News

Electoral Roll

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Published: Monday, 21 September 2020 16:18

Written by Ian Brown

REVISION OF THE ELECTORAL REGISTER

Notice is hereby given that since more than six months have elapsed since the Electoral Register of this congregation of St Serf’s Lochgelly and Benarty was finally made up, it is now proposed that it should be revised.

If you believe that your name ought to be on the Register, you can ask for confirmation from the Session Clerk - Ritchie Campbell Tel. 01383 725516. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Reflection September 2020

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Published: Wednesday, 02 September 2020 10:23

Written by Ian Brown

Reflection for October

Pamela Scott DCS

Encourage one another

I went into a shop on Sunday, one I have been in every week since March.  A shop where I have witnessed many changes over the last few months.  One where I thought the changes that now existed would be in place for several months if not several years.  However, when I went on Sunday there were more changes.  There were separate entrances and exits, something I wondered previously why that hadn’t been done.  Not only that, there was no one at the entrance to say whether we were to go in or not, others were just going in, so I did too although I felt a bit uneasy about it.  The shopping experience was the same but when it came to queuing this had all changed.  Barriers were removed, signs to say, ‘queue here’ were removed, again I felt uneasy, ‘Was I doing the right thing by going to the empty checkout?’

All seemed fine until I was almost finished, and a very loud voice rang out,

‘The queuing system is still in place, please wait over there until you are called.’  Obviously, others had started queueing at the checkouts.

Since then I have heard many stories of people’s different experiences of GP’s surgeries, shops and chemists and how each one has a different way of working.

This got me thinking about people that don’t go out much, maybe they were shielding and only go out if necessary, maybe someone they stay with is very vulnerable, so they try not to go out unless it’s necessary.  If I felt uneasy with small changes, how much more would they feel.  They may be uncertain about what they should do or what way they should go.  Some may feel that they don’t want to look silly by doing the wrong thing.  A couple of weeks ago, the news had a report about people who had lost their sight and how difficult life now was for them.  Things they used to do have now all changed.  There are queues, where there never used to be any.  There are new one-way systems in place, but this is not made apparent to those who are visually impaired.  I wonder how these changes affect others, maybe those who have autism, Asperger’s, learning difficulties?  What about those who have Mental Health issues?

There are so many people that will feel totally lost in this new world of ours. 

We can help people that aren’t sure what to do or what way to go.  We can make ourselves open to their needs, pay attention to our surroundings, be ready and willing to offer help as soon as we feel it is needed. 

Therefore, ‘Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good.’ (Hebrews 10:24)

Amen

Reflection July 2020

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Published: Tuesday, 30 June 2020 14:25

Written by Ian Brown

House Martins show is there is a time for everything

Pamela Scott DCS 

In mid-June I saw the first House Martins in our area.  They may well have been here before, but I hadn’t seen them.  It is quite late for them to arrive in Scotland, with experts saying they arrive in April or May.  It was still very warm and dry, and I was aware of them darting about under the trees, feeding on the tiny flies there.  For at least five years now we have had a pair build a nest under the eaves of our house.  After they are finished with it, they always break it down leaving just a small amount of mud on the wall.  This year I noticed that they weren’t building, instead they were just flying around under the trees feeding furiously.

Then, about a week ago, the rain came, and boy did it pour.  I didn’t go out for two days but when I did, I saw a completed nest exactly where the others had been, with two House Martins dashing in and out with feathers to line the nest.  For about ten days they had spent the time feeding but with two days of rain, which provided all the mud they would need, they built a home.  The time and the conditions were exactly right for the building of a nest and they used it.

On seeing this, it got me thinking about how many times we force things to happen.  We try so many different ways, but none of them seem to be right.  To me watching the House Martins I was thinking the first thing I would have done was build a home, but what I didn’t realise was the conditions just weren’t right.  Their nests are made of mud, which was hard to find in the dry warm season we had experienced, but as soon as it started raining, they were off.  They knew that they would find lots of mud and they weren’t going to waste the time.  They also realised that they wouldn’t use nearly as much energy as if they had tried when the mud was not there.

We have lots to learn from the House Martins, not least knowing when it is right to do something.  In Ecclesiastes 3 it is written that, ‘There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.’

It would do us good to remember this and not use energy doing something that God doesn’t want us to do yet.

Amen

Reflection June 2020

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Published: Monday, 01 June 2020 16:40

Written by Ian Brown

Changing others

Reflection for June – Pamela Scott DCS

‘You can’t change someone who does not see an issue with their actions.  You can only change how you react to them.’

I saw this on Facebook today and thought how true it was.  Having been married for 31 years I can appreciate the validity of this statement.  When Gary and I were first married, I constantly heard myself saying things like ‘You left the toilet seat up again.’ ‘You left the top off the toothpaste.’ ‘I’ll change the loo roll again.’ ‘Can you not just pick up after yourself.’ ‘You left crumbs on the worktop.’ I could go on!!!  I certainly thought I could change my husband’s actions by nagging.  I realised that I was trying to change him but all the time he didn’t see a problem with what he was doing.

I then decided, that for my own sanity and our marriage, I had to change the way I reacted to him leaving the toilet seat up, leaving the top off the toothpaste, the empty loo roll, stuff lying around and crumbs on the worktop.  I made a decision not to mention it and just tidy up after him.

When I did this, I found myself to be much calmer and more relaxed.  As the years have passed, he now puts the toilet seat down, the top on the toothpaste and changes the loo roll.  I still pick things up after him and he still leaves crumbs on the worktop, but I live with this and pray that these things too will stop.

I have found as I have got older that if I want to live a peaceful life, I have to take responsibility for it.  I have to act in a way that creates peace in my life, I have to allow others to live their lives the way they want to and leave their actions to God. 

The way I have achieved peace in my live is to hand over things that irritate me or annoy me to God.  He is the one who provides Peace in my life.

God is the one who will provide PEACE in your life too.

It is possible if we remember what is written in Job 22:21-22

‘Your faith and your sincere effort to live according to God’s principles will grant you peace.’

Let’s all live according to God’s will and experience PEACE.

Amen