No.51 20th June 2025
Hi, hope this finds you well and you have enjoyed some of the sunshine we have been getting...we are hoping that it will stay warm and dry for Sunday too so we can enjoy some time together down in Dean Castle Park on Sunday afternoon - it's a casual affair - 'come when you can - leave when you must' and some will bring their own picnic no doubt. The key thing is to have some fun, enjoy fellowship and get to know one another better...and win the races!!
It was so good to see the hall really busy last week, and we are looking forward to Rev George Johnston joining us this Sunday.
Enjoy the Mag
M
Sunday 22nd June
Morning service - 10.30am
Rev George Johnston
Esther ch1
😎All-Church Outing - afternoon🌞🌞
Dean Castle Country Park - see below.
> > > MIND THE GAP < < <
We have been busy on Sunday morning and the school also have their stage in place in the hall. Please do not leave gaps in rows as we already have to bring down a number of chairs from classrooms. Often people cannot see that there are in fact still seats available in the rows and end up standing or sitting on benches.
NMBC - 6.30pm (tea and coffee served) for 7pm
These evening services with both congregations have been an excellent addition to the church life this year offering more opportuntity for fellowship, praise and Bible teaching.
Ladybird Book of Mearns Free Church
This Sunday afternoon!
#1. This Sunday (22nd) we will mark the end of another school year for our Mearns Free Kids.
This will be an all age service and an opportunity to hear about what we've been up to over the last year and to support and pray for the youngest members of our church family.
#2. All-Church Outing
Dean Rd, Kilmarnock KA3 1XB
After this we plan to head to Dean Castle Country Park in Kilmarnock for an optional B.Y.O. picnic and fellowship.
Choose games, play park, woodland walk, exploring the castle, going to the cafe or simply sitting and chatting.
Everyone is welcome to join us!
Speak to Pauline if you would like to come but need transport or would like to car share.
If the weather is horrific then we will bring the fun to Belmont instead!
Holiday Club bookings are live!
Children (who will be in P2-P7 after the summer) can now be registered for our Tale of Two Kings holiday club!
Click this
LINK to register
Please share with anyone you know with children of primary school age in our area.
If you are a facebook or instagram user then please also share the church posts about holiday club.
Paper flyers will also be available for distribution.
Wednesday - 7.15pm - 8.15pm
@ the McDougalls'.
This is the final prayer meeting before short Summer break.
Take some time to join us this week.
Last weekend was Father's Day - but 'being a Father is for Life not just for Christmas'...or something like that, and this article which was sent in is worth looking at.
It's by Tim Davyand you can ready it HERE - below is a small, but striking, extract. We don't need to be dads to have the best hopes for the children who are in our lives, or sphere of influence at some level or other - and who we can pray for.
The urgency of the Father
I wonder at the nine whole chapters aimed at convincing the child of the value of choosing the way of wisdom. Why nine, and not just one or two? Is there a note of desperation in the father’s voice, knowing there are so many other voices his child could listen to, including those that will entice, lead astray, damage and deceive?
There is an urgency about the father’s instructions. He so wants his child to make choices towards flourishing, and to see the emptiness of the promises made by the alternatives, no matter how shiny they appear.
We could read the introduction on its own terms but look at how it continues and what the father sees. In verses 9-19 he offers a case study in who not to listen to, even though their voices may be enticing. The father imagines his son being invited to join in with people promising belonging and significance, purpose, power, agency, fast wealth and no consequences (verses 11-14). This gang is appealing but don’t fall for it, says the father; it is a pathway to self-destruction (verses 15-19).
This is all pretty dramatic stuff, although perhaps closer to home than many would like to admit. What I’m moved by, though, is the deep desire of the father who wants the best for his son. In a world fraught with pitfalls, he wants his son to flourish for his own sake and for the sake of his family and wider community.
The poet Wendell Berry describes waking in the night,
‘at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be’ (from The Peace of the Wild Things). There is so much that is beyond our control. As Christian dads we need to find ways of processing our fears in the context of our faith. Do you have other dads in your life you can share with and pray with? Are there daily habits you can cultivate to give it over to God?
Thank You!
Thank you to all our friends at MFC for the lovely cards and messages received during the time of Ian Dale passing.
It was a blessing to receive so much love and so many prayers during this sad time. It was very comforting to us and our families.
Thank you most sincerely,
Margaret Dale and Susan Little
Cafe Connect
The Cafe Connect has finished for another session...and finished on a high note (literally) with Sandra leading singing with her guitar and violin.
This photo shows some of the team members (this group really insisted that their photos MUST go into the magazine!) but thanks is due to all the team members involved in running the Cafe each week: serving, baking, providing lifts and also those who gave the talks and provided enterainment. Thanks too to the 'guests' who come along each week.
We are planning a MFC church golf day in September.
This is an invite to everyone, men and women regardless if you have a handicap or not. It is a great way to invite a friend, family member to join us.
PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH VAL OR IAN ASAP SO DETAILS CAN BE FINALISED.
The plan is a Saturday on one of the Troon courses which are flat & playable with wide fairways.
The cost will be around £40 to include some refreshments.
Ian or I will be happy to chat to anyone interested.
Please go to this link to a poll to help with planning HERE
Many thanks
Val Forgie
Mighty Convoy
Help to buy and send an Ambulance to Ukraine​
Gordon Stewart is a teacher in Mearns Castle High School and well known to those from local churches who have appreciated his help and support as they have done chaplaincy and SU work over the years. He is currently involved in raising funds for an important cause which we want to highlight to the congregation - Gordon explains more here and on the videos below:
"I am currently raising funds to take an ex-service UK Ambulance filled with one ton of medical aid and drive it to Ukraine.
There is a great humanitarian need in Ukraine currently and the Christian Medical Association of Ukraine have a depo in Lviv where they can receive aid and distribute it across the hospital network.
To raise funds, I am currently running a minimum of 5km per day for 100 consecutive days."
Read more and watch Gordon's video as he explains fully the background and his plans on this Facebook clip.
The backstory to Mighty Convoy's vision of purchasing ambulances and 4x4s to get help to Ukraine is
here.
Making a donation can be done simply at this page.
Last Sunday morning Scott took us through Mark's account of the paralysed man being let down through the roof.
This clip from the Miracle Maker is a good retelling - The Miracle Maker is really worth sitting down with children and watching as it walks through the key moments from the Gospels and the life of Jesus.
Here is the clip from Mark ch2
One of the key teaching points made from this chapter was Jesus' clarity in what he was claiming about his own identify. Scott quoted from CS Lewis who emphasised the importance of not side stepping the issue...
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [that is, Christ]:
‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’
That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Summer Reading 🌞
Why not make a good Christian book part of your Summer reading?
I recently finished
'Jesus through the eyes of a women' - It walks through the Gospels and takes time to see how Jesus interacted with various women who he met, who hosted him, and who supported the disciples.
Please don't think this is a book just for Christian women - Rebecca Mclaughlin is first class at opening up Bible passages, which you may have read many times, and giving remarkable insights and reflections on what is there. The meeting between Jesus and the Woman at the Well is one which is particularly striking - she writes
"We long to be deeply known and loved. But so often we feel the need to manage how much we're known, because if people really knew the truth about us - our darkest thoughts, our envy, our deceit, our lust, our failed relationships - we fear that we would not be loved. In Jesus, this woman met a man who knew her to the core. he could have ignored her at the well or pulled away. Instead, he met her deepest need and told her who he is."
“In this mind-stimulating and soul-stirring book, Rebecca McLaughlin reveals that far from dismissing and devaluing women, early Christianity was countercultural for the common good. Indeed, it was propelled by women who were truly known and deeply loved. As we look through the eyes and lives of women in the Gospels, we can more clearly see Jesus in all of his resolute truth and radiant beauty.”
—Julius J. Kim, president, The Gospel Coalition
You can watch a trailer for the book
here.
MB
LARGE PRINT - SONG WORDS
If you find viewing the song-words on the screen in Sunday worship a problem, we currently print a limited number of large-print song sheets for specific people.
We don't want to print unnecessary copies so please speak with the door team and we will begin to make these available for you each week.
Mearns Free Church has a What's App Group for Prayer -The "PRAY NOW" Group
Purpose: A platform to share information regarding a sudden and crucial need for prayer.
How to connect: Speak to Margaret Boyd if you would like to be added to this group or email Margaret at: mandmboyd@hotmail.co.uk
What tech do I need?: You need to have a Smart Phone with WhatsApp to get set up.
Emailing The Minister
Please be careful when emailing Scott that you are using the correct current email address minister@mearnsfree.org. A number of emails continue to be sent to accounts no longer in use. Please be doubly careful when sending from a device that is not your normal communication device (like a phone) or if you use “reply to all”.
Email Addresses For Mearns Free Church
Please make sure you change your email address list now we are part of the Free Church.
Tom Brown (Office): office@mearnsfree.org
Scott Kirkland (Minister): minister@mearnsfree.org
Sandy McDougall (Treasurer): finance@mearnsfree.org
Pauline Forster (Children and families worker): children@mearnsfree.org