1st Sunday of Advent, 02/12/07 again -

After the Family Eucharist we devoured mince pies in the Hall; left-overs from the Christmas Coffee Morning yesterday. 50% of what we made between 10am and noon totalling £600 goes to Sight Savers International in Edinburgh; the rest for church funds. Not a bad amount for 2 hrs. Considering that Williamwood House, a residential Home run by the C of S locally for the 'confused elderly' also had a coffee morning on. I busily put out the Church Calendar for December, then put out the Weekly News Sheets (WNS) which I now type weekly on the back of the Readings and Prayers for the day. We deliberately keep the Link Corridor lights on between the Hall and the church and the church doors open and lights on. It's a bit like attracting flies to the honeypot! Anyway an interesting couple wandered in - the Gilsepies from locally. Both Presbyterian, she is a Child Care Worker and he said he is on the staff of Williamwood House although not a care worker. Douglas said he washes up, is paid very little, but loves being involved in the care of the elderly confused - "and it's Church work" he added. They were curious about seeing an altar with candles on it. They wondered what the man was doing. It was Kenneth Wilkins, Sacristan, preparing the Altar for the 8am, 10am and 4.30pm services today. Knowing that most Presbyterians haven't a clue what this means as they have no Calendar since the Reformation and don't have an altar or candles, I explained that we were a Catholic, yet not Roman Church; not protestant, deriving our beginnings from St Columba of Iona, and the support we gave to the RC Bonnie Prince Charles Eduard Stuart; at least that's the romantic notion. In fact we were once both Presbyterian and Episcopal for a while after the 1560 Reformation but in the 1580's split off from the predominantly Presbyterian membership to form the present reformed catholic, SEC. I told Douglas that he should perhaps sample our service of Family Eucharist as he said he loved to hear the organ and choir because they no longer have that in the C of S - just songs on a screen and guitars.
I also said that he was doing a very important job as a washer-upper for without his work the Home would stop operating. He grinned broadly. I added, 'It is God's work, you know'.
Afterwards Alec Philip, our People's Warden and Fabric Convener asked me to accompany him to the Rectory to do a final check of the premises before the Rector and his wife leave. Paul and Sheenah have got rid of most of their stuff yet some items still remain including a piano, a bed or two, table and chairs plus a few boxes. They promised to get rid of these items as fast as possible. They handed over the keys yet keep one set. I said we were now taking back possession of the Rectory and two members will visit twice weekly to check on things to cover us for Ecclesiastical Insurance cover during the Interregnum. I tugged at Alec to leave and we did. I said I thought it'd be better we did as we were being bombarded with details of this and that that we should do to the property. Anyway I did not answer the Fletchers as I had written to the Diocesan Architect down in Ayr and requested Rebecca Cadie to undertake a Quinquennial Survey on the Rectory, which is overdue anyway.

Graemeofothaidhsjourney: 1st Sunday of Advent: 02/12/07.

Graemeofothaidhsjourney: 1st Sunday of Advent: 02/12/07.