church on Easter Sunday. Instead the Church of Scotland will join the Baptists for a service at An Talla at 11.00am.

Tiree Music Festival will take place 15-17^th July this year, and we look forward to again being part of the Christian presence at the festival and taking our worship onto the festival site on Sunday morning.

 How you can be involved

 Prayer and Worship

We continue to meet each Sunday morning for worship in Heylipol Church. Our Lord Jesus Christ said: “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”. When we meet together for worship, we invite an encounter with the Living God. If you’ve not been to church for a while, we’d love for you to come and share worship with us, whether it’s for the first time or something you’ve done many times before. If you have trouble with getting to church, please contact an elder and we’ll see what we can do to help.

God is not just found in our shared worship, but in our own prayers. We would encourage you to pray both for yourself and those you love, for our church and for the wider world. If you’ve not prayed much before, the Church of Scotland website has some advice:

www.churchofscotland.org.uk/worship/prayer

 Practical Help

If you’ve got some spare time and you’d like to help, it’s a great way to serve one another and to serve God. Some examples:

– reading the Bible during worship

– cleaning the church

– cutting the grass

– providing flowers

– administration

– operating and maintaining the sound system

– leading part of a service

– playing a musical instrument or singing

 Money

We can give in lots of ways, all of them valued, but some of the things the church does costs money. As well as paying for repairs and running costs for the church and manse, the congregation is responsible for paying part of the cost of having a minister on the island. The full cost of this is well in excess of £50 000 a year (that’s not what our minister gets paid!) but much of this cost is generously met by larger parishes on the mainland, and the Church of Scotland asks us for around £12 000 towards this. Over the last few years, Tiree Parish Church has spent more on day-to-day running costs than has been received as donations and we have reached the point where the reserves for this type of spending have been exhausted. While we would always seek to meet the cost of ministry from the members of the church, we’d welcome any help with making sure that we can continue to have a minister serving the island into the future. Consequently we are asking whether you would consider making a regular donation by standing order. Whether this is £2 a month or £200, it will help us to continue to serve God and the Isle of Tiree into the future. Forms are available at Heylipol Church, or alternatively can be downloaded here.

You can keep in touch with what is happening via the church website www.tireeparishchurch.com, through notices in An Tirisdeach and, of course, by joining us for worship on a Sunday morning. We look forward to seeing you soon

May God bless you, this day and always.

Kirk Session and Congregational Board

Tiree Parish Church

The services during Holy Week will be as follows:

Monday 10th April at 7.30pm – Contemplative service in Heylipol Church

Tuesday 11th April at 7.30pm – Contemplative service in Heylipol Church

Wednesday 12th April at 7.30pm – Contemplative service in Heylipol Church

The three services above will each last around 30 minutes and will include readings, chants and periods of silence in preparation for the commemoration of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Maundy Thursday, 13th April at 7.30pm – Service of Holy Communion (led by Colin Cuthbert )

Good Friday, 14th April at 2pm – Contemplative service in Heylipol Church

Good Friday, 14th April at 7.30pm – Joint service with the Baptist Church at Baugh

Easter Day, 16th April – Sunrise service with the Baptist Church at 6.10am at Baugh

Easter Day, 16th April at 11.00am – Joint Service with Baptist Church at An Talla

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Matt.24 v 42