Millerston Church – The Church by the Loch

This Sunday is Easter Day – the day that changes everything – when Christians around the world will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. We’ll be joining with other local churches by Hogganfield Loch at 9.00 for a short service there, and then we’ll gather in our own church at 11.00 for our family celebration, with a light lunch to follow. If you’d like to join with us, you’ll be very welcome. You can also join us via Zoom, and if you’d like to do that, please send us a message and we’ll send you the link. A happy and joyful Easter to all.

All around the world, Christians are celebrating Easter – remembering the death of Jesus on the cross as he bears the sins of the world and rejoicing in his resurrection, proving that the power of death is broken and the way to God is open. If this is true, then nothing matters more. So if you’re looking for a place and a space to come and think through this amazing story, and you’re near Millerston church over this weekend, you’re very welcome to come and join us. There are worship times together, but also times when the church is open for quiet prayer, so feel free to come in for what you feel will be right for you.

Good Friday and Easter Saturday – March 29^th and 30^th The church is open between 10.30 am and 12.30 pm, and you are welcome to come in for a time of quiet. There will be a rolling presentation of “The Art of Easter”, with music and some material to guide your meditation if you wish. You’re also welcome to have some tea or coffee if you have time.

Good Friday evening – March 29th – 7.30 pm We will have a service, including a short communion, when we remember the events of that first Good Friday, moving from the Last Supper through to Jesus death and burial

Easter Sunday morning – Lochside service – March 31^st – 9.00 am A service with other local churches by the beach area at Hogganfield Loch, and followed by coffee and hot cross buns  back at Millerston UF church for anyone who would like to join us

Easter Sunday morning – “Too good to be true?” – April 21^st  – 11.00 am Jesus has risen and sin and death are defeated. That’s the Easter claim, and if it’s true, then it’s worth celebrating.

If you can join us for any of these times then we would love to see you. Or if you would simply like to talk about finding faith or reconnecting with God, then please feel free to contact the minister, David Miller, on 07975531585 

Are you someone who prays, or maybe someone who’d like to? Perhaps you’re part of a church, but you find prayer hard. Perhaps you describe yourself as spiritual but not religious. Or perhaps you just wonder if God is there, and if so, how can you connect? You might be surprised how many people pray, or would like to, but don’t quite know how. To help folk who feel like that, there’s Try Praying. You may have seen the logo on buses, or on the banners outside churches (including Millerston). Try Praying is a simple idea. You get a booklet which encourages you to have a go at praying, even if you’re not sure whether God is there, each day for a week,to see what happens. It’s as easy as that.

So, if you’d like to know more, just get hold of one of the booklets, and make a start. You can get one from the perspex box outside the church, or if it’s easier, let us know your address and we’ll drop one in, all for free. If, after the week you want to know more about God, feel free to get in touch, but we won’t pressure you at all – this is just a chance to try.

Today is Valentine’s Day – named after a Christian saint but not particularly a Christian festival now. So if today you’re celebrating being “in love”, enjoy the day. But of course, not everybody is celebrating today – for some it’s a day when they may feel a wee bit extra sad, or lonely, or hurt or let down. As it happens, this year is also Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, when many Christians start to focus on the journey towards Easter, as Jesus moves towards his cross and resurrection. The cross, Jesus’s sacrifical death for all the world so that all who trust in Him may come into God’s family, is actually the supreme gift of love, the greatest that the world has ever seen or will over see. So, however you’re feeling today, loved up or unloved or somewhere in between, may you know that you are deeply loved by and precious to God.

Now that the Christmas decorations are away and most of the New Year parties are over, for many of us life will get back into its normal routine, perhaps with added gloom over the next few weeks until we notice the days lengthening. Many of us too are probably entering 2024 with a bit of apprehension or even fear, because it seems to hold plenty of challenges at either a personal or national level. Certainly the world can seem a pretty depressing place at the moment. But at the heart of the Christmas celebrations is the good news that God has come, in person, in His Son Jesus Christ, to begin His work of putting the world to rights. In our Sunday services we’ve been thinking about God and the world’s big story. Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Back in the autumn we started at the beginning, when we looked at the first three chapters of Genesis, and how this amazing world which God has made has gone wrong. Over the next few months we’re going to look at the middle of the story, at Jesus who is the centre of history, and who is worth putting at the centre of each of our lives. When we make Him Lord of our lives, then we can know that whatever the future holds we do not face it alone, and that we are part of what God is doing in making all things new. So you are welcome to join us any Sunday at 11.00 am to hear more about Jesus. You can join in person or online via Zoom. If you’d like to join online, please just send us a message and we’ll send you the link.

“Child in the manger”. This Christmas we invite you to join with us at our services on Christmas Eve to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We have a service of readings and carols old and new in the morning at 11.00 am, and then at 11.30 pm we have our Watchnight service. In the midst of the busy-ness of this season, why not take some time to focus on Jesus, the one who is God with us.

If you’d like to join us but can’t manage in person, then you’re welcome to join us online. Please drop us a message and we’ll send you a Zoom link.

This Sunday, December 17th, at 11.00 am, we have our all-age Christmas celebration. There will be crafts, Christmas songs, and a puppet nativity play…and of course some cakes and mince pies afterwards. Everybody is welcome to join us as we explore the theme of “Following the star, looking to the Light”

Christmas can sometimes be a time of sadness as well as joy, as we remember loved ones no longer with us, or as we reflect on all the difficulties of the last few years. This coming Thursday, December 7th, at 7.30 pm, we have our annual Service of Memories. This short service of readings, prayers and reflection lets us bring our sadness and loss to Jesus – the one who is “God with us”. There will be tea and coffee afterwards for all who wish to stay on for a chat.

This weekend, the nation celebrates Remembrance. To help provide a focus to our own remembering and our praying for peace in a violent world, the folk in our craft group have prepared a poppyfall. The church will be open between 10.30 am and 12 noon on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th November for anybody to come and spend some time in quiet reflection. On November 11th we will also have a short act of remembrance at 11.00 am. Then on Sunday November 12th, at 10.50 am we will have our Remembrance Sunday service. Everybody is welcome to join us for any of these opportunities to remember

This Friday, September 29th, we’re joining in the world’s biggest coffee morning as our Cheery Cup Drop-in hosts a Macmillan Coffee morning, between 10.30 am and 12.30pm. So if you fancy coming by for some home baking and coffee or tea, and to support a really worthwhile charity, you’ll be very welcome