Welcome

Glencairn & Moniaive Parish Church is a linked charge with Dunscore Parish Church and is within the Presbytery of The South West.

The parish of Glencairn & Moniaive is located at the northern end of the scenic Cairn Valley in mid-Nithsdale, which is part of the Dumfries & Galloway region of South West Scotland.

The community is centred around the village of Moniaive.

We aim to play an active part in the community we serve, reaching out with the love and joy of Jesus Christ.

Our vision is ‘To convince all people of God’s love for them’.

 

News from the Kirk’s Website

Read a letter from the Moderator of the General Assembly, Rt Rev Dr Shaw J Paterson, reflecting on a year of conflict in Israel and Gaza. Click here.

There is more information from the Church of Scotland here.

 

Message from our Minister

Sunday  19 January 2025

As we plod into 2025, January is rushing by! I’m certainly plodding at the moment! No rushing for me at the moment. Many of you will have had similar experiences of sudden changes to your physical well-being. Doctors may diagnose, friends may sympathise, medicines may ease, but the discomfort and frustration stay.

Imagine the discomfort and frustration of the Steward of the Feast at the Wedding in Cana! The wine ran out just as things were getting going. A woman was giving the servants a ‘talking-to’. A young man was telling the servants what to do! A servant was approaching with a cup of water!!

Not a good day for him – Trip Adviser was not going to treat him well. A career-ending mistake.

We all know what happened next!

Jesus can still make a difference for us in the midst of discomfort and frustration.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;” as the Psalmist says, “blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34v8)

Whether tasting or seeking refuge – join us!

 

God Bless,

Mark

PS I’m ‘off’ this week so please contact Nan Tait (Moniaive 200403), or Rev Tim Harmer (Dunscore 820861) if you need any help or information.

 

PRAYER for this year:

Almighty God, praise and thanks be to You!

We give You thanks for the blessings You have poured out upon us,

for the difference You have made to our lives.

For gifts beyond measure:

not the gold, frankincense and myrrh the Magi brought to Jesus,

but gifts of forgiveness way beyond what we deserve,

love everlasting, light in our darkness, hope in our despair.

We give thanks for the constancy of Your being,

eternal, unchanging, reliable and secure,

which grounds us

when life around us seems constantly in flux.

We give thanks for the glimpses we catch of You unexpectedly

as we go about our daily living:

glimpses in the light and in the dark;

glimpses that uphold and sustain us.

Almighty God, praise and thanks be to You!

 

PRAYER THEME:

Remember to thank God for past blessings and seek Him in 2025!

 

Musings from The Manse

How are you approaching 2025?

Like a Shepherd? Like a Magi? On foot? By camel!?

The Shepherds were hopeful as they rushed down the hilly terrain to Bethlehem, yet they were going to see something unremarkable! A baby. In a manger, yes, but a baby nonetheless.

The Magi were fearful as they slowly trekked across dangerous deserts to a foreign land to meet someone remarkable. A king! In a simple home, but a king nonetheless.

Are you hopeful for 2025? Or fearful?

The Shepherds had low expectations and were surprised and amazed at what they found!

The Magi had high expectations and were surprised and amazed at what they found!

As we stand at the threshold of another year we need to recall the familiar words of the carol: “The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight.”

We all know the disappointment of failed resolutions. Hoping to change things by our own efforts and resolve. We all know the reality of the unanticipated and the fear uncertainty can bring.

Some of you have things to look forward to in 2025, plans for celebrations, new challenges and opportunities.

Some of you face the year ahead in a time of darkness, sensing what lies ahead, anticipating the pain to come.

Where do you put your hope?

With whom do you share your fears?

Just as the Shepherds and Magi came from different places geographically, culturally, intellectually, spiritually, so we come to 2025 as we are. We can do no other!

Bring your hopes and fears to Jesus as you enter 2025. The baby who is King! Friend of Shepherds and Magi alike. The one who wants to walk with you each step of the way.

Are you ready to be surprised and amazed? Whatever your journey to this point, whether hopeful or fearful, Jesus wants to meet you. Vulnerable baby sharing your fears, King of kings filling you with hope…

“One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord, across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it: ‘Lord, You said once I decided to follow You, You’d walk with me all the way, but I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me?’

The Lord whispered, ‘ My precious child, I love you and will never leave you, never, even during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.’”

How will you walk into 2025? Who will you ask to walk with you?

Join with us this January to find out more.

 

May God Bless you in 2025.

Mark RS Smith