IN FAITH

APRIL/MAY 2015

Luke 24: 5f6 (NIV)

I wonder if youve ever put yourself in the shoes of

Aladdin, the young man with a penchant for rubbing
dirty old lamps with his sleeve. If you were suddenly
confronted with a Genie offering you three wishes,
what would you choose?
If you missed our service of recommittment and
renewal on Sunday 22nd March, it would be well
worth listening to Jim McGillivrays sermon on the
church website. Actually, even if you didnt miss it, it would be worth
listening again, as we move forward into Gods plans for the coming
year.
(Incidentally, if youre an iTunes user you can now find our sermons
there as well follow the links on the church website, or search for
Peebles Baptist Church in iTunes to subscribe to the podcast.)
Central to Jims message was the question that Jesus asked
Bartimaeus, the blind man he encountered on the way to Jerusalem
(read the full story in Mark 10). Bartimaeus was sitting begging by
the roadside; he heard that Jesus was passing by, and began to
shout for Jesus to have mercy on him. Jesus stopped, and said to
Bartimaeus What do you want me to do for you?
The most obvious reaction to that might be: what a stupid question!
But what do you want me to do for you is actually one of the most
important questions God ever asks us, and probably the one to
which we most frequently give the wrong answer. We ask for all the
wrong things in life. Just a few verses before this story in Mark, two
of the disciples (James and John) have been asked exactly the same
thing by Jesus and it turns out they wanted to be the top dogs in
Jesus new kingdom (v35ff). Other people in that chapter wanted to
outsmart and trap Jesus (the Pharisees in verse 2), or eternal
security at no-cost (the rich young man in verse 17).
God is asking us, both as individuals and as a church, what do you
want me to do for you? What an opportunity and what a huge
responsibility to get the answer right! Unlike Aladdin, we only get
one answer. But Aladdins genie has got nothing on what our God
can do.

Prayer Update
Over the last couple of months, weve been discussing how we
might raise the profile of prayer in the church. Weve been keen
to encourage more people to come to church prayer meetings,
and also find ways to help people explore praying on their own
on a regular basis. This has been given an added emphasis for
those who heard Jim McGillivrays sermon at our service of
renewal on March 22nd (and if you missed that or you want to
hear it again, its available on the church website).
From the responses weve had, we know that many people find
Saturday mornings a difficult time to gather to pray. That said,
for other people Saturdays are a great time and for others, the
idea of a traditional prayer meeting just isnt very attractive.
For that reason well be trying a mixture of a few different
approaches. In March, we had the first of our new mid-week
prayer meetings, starting with some worship and a short
reflection before dividing into groups for prayer on specific
topics. That meeting was based around Romans 12:1-2, with
prayer focussed on renewal of our hearts, minds, and (church)
body. Well be having more of those mid-week prayer meetings in
the future, but we dont want to disrupt house groups by doing
so every month.
So well not lose Saturday mornings completely for those early
birds who value a chance to start the weekend with prayer and a
bite to eat, the prayer breakfasts will be scheduled on an
occasional basis (to complement the group praying regularly at
the Kings Meadow on Saturday mornings see Wilma if you
want to find out more about that).
Something else youll see, especially over the warmer months of
the summer, is organised prayer walks. These are an opportunity
to go in small groups around different areas of the town, praying
for people and places that come to mind along the way.
Prayer changes things!

Mission update:
New mission partners bound for
Bangladesh
We now have a total of 4 mission partners around the globe:

Anne and David in Italy

Sara in Peru
Andy and Jutta in Haiti (due to visit us in Peebles to speak
on Sunday 21st June put it in your diaries)
And now, newly linked to us, Ally, Abi, Lachlan and Bethia
who are currently in Birmingham at the BMS training centre,
but who will be going to Bangladesh later in the year.

You can follow Ally and Abis blog at www.allyandabi.wordpress.com

and if you enter your email address, you will get email updates
every now and then when they write in the blog. Here is a wee bit
about them, and a photo so you can start praying for them now!
From the BMS summary of their People with BMS section on their
website:
Once they have completed their training, Abi and Ally will be
moving to Bangladesh later in 2015. Ally will be seconded to
a partner organisation. He will be using his engineering and
team leadership skills in a local business, whilst Abi will be
using her knowledge of communication development to
impact their community.
Ally is a mechanical engineer and Abi has worked for over
nine years as a specialist speech and language therapist for
children with additional support needs.
Abi and Ally met at university in Edinburgh and are married
with a three year old son, Lachlan, and new baby, Bethia.

BUS Prayer Diary. . .

April

6th
Jim Meighan (Chaplain, NHS Glasgow, North & East)
Collydean Baptist Church
Colonsay Baptist Church
Cornton Baptist Church

April

13th
David Middlemiss (Army Chaplain)
Cowal Baptist Church
Cowdenbeath Baptist Church
Crieff Baptist Church

April

20th
Stuart Murdoch (Chaplain, Strathcarron Hospice)
Crookston Baptist Church
Crown Terrace Baptist Church
Culduthel Christian Centre

April

27th
Culloden Baptist Church
Cupar Baptist Church
Dalbeattie Baptist Church

May 3rd
Al Nicoll (RAF Chaplain)
Dalkeith Baptist Church
Dedridge Baptist Church
Dennistoun Baptist Church
May 10th
Adam Plenderleith (Chaplain, Glasgow Royal Infirmary)
Denny Baptist Church
Dingwall Baptist Church
Drumchapel Baptist Church

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May 17th
Jack Quinn (Workplace Chaplaincy Scotland)
Dumbarton Baptist Church
Dumfries Baptist Church
Duncan Street Baptist Church
May 24th
Jim Simpson (Chaplain, Royal Cornhill Hospital, Aberdeen)
Dundee Central Baptist Church
Dunfermline West Baptist Church
Dunoon Baptist Church
May 31st
David Vogan (Chaplain, Nethervale Care Home, Auchlochan)
Dunrossness Baptist Church
East Mains Baptist Church
Easterhouse Baptist Church

Community Garden update Spring

has sprung, and the water tank is
filling up.
Well done to Bill and Jason (who lives
in one of the houses next to the
garden) for installing a water tank
next to the shed. Some guttering has
been used to channel rainwater from
the shed to the tank, and it is proving
to be a very efficient system.
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Ok, so the garden is not looking at its best yet this year, and
so pretty soon we will be giving out dates when we will be able
to meet at the garden and do some tidying, digging, weeding,
planting etc.
More people are really needed! Would you like to come along
on a Friday afternoon to help Bill with the garden? Just have a
chat with him to find out times.
Look out for dates in the church notice sheets and announced
from the front for when we will be at the garden doing some of
the projects, but things planned for this spring include:

Finish the paths

Plant potatoes, peas, beans and other veg
Plant flowers
Get seating organised re-varnish the bench
Build compost bins out of old pallets

Please pray for the garden and the outreach opportunity it

gives to us.

Here is a wee recipe for the garden that may also be a good
one for our church life:

Plant 3 rows of peas peas of mind, peas of heart,

peas of soul
Plant 4 rows of squash squash gossip, squash
indifference, squash grumbling, squash selfishness
Plant 4 rows of lettuce lettuce be faithful, lettuce be
kind, lettuce be patient, lettuce love one another
No garden should be without turnips turnip for
meetings, turnip to serve, turnip to help one another
Remember to plant some thyme thyme for each
other, thyme for family and friends, thyme for God.

The Best of the Word

Today, Bob Gass, UCB
We will reap a harvest if we do
not give up.
(Galatians 6:9 NIV)
Perseverence means:
(1) Succeeding because youre
determined to, not because youre entitled to.
Achievers dont sit back and wait for success because they think
the world owes them. No, if youre wise youll ask God for
direction, stand firm on the Word He has given you, go forward
and refuse to quit. You must adopt the attitude of the man who
said, We are determined to win. Well fight them until hell
freezes over, and, if we have to, well fight them on ice.
Recalling the trials he had faced, Paul said: I started, and Im
going to finish. Ive worked much harder, been jailed more often,
beaten up more times than I can count, and at deaths door
And thats not the half of it (2 Corinthians 11:2328 TM). One
word describes Paul relentless.
(2) Recognizing that life is not one long race, but many short ones in
succession.
Each task has its own challenges, and each day its own events.
You have to get out of bed the next morning and run again, but it
is never exactly the same race. To be successful, you must keep
plugging away. Its said that Columbus faced incredible
difficulties while sailing west in search of a passage to Asia. He
encountered storms, experienced hunger, deprivation and
extreme discouragement. The crews of his three ships were near
mutiny. But his account of the journey says the same thing over
and over: Today, we sailed on. And his perseverance paid off.
He didnt discover a fast route to the spice-rich Indies; instead
he found a new continent. The scriptural key to success is
running the race each day (see Hebrews 12:12). So, this year,
persevere.

Twenty for 15 update

Responding to a request at the
last Church Members Meeting
for regular updates on the
progress of our Twenty for
15 plans, here is the first in
what should be articles in each
edition of the magazine.
The plans outlined in the last
magazine were broken down
by rough date order; some are
very specific and easy to
measure, others not quite so
much.
Nevertheless, heres where we
are so far:
1. (We have clear priorities emerging from the Leadership Team
Away Day on 21st January; and Church Meeting on 28th
January.) Done the Twenty for 15 plans have been
disc ussed and published, tog ether with some of the
underlying vision for what we believe the church needs
to become, and steps that need to be taken.
2. (We will urgently rekindle our expectation that people long
known to us can/will come to faith, by spending time with
God, both personally and corporately, seeking the renewal of
our hearts and minds.) To an extent this is an ong oing
challeng e, but a spec ific foc us of the last month
( inc luding the midweek prayer meeting in Marc h) has
been precisely to seek the renewal of our hearts and
minds. Q uestion: to what extent do we feel that are
expectations are being rekindled?
3. (We will hold a recommitment/re-dedication/covenant
service/event for whole church in March (?) with outside
facilitation/assistance.) This was the spec ial servic e on
Marc h 22 nd , with sig nificant input from Jim McGillivray.

4. (We will recognise our fear and, through commitment to

prayer which doesnt limit God, we will learn to be fearless.)
A hard one to measure, and very much an ong oing
challeng e; nevertheless the commitment to prayer
has to remain a high priority.
6. (The Leadership Team will review the Churchs approach to
responsibility and oversight across the various areas of
ministry; and report back to the Church meeting with
recommendations in May.) The Leadership Team spent an
afternoon with Jim McGillivray hearing about the
chang es that have been put in plac e in East Mains
Baptist to improve lines of responsibility and
acc ountability, and move towards g reater deleg ation
and effectiveness across our ministries. This has the
potential to lead to exciting and sig nificant c hang e.
7. (We will have a Celebrate Recovery group up and running
within the church by June, to serve people affected by
addictions.) Planning , disc ussion and investig ation of
Celebrate Recovery is underway with a small team led
by Jennie Jacobs.
10.

(We will have a revised and updated Church Constitution

by September.) With sig nific ant input from Johns
experience in this area, the Leadership Team has been
working on a new constitution, and plan to distribute a
draft for discussion this month.

14.

(The number of members will have risen to fifty.)

Membership now stands at 42, with another
membership application in the pipeline.

Were making good progress, but none of this is intended to

suggest complacency! As Paul says in Philippians 3:12, not that
I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my
goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me.

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The return of the Big Sunday Festival

August 17th 2014 the weather forecast was just awful;
remember?! However, God's big day had been in the planning for
months and He wasn't going to let a little thing like rain and wind
stop it! And what a day it was. We set out to offer a day of
blessings, God's gifts to the community to enable His kingdom to
shine and to share the vast love He has for us.
1000 burgers later, the threatened rain did eventually pour but it
didn't dampen our spirits as we rounded off a day of remarkable
witness to His glory, with Amie Aitken entertaining (transferred from
stage to tea tent!) with soulful music and testimonials. The grace of
that day continued in
people's memories far longer than a day and I believe seeds were
sown that God will use to cause great trees to grow, much as the
parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32). Even the smallest
seed can grow magnificent!
To build upon the seeds sown, the steering group have agreed to
repeat the festival this Summer, Sunday 16th August, learning from
the experience of last year's festival (thank you for all the really
helpful feedback) and listening close for God's direction of how it
should evolve this year. We will have many of the same elements
that were so successful but with a greater focus on community
involvement using local musical talent and entertainment, and
centre games that will (hopefully!) get everyone involved together
having fun and deepening relationships.
We have some exciting new ideas for
sharing the gospel, alongside the prayer
tent and healing rooms tent, that may
provide an opportunity for people to
explore faith in a sensitive and nonthreatening way, and we will have the
same range of activities and food on
offer. All with the core value of
Everything Free with no catch!
The one difference this year, is that we
have no budget for the festival. Last year
was exceptional in that a large donation
had been made. This year we need to do

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2

a lot of praying, not just for the success of the festival in fulfilling
His will for it, but in very practical terms for the money to finance it.
We will be cutting down on some of the more expensive attractions
like the bands and the inflatables, but still need to pay for food,
marketing, marquees and some of the entertainment. At the
moment the pot is (almost) empty! Please keep praying for God to
provide the funding that is needed, for us to be able to discern His
vision for the 2015 BSF clearly and for us to be united in our
following of His guidance and will, as we seek His blessings on our
community.
The steering group needs your support, prayers and practical help.
If you can volunteer again or for the first time, there is a role for
you. Have you gifts you could use to contribute to the festival?
Nearer the time, we will distribute volunteer sign up sheets again
and let you know the range of help that will be needed. For now, we
have a few key coordinator roles that are vacant: Media Liaison,
Food Coordinator and Stewards Coordinator. If you think you may
be able to help with these roles, or indeed have any ideas or
feedback to give please contact Sue Thurston (Project Coordinator)
on 725103 or 07811 978124, or email at
eucharisteo@btinternet.com

Deacons report: what do the Deacons do?

Deacons have different roles in other denominations, and even
across Baptist churches here in Scotland youll find their
responsibilities vary. But the word itself is derived from the
Greek for servant, so, at its heart, the deacons job involves
attending to the needs of others, and also includes an essential
accountability to others.
The deacons in Peebles Baptist (at present, Linda Bell, John
Dalrymple, Christine Drummond, Liz Keiro and Wilma Wintour,
plus Ian as the minister) are servants, under God, of this Church
family, and answerable to Him and to the Church membership
for the way in which we carry out our duties.
At the deacons Away Day in January (away in the
comfortable, but not exactly exotic, location of The Bridge in
Tweeddale meeting room!) we agreed to improve accountability

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by including an update on the Deacons doings in every edition of

the Magazine. This will be in addition to the Minutes of
Meetings, which, despite technical problems, we still fully intend
to post on the Church Members page on the website.
The deacons normally meet from 7:30pm until about 10pm, on
the first Monday of each month. (In April we wont be meeting
until the 13th.) The Agenda for a typical Deacons Meeting
includes an opening Bible reading and prayer time; some sharing
of information about pastoral situations (all of which remain
confidential within the diaconate); some discussion of financial
matters; any updates on accommodation issues; and planning
for forthcoming events. Since drawing up the Twenty for 2015
document at the Away Day (see the previous Magazine, or ask a
deacon!) were also including, at each meeting, a review of
progress towards these objectives.
One major piece of work at the moment (which has largely fallen
on Johns very capable shoulders) is the consideration of
possible changes to the Churchs Constitution; clearly, an
extremely important matter, which will be discussed in detail at
Members Meetings.
Ill try to include more specific information on individual items in
the next Magazine, but this month, theres news to share about
two non-routine Deacons meetings. The first of these
(actually the first of a planned series of six meetings, to be held
at monthly intervals) had the sole purpose of allowing the
Deacons to read and reflect on Gods Word together, using a
booklet prepared by Rev Dr Stuart Blyth (formerly of the
Scottish, and now of the European, Baptist College). All of us
really treasure this opportunity.
The second special meeting recently was on the afternoon of 22
March, when we had the privilege of hearing from Rev Jim
McGillivray about a very different model of church leadership,
which has been working very well in his large East Kilbride
congregation. This was a fascinating, quite mind-stretching
session, and the deacons have committed to praying, thinking
through and further discussing (partly by email) some of the
ideas Jim left with us. Some of which will probably appear in
subsequent Magazines

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Regular Events
Sundays
Prayer Meeting 10.30 AM
Morning Service 11.00 AM
Vickys Tearoom 34 PM (second Sunday of the month)
Mondays
Lunch n Chat 12 .00

PM

(every five weeks)

Tuesdays
Afternoon House Group 1.00 PM, Glensax Road
Evening House Group 7.30 PM, Kingsmeadows Gardens
Wednesdays
Dovecot Court Service 3.00 PM, (PBC every two months
watch calendar for details)
Singing Together 2.00 PM, Dovecot Court (first
Wednesday)
Innerleithen House Group 7.30 PM, 9 Montgomery
Square
Prayer meetings 7.30 pm, VPC (third Wednesday of the
month)
Thursdays
West Linton House Group 7.30
(fortnightly)

PM,

Fridays
Kings Meadow Work Parties 24

8 Lyne Park

PM

(see Bill for dates)

Saturdays
Prayer meetings variable (watch out for details)
Messy church 35 PM (~fourth Saturday of the month)

Updates and last minute changes are shown on the weekly

Supplement please keep your eyes peeled!

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On Good Friday, there will be a communion service at

the Victoria Park Centre at 7pm

SUNDAY 6 APRIL
Childrens talk:
KAOS Bubbles:
KAOS Splash:
Teens:
Flowers:
Stewards:
Teas:
Setup:

Christine Drummond
Jennie Jacobs, Morag Bramhall
Lindsey Gray, Christine Drummond
Richard Dewhurst
Sheila
Richard Dewhurst, Jennie Jacobs
Wilma
David, Frank, Janet

SUNDAY 13 APRIL EASTER SERVICE

Childrens talk:
Richard Bramhall
KAOS Bubbles:
Lorna Doran, Emma Dalrymple
KAOS Splash:
Jan Gordon, Charles Tulloch
Teens:
Help with KAOS
Flowers:
Moira
Stewards:
Chris Dewhurst, Ronnie
Teas:
Lindsey
Setup:
Bill, Jacqueline, Janet
SUNDAY 20 APRIL
Childrens talk:
KAOS Bubbles:
KAOS Splash:
Teens:
Flowers:
Stewards:
Teas:
Setup:
Commn Servers:

Jacqueline Wilson
Moira Dalrymple, Carlyn McCall
Chris Dewhurst, A.N. Other
Stay in service
Margaret Cowan
Lindsey Gray, Carlyn McCall
Pat
David, Frank, Janet
Fergus Brown, Morag Bramhall (Vi laying)

SUNDAY 27 APRIL
Childrens talk:
KAOS Bubbles:
KAOS Splash:
Teens:
Flowers:
Stewards:
Teas:
Setup:

Linda Bell
Christine Drummond, Elaine Taylor
Bill Jacobs, Janlyn Townley
Richard Bramhall
Christine
Frank Drummond, Hazel Hoggan
Ronnie
Bill, Jacqueline, Janet

May dates still in progress

Contacts Page
Pastor:
Ian K Gray
(day off: Monday)

07881 518854
pastor@peeblesbaptistchurch.org

Secretary:
Christine Drummond 01721 722062
Treasurer:
Liz Keiro

01721 730217

Magazine Editor:
Morag Bramhall

magazine@peeblesbaptistchurch.org

Church website:

http://peeblesbaptistchurch.org

Practical
Help
Leave a
message:
01721
788592

Leave a message via email

(help@peeblessbaptistchurch.org)
or answering machine (01721 788592)
To request or offer jobs and skills,
driving, equipment loan etc

Prayer

Contact Fergus & Vi Brown with all

prayer requests (01721 720931)

Contact
Fergus & Vi:
01721
720931

Confidential requests to PULSE

prayer group

Visiting

Contact John & Moira Dalrymple

(01899 229343) with requests for
visits from the pastoral team

Contact
John & Moira:
01899
229343

"Public" requests to church

members
via text message

PULSE pastoral visiting group will

complement "normal" visiting

Pastor
You can still
call Ian:
07881
518854

Alternatively, or in an emergency, you can

always call Ian Gray on 07881 518854