No.97    26th June, 2026

Hi, 
Hope this finds you well. 

There are a couple of World Cup related comments in the magazine this week.  Firstly, a reference in the Ladybird Book...if you don't get it then 1 Corinthians 14:35 gives some advice...and an interesting article about a player, Felix Nmecha: "Why Felix Nmecha says football will never satisfy" - and he's not even Scottish.

Take a look at the Community Weekend material too - there are a couple sign-up links - even for the Ceilidh we need to know numbers so click the link and plan to get along.

The Magazine will take a wee break for the summer weeks...it's been good to have more contributors recently and I hope that can continue when we restart things in August.

But first we start with a busy Sunday morning - likely to have visitors so please meet and greet warmly. AND John McNicol will have a day off from serving tea and coffee (see why below) so if you've ever wondered what his legs look like...

Enjoy the mag,
MB

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Sunday 28th June

Sunday Morning - 10.30am
Rev Scott Kirkland
HEBREWS ch14, ch15
with Baptism and Receiving of New Members

 

Summer Sunday arrangements

(28th June - 2nd August)
Under 5s
There will be a space for play set up in the usual room (room 18). This will be an unmanned creche so a parent/carer must stay with their child. 
Primary school age
There will be a group running for primary school aged children every week over the summer in ICT room 19. This will be staffed by at least two people who have been PVGd by the Free Church for working with children. The children will be studying the book of James with material from Faith in Kids. There is also a podcast which accompanies the material here.
Young people in S1 and above will stay in the services over the summer holidays. Clipboards, pens and sermon notes sheets will be available on the table at the back of the hall each week. 

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The Prayer Meeting starts again in August.

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Letter from the Manse

Dear Church Family,

I hope you all have a wonderful summer ahead. We have the joy of transitioning into this summer season this Sunday by welcoming new members into our congregation, as well as witnessing the profession of faith and baptism of Sarah McNicol. Let us make a conscious effort to welcome these new members into our fellowship and keep them, especially Sarah, in our prayers.

As many of you head off on holiday, please remember what a wonderful opportunity it is to worship with a local congregation of God’s people. Do take the greetings of Mearns Free Church with you wherever you go. If you are holidaying in Scotland, I encourage you to seek out the local Free Church; as I mentioned last week, it is truly amazing to see the wonderful variety of sizes and characters among the Free Church family.


If you are still finalizing your holiday plans, why not consider attending one of the weeks at the Keswick Convention? It is free to enter, though you will need to arrange your own local accommodation.
Week 1: Saturday 18 – Friday 24 July 2026
Week 2: Saturday 25 – Friday 31 July 2026
Week 3: Saturday 1 – Friday 7 August 2026
Click on the image above to see all the details.
The schedule is flexible, (some people just go for the day or a couple of days) allowing you to pop in and out of events as you choose and you might even bump into some familiar faces from MFC!


Let us keep the Free Church Youth Camps in our prayers as they gather across Scotland throughout the summer. Many of us know first-hand just how valuable these camps are for Christian growth. A football camp will be held in Renfrew starting on 4th July. The organizers have asked if we at MFC might assist by providing home baking. If you are willing to help, please get in touch and remember to include a list of ingredients for each item. We plan to collect the baking on 3rd or 4th July for delivery on the 4th.

Please keep your Sunday evenings in July free to join us at Belmont!
We will be meeting at 7:00 pm on July 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th (Lord willing) to watch and discuss various Keswick Convention videos.
We'll be exploring several important topics, including "Heaven" and how to help teenagers navigate sexual identity.
We look forward to seeing you there.

With Warmest Regards,
In Christ,
Scott K

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Ladybird Book of Mearns

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Have you booked yet?

Since Operation Mobilisation launched Logos Hope in 2009, nearly 11 million people have visited the ship.
Join us on Saturday 18th July

We are planning to a have a Mearns Free ‘Car Share’ to LEITH in order to experience the Logos Hope’s history, stories and mission.

Discover the decks of Logos Hope!

“Step aboard for a 60-minute immersive tour where you won’t just visit the ship—you’ll step into the story. Meet crew members from around the world, hear their personal journeys, and discover how Logos Hope connects with port communities globally through knowledge, help, and hope. Tours will be conducted by guides in small groups of 7 people, exploring a wide variety of areas onboard the ship.”
Please note: unfortunately, this tour is not suitable for wheelchair users.
BOOKING IS REQUIRED FOR THE TOUR – SPEAK WITH MURRAY OR MARGO TO GET A SPACE IN A CAR AND ON THE SHIP’S TOUR.
We leave Glasgow at 9am
Ticket price. Free for children 4 and under, £2 for children between 5 and 16, £5 for adults.
Read more about the Logos Hope and the UK tour here.
You'll also be able to participate in onboard events, enjoy the cafe,
wander the bookfair and much more!

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Over the next few weeks look out for adverts and flyers for all the events above.
There will be a printed flyer with all the details (Similar to the image above) and we are really relying on church members to take these and hand them out to relevant people.
(There will be images to send to friends and family too - and these will be for each of the events so it will be nice and clear. We will put things on Facebook too.)

This is not just a weekend of events for children, there is something for everyone  - We would love as many people in our church to attend as possible to be able to introduce people to our Mearns Free Church family. 

There will be many ways to get involved during the weekend too from car parking, welcoming, catering, baking, praying and working with young people. The only roles which require a PVG are working with the children during holiday club and the youth event.
If you can help in anyway please contact Pauline Forster or Scott Hamilton. 



The link to register a child for the club is here.


It would be great to see as many Mearns Free folk along at this event - put the date in the diary.
The team need to get numbers for catering so please click this link to register. Thanks.

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Congratulations!

This weekend there were Graduation celebrations !

Our congratulations go to Jonah (Mechanical Engineering) celebrating at Strathclyde Uni., and also to
Jennifer and Holly (Medicine) celebrating their graduation at Dundee University.


 

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It's been great to see people supporting Govan Free Church's Food Bank.
Thanks to those who brought items in recent weeks.
Look out for the Green Box at the back!

Coffee, Teabags, Cereal, pasta / pasta sauce - all these are welcome- remember any size of jar/box will be divvied up into smaller bags - can you help?
If you have any questions about the Food Bank speak with Sue A, Mary R or Martin B

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Why Felix Nmecha says football will never satisfy


When Felix Nmecha scored Germany’s opening goal against Curaçao, he knelt down, gestured to heaven, and then motioned as if he was removing a crown from his head and placing it at his feet for Jesus. It stood out because so often players will celebrate themselves: thumping their chests, motioning that they’re number one, and standing in front of their fans as if to soak in the glory.

Then at the end of the match, he and teammate Jonathan Tah joined a group of Curaçao players who were huddled in prayer at the centre circle and prayed with them. When asked about it, he said, “In the game we are opponents, but after the match we are all Christians and brothers.”
I’m often curious about the backstory of people whose lives seem to be so different than the people around them. This is what I’ve learned about Felix Nmecha’s.
Read the story (or listen )  here.

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A key part of any SU Camp is to keep in with the right people - and get seconds!

A number of our young people are heading to various SU holidays over the summer. Pray they will have fun but also encounter God.
We are also providing team members for a number of events. Please pray for everyone as they take on these different roles, some as leaders for the first time:

• Grace and Sarah McNicol and Gracie Hamill are heading to GB4 which is a multi-activity holiday at Gowanbank for P6-S4 ages. 
• Sandra McNicol is on team at the Festival of Life - Elie mission. 
• Zara Horne is a trainee leader at LM5 which is a large multi-activity holiday at Lendrick Muir for P5-S4 pupils. 
• Anna Crichton and Lucy Forster are trainee leaders at Plugged which is a digital camp at Alltnacriche. Finlay Murphy is an Assistant Team Leader at this event. 

Pauline Forster is part of the mission week at South Glasgow Church
Zara, Anna and Lucy are also helping at the mission week at Mure Memorial church in Baillieston. 

Prayer Hotline

SU Scotland Summer Events 
There is still time to sign up to the SU prayer hotline to pray during specific weeks of the holidays. click here.

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Storage - help!

Pauline is looking for someone to store a few boxes of equipment and large rolls of paper for community week from this Sunday until next Sunday (28th June) and then take them to Belmont to leave in the cupboard at the back of the hall. Please get in touch with her if you can help. 07764741978 or children@mearnsfree.org

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DATE FOR THE DIARY

 

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COFFEE AND TREATS AFTER CHURCH

BAKING  - it's great that so many people are on the baking rota - this means that it is around every 7-8 weeks that they are called on. Can you join this group - or know someone in your family who is a great baker, who could make something which you can pass off as your own work? Speak with Margaret Boyd
CUPS - already a lot of people bring their own cup along - this does save on costs for paper cups so if you can bring your along that would be great,  and the team will almost certainly speak about you behind your back less than they currently do!