Christianity

As we struggle to cope with this lock down, change is inevitable. Now, churches are embracing technology to safely connect with you. Hence, Muirkirk Parish Church welcomes the digital era, and the main reason for using our online services is this: JESUS.

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Remembrance Sunday at Muirkirk Parish Church

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Muirkirk Parish Church outro video

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Worship

Muirkirk Parish Church opens for worship on Sunday 16th August at 10.30 am. We can now offer services IN OUR CHURCH which are normally only available online. We look forward to seeing you.

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Animals and the bible

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Few Act

Is Muirkirk Parish Church ready to be one of the few?

F Family

E Entertainment

W Worship

A Accessibility

C Community

T Training

This year Coronavirus has forced churches all over the UK to close and to find new ways of operating.

Even with the lifting of some restrictions, permitting churches to reopen can only be achieved if safety measures are implemented, as documented in the legally required Risk Assessment (R/A).

The Presbytery of Ayr granted Muirkirk Parish Church permission to reopen after the necessary R/A was completed satisfactorily. Initially, this was only for the purpose of private prayer.

However, the person who conducted the R/A has added new digital solutions, from social media platforms to audio-visual presentations that can be played during times when the church is open for private prayer. These can also be saved to DVDs and CDs for anyone who wishes to have a copy to view again, or for those unable to attend in person.

With the announcement that churches may reopen for worship from 15th July 2020, there are still restrictions in place that limit what may take place, and how worship can be conducted. Some of these measures are likely to be in place for a considerable time.

The removal of hymn books and Bibles, as detailed in the R/A, is one restriction, as is the removal of all soft furnishings such as pew cushions.

Limiting visitors who can attend at any one time, currently set at 14, plus 2 stewards and a minister/worship leaderi may require further discussion to promote fairness when it comes to attending worship services. We may need to consider: Need to update R/A about a minister.

a kind of booking system;

holding more than one service if possible;

having our own trained ‘worship team’.

Whatever the future holds, change is inevitable. As long as restrictions remain that affect our churches, we must find new ways to reach out and serve our communities safely. This is where technology can enable churches to remain open, and even broaden our appeal to the wider community.

FEW ACT Explained

FAMILY

Inclusion of the family unit through regular and one-off events.

Offer free Skype to anyone with family abroad, on a big screen. No technical knowledge required. Everything provided.

Sunday School use of large screen TV. Can also add touchscreen technology to improve interaction with children. Compile & provide DVDs for suitable teaching.

ENTERTAINMENT

Christian themed, recent releases, classics/b&w, also Biblical movies offered for no more than a suggested donation to cover heating, etc.

Access for all, regardless of status, age, mobility, etc.

Choice: ability to ask attendees which movies they’d like to see.

Such movies in public domain so no copyright concernsi, however for any movie, including the music contained therein, the PRS for music (church) and PRS for video (church) are available for number 15-49 persons.

WORSHIP

In order to minimise risk of infection(s), hymns and Bible readings can be easily displayed.

Where singing is not advised, instrumental recorded hymns with videos can be used. Or our own organist can play with suitable video content displayed.

If we are struggling to locate an organist, we can use a karaoke type of recording that displays words in time to music. Public domain recordings are exempt from copyright; the music and video PRS licences cover all other content.

Useful to explain stories in the Bible and their relevance today, using reports, illustrations and graphics.

Greater engagement with congregation, understanding of sermons and feedback for ministers / readers.

If no minister is available to attend, choice for congregation to watch a service online from many available.

ACCESSIBILITY

Ramp to access chancel should any minister/elder require this.

Access also useful for congregation / visitors at certain times, such as Christmas, Easter, Baptisms, Weddings or Funerals.

Potential to video services for the housebound / working people who wish to view a recorded version later on a DVD / YouTube.

COMMUNITY

Use of premises by community groups, including the primary school, individuals, even businesses, for a suggested donation to cover any costs.

Encouraging greater involvement in our church life through meaningful activities.

TRAINING

All kinds of training providers (including the Church of Scotland) could benefit from access to such technology, such as Safeguarding Training for those members who do not have access at home for attending webinars, etc. Also for elderly people wishing to get to grips with the internet, or young people needing access to appropriate software to add to their skillsets.

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Jane Dempster, Church Officer for Muirkirk Parish Church, writes:

My grand-daughter, Sarah McClymont, who is the manager of the alterations department at Slaters in Ayr, was on furlough during the Covid-19 lock down. She decided to make use of her time making face masks, and has raised £1,320 for Alzheimer’s Scotland.

Sarah did not take any expenses for the materials, and is now back at work.

Well done Sarah, and a massive ‘THANK YOU’ for all your hard work and generosity.

Two of our church elders are keyworkers for people who have dementia, and wish to add their thanks to Sarah for this tremendous effort.

Acts 20:35

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

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Birds from on high

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The lands of green third day

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Bible quote from one of our congregation members.

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Snapped this photo when i was out and about in Muirkirk. Makes me think, i might need to start on the gardening. Also need to get going on opening buildings.

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The Digital Age - Rehearsals - "Hallelujah"

An epic rock version of a classic hymn.

One of my favourite hymn in a nice rock style.  

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Favourite Hymn ‘Look Forward in Faith’

This is the favourite hymn for one of our congregation. Contained in this one hymn is a wealth of scriptural truth. 

See Church Hymnary, 4th edition, No. 237

Words written by Andrew J. Scobie

If you want to listen to it click on the link:

https://soundcloud.com/big-hymn-sing/look-forward-in-faith

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The last supper, that is at our beloved Muirkirk parish church

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The Stained glass windows in Muirkirk parish church.

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Muirkirk Church Pastoral Letter

Dear Muirkirk Friends,

It was a privilege to be Locum Minister here from November 2018 to April 2020. I am very grateful for your welcome to myself and Christine and for your encouragement and support for my ministry.

The Locum Appointment with Cumnock Trinity Church proved to be like a football team playing home and away. Muirkirk was my home ministry and Trinity Church was the away ministry. In the one I felt I belonged and the other I felt hostility and enmity. Not from everyone there, I must add, but from those who refused to accept my ministry and brought it to an end.

I would leave Trinity at 11 30am, tired and drained and wondering if it was worth it all. When I arrived in Muirkirk usually about 11 50am, I was suddenly uplifted and inspired. I was enabled to continue with the Locum Ministry. I felt close to God in the pulpit and I sensed that Godly ministers had been here in years past. In recent months a Muirkirk Church member has offered to train as a Reader of the Church of Scotland and another Muirkirk Church member has received a call to become a Minister of the Church of Scotland. The Holy Spirit is moving in this place.

I much enjoyed walking around the village visiting folks in their homes where I was always made welcome. I managed to avoid the generously offered tea, coffee, scones, cakes and biscuits by saying that it would not be healthy for me to so indulge several times each afternoon. Having said that Christine and I were very appreciative of the tea and sandwiches which were provided for us at the end of services before we travelled back home.

Thank you for laughing freely at my jokes. Thank you to the elders who were supportive in every way. Thank you to those who responded positively to the preaching of the Living Word. I pray for the survival and growth of Muirkirk Church in years to come. We will never forget you.

The Son always shines on Muirkirk.

Rev Dr Robert Anderson

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It was a sad day indeed, when Rev Dr Robert Anderson, ceased as the Locum Minister for Muirkirk Parish Church, which was also hastened by the Coronavirus pandemic. But the Muirkirk Church family won’t let a great minister go without saying ‘goodbye’. A collection raised £430, and we are so pleased to present Robert with a wonderful, locally made, shepherd’s crook, plus flowers, an engraved wine glass and a bottle of his favourite wine.

Thank you, Robert and Christine. May your memories of Muirkirk be as uplifting as your sermons, prayers and pastoral care during the 17 months you served us. Rest assured, the door at Muirkirk Parish Church will always be open to you.

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God and Coronavirus

Where is God in this Coronavirus crisis? The answer of liberal Christians, that God is in the midst of our suffering, is not sufficient to assuage our concerns and doubts. God was manifestly not in the midst of Jesus’ suffering on Calvary because He cried out, ‘My God. My God, why have you forsaken me?’ God may well have been present in the foreboding elemental happenings which occurred at the time of Jesus’ death: a darkened sky, an earthquake, the disruption of graves.

It is not the whole story to say that God is accompanying us in our struggles, losses and deprivations. Theologians have wrestled with the issue of evil in the world for millennia. If the Coronavirus is disregarded as a judgement of God on humanity, there is still the issue of why a supposedly good Creator allows humanity to suffer so. We know how the Coronavirus began and how it spread. Bats. A Chinese ‘wet’ seafood market with live and dead animals including marmots and snakes for sale illegally. Transmission of Coronavirus from bats via animals to stallholders. Communist totalitarian denial. Travelling Chinese and hence to humanity.

Who is asking the God question? People in the United Kingdom have largely given up on God, abandoned Christianity and have made Jesus Christ into their second favourite swear word. Political expediency from the Blair years has manufactured a supposed equality of ‘religions’. Christianity is diminished, reduced in status and relegated to second or third reference in television news bulletins behind humanism and Islam.

There is virtually no prophetic Christianity alive in these islands and none that would be regarded with any respect. Stories of some American preachers saying that such pandemics are God’s punishment for human sins are met with contempt and incredulity. According to Christian theology, Jesus is our Saviour. Saviour from what? Our sins. We no longer think of our behaviour as sinful because we do not consider our behaviour in relation to God.

The Bible offers uncompromising insight into the relationship between human wrongdoing and misfortune. In 2 Samuel 24 we read that the Lord was angry with Israel and incited King David (ruled 1010 to 970 BC) to order a census. Joab, the captain of the army disagreed and said the census would bring judgement. David pressed ahead. A plague then broke out among the people. Was it caused by the unnatural gatherings of people? Did they not observe safe distancing? The text says ‘the Lord sent a plague on Israel’. David then realised that he was to blame and set about making public repentance and sacrifice. He uttered one of the greatest truths of the human-God relationship. ‘I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God offerings that cost me nothing’. The text then says, ‘Then the Lord answered his prayer on behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped’.

At that time people believed that God was the first cause of everything that happened, both good and bad. This was because they shared in the Covenant with God established on Mount Sinai with Moses. There was immediacy in their relationship. David’s personal relationship with God is perhaps best expressed in Psalm 51, regarded as the greatest penitential Psalm. ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin’.

The New Covenant in Jesus Christ offered immediacy with God to all humanity over the centuries of the Christian dispensation. Beginning in the European middle ages that understanding began to be replaced with distancing. Scientific observation became the interlocutor. This brought about the separation of first and second causes. However, devout and practising Christians still claim to experience God at first hand and relate to God personally and intimately.

One Christian position on the Coronavirus is that it is an evil visited on humanity by primitive unhygienic food practices in the context of the Chinese totalitarian political regime which initially denied its existence. Another Christian interpretation is that this is the work of an intelligent cosmic enemy of God and of humanity, sometimes called Satan. We have lost the immediacy of relationship with God that allows us to cry out collectively and nationally for deliverance. We do not put the blame on the Queen or the Prime Minister for our misfortune and we do not expect either of them to be the means of overcoming this pandemic. We trust in science to suggest a strategy and then find a cure. We are unlikely to re-establish immediate relationship with God. We might take the opportunity to revalue what we live for and ask if our free and easy lifestyles are best practice. We have abandoned Judaeo-Christian teaching on personal ethics, the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount. The Scottish National Party is riven by a debate on whether transgender men identifying as women should be allowed to use female toilets. As Wilfred Owen, the first world war poet asked, ‘Was it for this the clay grew tall?’

Had we in the liberal secular west become over-confident, complacent and far too trusting in many announcements of DNA manipulated solutions to diseases? Were we subconsciously thinking that we were immune from any future global pandemic? It did not even cross our minds. Some scientists warned but politicians did not respond pro-actively. The public knew little of it. We had become obsessed with the planet. We castigated ourselves for its condition and some advocated immediate draconian solutions. It was all about us. We did it. We should sort it. Coronavirus has taught us a severe lesson. We are not as much in charge as we thought. We are not as immune as we thought we were. We have become frightened and insecure. Panic and anxiety abound.

People are dying. Yet the numbers are comparatively small in relation to overall national and global populations; small too, in relation to previous similar pandemics. There is an additional paradox. There were 192,900 abortions for women resident in England and Wales in 2017 and 197,533 abortions including non-residents. This is an increase of 4% since 2016, the highest level since 2008. In Scotland there were 12,212 terminations in 2017, a rise of 1% on the previous year. Not only is there no outcry about such destruction of life but it is the law of the land. Yet for fear of the Coronavirus the country has ground to a halt, the population is under house arrest, the economy has been trashed and people are being impoverished. So far just over 18,100 have died in the UK. This is a very large hypocrisy. [at 2:00 a.m. 23/04/20]

Pity political leaders who have to try to do the right thing, and to be seen to do so else retribution will be visited on them, electorally and historically. Reliance on experts is their fig leaf of respectability. None have any alternative strategy or mode of operation. No political leader has invoked God’s name and help. Christian leaders have been woefully weak and circumspect. There has been no Christian challenge to our values, lifestyles and idolatries. In the face of this menace what many live for is exposed as shallow and absurd; football, entertainment, pub life, buying things in shops and online, holidays, pursuit of money, the illusions of happiness. Debt has been allowed to multiply at macro and micro level and has become an accepted way of life. Poverty relative to visible wealth bounds.

Good neighbourliness is essential to survival and recovery. That we know, whether Christian or not. But may there be more to it than that? Can we appeal to our Maker and Creator for help? Can we imagine taking this all-consuming problem to Jesus Christ, who Christians claim has Lordship over everything seen and unseen? After all, Jesus healed the sick. On earth He had authority in the dimension unseen by the human naked eye where viruses proliferate. The Sacraments of the Christian Church are means of healing for the inner soul and mind and body. They have been thought dispensable. In fact, they are part of our cure.

We are not allowed to congregate in churches to worship and pray. We understand. But this is also a denial of the Christian claim that the primary purpose of our existence is to relate to God. For our own good. So far have we strayed from that defining role, that we think we can relegate God to become only in our estimation a tangential, ghettoised, patronised option. The chilling words of the prophet Isaiah, chapter 59 are relevant. ‘Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear’.

Christians throughout the world are praying for deliverance from this scourge. We are praying for health care workers and front-line staff. We as a nation are not doing so however, and we are making no connection between our collective lifestyles, values, the loss of our Christian inheritance and this pandemic. There is no sense of confession or repentance. These are not secular categories. We expect to carry on as we were until a vaccine is found.

The basic premise of Christianity is resurrection and eternal life. For Christians, physical death is not the end. This is no bedtime fairy story. We are the pioneers of eternal life through Jesus Christ’s resurrection. But His incarnation gives supreme value to our life and living here. His death on Calvary redeems us. We are forgiven. Will Jesus Christ be brought again to the centre of our national life? Will there be services of thanksgiving? Will there be a new moderation of life and living? Will we learn anything? Beyond the scientific scramble for a vaccine and a Nobel prize, everyone needs to do more than self-isolate. Jesus’ answer is, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’. Political leaders of the world, take note.

Rev Dr Robert Anderson