Worship/ Sunday 12 July: 'Seeds'

Hello everyone, welcome to worship once again - for me, it feels as if the time is fairly flying by.
Our theme for worship is 'seeds' - we'll be thinking about the Parable of the Sower, with a quick
check in with the prophet Isaiah. Both readings are not quite your 'everyday garden variety' kind of reading, but do concern gardening!
Hope you've all managed a good week, and especially in light of the further easing of lockdown,
enjoying a little more freedom and a little time with family and friends.
One big church notice which concerns the announcement this week concerning the opening of church buildings for worship. You'll find it just below our online worship link along with some pictures below that of the new church window in the vestibule.
May your worship time be fruitful, refreshing, and help to reassure you of God's great love for you.
CLICK HERE FOR WORSHIP

Church notices/

Reopening of church building news:

The following concerns the announcement about the possibility of 

opening church buildings from the 15th of July:

Due to the seriousness of COVID-19 and because of its highly contagious nature
before we can open the church building, there are a number of tasks to be done to
ensure that when we do gather together once again, that it is as safe as possible to do so.
Currently, where we're at is here:

• completed a Risk Assessment exercise and filled out corresponding RA form;
• filled out a major checklist covering all aspects of safety measures for opening the building, 
• procured items needed to to ensure safety and comply with Gov't regulations -
  [sanitiser stations, sanitiser gel, sanitiser spray, supply of face masks, aprons, gloves, etc]
• implemented a strategy for best practice when gathering
• written a water safety management plan [this re. ensuring a legionella-free building after closure for a long period of time]
• written a strategy plan in the case of someone becoming ill during worship in church - due to COVID-19
• drawn up a diagram to indicate one-way flow system/ seating arrangements

Next on the to do list is:

• the installation of our new sanitiser stations, 
• putting information posters up so that everyone coming to the building knows the new procedures and what we all must do to comply with regulations,
• placing distancing stickers outside the entrance and exits to the building
• placing arrows inside to show the one-way flow system
• tagging seating to indicate where to sit to ensure physical distancing
• run all water taps for no less than 20 minutes to ensure no stagnant water in system

All the forms, checklists, procedural plans are now being gone over by the Kirk Session for a final
check and then approval. Once this is done, they will be sent off to Presbytery -
this works as a double-check process to make sure nothing has been missed.
Only when Presbytery is satisfied that we have complied with both Government and Church of Scotland regulations, will we be given permission to re-open the church building for worship and
for funeral services.

So, while technically we'll be able to open the church building on 15 July,
as per the Scottish Gov't announcement... ensuring all measures are in place for maximum saftey
takes a little time... In good conscience, we would rather take things a little more slowly and surely
rather than to put anyone at risk by not being absolutely thorough.
With your safety in mind, it will be a good few weeks yet, before we can open the building.

Given the procedural business, as well as the fact that I'm taking long overdue leave at the end
of July and early August, in the best possible circumstances, the Session and I would hope to
open on the first Sunday in September. I can't make a firm promise on that, but it is what we're
hoping to do.
Also, when we do open for gathered public worship, there will be certain things that all of us
must and must not do, and to be aware of. We'll be drafting up a bullet-point list for clarity,
so that everyone knows best practice.
If some of you are anxious about coming to the church building for worship, online worship will
continue to be available for the foreseeable future, which you can access from the safety of home.

As I said:

• we want to make absolutely sure that we can worship together as safely as we possibly can.
• We’ll keep you posted with updates.

So do bear with the Session, and me, as we get this rather substantial undertaking sorted
and thanks for being patient in the meantime.

A dedicated page has been created above in the tabs at the top of the page - this will keep you up to date with information as we have it.
You can also LINK TO IT HERE to have a look

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Church window:
Thinking about the church building – I mentioned the other week that Fiona Foley has now installed the vestibule window – a huge improvement on the big white wooden board, and also an improvement on the previous window design... here’s a picture or two that I took on Tuesday, just so you can see what she’s done and she’s made a lovely job of it indeed.

Look! No more nasty white wooden board
on the lower tower window!

From inside

From outside

Minister's impending annual leave:
Just a little advance warning that I’ll be taking some very overdue leave as of Monday the 20th of July for a couple of weeks. Details for pastoral cover and for getting in contact will be posted here next week.

And, finally... All-age, family-friendly worship resources for today's service can be found:
AT THIS LINK