Welcome!

We know not everyone who is part of Westwood Church is able to be in church on Sunday morning however, we thought it would be good to offer some excerpts from the Sunday morning service. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you. If you want to plug in headphones to your computer, tablet or mobile phone now is a good time to do it ! If you want to offer some comment or feedback just use the comment box at the end of this post.

Scripture

Psalm 1

Mark 9: 30 – 37

Praise – Immortal Invisible

Prayers

Our trust in God is like a tree growing by living streams of water.  The fruit we bear brings joy to all when justice blossoms.  The tree is nourished, watered, it never fails, it never dries up for God provides for its needs.

God of Heaven, Creator and Sustainer,

Christ Jesus, saviour and friend,

Holy Spirit, our constant guide, we come before you as your people.

We come with the dust of the world on our feet, acutely aware of strife, both within and without. We seek your cleansing power, your presence, your promptings, your peace.

We come in response to your invitation, knowing that you will work within us and among us. We offer you ourselves, open, expectant, ready for new life to take root within us.

Loving God, we marvel at the gift of life itself, the sheer wonder of being. Thank you for the everyday beauty we see: the flowers and fruits in their season, the gifts of fellowship and friendship, not only with one another but with you.  Your life giving goodness is unstoppable. We depend upon you like trees, planted beside a stream. Forgive us for our straying. We know there have been times when we’ve harboured resentment and jealousy, when we’ve been consumed by ambition. We have not paused to remember your values, nor to ask for guidance. Our negligence leaves us weary. Renew and forgive us. Bring us ever closer to you and plant your wisdom within us.

Hear us as we join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer saying…

Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name.  Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever.  Amen.

Address

I don’t know if you’ve ever had a walk through Chatelherault Country Park and come across the ancient oaks.  These ancient oak trees sit in a meadow on the left bank of the River Avon, although to be honest they are not that close to the river.  The Chatelherault Oaks have been dated back to the 15^th century making them around 600 years old, which is old but not that old compared to the life span of a Yew tree.

Yew trees grow very slowly, some years they don’t grow at all and it makes them very difficult to date.  If an oak tree is considered ancient at about 400 years old, a Yew tree is not considered ancient until it is 900 years old.  The most ancient Yew trees in the United Kingdom are almost exclusively found in church graveyards; the most ancient of which is at Fortingall Church in Perthshire not far from Kenmore at the end of Loch Tay.  The Fortingall Yew is at least 2000 years old, scientific dating has suggested it is 3,500 years old and some wild estimates suggest it’s as much as 9,000 years old.

It is hardly surprising that the Yew tree has come to symbolise the immortal.  Something that spans thousands of years of history, that pre-dates any records of our heritage will inevitably carry a sense of mystery, spirituality and eternity, which is maybe why graveyards were established around them.

I suppose the Chatelherault Oaks and the Fortingall Yew have seen their share of flood and drought and survived it all because they have had time, (centuries/ millennia) in which to sink their roots deep into the soil; they will always find water even in the driest and hottest of summers.  Unlike the young trees we planted at Dunedin Park.  Hundreds of young striplings were planted late in the year full in the knowledge that one third of them would not survive.  I had thought that winter frost and snow might have killed them off but NO; it was the very dry June of the following summer that did the most harm. Each day I could see leaves wilting and going brown.  Each day that passed brought those young trees closer to dying off.  Their young shallow roots were unable to find water.

Like all living things, trees, all plants and animals, humans too, we depend on water for life.  And I will qualify that by saying “clean water”, we need clean water for life.  But I am not about to launch into some rhetoric on sewage spills into lochs and lakes and rivers from inadequate Victorian sewage systems.

The Book of Psalms opens with an image of God’s people being like trees that grow beside a stream.  They have an endless supply of clean refreshing water that provides them with growth, even in the driest of summers, and because they have water, they produce fruit at the right time, fruit in season, and their leaves never dry up.

I think many of us would look on our faith in Christ as being just that.  We’ve faced the hard and difficult times in life, we’ve had our crosses to bear, yet our faith is undiminished; faith like clean water, has sustained us, our spirits have not dried up or withered and we have produced fruits through our quiet testimony to the need for faith in Christ.

And as I, we, reflect on that, we come to realise that so many images of faith, and life lived in faith, are drawn from images in nature.  The parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus calls us to be fishers of men, we are the sheep and He is the great shepherd, the creator God seen in sun, moon and stars, the parable of the fig tree, God in the storm, in the wind, in the fire, God in the stillness…  In terms of the scriptures so much of our relationship with God is seen in our relationship with nature; nature tells us about God; God communicates with us through nature.

And I wonder if that’s why we find faith so hard to communicate in our world today.  We have lost our relationship with God in part because we have lost our relationship with nature.  We communicate God in some academic, doctrinal way, in statements of faith that are dry and fruitless.  When faith should be live-giving, soul-refreshing, thirst-quenching like a drink of ice-cold water on a hot summer’s day.

Praise – Fairest Lord Jesus

Prayers for Others

Israeli Espionage (Mossad)

War, they say, is the mother of all invention.  Who could imagine that something as small as a Pager for receiving messages could become an explosive device? Who could imagine that such things as Pagers and Walkie Talkies could be weaponised?  This is high tech espionage mindboggling in its ingenuity, yet, so utterly dismaying in its pre-meditated nature.  Even if the intent was only to destroy communications amongst Hezbollah militia, then where is the thought for innocent bystanders?  The deception and darkness of warfare brings forth the greatest of ingenuity and inventiveness and the worst of human nature.  Lord God, where does it go from here?  Do sworn enemies admit defeat and seek peace? Or does this descend to ever great depths of deception and cruelty?

Lord hear us in our prayers for sworn enemies…

In Praise of the Creator

Almighty and sovereign God, we join together in grateful acknowledgement of your creative power.  For you are the one whose hands shaped the universe.  Yours is the power that guides and controls the nations.  Yours is the love that works in and through all things.  Mighty God, we acknowledge you as the Lord and master of our lives.  Come amongst us and inspire us with new vision for what this world could be, should be; fill us with hope and send us out into this world to speak up for creation, to speak up for our neighbour, to speak up for Christ and all He has done to redeem us and all creation.  Almighty God hear us in prayers of thanksgiving for Your creative works…

Made in the image of God

You Lord God, made us in your image.  Often, we wonder exactly what that means.  Maybe simply this, that you have blessed us with the same creativity that you possess.  You have given us the ability to explore the far reaches of space, the depths of the oceans, the structures of the atom.  You have given us the ability to understand physics and chemistry and create afresh with materials and forces.  Yet not all our creativity is used for the good of humanity or for the glory of God.  Lord Jesus, where creativity has become depravity convict humanity of our wrong, and lead us in paths that lead to a harvest of goodness for all.  Lord hear us in our prayers…

Praise – Love Divine

The Grace

And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.

Welcome!

We know not everyone who is part of Westwood Church is able to be in church on Sunday morning however, we thought it would be good to offer some excerpts from the Sunday morning service. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you. If you want to plug in headphones to your computer, tablet or mobile phone now is a good time to do it ! If you want to offer some comment or feedback just use the comment box at the end of this post.

Scripture

Psalm 19: 1 – 6

Mark 8: 27 – 38

Praise – Jesus shall reign

Prayers

In the gloom of an autumn evening, in the dreich moments of a drizzly day, in those moments of transition from morning to evening the skies still tell of the Glory of the God who created them.  All of nature tells of the God which looked upon it and saw it to be good.

There is no language in which the voices of nature and all creation are not heard; no culture which succeeds more than temporarily in ignoring them.  May we be encouraged and filled with awe as we contemplate our common home, this living Earth, which speaks so eloquently and prophetically of you, the sustaining God.

Creator God, Who spoke and at your word the world was created, who breathed life into your creatures, and declared all you created as good, Lord, we praise you, for the wonder of your creation. It is with sorrow that we admit that the good you have done has been tarnished by us.  We have played our part in the damage done to the world. 

We ask your forgiveness for the mess we have made and continue to make.

Strengthen us to mend our ways and to move away from all that damages our common home; help us to see the needs of others ahead of our own.

Lord forgive us for covering our ears and refusing to listen to wisdom as she calls out to us.  Forgive us when we become more interested in the clamour of the world that the words of wisdom that will keep us on the right path. Forgive us our foolishness, and our refusal to learn.  Give us ears that are ready to listen and to learn from you, our saviour and Lord,

Lord Jesus Christ, you offer us a clean slate, the opportunity to start afresh.  And we come to offer you willing hearts and open minds. We give what we can from of all that you have given to us so that your Kingdom may grow and all nature rejoice in the love of the Creator.

Hear us as we join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer saying…

Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name.  Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever.  Amen.

Address

Maybe it was vain pride that got the better of me.  When it came to choosing a family pet dog there was no way I was going out to walk a toy poodle, or a Yorkshire Terrier.  I needed a proper dog, a dog of a decent size, but not aggressive nor one that was going to leave puddles of dog drool on the furniture or up the walls.  I have no complaints therefore about the two Golden Retrievers I have owned; Zach and Caie were both wonderful dogs.  For the last eight years our wee dog Jet, a Working Cocker Spaniel, has lived with us and he has been the best dog yet.  No, he is not a big manly dog like the retrievers, but I’ve learned that that does not matter. He’s a quiet, affectionate patient dog in the house; easy to live with. Take Jet to Rouken Glen or the windfarm and it’s like someone has flicked a switch on.  Suddenly he is animated, full of energy, nose to the ground picking up every sniff and scent, pounces on every stick he can find with absolute commitment and precision (we have to put him on his lead to pick up sticks to throw or you’ll lose your fingers!)  And he loves the water, he loves swimming in the river at Rouken Glen and he loves the muddy peaty puddles at the windfarm, and he loves sticks being thrown into the water for him to fetch.  He’s a joy to watch, a joy just watching him being a spaniel, doing what he instinctively knows how to do, like a child at play in the best playground ever, up to his ears in mud and glore.

I cannot understand why some people try so hard to humanise their pets.  No dog needs a pink bow tied in its hair, or a coat to keep it dry, a handbag to be carried about in, or worse still a pram so you can push it about; it’s a dog, it has four paws, it can walk!!!  While I sort of disapprove of such humanising of our pets, I also understand that’s it’s a way of expressing the relationship we have with the living, breathing, sentient creatures we share our lives with.  

Maybe that’s why we are a nation of dog lovers, and cat lovers too.  We see their individual personalities, their adaptability to fit into our surroundings.  The close bonds and relationships we form with them become meaningful to us.

I can be pretty sure we don’t feel that way about the sun, or the moon, or the stars.  In Psalm 19 the sun is like a happy bridegroom or an athlete eager to run a race, I’ve never thought on the sun in terms like that.  I’ve never thought on the rising of the sun or its going down as in any way announcing God’s glory.  Don’t get me wrong, a magnificent sunrise or sunset is something to behold but I don’t see the sun or moon or stars as living things, not living in the way that you and I, or our family pet, are living, breathing, sentient and blessed with personality.  Yet, the psalmist attributes personality to these heavenly bodies.  He wants to express a relationship between humanity and the cosmos that surrounds us.  For him it is a relationship that stems from and points to God.

If we only think on the sun as a ball of burning gas, and the moon as no more than a lump of rock and dust floating in space, and the stars as so infinitely distant from us as to be irrelevant to anything, then what do we think of planet earth?  Is the rock and dust beneath our feet just dead, inanimate meaningless nothing, devoid of purpose or personality, with which we have no relationship?  Or should we be reinforcing the images of Mother Earth and all the concepts of birth, death, love and care, nurture and nourishment – relationship, that we learn from our mothers and need to express toward planet earth and all that stretches out in the heavens above.

In the Book of Genesis, a story of relationship is retold.  The relationship between God and creation, God and humanity, humanity and creation.  Genesis also retells the story of a broken relationship between God and humanity and how one broken relationship impacts upon all others including humanity’s relationship with nature.  Is it possible that we’ll never get humanity’s relationship with planet earth right until we get humanity’s relationship with God, right?

Praise – I’m not ashamed

Prayers for Others

Finding God Everywhere

Father in Heaven, we think on you as a God who is everywhere, omni-present.  You are with us now, in this place, within these walls, in our thoughts, our words, our prayers and praises.  Yet we are challenged at the thought that you might be in our neighbour, in a stranger, in a foreigner or in a refugee.  We are challenged by the thought that you might be within all living things, that having given them the gift of life, they too might be in a relationship with you, even if that relationship is different to ours.  Can you really be alive to us in plants and animals?  Can you really be alive to us in the rocks and the dust?  Can you really be alive to us in the sun and moon and stars?

Help us Lord to realise that you are involved in every aspect of our lives and that you exist in every relationship; the relationships we love and enjoy and in the relationships that are broken for you are a God of relationships, Father, Son and Spirit, three and yet one.   When we return to our daily routines may we come to know that you are present in the everyday, the mundane and ordinary as much as you are in the wonders of creation.  Lord hear us in our prayers as we turn to seek you in all things and everywhere…

The Wonders of Life

For the wonders of life, we thank you and praise you.  For the beauty that surrounds us, that fill us with awe and causes us to catch our breath we thank you.  For family and friends, for the gift of faith and the hope of the Gospel; for food to eat and clothes to keep us warm, and a home to shelter us; we thank you.

For all the things we think we have worked for and earned by our own endeavours yet, are still gifts from you by virtue of the skills and talents, intelligence and ingenuity you have gifted us with, we thank you.

Lord God, you know and we know that life brings its hardships and struggles yet, life is the most wonderful, resilient and precious of gifts.  Hear us now a we offer our thanks for the Wonders of Life…

Praise – Be thou my vision

The Grace

And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.

Welcome!

We know not everyone who is part of Westwood Church is able to be in church on Sunday morning however, we thought it would be good to offer some excerpts from the Sunday morning service. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you. If you want to plug in headphones to your computer, tablet or mobile phone now is a good time to do it ! If you want to offer some comment or feedback just use the comment box at the end of this post.

Scripture

Isaiah 35: 1 – 7

Mark 7: 24 – 27

Praise – Praise to the Lord

Prayers

Loving and sustaining God, known to us from our very beginnings, known to us in the life-force within your creation, creatures who sing of God each dawn and dusk, who creep through the Earth beneath our feet, and swarm in the air around us, open up our senses to all life, life on whom we depend.

We see you in the earth’s abundance and diversity, in the swaying of the grasses and scent of flowers; for our life is not detached or neutral; not isolated, nor disconnected. Our every action works its way through skies and seas and reaches the heavens above, and all our ways of life and commerce will shape this day, and many days to come.

You are the God who chose to walk your Earth and in the cool of the evening to walk with us in paradise.  Yet, we have trodden heavily upon this earth; trampling rather than tilling, uprooting without replanting, reaping without sowing, as if this could go on and on.

Yet in love, you say: no more! In love, you say change now!

In love, you shine a bright light on God’s urgent permission to think and act differently: to choose other than to harm or take without giving.

Christ, who forgives before we’ve even confessed, stay with us on the journey of healing, grant us determination as people forgiven and loved to leave behind the burdens we should carry no longer and receive the life that quenches our thirst. 

May God’s will to be done throughout all Creation.

Hear us as we join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer saying…

Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name.  Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever.  Amen.

Address

It’s a few years now since Lynn and I had a holiday in Italy.  We will go back one day maybe when we have a special anniversary or birthday to celebrate.  Typically, we have enjoyed the Lakes and Mountains kind of holiday in Italy, not that we are mountaineers or anything, we’ve simply enjoyed the spectacular scenery. But what sticks in my mind is the amazing relationship, and spiritual relationship, that has developed with those mountain landscapes.

I can recall being overawed by the vast mountain landscapes of the Pordoi Pass, near Canazei, North East Italy and simply incredulous to see a little church perched on a near vertical cliff face hundreds of feet up from the base of the cliff.  It makes the climb up Belmont Drive to our wee church pale into insignificance.  I suspect most of the worshippers at that wee cliff face church arrived with ropes and other climbing gear!  It really cannot have been easy to build a church in such a daunting location.  The sheer determination to get tools and materials up that cliff face hardly bears thinking about, and yet humanity’s relationship with God has always involved the challenge of mountain terrain.

I suspect we all know of a church somewhere, even in Scotland, that sits on the top of a hill, or a high point in the town, prominently featured for all to see.  Somehow its elevated location points us toward the heavens and Godly things and the importance of those Godly things.  Those buildings become statements of faith in their own right even if, as in that wee cliff face church, their remoteness makes it almost impossible for anyone to actually worship from within their walls!  

For the prophet Isaiah the image of a Road to Holiness begins with an image of the dry desert becoming as beautiful and fertile as the Lebanon Mountains.  Long before Isaiah we have Moses on Mount Sinai receiving the stone tablets of the Law, twice.  We have the revised edition. Who knows what was written on the first set of stone tablets??!!  Peter James and John go with Jesus to a mountain top where they see Jesus transfigured and shining like the sun.  Jesus comes down from the Mount of Olives to enter Jerusalem and go on to his trial and crucifixion.  The mountains and hills are spiritual places not just because the view from the top allows us to see the vast wonder of creation stretching out below us; the mountains are eternal and everlasting, we did not witness their birth or formation and we shall be gone long before they crumble to rocks and dust.  Somehow the mountains reflect the very nature of God; eternal and reaching to the heavens.

And yet, these ancient rocky landscapes are remarkably fragile.  In other parts of the world, we might be thinking of Snow Leopards or Mountain Gorillas struggling to survive through de-forestation of their mountain habitats.  And closer to home we may consider the decline of mountain hares and ptarmigan because our winter sports facilities scar the fragile landscape as do humans who in their increasing number erode the pathways and leave litter, where soil erosion on steep slopes caused by deforestation harms the quantity and quality of water downstream to farms and industry and power stations.

When we fail to see our connection to the remotest and most unforgiving terrain in our environment, we fail to see how just how much harm we bring to ourselves.  And maybe we can only appreciate that connection between humanity and creation when we see creation as a gift from God, always beautiful, sometimes brutal and terrifying, and if left alone perfect in its function.

Praise – When I survey

Prayers for Others

Grenfell Tower – seven years on

The final inquiry report on the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the death of 72 residents reveals a catalogue of lies, greed and incompetence on behalf of the construction industry and Housing Associations and even the fire service.  72 residents whose deaths were avoidable. And we think on families who still do not have the justice they seek, now hoping that inquiry evidence will be used in prosecutions; prosecutions that are still years away.  It is a long time to live with the rawness of their grief, the wounds that are never allowed to heal, the questions that never find an answer; re-living the trauma in every page of the report.  Lord and God, we pray that justice may now be served, that integrity be restored, and peace return to the hearts of those who mourn.  Lord hear our prayers…

Thanksgiving

In a hurting world, war torn and weary; in a hurting world where even the young have lost their innocence and bring suffering to others, in a hurting world where a bright tomorrow is a forlorn hope, it is hard to offer prayers of thanksgiving.  Yet, we have you Lord, eternal and steadfast like the mountains; a God of love and justice, a God who invites us to walk in the light of love, a God who invites us to be the antidote to the ills of this world, and for that we give thanks, give thanks for hope, for light, for love, for joy;  give thanks for a different way to life this life.  Lord God, Lord Jesus Christ in prayer we thank you for the hope of the Gospel, this life of faith and the presence of the Kingdom of God.  Hear our prayers…

Praise – For Everyone Born

The Grace

And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.

Welcome!

We know not everyone who is part of Westwood Church is able to be in church on Sunday morning however, we thought it would be good to offer some excerpts from the Sunday morning service. Where we can, we offer parts of the service in text and audio, whichever works best for you. If you want to plug in headphones to your computer, tablet or mobile phone now is a good time to do it ! If you want to offer some comment or feedback just use the comment box at the end of this post.

Scripture

Song of Songs 2: 8 – 13

Mark 7: 1 – 4 & 14 – 24

Praise – Lord of creation

Prayers

In this Season of Creation may our God hear the voices of all nature, of peoples and forests, of all that flies, or walks, or swims, or crawls; from the heights to the depths may God the Creator, the Sustainer be praised.

For you, our God, have woven the fabric of life with such exuberant variety, of creatures seen and unseen; predators and prey, pollinators and plants, blossoms that delight, and fruits that nourish; and people… yes, people, to protect the Earth!

Lord God, you delight in us, made us in your image, so much so that in Christ you have shared flesh, blood and frailty full in the knowledge of what humanity had become; that we have torn apart the web of life, trampled the poor, blocked the circulation of goodness, eradicated all that might sustain and feed our neighbours and ourselves.

And still, we go on blaming those who suffer, writing laws that justify destruction, looking away from the struggle nature endures at our hands, not reading the signs you send.

Lovingly you warn us to change and reconnect with creation and the Creator, to choose Your ways not our own.

We cannot compare our gifts to Yours Lord.  What we bring is so modest and simple. What you give to us is magnificent, awe inspiring, so deeply loving.  Yet, you see in the gifts we bring a reflection of your love for us, an image of you, something that comes from the heart and is precious in your sight.  All we ask Lord, is that you bring Glory to your name through the gifts we bring.

Hear us as we join in the words of the Lord’s Prayer saying…

Our Father who art in Heaven Hallowed be thy name.  Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever.  Amen.

Address

I may have said this before… I hate gardening!  That little bit of creation that wraps around the Manse is not something I find a great deal of joy in tending to.  Sure, I cut the grass, keep it tidy. But it grows again.  Then it rains and I can’t cut the grass until it’s a decent dry or even sunny day, by which time I’d rather be doing anything else but cut the grass.  The weeds grow up all too quickly.  Mildew gets the roses. Slugs and snails and caterpillars and green fly all take their toll upon healthy plants.  It’s a never ending battle against creation, which I know I will never win.  There is a life force in creation that is undeniable, unquenchable and unconquerable.

During the Sundays of September, we enter into a Season of Creation or Creation Time, as it is often referred to.  Creation Time is not something I have really indulged in before perhaps believing that it is a response to Climate Change and therefore will be a season of guilt-ridden prayers depicting humanity’s destruction of all things created and ultimately our own destruction.  There may be a place for such things yet, guilt and blame are seldom the tools that bring about change in attitudes; love and joy on the other hand… love and joy awaken our souls to better things, to see things positively, and express the desire to care and protect and nurture.  And now, I think, I may have painted myself into a corner.  Next time I cut the grass I will need to do it joyfully with a spring in my step and a song on my lips.  Or pay someone else to do it !!

The Season of Creation should allow us to look again at the 1,300 pages of scripture in Old and New Testaments and see that creation is not some marginal, subordinate, optional extra.  Creation is where it begins, with day and night, land and sea, the moon, the stars, the sun, all things that walk, or crawl or fly or swim; to let the wonder of these things into our lives and make sure that our footprint on the planet is as misery-negative and joy-positive as it can be. Consider that this might be one more thing your faith is for: Shamelessly to spread an infectious and transformative joy, and conspicuously to be known to be Christian by our love for Creation.

Isn’t it time they knew we are Christian by our active and costly and exuberant and realistic love for the wonder and mystery and terror and beauty of the Creation of which we are all a part.

Whatever else it is our churches offer in response to the crises of nature and climate, even as our lives and economies struggle with the devastation of hurricanes, droughts, rising seas and societal breakdown…. it is stupidity, not strength, to miss out on the delights which God places in our way.  Our responsive, respectful, interactive and interdependent relationship with the rest of Creation need not defile us.  Nor need we defile Creation.

I cannot think on any time that I have turned to the Song of Songs for a scripture reading.  Attributed to King Solomon, this series of poems celebrates love and human relationship.  Time and time again it is the beauty of creation that reflects the beauty of their love.  Humanity is wonderfully and beautifully united with creation; we come from the hands of the same Creator.  That said, I’m unsure how Lynn might react if I said her “teeth are as white as sheep just shorn and washed”.  Then maybe the point is we have stopped seeing beauty in the world around us, stopped taking the time to see that beauty.  Beauty is not expendable. It’s healthy, it’s how we’re made. 

Maybe we need to find the courage – or call it foolishness, like the foolishness of a lover – to see happiness in a tree, as well as in the birds

who make their nest within its branches.  Those of us who’ve shared life even with a dog or a cat will know what it is to let their wagging tails or their gentle purring work their magic on us. It by no means diminishes our

humanity to find beauty and joy in the creatures we share this planet with.

In your garden, in our church grounds, in a window-box or plant pot at home, give space to something living, something fragile; and to someone with whom you can share the joyfulness and beauty of creation. Celebrate it and don’t be shy!

Praise – Thou whose almighty word

Prayers for Others

Bracing Ourselves for the Autumn Budget

Lord God, even if we set aside the political rhetoric, the blame game that politicians play, we can be sure that financially difficult times lie ahead of us.  The Prime Minister has paved the way for bad news in the autumn budget.  Certainly, some of us will face such times with greater ease than others, we have enough, we have resilience, we can cope; but for those who cannot, who do not have the resources, who do not have the abilities to help them budget or manage, for those we think of as living in poverty… help us not to be blind to them, not blind to our neighbour, show us how to rebuild community that cares, that sees, that restores hope and dignity.  Lord hear us in our prayers for those least able to face times of hardship…

Climate – The South Pacific Islands (Tonga & Samoa)

Maybe we hear it too much.  Maybe we have tuned out to the endless story of Climate Change.  We oscillate in our thinking… has it just been a bad summer or is this climate change.  Is it a one off or is this the way it now is?  And if we think that summers are not how they were when we were young then lets spare a thought, a prayer, for those who live on the Pacific Islands, the paradise islands of Tonga and Samoa who can see their islands being submerged by rising sea levels.  They can foresee the time when they lose everything, literally everything.  Lord God, in the season of Creation help us to open our hearts and our minds once again to a message we find hard to take in and hard to respond too – for the sake of your creation, all peoples and all living things, we need to change our ways.  Lord hear us in our prayers for those who endure the fallout from a changing climate…

Our Own Prayers

Lord Jesus, we take comfort in the knowledge that you listen to even the smallest of prayers, the simplest of requests.  We have prayed for the big things, prayed for our nation and those who struggle, we have prayed for a world in crisis.  And now we pray for ourselves, those things which by comparison seem insignificant and silly yet they matter to us and they matter to you.  We talk to you in the quietness of prayer, just as we might talk to an old friend sharing our woes and our worries, our hopes and our fears, our concerns for self and concerns for others.  Lord God, hear our prayers…

Praise – How deep the Father’s love

The Grace

And now… May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love, now and for evermore. AMEN.

The lads are holding an open day on Saturday 3rd August ’24 for anyone who wishes to satisfy their curiosity as to what goes on at Men’s Shed and how they might become a part of it.

If you are looking for them on FaceBook you’ll find them here

Did you choose to stay in on Saturday 7th Oct and look out at grey skies, the rain splashing in the puddles?

Sure it was a miserable day but not so much at Westwood Church. We went ahead with our Saturday Sing a Long fundraiser for the church. It was a gentle afternoon in good company, people laughed, smiled, enjoyed tea and scones and browsed the art works on loan to us for the occasion.

Here’s just a wee video from the occasion… (you might want to unmute the sound; then again!!!)

I did mention the art works didn’t I ?… You can almost see them in the background of the video. Here’s just a sample of the works on loan to us from Bert Howie, Isobel Brodie and Bernadette Russell. Bert and Isobel are both members at Westwood. We feel blessed to have artistic talents like this in our midst. Enjoy the show…

So how about next time you just ignore the weather, get out the door and join in !

No, it’s not Wimbledon time yet. Nor are we doing Centre Court Grand Slams!

Red Deer Table Tennis Club have re-located to Westwood Parish Church while still meeting on a Wednesday morning from 10am to 1pm.

The Club membership is mainly those in retirement years who want to keep some physical activity going while also enjoying the social side of being together, and getting a chat over a cup of tea (coffee is also available)

If you want to find out more drop them a note through the contact form below.

And yes… men do do the washing up though it appears it may be some time back!