September 2008

 

Dear Friends

Now that I have been inducted as your minister, perhaps I should let you know a little more about myself.
I was born in Edinburgh and spent my teens near Elgin. After studying for the ministry at Aberdeen, my first charge was in Lossiemouth, followed by Craigiebank here in Dundee, Kirkcaldy: St. Andrews and then Cellardyke linked to Kilrenny. From these different parishes I have gained a fair experience of the church and recognise the importance of pastoral care at home or in hospital. Since my induction I have begun visiting our elders, which allows me to get to know them and learn about the needs of the congregation.
I am a widower with two sons. Ian is single and works in sports marketing in London. Andrew is married with two children Noah and Evie. He lives in Motherwell and works at the Glasgow Science Centre.
Having been away from the city for 19 years, it is a pleasure though somewhat a surprise to be back. I have settled in very quickly to the manse and appreciate all the decoration and garden work that was done before I moved in. Now that the traffic lights on the Kingsway/Forfar Road junction are in operation, I am finding it doesn't take too long to get up and down to the church!
One change I have made so far is to discontinue the vestry hour on a Thursday evening. Instead I will be available after the service each Sunday for anyone who may wish to come and see me. If you cannot make this time, please phone the manse and I will happily arrange a visit.
As your minister I will appreciate your prayers and support. Ministry can sometimes be quite a lonely calling, so I encourage you to pass on any favourable comments or criticisms you may have about the sermon, prayers or hymns etc. These will be appreciated.
With our organisations starting up this month, I look forward to dropping in and making myself known. It will take me a long time to get to know everyone by name, so don't be upset if I don't remember everyone yet, or get the name wrong. As my family remind me all too often, I have a habit of doing that!
Trinity Church has a reputation for being a friendly, hard working congregation. I am sure that as we work together for God and his kingdom, that reputation will continue.

Yours sincerely,

David Laing

 

 

WHAT HAS THE CHURCH TO SAY?

One of the challenges of our times has to be "What has the church to say?" Are we voices crying in the wilderness that no one listens to, or can the Church contribute to the moral, social and ethical issues of our times?
During the autumn and winter I will be willing to preach on issues that are of concern to you. E.g. you may wonder whether the church should offer a blessing to a gay couple, maintain its belief that capital punishment is wholly unacceptable, and call on Her Majesty's government to halt any increase in opportunities for gambling.
Each year the General Assembly produces some excellent reports but sadly these are seldom discussed at parish level. Please let me know by the end of September what issues/concerns you might want me to tackle. DL

TRINITY PARISH CHURCH
GARDENING TEAM
Congratulations are sent to our Gardening Team as Trinity Church won a Gold Medal Certificate for having the best kept church garden in Dundee.

HARVEST THANKSGIVING

The service will be held on Sunday 14th September. Instead of the distribution of gifts and flowers that has been the practice for some years; the Kirk Session has agreed that we shall support a charity "Self Help Africa" instead. An offering envelope and leaflet outlining the work of this charity will be available at the door and members are asked to bring their monetary gifts with them to the Harvest service.
Harvest is our opportunity to thank God for the many fruits of creation we enjoy, but we must not forget those who struggle to survive. Through supporting Self Help Africa we will be able to help many improve the quality of their land thus making them less dependent on foreign aid.

" In sub-Saharan Africa 50½ is the average life expectancy.
" 218 million people live in extreme poverty with just one very basic meal per day.
" 50% of children receive just 5 years schooling, or less.
" 294 million people don't have access to clean water.
" 580 million people rely on small scale farming for a living.

SELF HELP AFRICA in Uganda implements a number of rural development programmes.

SELF HELP AFRICA works in Eritrea supporting a national beekeeping development programme.

SELF HELP AFRICA works in Burkina Faso where they started work with five local partner organisations to implement local food security programmes.

SELF HELP AFRICA works in Ethiopia where they have area programmes at Bora, Huruta, Sodu and Alemaya and at regional level support farmers' co-operative developments and micro-finance programmes.

 

HARVEST THANKSGIVING

You will have read in our minister's letter that the Kirk Session has agreed that this year we will use the money that was usually spend on flowers to decorate our church for the Harvest Festival to be sent to Self Help Africa, which is an international development agency that works to improve the lives of rural Africa's poorest people. The Kirk Session asks that if you usually brought gifts of fruit or flowers for the Harvest Festival that you would instead put the purchase price of these items in an envelope and bring it with you on 14th September so that Trinity Parish Church may help to enable Africans to grow enough food so that they can feed themselves all year round.
The church always looked lovely with the large display of flowers but within a week the blooms had died and their glory was finished. If we put the same amount of money into the Self Help Charity then our donation will bloom throughout the coming year.
The Kirk Session hopes that you will support this new type of Harvest Thanksgiving.

 

ORGAN REPAIR AND RENOVATION FUND-RAISING

There will be an envelope in the October Newsletter to give you the opportunity to donate to the repair of our organ. The cost is estimated at over £25,000. Your donation in the envelope may be put in the Offering Plate any Sunday or handed to your Elder when your Communion Card is delivered. Please remember that we can claim back income tax on your donated amount if you are a tax payer and you fill in a Gift Aid form. This increases your donation by 20% at no further cost to yourself. The Gift Aid Form is available for you in the vestibule.
There will be another Soup Lunch on Sunday 14th September after the morning Service. These lunches usually add approximately £200 into the Organ Fund. Please come along and have your lunch with us in the large hall.
As at Sunday 24th August the Organ Repair Fund total was £19,019. This magnificent total includes bequests of £10,000 and £1,000 from two members of our congregation. We are sure that Miss Jean Robb and Mrs Nan Peter would approve of their bequest to us going into the organ repair fund as both ladies loved music and singing.