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St J’s Diary & Notices: w/c Sunday, 12/12/2021

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And, as always, if you need us, you can contact  

I can still accept donations of blankets, clothing etc to pass on to MOOL, if you still have them. (See poster on lit noticeboard) David Kerr

You are very welcome to join the Advent Group, via Zoom, on Thursdays 25/11, 02/12, 09/12 and 16/12, at 7.30pm. We will be following A Strange Christmas by Krish Kandiah, which can be obtained from https://www.waverleyabbeyresources.org/product/cover-to-cover-advent-a-strange-christmas/, priced £6.99 + P&P (and also from Amazon). The book has 31 days’ worth of readings for Advent and also provision for four group discussions. Please let me know if you’d like to be part of this. David Kerr / pastadmin@stjohnsdumfries.org / 07754 596140

There are still one or two spaces if you would like to go to the Rev Harriet Johnston (the artist formerly known as Harriet Oxley)’s Institution at Holy Trinity, Kilmarnock at 3pm today, Sunday, 12/12/2021. We would need to depart St J’s at about 1pm, and you should perhaps bring a ‘piece’ to have at coffee time after our own service. We didn’t have enough people to justify taking the minibus, but there are still a couple of car spaces left. David Kerr 07754 596140

Mark Smith from the River of Life Church says… Jean Lamb from Dumfries Baptist Church has been doing a super job in liaising with the new manager of Loreburne Shopping Centre, for Carol Singing on Saturday 18th December from 11am. She says the manager is even planning to join us and take part! Please will you circulate this date with your congregation, so we can have a nice wee crowd from a range of Churches on the day.

  • Bethany Christian Trust are telling us about their participation in…One Donation, Double the Beds!: Next week on #givingtuesday, we would love you to join us and help Buy double the Beds! [If you’re reading this on paper, the Church Office can provide you with the link].
  • Every donation to Buy a Bed next week will be doubled by The Big Give initiative, until we reach our target of £20,000.
    It’s the very first time we’ve taken part in the Big Give’s Christmas challenge and we’re so excited that your donations will have double the impact.
  • From 30th November to 7th December every £21 you donate towards Buy a Bed will be doubled, enabling the Welcome Centre to provide two people with a warm bed, hot food and individualised support to move on into more permanent accommodation.  That’s one donation, double the impact!
  • In return, you can get a beautiful Christmas card to keep or give to your friends and family, showing that a bed has been purchased on their behalf.
  • Together we can end homelessness in Scotland, two people at a time.

We are creating a Canopy of Angels in the roof of St J’s. You are invited to write something to remember a moment from the crazy few years we are living in, to remember a person, or write a prayer. All these personal moments will then be suspended like the canopies of stars and flames we have used before. Or if you prefer, simply use the act of folding or cutting out an angel to think through what we have experienced and what you hope for the future. Materials and guidance will be available in the Hall, after the 11.00 Eucharist for the rest of Advent.

Please take a moment to sign the communal St J’s Christmas Card, designed by Mark Toner and on the table at the back of the church. At the same time, please leave a donation in the marked collecting box towards our Christmas Appeal – to be divided jointly between Aberlour Childcare Trust and Open Doors, our chosen charities. More information about both of these will be appearing in the Magazine and on displays at the back of the church. If you can, please also place a donation in the other box towards Christmas Flowers for the church.

We will be making Christingles in the Hall from 10.00 on Christmas Eve, 24/12/2021: please come and help.

As mentioned in last Sunday’s Vestry update, we need to make a Canon 35 Application (ecclesiastical planning permission) for some unobtrusive works in connection with improving the church Wi-Fi. There’s a bit more detail about this on the website and on the lit noticeboard. Any queries, please ask me. David Kerr / 07754 596140 / pastadmin@stjohnsdumfries.org