| St Andrews SC006235 | Riverside SC002937 | West Kirk SC010474 |
Minister: Rev Ian Johnson
- Sunday Worship, 28 June 2020Welcome; Hymn – Praise my soul the King of Heaven; All age time; Prayer; Reading Matthew 10: 40-42; Reflection; Prayer for others; Hymn – O Lord thou art my God and King; Blessing.
- Thought for the day 27 June
Today is Armed Forces Day, when the country is encouraged to think about, and show its appreciation for, our Armed Forces. Usually there will be events around the country to mark it, and Dumbarton hosts it for West Dunbartonshire Council from time to time. No events this year because of the virus, but still an opportunity to think about the service personnel and their families. Different people may have different opinions on the tasks the military are deployed to do, but the men and women in the military are human beings like the rest of us. Some join up because life has not been good for them, and they want a new start; some encounter traumas that leave them mentally scarred, if not physically scarred; many experience long periods away from home and family; some experience difficulty in adjusting to civilian life when they are demobbed. We’re thinking of you, we appreciate you
Lord, we pray for all who are part of the armed forces, and their families. Support them through their hard times. Guide those who deploy and lead them to use them to bring peace and justice to your world, and to think of their personal needs too
- Thought for the day 26 June
End of term, end of school year. What a term, what a year! Thanks to all the school staff and volunteers who have helped to keep the education system going (albeit in a different way) over the last few months. Good wishes to all the pupils and parents/ guardians. All the best for planning for the new session
Lord, thanks for the commitment of school staff and parents/ guardians trying to keep the education system going during lockdown. We pray that they may have a suitable rest before the new session starts. We pray too for all the pupils, particularly those moving on to a new phase in their lives, and those whose education fell behind in recent months
- Thought for the day 25 June
The newspaper headlines today are celebrating when people will be able to go to pubs, the hairdressers, art galleries, on holiday. For it all to happen on the planned dates, infection rates must stay low. That requires people to be sensible, careful and think about others. Most of the population meet those requirements all the time, though we can all have occasional ‘blips’. Some are less sensible, careful and thoughtful about others. How do we encourage them to be thoughtful and considerate, without being interfering so-and-sos?
Lord, it is encouraging to think that we might be able to do things we haven’t been able to do for months. Help us to remember that the virus is still about, so we must be careful and vigilant at all times. Help us to respond appropriately when people are not being so sensible
- Thought for the day 24 June
Talk about Sex and the City! There were strange noises in the garden late last night. Investigating with a torch confirmed that two hedgehogs were indeed getting friendly. (What a chat-up line: “Here hen, d’ye wan a date doon by the compost heap?”) All fitted exactly with the text-book information on hedgehogs. Humanity has seen its world turned upside down over the last few months, but the rest of nature goes on with its business in the usual way, oblivious of us. At times humanity likes to think that the world revolves around it. Maybe we need to get ourselves in the proper perspective
Lord, thank you for the world around us. We are blessed with many good things, but sometimes we get above ourselves, and think that we are masters of the universe, never mind the earth. Help us to see ourselves in perspective, and to see our true place amid the rest of nature
- Thought for the day 23 June
Yesterday we reflected on the ‘new normal’. Today we are reminded of the ‘old normal’: it’s raining, it’s not awfully warm, the rest of the country is roasting, while we can look forward to usual ‘start of the school holidays’ weather! But the school holidays will not be the same as they usually are: people will not be heading off abroad this week or weekend; children have not had the usual ‘summer term’ teaching and activities; some have struggled to keep themselves occupied for the weeks of lockdown with sunshine, how will the cope in the rain?; and there is the question of ‘holiday hunger’ (some steps are being taken to help, but will children have all that they really need?) Some things are new, some things are unchanged
Lord, some things have changed unrecognisably because of the pandemic, but some things stay the same. Help us to cope with the change, and to work to resolve the ongoing challenges in our community and country. Thank you that you never change, and are always faithful and true
- Thought for the day 22 June
While sifting through old photos yesterday to scan for this week’s Tail of the Bank shots I came across some photos from Primary School days. When in P5 I went on a school trip to Belgium, starting with the overnight train to London. There we were on the station platform, hours after we usually went to bed, dressed in school uniform – boys in caps, girls in panama hats! One girl had her woolly scarf on, even though it was June! How long ago and far away that world seems. So much has changed in the interim. So much has changed in the world since this year started, and though lockdown restrictions are slowly being eased, we are not going back to where we were. In some ways the post-Covid 19 world of later 2020 will seem as far removed from what we knew as the year started as that photograph from 19?? seems from now
Lord, we don’t know what the ‘new normal’ will be like, but help us to accept it and adjust to it, and start looking forwards, not to a past that cannot be recovered
About the Church of Scotland in Dumbarton:
This is the joint website for Dumbarton: St Andrews, Dumbarton: Riverside and Dumbarton: West Kirk.
Due to the challenges of the Corona Virus COVID-19 and the need to do as much as possible online we are combining our efforts on this page to avoid duplication and to streamline our efforts around worship, Bible readings, prayer and wider community support.
Links to the three Church of Scotland parishes in Dumbarton are below:
