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BLAIRGOWRIE EVANGELICAL CHURCH
Sunday was a special day as slightly relaxed Covid-19 regulations meant singing was permitted in the church for the first time in 14 months.
Iain led the congregation with the songs ‘Come Now Is The Time To Worship’ and ‘The Splendour Of The King’.
Following prayers and the Bible reading from Acts ch 2, vv 14-41, ‘Ten Thousand Reasons’ and ‘Amazing Grace’ were sung.
Pastor Derek then preached on the passage from Acts, noting that this is one of the landmark speeches in history.
It was the very first sermon of the church and was delivered by Peter, an unschooled fisherman from an unfashionable area who was in the habit of making mistakes.
Despite this, he spoke with power, clarity and knowledge.
Derek said: “What is remarkable about the message is that we have a record of what the early church saw as being the priorities of the Gospel.
“At the heart of their message was a person, Jesus.
“Peter spoke about his life, death, and resurrection as being God’s plan to save the world.
“We heard how this message is as relevant, powerful and urgent today as it has always been and, as Peter pointed out to his first hearers, demands a response of repentance and faith.”
Following the sermon, Iain led those gathered in the final song ‘By Faith We See The Hand Of God’.
For details regarding attending services, see the website www.bechurch. co.uk
BLAIRGOWRIE PARISH CHURCH
Rev Benjamin Abeledo welcomed the congregation on Sunday with the good news that communal singing is now permitted in church, albeit with a mask on.
In his call to worship the minister asked that those gathered remember those who gave their lives on D-Day – which occurred 77 years ago to the day.
The first hymn was ‘Praise To The Lord, The Almighty,’ and the lesson from Joshua ch 7 was read by Allan McKay.
This was followed by the hymn ‘How Deep The Father’s Love For Us’.
Mr Abeledo’s sermon was based on the defeat of the Israelis by the Canaanites at the battle of Ai.
He explained why this defeat occurred after the previous victory at Jericho, reminding those gathered that the journey of life often includes highs and lows and not all is “milk and honey”.
God does not prevent defeat and disappointment in life – he cannot compromise his character and people must always accept that actions have consequences.
However, one failure in life does not mean that people’s attitude should be negative as defeat does not have to be long-lasting.
The main reason that the Israelis were defeated in battle was because of their sins. Similarly, people’s sins can come to haunt people and there may be effects on others – perhaps those near and dear to them.
Mr Abeledo said the arrogance and over-confidence of the Israelis in underestimating their enemy is a lesson for everyone.
He said people all need the influence and guiding light of God and should not always only trust themselves.
God sees everything and people’s sins will be found out and addressed.
Finally, Rev Abeledo pointed out the Isreali leader’s moaning attitude towards defeat found him out and said, again, people must be prepared to take responsibility for their own actions and stand by these results.
Mr Abeledo said: “We today must beware of rewriting the lessons of the Bible – we cannot change these rules and cannot re-define sin and wrap up sins’ realities in creative packaging and excuses.
“God will not tolerate sin or the human reasons for such transgressions.
“However, he is not too harsh – he did
send his Son to save us.”
The service concluded with a prayer and the singing of the hymn ‘O For A Closer Walk With God’.
The organist was Fiona Bain. There is still limit of 60 people when it comes to the number of people who can attend services.
To book, call 01250 874715, 07716 510605 or send an email to pamela@ thehowats.net.
Alternatively, see the website www.ticketsource.co.uk/ blairgowrieparishchurch.
RIVERSIDE METHODISTS
Sunday’s message was delivered by Rev Nik Wooller, and was inspired by Mark ch 3, vv 20-35.
She said: “There’s a meme circulating through social media recently attributed to John Alan Turner of thehappygivers. com that says: ‘It’s hard to convince people that a God they cannot see loves them, when a church they can see doesn’t seem to like them’.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced this phenomenon personally, but if you have please accept my apology on behalf of a wider church that does love and welcome you.
“When I think of how many people have and continue to be hurt by the church it makes me sick to my stomach.
“Whether the situation relates to one’s sexuality, race, gender, marital status, or other defining characteristic, the church has been quite effective at justifying exclusion – and in some cases outright hatred – by pointing to flimsy pick-andchoose out of context scripture.
“There are definitely ‘innies’ and ‘outies’ in many pockets of Christianity, and church, we’d better get really honest about this if we truly believe it is our mission to reflect Christ’s love to a broken and hurting world.
“Oh, and saying you ‘hate the sin and not the sinner’ won’t cut it either. How would you feel if Jesus said that about you?”
Rev Wooller continued: “This week’s gospel lesson, from Mark ch 3, vv 20-35, has had me thinking about this topic a lot.
“Jesus has returned home and is addressing some controversial topics like blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, and His family is determined to save Him from Himself.
“Surely He can’t know what He’s really saying and how all this crazy talk is going to go down?
“Jesus is pretty clear about what it takes to be part of the family. In fact, let’s call it part of the community since the concept of family has been so hurtful to so many people.”
Rev Wooller went on to explain: “June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, coinciding with the anniversary of the Stonewall Inn police raid in New York City on June 28, 1969.
“The Stonewall Riots became the tipping point in the gay liberation movement and an important moment in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.
“Even though much progress has been made, there is still a long way to go for full inclusion and protection under the law. In many places LGBTQ+ individuals still face discrimination in housing, healthcare, and jobs.
“Pride Month celebrates these gains, remembers those who have died, and offers educational opportunities for communities.
“I believe it’s time we lamented and repented for not loving all God’s good children, for clinging to a few verses of scripture to defend our spurious claims to doctrinal purity and take a serious look at what Jesus says about who’s part of the community – those who do the will of God.
“And what is God’s will you might ask? Jesus put it simply – to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, and being, and your neighbour as yourself.
“We need to rethink our stances on welcoming the immigrant and stranger, get rid finally of systemic and institutional racism and fight against rejection of our LGBTQ+ siblings.
“We need to do better so that all may come to know the love, mercy, and grace of the Christ who is at work restoring the goodness in all creation.”
For information and updates from the Riverside Methodist Church, see online at www.riverside-methodist-church.co.uk.
SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCHES
The services on Sunday reflected the tensions of Jesus with the authorities and his family, as set out in ch 3 of Mark’s Gospel.
Rev David Cameron drew on the aspect of human nature that makes people always want their own way, give their own views with the pronoun ‘I’ taking centre stage.
Jesus made no apology for his actions, and said He was “doing the will of God”.
The critical issue is are we, as His disciples , willing to do likewise?
In Blairgowrie, members of the congregation were able to sing, with masks still on, for the first time for well over a year.
Services are taking place as usual under lockdown rules in all the churches each Sunday at the following times:
St Catharine’s in Blairgowrie (9.30am), St Ninian’s in Alyth (11.15am) and St Anne’s in Coupar Angus (11.15am).
There has been a change to the arrangements for the installation of the Rev Kim Lafferty.
This will now take place on June 20 at 11am in St Michaels and All Angels Church in Ballintuim, which is able to accommodate significantly more people under social distancing conditions.
There will be short services of welcome in the other churches that afternoon.
Details will be available on the website, pew leaflets and through the relevant secretaries.
Because of Covid-19 social distancing rules, it is essential that worshippers reserve a place at services in advance.
For St Catharine’s ring 01738 710440 or email sarah@thegammells.com, for St Ninian’s call 01828 640591 and for St Anne’s call 01828 650732.
Parishoners are asked to note that the number for St Anne’s has changed.