Church of Scotland
SC014816
Camelon Parish Church Church of Scotland Charity registered
in Scotland
Dorrator Road, Camelon, Falkirk FK1 4BN
Press HERE for a list of future services and the June to October Preaching Plan
If you need to speak to someone in confidence about anything, Camelon Parish in partnership with Crossline may be able to help by using their confidential telephone service which is available Monday through Friday 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m. to midnight on 0845 658 0045. Calls are charged at the local rate or, if you prefer, you can make contact through email .
Camelon Parish Church Building Project:
The concept drawings for our new Worship Centre can now be viewed by clicking HERE. If you would like to see the recently completed feasibility study it is available at the church office. Please telephone 01324 870011 to make the necessary arrangements. Further news about the progress of the project can be seen at the end of this page.
Rev Stuart Sharp Writes From the study .........
Ancient
Paths.
.It is getting into that time of year when the old walking boots are found at the bottom of the cupboard and dragged out, dusted off and put to use. I love the thought of hill walking but I usually get caught out by the effort required – perhaps I need to remember another year has passed! It often doesn’t matter how prepared you are you come to a point in the route when you question which way to go.
‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient
paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for
your souls’ (Jeremiah 6:16).
A pathway can be reassuring to the walker. It says to us:
you are travelling on an established route. Others have walked here before so
you need not be afraid – you are on your way somewhere.
Even if the path we’re on reduces to a rough track heavily
fringed with undergrowth there is a sense that if we keep to it we should
emerge somewhere recognisable. This is not to say that the old paths
necessarily feel safe to travel. They may involve us in pushing through
overgrown bushes and there are times when the route may carry us beneath
canopies of branches and into ominous darkness.
We may be tempted to leave the path because the way ahead seems to wind off in a way that our internal navigation system feels is not the most direct route and so we give in and try to take a shortcut. We charge off the path through the bracken
and into the woods in the hope of stepping out
onto a track that might be closer to our destination. Sometimes this works
out…
The journey you are on through life, does it feel like one
that is taking you along well worn paths or has it taken you down some
dead-ends from which you wish you could retrace your footsteps?
Whether established or pioneering, do you like the path
you’re on now? What’s the terrain like? Does the way ahead of you seem like a
well-trodden Roman road, cutting a straight path through the landscape all the
way to the horizon, or do you feel like a lone pedestrian dodging the traffic,
trying to find your way on a busy interchange?
How confident are you of reaching your destination?
Perhaps you’re at a crossroads – how will you decide which path to take?
Jesus said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’ (John 14:6). How confident are you that the way you are going is God’s will for you?
Stuart.
From the Other Study .......................
“Therefore
encourage one another and build each
other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1Thessalonians 5 :11.
“Let us
not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another” Hebrews 10:25
Encouragement
is a powerful thing, it is like oxygen to the soul. Throughout the New
Testament we can find words of encouragement and the early Christians were
reminded by Paul to encourage each other, to build each other up in love, to
show each other the love of Christ.
I came
across these next quotes by Pastor William Arthur Ward which I think adds to
what Paul says about encouragement. “A true friend knows your
weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your
faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities
but emphasizes your possibilities.”
“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.” William
Arthur Ward.
How often have we been affected by the criticism of others ? How often have we felt ignored ? It isn’t a happy place to be - ignored and criticised. But think about it from the other angle. How often have we been the one who criticised or the one who ignored ?
God speaks
words of healing and wholeness to us from His word and He reminds us that He
walks with us throughout the journey of our lives. We are His children and each of us need encouragement just as
much as the other person. Jesus
encouraged people as He lifted their spirit by His words, by His touch, by His
love and His care. As members of God’s
family here in Camelon Parish Church words of encouragement will do more good,
and will give greater blessing to each of us.
If
encouragement is like oxygen to the soul what happens when there is no
encouragement ?
Maybe you
are finding it hard to remember when you were last encouraged, perhaps you can
remember clearer when you were criticised.
Let me reassure you, let me encourage you, by saying that God in all His
glory and majesty sees you as
special, and most precious to Him. Regardless
of how you may feel today God rejoices over you. “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will
quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3 :17
That is a
verse that I keep coming back to, that I continue to be encouraged by as it
reminds me of the God who rejoices over me with singing, a God who takes great
delight in me. And He does the exact
same for you.
Whether we
are able, or infirm, young or old or any of the ages in between it doesn’t
matter as each of us are encouraged by God to encourage one another, to love one another and to pray for one another so
that we will all be built up in our
faith.
“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who
loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17
Margaret
There is a vacancy for an Associate Minister to join our Ministry Team
For details please click < here >
Team
Ministry News – Still Looking.
We have had a couple of people seriously consider coming and sharing in the Team ministry with us. One is taking there time to real think and pray about it, seeking God’s will for them. The other will be able to take up any post until later in the year due to the requirements of the Training as laid down by Ministry Council. So we hope that one of these may really feel the call to share in the work here – because there is certainly plenty of it! We’ll keep you posted. But don’t stop praying about this until they are here!
Building for Our Future
Our journey to a new worship centre started with the first step, the union between Camelon St. John's and Camelon Irving Churches. While we will be able to raise a significant amount of money from the sale of our current properties the congregation will still have to find the balance, a not inconsiderable sum. We are taking the opportunity of your visit to our website to ask you to consider helping us meet some of the cost of the new, purpose built premises that we need to fulfil our mission to the people who live in the Parish of Camelon.
If you would like to make a donation please send it to:
Building Appeal,
Camelon Parish Church,
Dorrator Rd,
Camelon,
Falkirk FK1 4BN
United Kingdom
If you feel unable to make a donation at this time please remember us in your prayers.
Property Update.
Church redevelopment project,
March
2008
As was announced just a few weeks ago in the church the feasibility study for our new church centre has been submitted. The layout of the proposed redevelopment is on show in the entrance of the church. The big question now is how and when it will all become a reality. The study shows that the estimated cost of the scheme is around £2.4M and with the values of the buildings we own somewhere between £0.8-1M we still need to find something in the region of £1.5M. The Building Project Team is about to review the plans to see what, if anything, can be removed to cut the costs without leaving us with a building that will not meet the needs of the church. We will also be starting our funding campaign by approaching trusts and other funding bodies to see what external funding may be available to us as well as from the central funds of the Church via grants and loans that would be able to finance us without crippling us as a congregation. We would appreciate your prayers and support as we start that next challenge in our church’s story.
As we get more information and news to share with you we will through the notices of the service, our website and the pages of the magazine. Through all of this we should still keep in mind that the building is not the church, we are! The building is the place in which we “do” or actually are the church, the body of Christ. In many ways it is more important that we continue to be the body of Christ and not become consumed with the funding issues of the building – we know this is important – but it is more important that we continue to be the body of Christ and encourage others to join with us; to witness to the community and the people around us with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we stop doing these things we cease to be the Church and then why should God bless our efforts? God has woven us together as one people. He too will provide a way for us to live this out.
We are not frightened by the size of the challenge before us because we believe it is God’s plan for us and He will make a way if we are faithful to Him. We hope and trust that in the weeks ahead we will have good news to share about the buildings as well as Good News to share of our Lord.
We really need all the members, adherents and friends of the church in Camelon to support us, we still have our bills to pay each month and your contributions are crucial. But we also need your support for the future. There is a separate fund for the building project and anyone wishing to give directly to this should feel free to do so. Again we would point out that if you pay tax signing a Gift Aid form allows the church to claim back the tax paid on your offerings to the church. You don’t need to fill out any fancy forms or pledge to pay a fixed amount, whatever you give we can claim the tax back. We are aware that this scheme doesn’t apply to everyone, but we keep reminding all our people because its like free money to the church from the Chance.
If you would like to see the concept drawings for our new Worship Centre click HERE
Click on the key to find out about Charter Oak Church's 2004 Student Ministry to the Young People of Camelon
