Church and Manse
Our manse, as many of you will now know, has been sold. Some plumbing issues arose but hopefully these will have been sorted by the time you read this. We are also steaming ahead with our business plan and hope to be able to present it to the relevant authorities soon. We would appreciate your support in any way you can give this through joining us at services and giving of your time talents and money. We also have the services of three of the ministers who have been preaching on a Sunday and hope to see the fourth member of our ministry team back as soon as possible.
Christmas services
We were delighted to welcome so many people to our special Christmas services.
The Nine Lessons and Carols saw Collace Parish Church almost full. It was beautifully decorated and people from both congregations took part in reading. As for the singing, led on the organ by Barbara, and musical items from Lynne and Andrew, the voices were lifted to the rafters in telling the great Christmas story and giving praise to God. No get together of Cargill Burrelton and Collace Parish Churches would be complete without delicious bakes and the chatter as people mingled and spoke to each other was splendid.
On Christmas Eve it was Cargill Burrelton Church which was almost full with people of all ages as we sang well known Christmas Carols, listened to a story about the best Christmas present, and Sheena and Edith presented the children and families with beautiful Christingles which they had prepared. The singing was again splendid, led by Lynne on the organ. And we finished with more lovely baking in the hall!
Christmas Day saw many folk taking time out from their celebrations at home to attend a special service in Collace, led by the elders. Singing, readings, and fellowship – what more special way could there be to begin Christmas Day celebrations.
Thanks must go to all the people who decorated both churches so beautifully, took part in the services, and baked for the teas afterwards. We are so fortunate in having such a lovely church family in Cargill Burrelton and Collace.
There will be more special services for Easter – please do come and join us – you will be made most welcome.
Hub Activities
Most of you will be aware that the church has been pleased to appoint Andrew Medleycott as our new Youth and Community Worker. In the nicest possible way you won’t have any difficulty in picking him out in a crowd. Below is Andrew’s report on the Hub activities since the last newsletter.
“Hello to you all. I’m Andrew Medleycott, your new Youth and Community Support Worker for the church Hub. it’s been a great start to the year coming into the post and I am enjoying getting to know more and more locals as my role progresses.
Busy Bees is currently running on Monday and Tuesday mornings from 10 – 12 noon for parents, grandparents and carers of children from birth to five years old. We have a range of different activities and focus on child led play. Once a term we take a trip out to explore the wider community and we will soon be planning our next big adventure.
Upcoming events include a World Book Day themed kids’ quiz on 6th March from 4 – 5pm. Entry will be £1 per person in teams of up to four. There will be fantastic prizes up for grabs. On 25th April we will be having an Easter egg hunt in the church garden for the Busy Bees children and later in the Easter holidays we will be having an Easter Scavenger Hunt across the whole village for the older children and families – more details to follow!
The Shepherd’s Hut goes from strength to strength thanks to the fantastic support of our volunteers and the community that visits it. Opening times are Tuesday from 12 – 1 and Friday 3 – 5.30pm. We offer food for sale from our partnership with FareShare and free items donated from M & S and Lidl thanks to our partnership with Neighbourly. We are a Community Food Waste Reduction initiative and can be accessed by anyone living within the parish boundaries. If you have never been down before, please pop along with proof of address and we can issue you with your personal shopper’s card.
On the last Tuesday of every month we have our Digital Drop In session, where we can help you with getting online, social media, basic computer usage, filling in online forms and general email and account support. We also offer a nice brew (often with a bit of home baking) and chat at the same time.”
The café is also run by the church and as always we could not do this without the help of the amazing volunteers who have stepped up to the plate to help fellow members of the community. Edith, our Hub committee chairperson, has provided a résumé of all the things they’ve been up to recently.
“The Community Café (Tuesdays 12 noon to 1.30) continues to be well supported by the local community. An average of 36 adults attend weekly and children often come too with their parents, grandparents or childminders. Well behaved dogs are also welcome and we have treats for them as well. Sixty adults from the community enjoyed a two course Christmas Lunch on the 12th December 2023 while 53 attended a Haggis Lunch on the 23rd January 2024. Both of these events were supported by a grant from Perth and Kinross Council’s “Warm Welcome Fund” for which we are very grateful.
Everyone is welcome on a Tuesday to enjoy a bowl of homemade soup with a homemade brown or white roll. We can then offer you a selection of homemade cakes and tea or coffee. The company and chat are also enjoyed by our regulars.
If you are interested in volunteering as a helper at the café please speak to Edith Walters on 07801 734117 for more information. We would welcome help with providing soup and/or cakes on a regular basis or help with setting up the hall for the café as well as with preparing and serving, washing up or clearing up. If you can commit to a couple of hours once a month to help that would be most welcome.”
Guild report
Sheena McNaughton, chair of the Woman’s Guild, has provided the following report of their recent activities.
Members enjoyed a very nice Christmas lunch at the Dalmore.
Our January meeting was made even more enjoyable by the fact that our speaker was Andrew Christie, son of one of our members Susan and former attendee at our Sunday School. His super photography gave us the feel of the vastness of the Antarctic and the temperatures with which he had to contend.
Jim Lochead gave us a most interesting history of Perth Lade explaining it’s geographical features and importance to Perth. We look forward to our March meeting when Rosie Campbell will explain to us the work of “Home For Good” which is one of the Guild projects.
Our annual coffee morning is on Sat 16th March in the church halls from 10 – 12. There will be the usual stalls and raffle. April 10th will be our AGM. We are always looking for new members and welcome visitors to any of our meetings.
Burrelton and Woodside Senior Club
The club meets fortnightly in the church hall from September 2024 (starting back Thursday 12th September at 2pm) to March 2025. The fun kicks off every other Thursday afternoon from 2 – 4.30. It is a fun friendly club where we play games, have refreshments and enjoy some entertainment. New members will be made very welcome and you can turn up at the hall on the day. There is a limit on numbers but at the time of going to print there are still places available. If you would like more information please contact Gillian on 07719 920074 or look out for the Senior Club stall at Burrelton markets.
Rural
“Burrelton and Woodside SWI meet in the church hall the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 7.15pm from September to May. We try to have a varied syllabus with demonstrations and speakers on different crafts and talks on various subjects along with competitions which you can enter every month. Something, hopefully to suit everyone. We would be delighted to have you come along and join us for even one meeting to see if this is something you would be interested in. For more information please contact Irene Smith (President) on 01828 670443 or Anne Haughs (Secretary) on 07835 303470.”
Forthcoming services
Our next communion service is on Sunday, March 10th at 10am. We would be delighted to have you come along.
For those of us feeling a little tired just now this may be a good quote to keep in mind:
“A bruised reed he will not break and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out”, Isaiah Ch. 42 v. 3