News

The Guild

Our Guild started back on 5 October when our locum, Rev David Easton, gave us a very interesting talk on our theme for this year "Honouring the Body". We have also had a bible quiz, our own Greta Stratton speaking on the Guild Projects and Mr Ramage Kelly gave us a slide show of New Zealand. Our Guest Night, when we invited other Guilds and our own Young Woman's Group along to "Same Difference" and, of course, a lovely supper prepared by the Guild, proved a huge success. Julie Burns came along and gave us an update of Maggie's Lanarkshire which, although this will not be based in Wishaw General, proves a very worthwhile cause and needs everyone's support.

Our Christmas address will be given this year by Rev I Goring and we are very much looking forward to see Ian again as many of us remember him and all the Goring family. We are having a Christmas Praise and supper on 14 December and a Christmas lunch which is being held at Carluke Golf Club thanks to some of our members. We hope to start back on 11 January with a video and, again, have quite a number of interesting speakers including our own Dr Ann Jackson telling us about her time in Malawi.

If you are free any Thursday evening between 7:30 pm until approximately 9:00 pm you will be made most welcome so come along and join the fellowship with us. we will be very pleased to see you.

Betty McLaren,
President.

St John's Young Woman's Group

Our year has started well. We have had many speakers, a few are: Carluke Historical Society, Clara Kay, Catherine Clacher. We had a lovely lunch with Susan Cowell when our Aunties also joined us. We are looking forward after Christmas to many more speakers.

We are hoping this year to resume our Senior Citizen's Dinner. The date we propose is 23 March 2007, so put this in your new Diary. We will give you more information in the next magazine.

Anyone wishing to join us will be made welcome on Tuesdays at 1.30pm.

Shona Keay.

Congratulations

We congratulate another of St John's young people on his academic achievement. Alasdair Warnock has been awarded a Master's Degree in Urban Design by the University of Sydney, NSW. Alasdair was unable to attend the graduation ceremony in person as he is now back home in Carluke.

Kirk Session Meeting, 20 November 2006

Session Clerk Resigns

Session was stunned by the unexpected announcement by Session Clerk, Graham Jackson, that he had decided to resign the post, which he has ably held for the past nine and a half years.

Explaining his decision, he said that part of the reason was to allow the new Session Clerk time to become used to the job before a new minister was in post.

Session members were asked to consider, prayerfully, possible candidates for the post and to submit suggestions to Graham, Rev David Easton or Liz Barthram (Deputy Session Clerk).

Long Service Awards

Rev David Easton named 3 Elders who have been in post for 30 years: Sandra Peat, Frances Cadzow and John Battison. Their service will be acknowledged before the congregation at the Communion Service on Sunday 3 December.

Joint Elders' Conference

This had been held on Saturday 18 November 2006. Session members from the 3 churches of the Parish Grouping met to discuss the "church of the future" in Carluke. The conference was addressed by Rev Donald McCorkindale.

Although in its infancy, the Carluke Parish Grouping was already well-advanced, building on such successes as Choices and Street Level.

Choices

In its Christmas disbursement of funds, Choices has just donated £14.000 to Street Level, bring the total for the year, so far, to £20,000. £200 was also donated to each of the 5 churches involved in running the Choices shop to help purchase gifts for the housebound.

It was stated that the shop is short of helpers and anyone who could spare some time would be welcomed.