Shetland Guilds Together

Different "Companions on the road" as I travelled to lead worship in Unst today.

- To mark the conclusion of our 2018-2021 Project partnerships, The Guild National Council have put together this video in collaboration with each of the projects to celebrate what has been achieved, and to thank the Guild for all the work done to support the projects and raise over £520,000. The video also has a selection of hymns from past Annual Gatherings. https://youtu.be/jBQ42k0-FBg

Guild Project Celebration Final A celebration of the 2018 - 21 Church of Scotland Guild Partnership Projects

1) Some of you will know that I’ve been running Saturday night quizzes throughout lockdown - not in my capacity as Moderator but as me!
2) All of you will know that lockdown has affected every aspect of life - and in the case of The Guild in their ability to raise funds for their projects.

Ok so put these two things together and what do you get?
An online quiz this Saturday night at 7pm to support The Guild projects!

Loads of details to follow. Can’t wait!

Tom and Marian would like to thank SGT for the beautiful limited edition print of a Warm summers day in Melby, Sandness by Avril Thomson-Smith. It encapsulates the happy memories of our time in the Westside and also with the Guilds Shetland wide. Thank you for all the support and encouragement you have given us in our time here. A special thanks to the leadership team and Mary Donald for unstinting service. May God continue to bless the work and fellowship of the Guilds. Much love to you all. X

Guild Rally 2pm Monday 18th

A reminder to all that Shetland Guilds Together is holding a rally on Zoom tomorrow from 2pm, where they will be joined by Dana, the Moderator of the National Youth Assembly.

There's plenty room for more, so if anyone would like to join in, please contact [email protected] or phone Mary Donald for the link.

As we slowly begin to settle into 2021, we wanted to take some time to reflect on 2020 and share how our communications on the page has performed during an incredibly busy time.

During the year, we were very grateful to have had so many people from across the Church reach out and share stories with us on how their churches are coping and the innovative ways in which they have been continuing to reach out in their communities.

Although we cannot always share all the stories we receive, we greatly appreciate all of those who continue to get in touch with us here.

In 2020, across both this page and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland’s page:

- We’ve gained over 9,500 new followers
- We’ve published 1,800 posts
- We’ve had 1.1million reactions to our posts
- Our posts have been shared 203,000 times
- 89,000 comments have been shared with us

A big thank you to everyone who continues to engage with us on Facebook and supports the work of the communications team – and please, if you don’t already do so, we’d love if you would follow us and share our posts during the coming months.

We look forward to seeing you back in church when it is safe to do so.

Looking forward to our 'New Year Rally' on Zoom with Dana, NYA Moderator. MONDAY 18TH JANUARY AT 2PM.

Happy Christmas to all our Supporters.

Nativity Sunday Service We have our attention wholly focused on the Christmas story now. The story is told in carols, scripture and by our nativity play. I hope you enjoy every part...

A mini sermon for today. Not my words but wanted to share. This Christmas is like no other I have experienced. But with a little love we can say fear not....

“In 1965, Charles Schulz, a devout Christian and creator of the Peanuts comic strip, was asked to create a Christmas special for CBS featuring the Peanuts Characters. He agreed with one requirement, that they allow him to include the story of the birth of Jesus. Although the stations executives were hesitant and tried to convince him otherwise, Schulz was insistent. As a result, for the past 50 plus years, millions of people have watched and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and heard the story of Jesus and “what Christmas is all about.”

It wasn’t until a few years back that I realized a “hidden message” in the film. Linus, a child who seems to have some insecurities as he carries a security blanket with him at all times. In fact, Linus NEVER drops his blanket, except once....

While sharing the message of “what Christmas is all about,” Linus drops his blanket at the exact moment he says the words, “fear not!”

In this seemingly innocent moment, Linus delivers a powerful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. We are to “fear not”, for Jesus is born. We needn’t rely on material things for security, we have God with us, “Immanuel”, (Matthew 1:23) Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior - the true meaning of Christmas.

Awhile back, someone informed me, indignantly so, that Linus picks up his blanket at the end of the speech so my interpretation must be wrong. Well, he was right, Linus does pick up his blanket at the end of his speech. However, he “drops” it again later...

Amid big, bright, colorful, shiny artificial trees, Charlie Brown chose the least of these, a little, wooden tree with just a few branches. Shortly thereafter, Linus uses his blanket to wrap about the base of the tree and says, “Maybe it just needs a little love”. In that moment, the tree “awakens”, stands tall and firm. A reminder that no matter who we are, how many mistakes we’ve made, a “little love” can make all the difference.

Let’s strive to “fear not” (Luke 2:10) and “love one another” (John 13:34), not just at Christmastime, but the whole year through.”

Borrowed from Charlene M. Speer & ‘Christian Life Ministry’ on Facebook...

YouTube

Happy St Andrew’s Day. St Andrew the Apostle is the Patron Saint of Scotland. Andrew was called to be a fisher of men by Jesus, along with his brother, Simon Peter.

This Icon of St Andrew, showing the legendary Saltire of his cross which became the National Flag of Scotland, was gifted to the Rt Rev Ian Paton on the occasion of his Consecration as Bishop of St Andrews, within the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane.

A Collect for the Feast of St Andrew:

Almighty God,
who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew
that he readily obeyed the call of your Son, Jesus Christ: give us, who are called by your holy Word,
the grace to follow him without delay,
and to be messengers of the good news of your kingdom; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.

Amen

Today is the first Sunday of Advent when we start to think ahead to the birth of Jesus. Today we light our first Advent candle and pray for hope 🙏

O come, O come, Emmanuel - (Piano/Cello) - The Piano Guys ► Get our albums: https://smarturl.it/TPG_ALBUMS ► WE'RE ON TOUR! https://smarturl.it/tpgtour ► TPG APPAREL: http://smarturl.it/tpgapparel ► SHOP OUR AMAZON ...

Livestreamed Advent Service this Sunday at 2pm with Rev. Fran Henderson. Watch and join in via this page.

BBC One - Reflections at the Quay, 06/12/2020 Reflections from Rev Neil Glover and Fiona Stewart of Foolproof Creative Arts.