Hello everyone,
When was the last time you were invited to something?
You may find it hard to believe but those who have looked into it suggest each of us sees between 6,000 and 10,000 adverts per day. Each of these is an invitation to buy something we don’t have, change something for something better or be something that we are not. They all start from the same place that something is missing from our lives. Our materialistic society depends on us repeatedly buying more things or the demand for goods stops which in turn affects jobs and so on. That of course means the things we are encouraged to get are not designed to last forever. This is a very simplistic view because for instance, our bodies are fed by the food we buy whilst our minds are fed by the books we buy. If we just bought them and did nothing with them, they would do us no good. A lot of things in life are essential to live and we cannot do without them. Always though we are invited to consider what more can we have so that our lives will be better.
The question of invitation lies at the heart of our Christian faith. We invite people to come to church with us because we want them to share in the joy of worshipping God. We invite God to heal, accompany, bless and be with people through our prayers. God invites us to be part of his family and in turn invites us to be salt and light in this world, making his Kingdom a reality. Invitation is part of the DNA of faith.
Invitation is of course only one side of the equation because with invitation comes either acceptance or refusal. Isaiah 55:1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!” is reflected in Matthew 11:28 where Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” yet we have no idea how many actually responded. Invitation is our business, response we leave to the individual and to God.
With that in mind, we are encouraging everyone who attends our churches to invite someone else every week. Is that something you could do? Likewise, we invite everyone to pray for the people of this world with all the difficulties it contains as well as for situations closer to home. Pray that God would send His Spirit. One of the most beautiful things about the invitation to be part of God’s family is it will not wear out or run out; it is eternal.
For Prayer from the Presbytery Prayer Calendar this week:
October 26th Hawick: South
We remember this week the leadership and all involved in the life of this community. Please pray for continuing consolidation and growth following the union, appropriate disposals of the various buildings including those for which community buyouts are under consideration & for the right person to be our locally funded Assistant Minister.
Received from Stewardship folks in the national offices:
To Ministers, Deacons and Ministries Development Staff
(Please note this communication has also been sent to Session Clerks, Congregational Treasurers and Presbytery Clerks)
The Stewardship Team wants to support you as you plan for the church year ahead. We would like to invite you to our next webinar which is particularly relevant for ministers, deacons, readers, MDS and local worship leaders:
Stewardship Webinar: Preaching Generosity – Weaving stewardship into the worship year ahead
Wednesday 5 November 2025
4pm – 5pm
Online via Zoom
This one-hour session is designed to equip you with practical ways to integrate stewardship themes into your preaching and worship throughout the year. During the event, we will:
- take an overview of Revised Common Lectionary Year A, with a specific focus on Matthew’s Gospel
- share inspiring new music suggestions from God Welcomes All
- and signpost resources for promoting generosity as an aspect of discipleship, including Lent study group material.
We will be delighted to welcome our special guest, The Very Rev David Lunan, who will share his own insights of preaching on these themes.
Register now for the webinar: Register on Eventbrite – Preaching Generosity
If you can’t make the live event, you can catch up with the subsequent recording on our YouTube channel.
Please forward this invitation to any other local worship leaders who may be interested in attending. Everyone is welcome!
Yours sincerely
The Stewardship Team
Received from the congregation of Newington Trinity, anyone want to be a locum? If so, please let me know and I will put you into contact with Pauline.
Dear Norman
I’m now a Session Clerk at Newington Trinity, a new union of the former Craigmillar Park, Priestfield and Mayfield Salisbury churches. As you may have heard, our last minister, Sandy Forsyth, demitted in August to take up a role at the church offices. We’ve been trying to find a locum since then but with no success. it occurred to me to wonder if you knew of anyone in Lothian and Borders who might be interested and available? Some of your people probably live quite close to Edinburgh and might not mind the travel. We already have Anne Logan as our IM and Elisabeth Spence as a member.
I realise you are probably as short of locums and IMs as we are in Edinburgh and West Lothian but I thought I’d try.
best wishes
Pauline
A chance to feed your mind from Handsel Press:
“HANDSEL PRESS is shortly to celebrate its 50th year. We produce a variety of books – biography, memoir, Bible, theology, the arts. We have just published a big book to celebrate John Buchan’s 150th, and the very latest two are:
Robert Moffat: the Theology of a Missionary, by Bruce Ritchie
A Brush with Belief: the Art of William Hole (1846-1917), by Rosemary McAuley
Also this year, The Beginning of the Good News about Jesus (reflections on Mark’s Gospel) and Above and Beyond: The People Behind Unpaid Care, plus Today with Amos, Hosea and Micah by Clifford Hill. John L. Millar’s Power Plays and Pulpits, Telford’s Century in Scotland 1750-1850 came out with a foreword by John Bell last year.
Because it is a not-for-profit enterprise, editor Jock Stein enjoys giving bargains, and often the choice of a free booklet with every purchase. While you’d need to negotiate a date, he is often free on a Sunday to come and offer books for sale, and if wanted preach and/or lead worship as well, just asking for travel expenses. Do have a look at their website, www.handselpress.co.uk and get in touch if you are interested – jstein@handselpress.org.uk.
And if you have a particular interest in poetry, Jock’s first collection has just been published by Wipf and Stock in USA, called Temple Garden, Poems of Faith and Curiosity – https://wipfandstock.com/9798385246625/temple-garden/ ”
And a chance to feed your soul:
Dear Norman
Thanks very much for your help in sending out information about events at Whitchester Christian Centre. We would be most grateful if you could circulate news of two upcoming retreats. They are:
- Minsters/Clergy Retreat, 10-14th November 2025
- Advent Retreat, 28-30 November 2025
Please see our website for further information and how to book: https://www.whitchester.org.uk/retreats-and-quiet-days
Many thanks again for your help,
Chris
Dr Christopher Brett
Secretary to the Board of Directors
Whitchester Christian Centre
Scottish Charity, SC011436,
Company No.SC093015
As always please feel free to share these emails far and wide. If anyone has any ideas for how we can be a better Presbytery please let us know. Please also remember to keep each other in prayer.
God Bless
Norman Smith
Presbytery Clerk
linked – Resourcing Committee Meeting Agenda 9th Oct 2025