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Inverness Presbytery Church Support (IPCS) 

'Here to serve' Newsletter 1 April 2020

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Wednesday Update 1 April 2020

Wednesday Update 1 April 2020

Welcome to our latest Wednesday Update!

Worship Services
We hope you were able to see and participate in last Sunday’s Youtube service. If you haven’t managed to see it, you will find it on our website www.insheschurch.org or on our Inshes Church YouTube Channel

 This coming Sunday, along with so many Christians across the world, we’ll be thinking about something of the significance of Palm Sunday. There will also be available for Truth Trackers the next episode of Out of the Box’s ‘Armour of God’ series.

  If you know of those who don’t have internet, please let us know so we can offer to post them a DVD or CD of the service each week.

Mid-week Message
There is a new posting on’ David’s Blog’ page with our Message for this week which shares encouragement from Psalm 57 in the face of the challenges of being ‘locked down’ in our homes. You can find it here

Prayer
There is so much to pray about in these days and we’re obviously unable to meet together as we have been used to doing every second Wednesday.  However, during these weeks of being apart, we’re suggesting that every Wednesday, as many as are able, pray at 7pm for 7 minutes for 7 people.  It could be those with younger children might be able to incorporate the time into their bedtime routine that night. This is likely to be too short notice for tonight, but it might be possible to aim to begin next week.  Of course, for all kinds of good reasons, the time or the day may not suit but it may serve as one fairly simple means of encouraging us to join together as a Church Family to bring our prayers and petitions as well as our praises and thanksgivings to God in these days.   Click here to read or download our prayer points.

On the whole subject of COVID-19 and prayer, in his latest pastoral letter, Jerry Middleton, minister of Gilcomston South Church, Aberdeen has stressed the vital importance of prayer as the primary response of Christian people to the current crisis. Click here to read what he says.

Home Groups  
We will observe the Easter break we planned to have and will continue to look at ways to facilitate the various Home Groups meeting online.  So, we’ll update you on this over the next few weeks.

Pastoral Care
We are so thankful to our Church's Pastoral Care Teams for their ongoing work, phoning folks and making sure they are okay but if you or someone you know in the congregation did not receive a call then please make us aware of this.  Again, if you know of someone who doesn’t come to church but would value a phone call at this unsettling time then let us know.  Farquhar and I are of course more than happy to talk and pray with anyone at any time - just ask.

Facebook
The Church’s Facebook page is now live!  Thank you to Liz Forbes for making this happen.  Click here and add us as your Facebook friend.

Serve 
We continue to build our Inshes Church volunteers’ team for those who are NOT in any high-risk category and who are willing to help with practical things like shopping, picking up a prescription, phone calls etc.  If the Pastoral Care Teams don’t have the capacity to help then they can let us know, or you can contact the Church Office and we’ll ask a volunteer to step in to help.  If you would like to serve in this way get in touch. 

CrossReach is also asking for help to continue vital services in the face Covid-19 over the next few weeks.  If you are able to help in any way and have been PVG cleared,  please contact Fiona Sutherland on 0131 454 4341 fiona.sutherland@crossreach.org.uk

Much love in Christ to you and yours

David & Farquhar

Wednesday Update 25th March 2020

"We can be known as people of peace rather than panic, people of faith rather than fear, people of sharing rather than hoarding, and people of sacrifice rather than self-protection” (John Tillman)  

Welcome to Wednesday Update!

We’ll be sending these out each week to keep you updated on Inshes Church news and to share points for prayers and a mid-week Bible reflection. 

Worship Services
We were so thankful that our first online service was able to be put on our website www.insheschurch.org and many people were able to worship God in this way (thank you to Scott & Doris for making that possible). A new pre-recorded video service will be ready on the website each Sunday morning. That means you can watch & worship at any time on Sunday, although I’m sure many of us, if possible, will want to keep to the habit of 'gathering' at 10.30am. 

 Our new Inshes Church YouTube Channel is where you can find all our videos in one place. You can press the Subscribe button which means you’ll know when a new video is uploaded. Feel free to point your friends and family to this channel as many are looking for hope in this crisis. 

 If you know of those who don’t have internet please let us know so we can offer to post them a CD of the service each week.

Truth Trackers
We hope all the family will be able to join together in watching the Worship Service and there will be a kids talk as part of it as last Sunday. However, before or after you watch that Truth Trackers families are being encouraged to use Out of the Box’s 'Armour of God' series each Sunday in place of Truth Trackers class. Click here for an intro video to it. We’ll have a link to Episode 1 ’The Belt of Truth’ below the service video on our website on Sunday. It has a craft to go with it. Families will also be invited to keep singing the ‘Just the way God wanted it to be’ song, and to keep up with ‘The Wonder of Easter’ book. 
 Truth Trackers has a facebook group to keep everyone updated - if you’re not yet a member of it then send a ‘friend request’ to Tori MacKay and she’ll add you to the group.

Mid-week Message
I’m delighted to say that David and Susan made it back safely to Inverness last night. David has uploaded a mid-week message to his blog - click here to read it or see it attached to this email.

Prayer is a great spiritual work-out we can undertake even while quarantined at home! But as this crisis swirls around us there are so many situations and people to pray for it can seem overwhelming. So we hope these prayer points can be a helpful focus for our prayers. They have been attached to this email and uploaded to the Events page of our website - you can click here to read them. But let’s also share our own personal prayer request over the phone or email with each other, our Pastoral Care contact, our Home Group, or indeed feel free to get in touch with Doris, David or myself so we can put them on our personal prayer lists.

Offerings
Some people have been asking about how to continue to give their offerings. Gavin MacKenzie wants to remind folks "that they can give via internet or telephone banking to set up a standing order or make a one-off payment. If they email Doris she can send them the church’s bank details. Then they can use their surname and first initial as the reference, e.g. BLOGGSJ”. If you need help with this then get in touch with Doris.

Home Groups
We are looking at ways to facilitate the various Home Groups meeting online. More information about that to follow next week, but we’d encourage Home Group leaders to find out from their group members if this is something they would be willing to try. 

Pastoral Care
We hope over the past week you received a phone call from a member of the Church's Pastoral Care Teams. If you or someone you know in the congregation did not receive a call then please make us aware of this. Also, if you know of someone who doesn’t come to church but would value a phone call at this unsettling time then let us know. David and I are of course more than happy to talk and pray with anyone at any time - just ask.

Facebook
We will be reactivating the Church’s Facebook page in the next few days to create another effective avenue for communicating not just with the congregation but with the wider community. So keep a look out and add us as your Facebook friend when we go live!

Serve 
It’s encouraging to hear how people in the congregation are looking out for neighbours and friends and others in our communities. God has dispersed us for a time & undoubtedly there is an opportunity for each of us to stop & consider where he’s placed us and to show His love to those who need it.
 But there is also a place for a more centralised programme of help for our congregation and the Communities of Inshes, Drakies and Milton of Leys, so we continue to build our Inshes Church volunteers team for those who are NOT in any high-risk category and who are willing to help with practical things like shopping, posting a letter, picking up a prescription etc. If the Pastoral Care Teams don’t have the capacity to help then they can let us know, or you can contact the Inshes Church Office directly and we’ll ask a volunteer to step in to help. If you would like to serve in this way get in touch. 
 It is also good to hear that the wider church is responding practically - as I write this I’ve just been informed that Inverness Presbytery has agreed "to give £1000 to fund the purchase of essential supplies from Tesco Inverness (Eastfield) to supply our partner organisations in resourcing the most vulnerable people in our communities."

I know that’s a load of stuff to take in but hopefully it brings you up to speed on things. May God give us the grace to be people who rejoice in hope, are patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.

Much love to you and yours, in the strong and sure love of Christ.

Farquhar

CONTACTS
Inshes Church Office (Doris) 01463 226727| office@insheschurch.org 
David - Home Tel: 01463 772402| Mob/Whatsapp: 07894092821|  david@insheschurch.org 
Farquhar Home Tel: 01808 5121450   |  Mob/Whatsapp: 07749 539981| f.forbes@live.com 

CORONAVIRUS - Letter to Inshes Family

COVID-19 Response - letter to Inshes Church Family 18th March 2020

Dear Church Family

I’m writing you today to bring you up to speed on where we are as a church in our response to Coronavirus. The Church of Scotland’s central Edinburgh office yesterday sent out a message asking "in the strongest terms, that all gatherings for worship should cease until further notice”. The Inshes Church Kirk Session have therefore agreed to cancel all our gatherings for worship, as well as all our church groups, until further notice. This is an unprecedented step for our denomination and nation and yet it is motivated entirely by love - seeking to protect those who are most vulnerable and to reduce pressure on the NHS.

There is understandably much fear about as our way of life and even life itself seems to be in danger. So losing our precious times to gather together in the same place to encourage one another and worship God is a huge blow. However, even though our church gatherings are cancelled the Church itself is not cancelled! Because the Church is the people - bonded together in Christ and built on the solid rock of His unfailing love. He will hold us fast (Psalm 139:10). We can continue to be the Church to one another and these are some of the measures we are taking to encourage that:

1.       Worship - although we can’t meet for worship we can still worship God in Spirit and in Truth! For this Sunday I will likely record an audio-track of a reading, reflection and prayers, which will be posted on our website for people to access so they can worship God at home. We will be looking at the possibility of live-streaming sermons/services in the coming weeks as we work out the logistics of that.

2.       Prayer - although we can’t meet to pray we can still pray! Feel free also to pray for one another over the phone - it can feel awkward when you first do it but I think it's a beautiful way to encourage one another that our Father is ready to listen, even over the phone! We will continue to provide the congregation with weekly prayer points and these will be sent by email. Let’s pray for all those who are sick, those who are vulnerable, for frontline healthcare workers, for those who are isolated and those who are fearful. Let’s pray for one another and trust God to get us through. David and Susan are due to fly home from the States early next week so do pray for their safe journey back.

3.       Keeping in touch - although we can’t gather we can still speak to one another! Pastoral Care Teams will be phoning round everyone on our lists to check in and see what needs people have & how the church can help, and to ensure people have a contact to call if they need anything. If you aren’t sure if you’re on a list and don’t receive a phone call in the coming week PLEASE let us know. We hope also to email out regular updates from the Church Office so people are kept in the loop on things, as well as keeping the website updated. But we know many of our congregation don’t access the internet so we will all have to make sure they are kept informed too.

4.       Serving - although we can’t be together in services we can still serve one another! As well as finding out what needs there are we also want to find out if there are those who can help others practically, like going to the shops or running an errand - do let us know by replying to this email. These will likely need to be people under 70 without underlying health issues, especially as the restrictions tighten. However, even those who are in isolation could serve in a vital way by checking others are OK by phone. Also, if you have a neighbour or friend who needs support then do let the Pastoral Care Team member who calls you know about them and we will as a church seek to respond.

If you have any questions do get in touch with myself or Doris in the Church office.

Much love in Christ

Farquhar

Coronavirus - Events postponed

Coronavirus - Church update 27th March
In light of Government advice the following church events have been postponed until further notice - 

• FAB, Wednesday
• Home Groups - Wed/Thu
• Sunday Morning and Evening Gatherings
• Inshes Teens, Sunday
• Tuesday Fellowship
• Prayer Time, Wednesday
• CONNECT, Friday 
• MOL Monthly Gathering, Sunday
• Women's Bible Study, Tuesday
• Men's Breakfast, Saturday
• T@5.30pm, Sunday 

Prayer Notes

Prayer Topics - Wednesday 1st April 2020

click here to download the prayer notes

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Prayers - Wednesday 25th March 2020

click here to download the prayer notes

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National Day of Prayer - Coronavirus Crisis 

22 March 2020

click here to download the prayer notes
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7

MOL Monthly Gatherings

In light of the Government advice on the coronavirus

Monthly Gathering have been postponed until further notice

Inshes Church has been the parish for Milton of Leys since 2003, but MOL has rapidly grown since then and in many ways has become it's own distinct community.  For that reason our hope in the years ahead is to establish 'a church in Milton of Leys for the people of Milton of Leys'.
Our Associate Minister Farquhar Forbes (Chaplain at MOL Primary) has been tasked with helping to pursue this vision and for the past 4 years he and his team have run Holiday Clubs & other events in the school hall.

Since August 2019 we've been hosting monthly Sunday Gatherings in the school hall. These have proved very popular with families but we want everyone who lives in Milton of Leys to know that you are welcome too: whatever your age, background or belief.

The Gatherings are free and have a very simple format:
       4.00pm Craft time  with tea, coffee & home-baking
       4.45pm Service - including songs, a Bible reading & a short message
       5.30pm Dinner together

You're welcome to come for all or just part of it.

So far the Gatherings have proved to be a great space for folks to get to know each other and to build community in a relaxed environment.  Its also a safe place for people to come who may be unsure about faith & church but would like to explore it.

Why not pop along and check one out?

You'll get a warm welcome!

FAB Families and Bairns

at Inshes Church
POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Wednesday
from 9.30am - 11.30am
(during term time)
Information

For families and their wee ones, the group is
specifically for families, mums and dads with
their babies and toddlers. Of course grannies
and granddads welcome too!

Snack is provided for the children
and tea and coffee for the adults.
(Suggested donation £1 per adult & 50p per child)
Plenty of toys to play with and
a craft to make each week.

FAB at Inshes is run by volunteers from Inshes Church

Inshes Teens

POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Home Groups

Meet every second week in school term in a relaxed, informal setting to think together about what was preached the previous Sunday morning. 

POSTONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
click here to download questions


Dates after the Easter break
22nd/23rd April
6th/7th; 20th/21st May
3rd/4th; 17th/18th June
1st/2nd July

If you would like to join a group please speak

to David or Farquhar.

There is a Wednesday 2.30pm group, a number of 7.30pm groups and a 'late-start' one meeting at 8pm.  There is also a Thursday 7.30pm group.

Tuesday Fellowship

Tuesday Fellowship

has been postponed

until Autumn 2020

updated 16th March 2020