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’.

 

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Message from our Minister

15 March 2026

Today’s theme is “Light”.

This is another of those themes which recurs throughout Scripture, from start to end. God is the source of Light, dispelling the darkness to create the universe. God chooses unlikely heroes (priests, judges, kings, prophets) by their openness to His Light. The Light is promised and foretold as coming to break through the darkness of people’s hearts and shine for all to see. Jesus brought Light into the lives of unlikely people (dodgy disciples, Samaritans, women(!!), Romans, Greeks, passing strangers) by unlikely means – not just formal teaching/preaching/nagging.

The Apostle Paul knew the power of this Light – it shone on him on the road to Damascus and utterly changed his life. It showed him Jesus, the Messiah. The Christ who his studies had taught him to expect, yet who he had missed by focussing on minutiae and legalities taught to him by tradition and conventional wisdom. He stepped from darkness into light.

Without light we cannot see. Without light all remains hidden and uncertain. Without light we stumble around unaware of others or the direction we should take.

Our Lent journey needs light, the Light of the World, Jesus Himself shining into our lives day by day.

Join us to seek the Light-giver and to see for yourself.

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 LENT:

Creator God, I bring before You

              all that I have faced,

              all that I have overcome,

              all that I need to hold on to

              and all that I need to release.

Faithful God, I bring before You

              the times when I make wrong decisions,

              the times when I covet what others have,

              the times when I am not satisfied and want more

              and the times when I try to deal with things in my own strength.

Eternal God, I thank You

              for Your understanding of my weakness,

              for the generosity of Your forgiveness

              and the support of others through testing times.

Infinite God,

              I pledge to look to Jesus for guidance and follow in His footsteps

              and to support others going through testing times;

              I ask You to give me the courage, grace, gifts, strength and faith I need.

 

PRAYER THEME for LENT:

Bring God into your journey at every step, as you re-focus on all He gives to you.

 

LENT 2026 – The Journey continues…

In recent times there has been a lot of emphasis in the media on life as a journey.

TV programmes have focussed on the idea of pilgrimage – celebs and real people alike.

The Christian Year is intended to be a journey through our faith – the promise of Advent, the arrival of Jesus, His temptation in the desert, His Ministry round the towns and villages, His road to the Cross, His death and burial, His Resurrection and Ascension. Each ‘season’ brings out a different part of the story, emphasises another aspect of Jesus’ impact on His followers and the wider world. Lent is no exception.

 

LENT is a season for personal journeys for Well-being & Health & Faith.

Having emptied our cupboards in the excess of Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras) we are challenged to survive on simple foods during the lean months of the year. Not easy.

As we toss our pancakes as a nod to the empty cupboards of the past, it is easy to forget that Lent is about our whole being: Body, Mind & Soul.

This is where it can teach us a lot as we journey through life.

Our life is not just about the physical, but also our mental health and spiritual growth.

A lot of you have tried the physical regimes offered to help remove the extra weight, tone the muscles, improve fitness, and be ready for the beach!

Some of you have delved into the strategies of mindfulness and the increased awareness of your feelings and reactions to help cope with all that life hurls at you.

How many of us also pay attention to the spiritual side of our being? The inner part of our nature which, I believe, is designed to ‘tune in’ to things beyond these three dimensions, with their limitations and frustrations.

For thousands of years people have used pilgrimage to physically echo the inner journey, seeking discipline, clarity, renewal, and faith as the earthly journey is made in the hope that the return to ‘normality’ will be enriched in all aspects – Body, Mind & Soul.

 

LENT is a season of reflection, resolution and re-assessment for Mind & Body & Soul

… a journey of mindfulness, carefulness, thoughtfulness;

… a journey of growth, development, resilience;

… a journey characterised by an openness, physically, mentally and spiritually;

… an individual journey often accompanied by others on their own journey.

 

LENT is a season requiring determination and discipline

As John Bunyan (1628-1688, PILGRIM’S PROGRESS) put it:

“…there’s no discouragement shall make [me] once relent,

[my] first avowed intent to be a pilgrim…

… I’ll fear not what men say, I’ll labour night and day to be a pilgrim.”

Are you up for it?

 

LENT is a season of seeking … together.

Come alongside us as you make your own journey …

 

May God Bless you,

Mark RS Smith