May 2021 Newsletter
May 2021 Newsletter
The limit on the number of people permitted to attend worship has been changed from a maximum of 50 people, to the capacity of the Church building in which the Service is being held, allowing for 2 metres distancing. So the maximum number of worshippers permitted in Coldstream Parish Church is now 70. The limit remains at 50 for Eccles, Leitholm and Swinton Churches.
Covid-19 restrictions are easing, the incidence of coronavirus in our area is very low, the most vulnerable people have now been offered two vaccinations, and we are keen to welcome people back to Church. For this reason, the Services on the Church Website will be coming to an end. The last Website Service will take place on Sunday, 16 May. We are very grateful to Jayne Henderson who has worked hard to present these excellent Services, and to Mike Rowe, who has advertised them and set up a Facebook page for our Church. Although there will not be weekly Services, both the Website and Facebook page will continue to be important places to go for news and information.
The Church of Scotland nationally is having to make some serious decisions. For financial reasons, we are informed that the Church of Scotland will be reducing the number of its ministries from 1,000 to 600 over the next two years. As there are already 230 vacancies, this is not quite so drastic as it may seem. However, from September this year the filling of vacancies will be suspended to enable the reduced numbers of ministry appointments to be reached.
The Presbytery of Duns, to which we belong, held a survey recently and was alarmed to discover that there are only 166 regular Church members under the age of 60 in the whole Presbytery - which includes 22 Churches. That is an average of 7.5 people under the age of 60 for each Church! This is clearly unsustainable and each Church will be having realistic discussions with the Presbytery, which will probably take the form of a Roadshow.
We are very grateful for the superb response we have had to the special Appeal made to members of Coldstream & District Parishes in January. Not only has the Church benefitted by more than £13,000 and the cashflow problem been resolved, but a number of members have now opted to make their Offering by Bank Standing Order, which has increased our regular income by more than £600 per month. Thank you very much again.
David Taverner