Welcome to the online service of worship for the Second Sunday of Advent
The YouTube playlist may be found here
Or view below.....
MAYFIELD SALISBURY PARISH CHURCH
EDINBURGH
Sunday Services of Public Worship: 10.15am
Worship Online from 8.00am Every Sunday
Sunday 6 December 2020
Second Sunday
of Advent
On Jordan’s bank, the Baptist’s cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings from the King of kings.
For Thou art our salvation, Lord,
Our refuge, and our great reward;
Without thy grace we waste away,
Like flowers that wither and decay.
Stretch forth thine hand, to heal our sore,
And make us rise to fall no more;
Once more upon thy people shine,
And fill the world with love divine.
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee
Whose advent sets Thy people free,
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Ghost, for evermore.
Charles Coffin 1676 - 1749
AS A DIVERSE PEOPLE, THE CHURCH GATHERS TO WORSHIP ALMIGHTY GOD
Welcome The Revd Helen Alexander
Welcome to the members and friends of the congregation of Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church and to others who may be joining us in our worship online for the 2nd Sunday in Advent.
Advent is the season for looking forward. This is particularly pertinent for Mayfield Salisbury as following the Call to the Revd Dr Sandy Forsyth’s having been sustained at last week’s meeting of the Presbytery of Edinburgh, the congregation may now look forward with certainty to the Induction of the new Minister on a date in January shortly to be agreed. I’m sure that I speak for the congregation and all who work at Mayfield Salisbury in offering congratulations to Sandy and warm thoughts as he and his wife Joy prepare to take up residence in the manse.
I invite you all to join me now in a short period of silence in preparation for worship.
Silence
Scripture Sentences
…the prophet of the Most High…will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Let us pray
Giving thanks for this Advent season of anticipation and preparation, reflection and attention; seeking the cultivation of stillness in the midst of activity, and openness of heart to the heart of the Divine that is ever open to us.
Seeking the light of Christ for those aspects of our lives we may keep hidden from others and sometimes from ourselves: shameful memories; reminders of sorrow and pain; the secrets of our souls; and seeking the grace of the Spirit for predicaments that might grow worse from lack of attention; and for fears that have the capacity to increase the more we refuse to face them.
Claiming the promise in Christ Jesus of free forgiveness and grace; as well as deliverance from any tendency we may have to exaggerate our faults and failings and to become unnecessarily burdened by the business of being human.
Giving thanks for the healing of our hearts and for the increase of courage; for the re-alignment of our priorities and the bright beam of hope to guide us into the future. And giving thanks for joy: the joy of restoration, of hope of reunion with friends on earth and in heaven and with the parts of ourselves that have been broken; giving thanks for the joy of life renewed and hope restored.
Collect for the Day
Merciful God, whose messengers the prophets were sent to preach repentance and to prepare the way for our salvation, give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Children’s Address Hillary Leslie
Good morning everyone!
Can you believe that we are already in the season of Advent? Does anyone remember what Helen told us the word ‘Advent’ means? That’s right – it’s from a Latin word which means ‘coming’ – and we are of course looking forward to Christmas Day coming in a few weeks’ time!
This season of Advent is a time when we prepare and plan for Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day – and we do this in many different ways. We prepare ourselves by spending time with God in prayer; we plan out gifts for giving others on Christmas day; and as a church we light our Advent candles each week. Maybe this year your you and your family are marking this time in another way – perhaps it’s with a paper prayer chain or creating your own Advent candles at home. I know another way I love to prepare for Christmas is decorating a Christmas tree!
One thing we are doing new at church this year as we prepare for Christmas is decorating a Jesse Tree! You may be wondering – well, who is Jesse and what does that have to do with Christmas? And does this tree look like the Christmas trees we have at home?
Jesse was the father of King David. In the book of Isaiah, it was predicted that the Messiah or the saviour of the world, would come from David’s family. It said, ‘A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots.’ There are lots of beautiful images of Jesse trees from the early years showing Jesse with a tree or vine growing out of him, with David and Jesus growing on the branches. Later on, in beautiful paintings and stained-glass windows, artists added more figures. Today, Jesse trees trace the family of God from Creation right through to Jesus’ life. How cool is that?
Here’s what our Jesse Tree looks like before it’s been decorated. And here are some of the symbols I’ve coloured in for adding to the tree. By the time it is Christmas Day, our tree will be filled with beautiful and colourful symbols of our faith!
We have a bigger tree that looks just like this on the window outside of the church halls, and we would love for you to take part in decorating it! You can create your own pictures and artwork or print out and colour the pictures provided in our church email. Whenever you’re going by the church you can stop by and tape some symbols on the window, and we can watch it grow together over the season of Advent.
What’s so meaningful about a Jesse Tree this year is that it’s a chance for us as a church to build a family tree together while we are unable to gather together as usual. The Jesse tree is something that we as a church family can use to explore the history of our faith during Advent. It gives us hope and reminds us of all of stories of and characters in the Bible that can bring us encouragement during a difficult year.
During this season of Advent as we plan for Christmas Day, may we focus on these stories of our faith that give us hope, and strengthen us when we are having a difficult day.
Let’s pray together:
Dear God, thank you for all the stories in the Bible
Which give us strength each day.
Thank you for sending us love, peace, joy and hope,
And help us remember to share it with others this Christmas season. Amen.
HYMN 282 Christmas is coming!
'Christmas is coming!',
the Church is glad to sing,
and let the advent candles
brightly burn in a ring.
1 The first is for God's promise
to put the wrong things right,
and bring to earth's darkness
the hope of love and light.
2 The second for the prophets,
who said that Christ would come
with good news for many
and angry words for some.
Sung by Susan White and Nick Springthorpe
John L. Bell (b.1949)
WE LISTEN FOR THE SPIRIT OF GOD IN SCRIPTURE
Reading Isaiah 40: 1 – 11 NRSVA Christine De Luca
God’s People Are Comforted
40 Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
6 A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
9 Get you up to a high mountain,
O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
‘Here is your God!’
10 See, the Lord God comes with might,
and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him.
11 He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead the mother sheep.
Reading St Mark 1: 1 – 8 NRSVA Kay McIntosh DCS
The Proclamation of John the Baptist
1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight”’,
4 John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8 I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
Reflection Revd Helen Alexander
If you were raised on the Authorised King James version of the Bible, but sufficiently tuned to this morning’s 1st Lesson from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah in the New Revised Standard Version, you may have spotted a difference.
In the King James version we find the words: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
In the New Revised Standard version, that is read Sunday by Sunday in Mayfield Salisbury: “A voice cries out: in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”
The words are the same, but the emphasis falls differently, this time on the wilderness. It’s there that the way is to be found. Scholars tell us that this latter translation more accurately captures the original meaning of the Hebrew.
It’s not clear whose voice it is or where it’s coming from. But the message is clear: that the path to the deliverance of the exiled people of Judah was to be found in the wilderness, the desert, a point not lost on a people whose great story of deliverance was that of the Exodus: the wilderness journey from Egypt to the land of Canaan.
St Mark drew, as Matthew and Luke did, on the prophetic words from Isaiah, and applied them to John the Baptist’s ministry in the desert of Judea. Writing of course in Greek, they changed the original Hebrew from “A voice cries out: in the wilderness prepare the way" and wrote instead: ….. “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness (that is the voice of John the Baptist): Prepare the way of the Lord.”
Now there’s no reason why they shouldn’t have done this. They used words of the past to shape meaning for the present and the future, as generations of Christian preachers have done ever since.
The task of the first evangelists was to herald the coming of Christ, and to testify to the ministry of his forerunner, John the Baptist, who proclaimed the promise of deliverance after the manner of the prophets of old. The desert, the wilderness is there, but as backdrop to the all-important Christ and his prophet John.
In the original Hebrew of Isaiah, though, the desert’s no backdrop. It’s central. “A voice cries out: in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.”
Now you may be wondering about the worth of picking over Biblical texts in this way, but I’ve done it because I think the wilderness is worth a focus in this season of Advent that’s all about preparation and a certain inner attentiveness.
Last week I mentioned the 19th Century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. Here he is again, this time at the end of his poem Inversnaid:
“What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.”
Now this is a different sort of wildness to that of a dry Middle Eastern desert; yet any sort of untamed wilderness wet or dry is challenging to human beings, and begs to be treated with respect.
We glory in our Scottish moors and mountains for example. Yet it’s possible to get lost, and sometimes to die in them. And our forest plantations seem capable of evoking a silent, waiting presence that can cause uneasiness, especially when one walks in them alone.
However, the wilderness in our country is tame compared to the vastness of the deserts of the Middle East, the Australian outback, the Arctic wastes and other places that most of us only read about (and might only want to read about) from the comfort of an armchair. People who do spend time in places such as these often say that their experience changed them: something to do with a sense of elemental rawness, the silence, the possibility of losing one’s direction, as well as one’s mind. Experience in wildernesses like these leaves even the most seasoned traveller with a different perspective, returning a different person than he or she was before.
And then there is the wilderness of the spirit that can occur wherever we are, even in an apparently comfortable environment. Words again from Gerard Manley Hopkins:
“Oh the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall
Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap
May who ne’er hung there.” *
Manley Hopkins knew the fearful wilderness of his own mind and spirit. Fortunately, were not all asked to scale similar mountains of the mind. But many of us may have trod the foothills of difficulty and distress at times; themselves challenging enough.
Into this situation comes the counter-cultural suggestion from our Judeo-Christian tradition that it is in the mental and spiritual wilderness that the seeds of life may be buried – or to change the analogy that it is there that the water of life may flow, often deeply underground, as we know it can do far beneath the surface of barren landscapes.
One of the strange gifts of this Season of Advent is to remind us of this.This year we’re in the midst of a pandemic that is unparalleled in modern times. There are some emergent signs of hope, not least that of a vaccine. But a number may well wait some time for this as people are prioritized according to need. And we wait not only for renewed confidence in our health, but also for an economic recovery, and the slow opening up again of the sort of possibilities that have for so long been taken for granted, at least in the West, many of which have been lost as if forever. Young and old, rich and poor across the world, we wait.
This is truly agonising, and I’m far from urging complacency, particularly respect of people and places most affected. Yet if we take seriously the suggestion that waiting in an experientially dry and difficult place might produce some benefit, not to mention renewal of life, then we can surely take heart from the testimony of those who have been willing to surrender to the spiritual wilderness and equally willing to pass on what they learned there : the wild Hebrew prophets of Biblical times, the desert fathers of the early Christian centuries, holy men – and women – who some time later travelled in this and other lands to inhabit caves, coastal promontories and inhospitable islands, the great pioneering monastic movements of the Middle Ages, right down to solitary souls of more modern times like Thomas Merton, Sister Wendy Beckett and Sarah Maitland.
Alongside these, other great religions of the world have their own spiritual authorities of the experience of the wilderness and the wisdom it can bring.
We aren’t all called to such heights, or depths, which may come as great relief. But we can learn from those who are. We can receive their freely offered insights and their teaching on the quietening of the mind and the restoration of the soul.
You don’t need to camp alone on a damp chilly hillside, or tramp for thirsty miles through a
desert landscape - though you might want to try it; and perhaps some who’re listening already have. Actually, all you need is a place to be quiet: walking with attention to what’s going on round about you as well as within; or sitting perhaps with a bible, a cross or a candle. All you need to do is breathe, and wait for the voice that comes as if from nowhere to speak peace to the wildness and wilderness of your heart.
*Gerard Manley Hopkins No worst, there is none
RESPONSE TO THE SPIRIT OF GOD WITHIN
Thanksgiving and Intercession Revd Helen Alexander
For the coming of your kingdom
We pray in hope, O Lord.
Giving thanks for all wonder and blessing and gift and grace that is already ours; for the glory of the heavens and the solid earth beneath our feet; for wisdom wherever it is found; for all goodness and truth that is waiting to come to birth in us and in our world.
Especially in these hard and demanding times, giving thanks for mercy offered and received; for all nurture and care between old and young, frail and strong, living and dying; for kindliness within and between neighbourhoods and communities; among those brought together by chance association as well as those enfolded in the deep bond of family and friendship; asking that the wonder and blessing of this day and this season may seep into our souls and somehow into the soul of the wide world.
For the coming of your kingdom
We pray in hope, O Lord.
And where wonder and blessing seem to be woefully missing: where the soul of a nation, a society, a family is fractured and sick and dying, we dare to ask that the Christ-like Spirit may yet work its quiet and purposeful way that wherever and whatever the circumstance, there may be those who yet bring hope and care, the spirit of sanity and reconciliation, wisdom and vision to a friendship, a household, a board room, a Cabinet, and to the great councils of the world.
For the coming of your kingdom
We pray in hope, O Lord.
We think of the church here in Scotland and throughout the world, giving thanks for the gift of her message and grace, and asking that we and all who profess faith in her may reflect and not obscure the light of Christ.
We think of the great symbol of light, in the season of winter and in the church’s season of Advent.
We think of spotlights on injustice and inequality and give thanks for the courage of those who are willing to shine that steady illuminating light.
We think of the softness of candle light, of lantern, of slow burning fires, giving thanks for all those whose own light comforts, heals, and lights up the way.
We think of the beam from a lighthouse warning of hidden hazards, of searchlights for those who are lost, and the welcoming light from a window that invites the wanderer home.
We think of Jesus Christ the light of the world, and give thanks for his great gift that has shone through two millennia and whose birth we prepare to celebrate.
For the coming of your kingdom
We pray in hope, O Lord.
We celebrate all those who share their lives with us, the pleasure and the pain of them, asking blessing on people who are never far from our hearts as well as those who may enter our minds now without our quite knowing why; those we name silently now whatever their circumstance or relationship to us……..
We pray for their welfare and good now and in the days to come;
For the coming of your kingdom
We pray in hope, O Lord.
And we give thanks for all who are at rest in the Communion of Saints; countless numbers past and present who with us and those we love and with generations to come are held in the grace and tender keeping of God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Lord’s Prayer
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, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
HYMN 519 Love divine, all loves excelling
Love divine, all loves excelling,
joy of heaven, to earth come down,
fix in us thy humble dwelling,
all thy faithful mercies crown.
Jesus, thou art all compassion,
pure, unbounded love thou art;
visit us with thy salvation,
enter every trembling heart.
Come, almighty to deliver;
let us all thy life receive;
suddenly return, and never,
never more thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
serve thee as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee, without ceasing,
glory in thy perfect love.
Finish then thy new creation:
pure and spotless let us be;
let us see thy great salvation
perfectly restored in thee,
changed from glory into glory,
till in heaven we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.
Sung by the Chamber Group
Charles Wesley (1707-1788)
BENEDICTION Revd Helen Alexander
Deep peace of the running wave to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the Son of peace to you
And the blessing of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all.
HYMN 825 Amen
Amen! Amen! Amen.
INTIMATIONS
YOUTH NEWS
Family Service on 20 December at 10.15am: This will be a special morning service for our families and young people which will have craft, music, prayers and time to reflect on Advent and Christmas together in the sanctuary. There will also be a few opportunities for our young people to help lead and take part in the service. While it won’t be the Christingle service from years’ past, it will have elements of the Christingle service we know and love, as well as some new traditions that we can cherish this year!
We’re very excited to see many of our families and young people together in the church to celebrate Christmas this year. Our young people and families will be getting priority booking for attending the Family Service. We hope to see you there!
Youth Group: Tonight at Youth Group is our Amnesty International Write for Rights night! We will be discussing human rights and writing a few letters together. Please bring some paper and envelopes (or blank cards if you have any!). 6.30pm to 7.30pm for P6 - S1 and 7.30pm to 8.30pm for S2 - S6.
Youth Fundraiser: Our Youth Group is joining forces to fundraise for Social Bite over the months of November and December. Due to the current covid restrictions, we are unable to attend or host a sleep out this year, and instead will be setting our own individual or family challenges and goals. For more information please go to our Justgiving team page: Mayfield Salisbury Youth Team Page
PASTORAL CARE Do you now feel that you would like to have your own pastoral visitor? Or would you like someone to phone you over the winter months? Please get in touch with me and I will organise an appropriate match for you with one of our pastoral care team. Kay McIntosh. Email:
THE READINGS NEXT WEEK are Psalm 126 (in church); Isaiah 61: 1 – 4, 8 – 11 and St John 1: 6 – 8, 19 – 28.
CHRISTIAN AID AT CHRISTMAS Do you remember the Christmas cards with personal greetings in your own handwriting that were shared around the congregation in previous years to benefit Christian Aid? Unfortunately, such a card isn’t possible this year because of Covid-19 restrictions. But instead, we’d like to offer you the chance to send your greetings in a different way which will, we think, look very festive and feel inclusive too!
All you do is compose a brief Christmas Greeting – preferably not more than ten or so words. It’s an opportunity to show concern for our neighbours in the wider community, known and unknown, as well as members of our congregation. Add your name if you wish, but no surnames please, for security reasons. Send your message to us, and we’ll transcribe it on to a cheerful red ribbon and attach it to the railings around the church over the festive season.
Groups such as housegroups may also like to have a ribbon so that passers-by can get a flavour of the many different activities which happen in our church. Either email your message to Kate O’Brien,
You may wish to combine your greetings with a contribution to Christian Aid’s Christmas Appeal, which focuses on the effects of the climate crisis on some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Donations can be made via the Christian Aid website at www.christianaid.org.uk or by telephone on 020 7523 2269.
And, why not send your loved ones a Christmas present with a difference? Choose from sponsoring an emergency shelter, clean water, cocoa saplings and many more options. Type ‘Christian Aid charity gifts’ into Google or your preferred search engine and follow the link - or phone 0333 555 2025 to request a paper copy of the catalogue.
We give thanks for every single contribution to Christian Aid over this past year. We look forward to receiving your messages to transcribe on to the red ribbons very soon – please feel free to send as many as you wish! The Christian Aid Committee
OFFERING The Church is very grateful to all those who continue to support it through their regular and one-off donations, now possible through standing order or the ‘give.net’ facility on the website give.net/20311853 So many members have kindly changed from Freewill Offering Envelopes to standing order that envelopes will not be distributed in future. Because of ongoing concerns regarding Covid19 it is not known when open plate offerings will recommence. If you wish to discuss the manner of your future offerings please feel free to contact me using the details shown on the last page of the Grapevine parish magazine. Hugh Somerville
CHRISTMAS SERVICES AT MAYFIELD SALISBURY PARISH CHURCH
Sunday 20 December
Fourth Sunday of Advent - Hillary Leslie
8.00am onwards Online Worship: Website
8.00am onwards Phone Worship: Dial-a-Sermon
10.15am Family Service in the Sanctuary
Wednesday 23 December
Service of Readings and Carols - Revd Helen Alexander
7.30pm onwards Online Worship: Website
7.30pm onwards Phone Worship: Dial-a-Sermon
7.30pm Worship in the Sanctuary
Thursday 24th December
Reflection and Carols for Christmas Eve - Revd Helen Alexander
7.00pm onwards Online Worship **no service in the church**
7.00pm onwards Phone Worship: Dial-a-Sermon
Friday 25th December
Online Carols and Greetings from the Staff
8.00am onwards Online Worship: Website
8.00am onwards Phone Worship: Dial-a-Sermon
10.15am to 11.45am Sanctuary open for private prayer **prayers only**
Sunday 27th December
Service of Readings and Carols - Anne Mulligan DCS
8.00am onwards Online Worship: Website
8.00am onwards Phone Worship: Dial-a-Sermon
10.15am Morning Worship in the Sanctuary
FRIENDS OF WESM 2021 WILDLIFE CALENDAR NOW ON SALE! The Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi (WESM) are delighted to announce that their beautiful 2021 calendar is now available for purchase.
WESM have been supporting schools and community conservation in Malawi for more than 70 years. Buying their high quality, full colour 2021 calendar which is packed full of stunning photos of Malawi wildlife, will help support WESM's vital work. The calendars, which include an extra month, would make ideal Christmas gifts as well as being a great idea to treat yourself, cost £11 or £13.20, including p+p.
To purchase a calendar, please contact Hilary Watkinson by email at:
MIDWEEK PEACE AND PRAYERS
10.00am – 11.00am every Wednesday in the Sanctuary, commencing 18 November.
- Have you been considering visiting the sanctuary for Five Minutes’ Peace on a Wednesday evening but are deterred by the dark and the cold?
- Are you missing Tuesday Morning Prayers?
If so, then we have good news! Mayfield Salisbury are launching a new midweek daytime initiative which will combine these two activities! During the winter months, members of the congregation will have the opportunity to spend a time of silent prayer/meditation in the sanctuary during daylight hours and also participate in worship and fellowship in communal prayers led by our Pastoral Assistant Kay McIntosh.
- 10:00 - 10:30am Prayers led by Kay McIntosh
- 10:30 - 11:00am Sanctuary open for silent meditation and private prayer
If you wish to, please feel free to bring along your own bible and pew cushion. Come along for either or both this Wednesday.
THANK YOU FOR OUR PRESENCE AT THE SERVICES. The church will be open at 10.00 on Sunday mornings for those who have booked to come to the service.
Please note that there may be member(s) of the congregation who are exempt on health grounds from wearing a mask. If this applies to you, it would be helpful if you wear a lanyard or badge. If you would like to bring a cushion to place in your pew, please feel free to do so but do take it home with you.
At the close of the service, please remain in your place until stewards invite you to leave at the end of the closing voluntary, and maintain social distancing as you leave the church premises. If you wish to speak to Helen Alexander or Kay McIntosh, you are asked to indicate this as you pass. Helen will join you on the pavement once everyone else has left.
Booking system:
Phone: On Wednesdays, from 11.00am to 1.00pm, you may reserve a space by phoning the Church Office (0131 667 1522).
Internet: We would encourage anyone with internet access to use the Eventbrite booking system, which will be open from 4pm on Wednesdays. The system can be accessed from our website via this link: www.mayfieldsalisbury.org/attend
CORNERSTONE BOOKSHOP
Recommended Daily Meditations: Fr Richard Rohr at www.cac.org Also, see www.pray-as-you-go.org
Books for the Journey
Riders on the Storm: The Climate Crisis and the Survival of Being by Alastair McIntosh, Birlinn Ltd 2020
Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald, Jonathan Cape 2020
***
Forthcoming Deadlines
Order of service for next week: Thursday at 6.00pm.
Next Grapevine: Friday 29 January 2021 at 6.00pm.
Please send submissions to the Church Manager, William Mearns.
Phone: 0780 801 1234 or email:
***
Copyright Notices
SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.
All rights reserved worldwide.
Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church holds a CCLI Streaming License: #88916
Images – Some courtesy of Pixabay
***
Social Media
www.facebook.com/MayfieldSalisbury
www.youtube.com/user/MayfieldSalisbChurch
www.flickr.com/photos/98063709@N06/
Scottish Charity Number SC000785
