winter evening services

Just back from this evening's kirk session which had a variety of interesting discussions. We discussed how to make a decision about the evening service in the light of the potential for a long hard snowy winter. We decided that if the weather was bad and the forecast was poor, we would seek to make a decision before the close of the morning service. If the service wasn't cancelled in the morning, we would hold the evening service, with the proviso that no-one should feel under any pressure to attend, even if that meant having no musicians or welcomers or tea makers. Maybe we won't have any such decision to make this winter, but at least it's good now to have a plan in place.

ADVENT BOOKS

Over the last couple of years I have shared here and here about the books I have been reading to guide my thoughts during advent. This year, I have chosen two books to read, GOD IS IN THE MANGER and READY STEADY SLOW. I'll keep you posted on how I'm getting along.

advent 2010

It's the first Sunday in advent 2010, and for the third year in succession Jonathan has come up with another stonking idea for the children - this time with a real live tardis in the church! We had a great service of worship this morning, and if you're looking for an inspiring message for the beginning of advent, look no further than Morag Macritchie's wonderful talk this morning - "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" It should be here within the next 24 hours.

SUNDAY EVENING SERVICE

The evening service was cancelled because of the weather tonight for only the second time in 15 years. The last time was on the Sunday before Christmas last year. The road conditions today are pretty treacherous, and we didn't want to have folk risking life and limb after dark coming to a service. If this bad weather is going to continue over the winter, we will need to work out some protocol for cancelling services. We phoned around and we also put a message out on facebook. We have a Leadership Team meeting on Tuesday night, so we can discuss it there. Hopefully, most people got the message.

Church Buildings

You may have noticed the occasional post on the blog throughout this year, highlighting that the Congregational Board and Kirk Session have been reflecting on several issues relating to the buildings of Hilton Church. At this morning's service we launched a month long consultation for the whole congregation to engage in the discussion. With the upkeep and development of church buildings being the responsibility of, and only possible due to the contributions of the congregation, we want everyone to be able to have their say on how they think we should move forward. Some of the challenges during the Board's reflection on buildings has been the acknowledgement that we need to consider the future development and use of our buildings, against the reality that no specific plan or vision for a major redevelopment has become clear so far, and the current economic situation may well affect any fundraising efforts. So we've focussed the consultation around priorities. What are your TOP THREE PRIORITIES for improvement of our buildings?

There are a number of ways you can have your say:

• Paper forms are available in the church to fill in and leave in the boxes at tables in the foyer and large hall
• Email your suggestions to buildings@hiltonchurch.org.uk
• Comment and join the discussion online with our special Buildings Blog at www.hiltonchurchbuildings.blogspot.com (links on church blog and website)
• Chat to board members over coffee after services
• Join a focus/vision/planning group for ongoing reflection on buildings (email as above)
  
  

Everyone's views are equally important to us. So whether you think we should completely rebuild the church buildings, or think they're fine just as they are, or anything in between, please do let us know.

Mike Robertson
Congregational Board Chairman