FROM THE RECTOR
Scottish Churches Joint Call to Prayer
A New Year's Day prayer from the Scottish Church Leaders' Forum
Published on 1 January 2022
On the first day of 2022, 15 Scottish Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed a letter calling for prayer in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Scottish Christians are invited to join in prayer today, reflecting on the suffering of 2021 and turning towards the new year with the knowledge that the light of the Word is not overcome by the darkness. The letter accompanying the prayer states:
"‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.' (John 1: 5)
"As we reach the end of a year and turn towards the year that is to come, the dark shadow of Covid-19 still lies over us and the community of which we are a part.
"There is no part of our society that has not been impacted and no part of our community that has not suffered.
"We have endured much and struggled with the abiding uncertainty that still clouds our vision of the year ahead.
"Nevertheless, no matter how abiding the uncertainty and the darkness of the shadow, the Gospel affirms that: ‘the darkness did not overcome it'.
"The darkness has not overcome the ‘light that shines in the darkness'.
"The Gospel affirmation is especially resonant at this time for it affirms that at no point is the light of the Word come from God consumed by darkness.
"We know and affirm by faith that the ‘Word became flesh and lived among us'. (John 1: 14)
"In the year that is to come, the light of God abides and no darkness will consume it.
"We ask the One who is the light of the world to give us light that we may walk safely, even where darkness abides: ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.'"
We pray:
Light of the World,
May You arise and shine even in the face of darkness:
We come as those who have dwelt in the shadows
And shared in the suffering and uncertainty of these times.
Abide with us and shed Your light amongst us
That we might know Your abiding presence.
Lord, in Your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Light of the World,
May You arise and shine even in the face of darkness;
We come as those who have sought Your light
In the year that is now past.
We give thanks that You have led us safe thus far
And that You shall lead us home.
Lord, in Your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Light of the World,
May You arise and shine even in the face of darkness:
We come as those who journey on towards the horizon
Where light shall surely break and the darkness be vanquished.
We pray for the bereaved and for the bereft
And ask that You would draw near to them in Your compassion.
Lord, in Your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Light of the World,
May You arise and shine even in the face of darkness:
We come as those who now step forth
Into the year that is to come.
We ask of You light for the days that lie ahead
And, once more, the knowledge of Your abiding presence.
Lord, in Your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Scottish Churches COP26 Pledge:
Divestment and the Just and Green Recovery
EcoCongregation Scotland has urged all member churches to sign this Pledge and, following encouragement from the Diocese and Vestry approval, Holy Trinity is doing so. The Pledge states that:-
“We wish to demonstrate the support of the Scottish Churches for urgent action in response to the climate crisis and to support a just and green recovery from Covid19 as Scotland prepares to host the UN climate talks, COP26 (1-12 November 2021).
“We believe it is unethical for Churches to invest in an industry that is harming the planet, as seen in ever more extreme and life-threatening weather events locally and globally.
“We support the campaign for fossil free Churches and are conscious of the increasingly severe impact of the climate crisis, especially on people living in poverty and on all life in our common home.
“We recognise the urgency of the need for a just transition from fossil fuels to clean alternatives that offers jobs and wellbeing to people in Scotland and across the world.
“We commit ourselves to using our financial resources to contribute to the flourishing of God’s creation, both now and for generations to come. THEREFORE:
“As Congregations we call on our national and regional Church bodies to divest from fossil fuels and will work towards divestment of our own funds as soon as possible, seeking alternative ethical investments where possible.”
The Pledge can also be signed by Denominations (the Scottish Episcopal Church has done so) and by Individuals although people with investments must make their own decisions in this matter.
Church cleaners 'still' needed
As we are now having more regular services in church it would be really helpful to have a few more volunteers for the church cleaning rota. If you feel you can help with this please contact via holytrinitymelrose.sec@gmail.com Thank you.
Recycle your soft plastic
The Co-op has introduced soft plastic recycling units to many of its stores including Melrose. Just scrunch your plastic packaging up tight and, if it pings back, it’s soft plastic. Please ensure it is clean before recycling it. And, if you’re not in Melrose, check where your nearest participating store is here https://www.coop.co.uk/environment/soft-plastics#find_your_nearest_recycling_store
Please tell us about your news and events. Simply complete the details on the form and submit to the Communications Team for publication. Please complete all boxes and ensure information is as accurate and complete as possible.
USED POSTAGE STAMP APPEAL
There is a box in the porch for used postage stamps which we pass to a contact at St Boswells Parish Church for the Church of Scotland Stamp Appeal charity. For further information about how you can help The Women's Development Centre (WDC) in Kandy, Sri Lanka, please go to www.churchofscotland.org.uk
Old Melrose Guided Walks
These are on the first Tuesday of each month until October.
These walks visit the site of the original 7th Century Anglo-Celtic monastery founded, along with Lindisfarne, by Irish monks from Iona. Some of these are depicted on the capital of Holy Trinity’s south transept pillar.
We meet outside the Old Melrose Tearoom (off the A68) at 1.30 pm and pre-booking is essential; phone Ian Skinner. Donation £2, kids free.
Prayer
The Scottish Episcopal church puts up the official liturgy for daily prayer online every day - Morning prayer, evening prayer and compline are arranged each day for that particular day. https://www.scotland.anglican.org/spirituality/prayer/daily-offices
Choral Evensong online
Available whenever you want it. https://www.choralevensong.org/uk/where-and-when-are-evensongs-streamed-online-around-britain-and-ireland.php
PRAYER RESOURCES ON TELEVISION AND RADIO THIS WEEK
New Every Sunday is at 7.30am BBC Radio Scotland.
No new programme this week. A repeat of a service from 2020.
BBC’s Songs of Praise is on Sunday at 1.15 on BBC1.
The Power of the Bible
The Rev Kate Bottley meets Christians who have experienced how the power of the Bible can change lives, and Gemma Hunt visits a Messy Church.
Sunday Worship is on BBC Radio 4 at 8.10am.
Transformational Friendship
In the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Belfast Presbyterian minister, Steve Stockman and Roman Catholic Priest, Martin Magill reflect on how friendship can be transformational.
BBC1 Sunday Morning Live currently has no upcoming broadcasts
List of all BBC programmes on Religion and Ethics
These are very varied and cater for all tastes
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/genres/religionandethics/all
Online resources
The web page for the Scottish Episcopal Church broadcasts is located at www.scotland.anglican.org/broadcast-sunday-worship.
The current issue of the diocesan newsletter file:///C:/Users/patbl/Downloads/The-Communicant/
RSCM are putting up words and music of a new hymn to sing along to each day. Have a look here and scroll down on the right for the latest one. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn-vhbQASCJhW_Gz8Fww32Nmy_XuCQmNl
Choral Evensong online - Available whenever you want it. https://www.choralevensong.org/uk/where-and-when-are-evensongs-streamed-online-around-britain-and-ireland.php
Online services for children
Diocesan service from St. Mungos Balerno. Join us for Mighty Mungo’s focused on families and primary age at 10am Sundays. Every week our team are producing high quality resources for our families to engage with as we seek to support our kids in this season. Our resources are here: https://stmungos.org/ Look down the page for Children and Youth and select Pre-school video resources or Primary video resources or Youth video resources
Provincial Children’s Chapel – Is taking a break. They were due back ‘in August’ but still no sign of them. Normally, you can join the week’s Children’s Chapel from 8am at: https://www.scotland.anglican.org/broadcast-sunday-worship/ scroll down to Children’s Chapel and choose either Facebook or Youtube
For those who are not online the Archbishop of Canterbury has set up a Freephone Daily Hope service of hymns, prayers and readings. It is available 24 hours a day on 0800 8048044
The present series of BBC 1 Scotland’s Reflections at the Quay, the BBC Scotland service at 12noon and New Every Sunday have now finished, though several previous programmes are still available as podcasts. We will update when they return.
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