CHRISTIAN AID WEEK

Christian Aid Week is from Sunday 12th to Saturday 18th May.

You should get an envelope through your door and then a collector to pick it up.  Please be as generous as possible, to support what this year is being called 'Bite back at Hunger'.  This takes the form of long term development work as well as responding to emergencies and challenging unjust systems that keep people poor.

On Thursday 23rd May I hope you can gather in the Parish Church Hall, any time from 9.00am, to assist with opening envelopes and/or counting the money.  A soup and cheese and biscuit lunch will follow this, for all the helpers, no matter how long you can spare that morning.

If you are able to assist with the collection please contact Margaret Hughes.  There are still some areas in both the town and surrounding country that haven't been allocated yet.

CHURCH OF SCOTLAND GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2013

This year’s General Assembly which will be in session from 18 to 24 May 2013.  The Moderator-Designate of this year’s General Assembly is Rev Lorna Hood, Minister of Renfrew: North, who is TO preach in Kirkcudbright Parish Church on Sunday 20 October 2013 on the occasion of the 175th anniversary of the opening of our Church Building on 21 October 1838.
 Roan Irving has been appointed Dumfries and Kirkcudbright Presbytery’s Youth Delegate to the Assembly.

Media attention will focus particularly this year on the General Assembly’s debate on the Report of a Theological Commission of seven persons representative of the breadth of the Church's theological understanding and set up by the General Assembly of 2011 to examine (1) the theological issues around same-sex relationships, civil partnerships and marriage (2) whether, if the Church were to allow its ministers freedom of conscience in deciding whether to bless same-sex relationships involving life-long commitments, the recognition of such lifelong relationships should take the form of a blessing of a civil partnership or should involve a liturgy to recognise and celebrate commitments which the parties enter into in a Church service in addition to the civil partnership, and if so to recommend an appropriate liturgy and (3) whether persons, who have entered into a civil partnership and have made lifelong commitments in a Church ceremony, should be eligible for admission for training, ordination and induction as ministers of Word and Sacrament or deacons in the context that no member of Presbytery will be required to take part in such ordination or induction against his or her conscience.

You are asked to offer prayers daily for the Moderator and Commissioners, that they be Spirit-led, both in debating and decision making. The draft timetable, at date of going to print, is as undernoted to assist you in your praying:

Saturday 18 May – 10.00am

1. Formal Opening
2. Assembly Arrangements Committee
3. Scottish Bible Society
4. Returns to Overtures
5. Delegation of Assembly
6. Minutes of Commission of Assembly tabled
7. Overtures and Cases
8. Legal Questions Committee
9. Council of Assembly
10. Joint Report of Mission and Discipleship Council and Council of Assembly
11. Pension Trustees

Saturday 18 May – 7.00pm

1. Constitution of Assembly
2. Address by Retiring Moderator
3. Presentation of Delegates and Visitors

Sunday 19 May

10.00am Assembly Service (St Giles’)
12.30 pm Gaelic Service (Greyfriars Highland and Tolbooth)
1.00pm – 6.00pm Heart and Soul 2013 (Princes St Gardens)

Monday 20 May - 9.30am

HOLY COMMUNION

1. Constitution of Assembly
2. Business Committee
3. Theological Commission

Tuesday 21 May – 9.30am

1. Constitution of Assembly
2. World Mission Council
3. Church of Scotland Guild
4. Social Care Council
5. Mission and Discipleship Council

Wednesday 22 May – 9.30am

1. Constitution of Assembly
2. Tenure Commission
3. Housing and Loan Fund
4. Ministries Council
5. Safeguarding
6. National Youth Assembly
7. Panel on Review and Reform

Thursday 23 May – 9.30am

Order of the Day 2.00pm C&S Stevenson Prize

1. Constitution of Assembly
2. Chaplains to HM Forces
3. Ecumenical Relations
4. Iona Community Board
5. Church and Society Council
6. Joint Report Church and Society, Ecumenical Relations and Legal Questions

Friday 24 May – 9.30am

1. Constitution of Assembly
2. General Trustees
3. Church of Scotland Trust
4. Investors Trust
5. Church Hymnary Trustees
6. Central Services Committee
7. Nomination Committee
8. Selection Committee
9. Committee on Printing of Acts

Friday 24 May – 3.00 pm

Closing Session 

Kirkcudbright Parish Church

At the heart of Kirkcudbright, having Kirkcudbright at heart!

About our Church by Reverend Douglas Irving, Parish Minister

I am Douglas Irving and have been Parish Minister here for almost fourteen years, following fourteen years in my first charge - Kilbirnie: Auld Kirk in North Ayrshire.  I lead a progressive congregation with a passion for the very special and vibrant community of Kirkcudbright which we seek to serve in Christ’s Name.  I seek to encourage each member of our congregation to put God-given talent to use that God’s Rule might be established among us.  We seek to be full partners with other community groups within our town.  In particular, we work closely with our sister congregations here under the banner of Kirkcudbright Churches Together. 

It’s my privilege as Parish Minister to extend an invitation to you to join us as opportunity affords you.  

On Sundays and throughout the week, our congregation offers you a variety of opportunities for fellowship and service, whatever your age or background.  We welcome others of faith and of no faith to join us in journeying with Christ, He who has promised to be with us always.  We are all at different stages of our journeying and a good number of us discover particular friendship and companioning in our four Home Fellowship Groups which meet weekly. 

We have a fine, light and spacious church building dating from 1838 designed by the Scottish Architect William Burn; also a fine purpose-built church hall, with a well equipped kitchen, which provides a meeting place for not a few church and community groups.   A current congregational initiative is looking at the possibility of releasing our fine, but under-used, 175 year-old church building into 7 day-a-week use under local community ownership which we would continue to use alongside other community co-users.  Plans have been drawn up for the development of the building for such multi-community use and discussions with all interested parties are ongoing at the moment.

You, whom God sends our way, however, are our main concern.  Should you consider that we might be of service to you, please be in touch.  If I can’t help you personally, I will endeavour to put you in touch with someone who can!

Douglas Irving