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

12 April 2026

Today is often known as ‘Low’ Sunday. Perhaps because of the mental and physical slump after all that celebrating and chocolate? Perhaps because attendance at Sunday worship drops after the busyness of Easter Day? Are you up for resisting the drop and slump?

Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Day, are all emotional enough for us today as we try to capture the drama and feelings, but imagine how draining they were for the disciples who actually walked through that journey with Jesus!

No wonder they weren’t sure what had happened!

We know Thomas today as ‘doubting’ Thomas, but I think that is unfair. He missed out on seeing Jesus for himself and simply wasn’t sure about what he heard from the other disciples. He went on to write his own gospel account and travelled widely declaring the Good News about Jesus, whose wounds he saw and touched, whose Resurrection he no longer doubted.

We see Jesus through the eyes of faith, with help from the Holy Spirit – we cannot touch His sides, see His scars, yet we believe. Jesus Himself declared that we are Blessed if we believe without the physical contact.

Join us to escape the slump and meet Jesus in whatever low you are experiencing.

His Blessing may surprise you.

 

God Bless,

Mark

 

 

PRAYER for EASTER:

Lord of Life and Power,

through the mighty Resurrection of Your Son

              You have overcome the old order of sin and death

              and have made all things new in Him.

May we be dead to sin and alive to You in Jesus Christ

              and reign with Him in Glory,

              who, with You and the Holy Spirit, is alive,

              One God, now and for ever.

 

 

PRAYER THEME for EASTER:

Ask the Holy Spirit to help increase your faith in the Risen Lord Jesus.

 

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