2000 - AD2000: Millennium
Carluke churches celebrate the millennium together. A watchnight service on New Year's Eve is followed by a torchlight procession to the Market to join in the town celebrations. A "millennium pack" is distributed to every home in the town an neighbouring villages explaining the Christian significance of AD 2000.
In May, new falls for pulpit and lectern are dedicated.
Jee-Eun Choi from Seoul, South Korea, comes to Carluke as a Faithshare Partner. She is based in Carluke, and works mainly with the three Church of Scotland congregations.
In November, two services in St John's are recorded for transmission by STV the following January.
2001 - A Quinquennial Visitation is made in January by a team from the Presbytery.
Alan Gibson leaves to take up his first charge as minister of Strathaven: Avendale Old and Drumclog.
Radical changes are needed to the kitchen to make it conform to recent health and safety legislation. An ad hoc group is created to organise a year of fund-raising projects to help with the costs. It is also agreed that the Urn be put back On once a month during the fund-raising period.
An Alpha course is held, in the Autumn, for the first time.
2002 - Partnerships are made with Gandaki Boarding School, Nepal, where St John's is to sponsor a pupil during his time at the school, and the Nazareth Hospital.
A Youth Choir is set up.
Monthly Healing Services are started.
St John's becomes an "eco-congregation".
A second Alpha course is held in the Autumn.
2003 - The JAFFA club (Jesus - A Friend For All) for children in P4-7 is set up.
In June, the Board is re-structured, with the aim of reducing the number of full meetings each year and empowering Board teams to carry out their remits more effectively. A Management Team is created to oversee the day to day affairs of the church.
A third Alpha course is held in the Autumn.
In September, our Minister, Mike Frew, takes a few weeks off on study leave. He spends his time at Nazareth Hospital, researching the subject of Christian witness at the hospital. While he is away, he sends back extracts from his diaries (see Nazareth Diaries). In his absence, Rev Susan Cowell is appointed as locum and interim moderator.
Mike celebrates 25 years in the ministry, having been ordained on 30 October 1978. A congregational party is held on his return from his study leave.
In December, the first Christmas Shindig is held.
2004 - Jim Allen takes over as Child Protection Officer.
The Carluke Churches Peace and Justice Group ceases to exist. It is reported that,since its inception in 1988, the annual Jar of Grace Appeal organised by the group has raised over £5000 for UNICEF.
A fourth Alpha course is held in the Autumn.
An Eco-congregation week is held in October, starting with Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, to highlight the Eco-Congregation project.
The Junior departments of the Youth Church begin using new material, and they change their namesto reflect these materials.
A joint steering group - along with Kirkton and St Andrew's churches - is planned to consider proposals for Church Grouping. This means that the congregations would make a commitment to work together in agreed ways.
A second Christmas Shindig is held.
The church website is re-launched in is present form.
2005 - Will Storrar, minister of St John's between 1985 and 1991, is appointed as Director of an advanced theological research centre at Princeton University in New Jersey, USA.
Scott and Nok Murray in Thailand report that they and their family are unscathed by the Tsunami which caused such loss of life and damage on Boxing Day. A Bread and Cheese lunch is held to raise funds towards the Asian Tsunami Disaster Appeal.
St John's now uses fairly traded products as far as possible and applies for, and is granted, status as a "Fair Trade" congregation.
The minister and three other members of the congregation attend the Large Church conference.
The Rev David EP Currie, Senior Adviser in Mission and Evangelism for the Church of Scotland, is invited to “journey” with the congregation for about a year as an external "observer/facilitator" with a view to helping us review our mission. He reports on his findings to Session at their conference in November.
A short, 5-minute video written, produced, edited and acted by members of St John’s, entitled Living the Dream, won two awards, for acting and editing, at the Church Without Walls event on 28 May.
Session agrees to support the concept of a Christian Counselling Service in Carluke, and the Parish grouping gets under way.
Copies of the new version of the Church Hymnary ("CH4") are bought and dedicated at a special service in August.
Rev Margaret Muir is appointed as Interim Moderator and Rev Susan Cowell is appointed to be Locum as Mike Frew leaves to become minster in Edinburgh Slateford-Longstone church. To assist in Pastoral Care of the congregation, Elders, Dr Ann Jackson, Sandra Peat and Iris Nelson make themselves available to visit members who are ill or in hospital.
Liz Barthram is appointed as Depute Session Clerk.
A third Christmas Shindig is held. The low turn out is blamed, partly on the vacancy.
2006 - Session are advised that they can call a new minister "without restriction". A Nominating Committee is elected.
The church bell, silenced for some months, is now being rung by a team of young folk from LInK.
Rev David Easton takes over as both Locum and Interim Moderator.
A service to inaugurate the Parish Grouping is held in Kirkton Church on 7 May.
The five-day Carluke Gospel Tent Mission in July sees the highest attendance for any tent mission organised by Perth-based People With A Mission Ministries and Carluke’s own Revival Ministry, which includes some of St John's own members.
Session Clerk, Graham Jackson announces his intention to resign.
2007 - Following his announcement of intent to resign, Session Clerk Graham Jackson is prevailed upon to reconsider and stays in office as a second Depute Clerk, Janice Webster is appointed to share the workload.
In February, Rev Roy Cowieson is elected as minister, ending an 18 month vacancy. He is inducted on 3 May and is "preached in" by his long time friend, Rev Alastair Cherry of Penilee in Glasgow. Roy takes his first Sunday morning service on 13 May.
A new feature on the church website allows visitors to download audio files of sermons and services to listen to at home.
In May, after serving as Organist and Choirmaster for almost 37 years, Philip Fox resigns his post to move to Greyfriar's Church, Lanark, to worship with his new wife, Shena. In the summer an ad hoc group is set up to find a replacement for Philip and Fiona Mackie is appointed as a supply-organist. She is offered the permanent post and accepts. She takes up her position, officially, in November.
St John's News, the congregational newsletter, includes material from the other churches in the Parish Grouping and is printed on the new equipment, co-owned by the Parish Grouping churches, for the first time.
A second successful 5-day Tent Mission is held at the beginnig of July.
After over a decade as St John's Holiday Club, the Club gets a name change to the Joint Churches Holiday Club, and its first offering, Pyramid Rock, is held in August.
Recordings of Sunday morning worship services is re-commenced, using a laptop to record digitally and produce CDs of the service for housebound members, and others who are unable to attend morning worship. Two portable CD players are made available to anyone who does not have their own means of listneing to the CDs.
New external signage is added to the side wall facing the supermarket.
