Liss Report

I thought I'd post a few reports from Presbytery yesterday, hopefully there's nothing confidential in them.



These past 3 months have been a time of transition for us as a church, a time of restoration and regrouping. We have seen God's steadying hand in our midst and we feel blessed and encouraged. I feel that I have been able to settle into my position as pastor and as a session we are working well together. I have inherited a solid and sea worthy vessel that has weathered well the rough water of this past year. While I wouldn't say that it has been exactly smooth sailing I believe that we have been able to hold to our course and have kept the faith.

Of particular note; the pilgrimage toward the restoration of St Peter's has passed a significant point of no return. With an 80%+ congregational vote in favour we purchased the building in early November with the help of an 11th hour gift which came almost straight from heaven. Last Sunday we held our first service as owner/stewards. My installation/induction service in the morning and our Advent Carol Service in the afternoon saw our beautiful set of bells ring out over the village for the first time in years. We want to be a church that is 'Helping to bring the sacred back in to the heart of our village'. We now begin the task of raising the money needed to restore and repair the main building as well as the construction of the Annex.

In our Sunday service I have been working through a series on 1 Timothy and we have been blessed by a number of guest preachers. Paul Miners has proved a solid support in this time of transition and we want to thank him and the presbytery for his wise and steadying hand. On most fronts it has been 'steady as it goes' as I have sought to understand and appreciate the strengths and weakness of this congregation and likewise they have gotten to know me. We had a wonderful group of youngsters confirmed and Mark Harvey's Sunday School class has been a highlight. We also had two of our young people baptised, which was a great encouragement to us all. Much to be thankful for.

Matters of concern and ongoing prayer are first and foremost Mark's return to full health. His initial surgery went well and he has radio therapy scheduled for January. We also have a number of folk who have lost their jobs and are in times of transition. A couple of families have left the church and we may have dropped below a critical mass when it comes to young families. This is an area that we are going to need to focus on in the New Year. We are in the process of appointing more deacons and I would love to see some younger men on the session. We need to see more people equipped and enabled to step up into leadership. Too few are carrying too much. There has been some progress made in reconnecting with our sister churches, Trinity and Hope, but there is still much to be done.

God's goodness shines out and his faithfulness gives us hope. Blessings on you