Stornoway High Church Easter Newsletter 2022
CONGREGATIONAL NEWSLETTER: Easter 2022
The Promise
John 2:18 “The Jews then responded to him, ‘What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?’”. Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
Commerce was taking place in the temple, the worship of God had become a means to an end, Jesus caused an uproar in the temple for reasons we reflected on recently.
The Darkness
Matt. 27:45 “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)”
When the darkness came, even Jesus thought God had forsaken him. Jesus breathed his last and it seemed the darkness had won. Three days later two women stand bewildered at the empty tomb …
The Fulfilment
Matt. 28:5 “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said’”.
His body had become the new temple raised after three days. No more corrupt or futile worship, a new way has been created. Jesus is the new place of true worship. New life has come. ‘For God so loved the world …’
Jesus appeared to his disciples as evidence of this and to give them what they need for this new life.
The Gift
John 20:21 “Again Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’”.
The days are dark but Jesus has overcome death, he has given ample evidence that he is the Light of the World, he has risen and he offers us all a future. Hope in man is futile! Hope in Jesus and you hope in something that is eternal, something that cannot be eroded or destroyed. He has risen! He is alive! We too are alive through our faith in Jesus and the power of the Spirit he breathed upon us.
His Church is his expression on earth, it is his body and we strive to move in harmony with Christ. As the Church continues to move towards a united worshipping and witnessing community we acknowledge the problems we have come through and continue to come through. Thank you for your resilience, generosity and commitment to your Church. Stornoway High Church of Scotland is healthy and well placed to deal with future challenges. There is uncertainty over what the local Church landscape will look like in years to come but we continue to trust that Stornoway High Church will be a positive and effective witness for Christ whatever the Church landscape looks like. We walk with a risen Christ and we step into the future with confidence and hope.
CONGREGATIONAL NEWS
COVID RESTRICTIONS Face masks are no longer mandatory in Church but we continue to exercise caution. We ask that you continue to use the hand hygiene stations provided and respect each other’s personal space. Some distancing remains in force in the Church and good ventilation and hygiene measures will be maintained.
CHURCH SERVICES Our Easter and Baptism Service takes place at 11.00am on Sunday 17 April, a family style service with something for everyone. The morning Service provides us with an opportunity to gather as a Church family, celebrate the risen saviour and the introduction of new life. We remember Christ’s broken body and shed blood in the evening with Easter Communion in the Hall at 6.30pm.
Evening Services have now resumed in the Hall and will be slightly different from the standard format; Praise & Testimony nights, Mission nights, prayer services, visiting speakers and fellowship. Wednesday evening Services take place in the hall at 7.30 pm. Join us for intimate times of worship, word and prayer. Our next Gaelic service takes place in the hall at 11.00am on 24 April.
MESSY CHURCH This is a nationally recognised form of Church which focuses on children of all ages and their families. The focus is on fun, crafts and other messy activities, bible stories, worship and food. Our first Messy Church takes place in the Small Hall at 3.00pm on Easter Sunday. This is a great opportunity for those with young families within and out with the congregation to get together and celebrate Easter.
HALL AND KITCHEN PROJECT We are thankful to all those who committed their resources, time and effort to bring this project to a conclusion. As we emerge from COVID restrictions, we give thanks that we now have a cutting edge audiovisual system in the Church Hall and adjacent spaces. A special thanks to Jack Wolf for his tremendous effort and skill! The Kitchen has been fully refurbished and equipped to meet future demands. High Speed Broadband through a Wi-Fi network has been installed throughout the buildings to meet modern demand. The new facilities are now available for hire by local organisations, community groups and others. We look forward to building new bridges and forming new relationships. We also look forward to restoring and expanding our own fellowship activities. We hope to resume after-Service Teas and restart our monthly Thursday Lunch Club in May.
HIGH CHURCH FOOD BANK This service continues to be provided. If you are in need, or if you are aware of others in need, please contact Jann Skelly, 07985 710410 or Fiona Morrison, 07484 357410.
PASTORAL If you have any pastoral concerns please contact the minister on 07717 065739.
A WORD FROM THE SESSION CLERK Hebrews 6 tells us that our hope is the ‘anchor for our souls’ and, in the words of Priscilla Owens’ well known Hymn, “we have an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and sure while the billows roll”. In our personal faith, we have that anchor, regardless of where we worship, where we are in the world or what the sort of situation we find ourselves in. But, as pandemic restrictions lift, isn’t it great to recover that other great anchor in our lives – attendance at Church and face to face fellowship with our brothers and sisters. There are, of course, those who will be cautious about resumption of close contact and we offer a high quality live streaming service for those not yet ready to return but how good it’s been to see the Church filling up again, Sunday School re-starting and lively, in-person worship taking place!
You’ll know that the General Assembly of 2019 instructed a reduction in the number of paid Ministries across the Church to reflect the high number of Ministers retiring and the relatively low number entering Ministry as trainees. For Lewis Presbytery, this will mean a reduction from our current 7.5 paid Ministries to 5.0. A new Mission Plan to reach this target has to be in place by the end of 2022 with the new allocation of 5.0 Ministries fully implemented on 1 January 2026. Each congregation will have to make compromises and, for us, it may mean a welcome closer association with our sister congregation in Point and participation in a Team Ministry in the town of Stornoway. More information will follow as the new Mission Plan develops and please continue to pray around this.
PRAYER Gracious and loving God, we give thanks for and celebrate our risen Lord. Lord Jesus, You have removed our chains and freed us from our slavery to sin through your life death and resurrection. You have shone light into our darkness. We take time, Lord, to pray for the people of the Ukraine and ask that they would experience an end to their occupation and would know peace and liberation. Your desire is that we would all walk in freedom and our prayer is that we would all experience the freedom that faith in Jesus Christ brings us. AMEN
Rev Gordon Macleod (Minister)
Mr John Cunningham (Session Clerk)