Something from Stuart

Aug 28, 2024

Can you believe the summer is drawing to a close and we are about to embark on another church year? I hope you have been able to find time to rest and recharge your batteries over the summer, even if the weather has been less than kind to us. Certainly, Julia and I enjoyed our break and we now approach another year refreshed and excited at what the Lord has in store for us as a church in the coming months.

This has also been a significant summer for Michelle Hutchinson. If you are wondering who Michelle Hutchinson is, she is the person we used to know as Michelle Mullan. Michelle married Richard Hutchinson on Tuesday 20^th August in our church. I know you will want to join with me in asking for God’s richest blessing for Richard and Michelle. It was a privilege to be able to officiate at their wedding and we look forward to seeing them both worship with us in weeks, months and indeed years ahead.

Watch Michelle and Richard’s wedding here

We have a number of other people getting married in the coming weeks. John Sinclair (a nephew of Mary Sinclair) is marrying Emily Menzies on Monday 26^th of August, Rebecca Lemon is marrying Jeff McCormick on the 20^th of September and Corey McDowell (Maureen McDowell’s grandson) is marrying Jess French on the 1^st of November.

We wish each of these couples God’s richest blessing and I would encourage each of us to commit to pray for them, not just in the run up to their wedding day, but to continue to pray as they build new lives together.

September brings the restarting of much of church life. The GB registration evening will be on Wednesday 28^th of August and the first official GB evening will be Wednesday 4^th of September. The GB are encouraging girls to register online to help speed up this process. You can do this on the church website by either following the link to the GB page, or using the link in the latest GB update in the blog section of the website (www.portstewartpresbyterian.org) . Alternatively check the GB or the Church Facebook page.

Catch up with GB news

The Sunday evening Prayer and Praise service will begin again on Sunday 1^st of September and the congregational bible study on Thursday 5^th of September. If you have never been to either of these then could I encourage you to consider coming along this autumn. The Christian life is not a life to be led in isolation, it is a call to be part of a redeemed community of God’s people. We are to meet together for worship Sunday by Sunday, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing… (Hebrews 10:25) We are also to meet together for prayer…devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful…(Colossians 4:2) The Prayer and Praise service along with the Bible Study are opportunities to be obedient to God’s word, but they are not places where anyone will be put under pressure or made to feel uncomfortable. 

In September we will begin a new series on the book of Acts which will take us some time to work through, although we will do this in short bite sized segments. Acts gives a wonderful picture of how the early church came together and grew, despite some quite horrendous persecution. This is a preaching series the elders have asked for as they try to help us understand what it means for us to live out our mission statement that we worship God, serve our community and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Find out more about Sundays in Acts

In September we will also be relaunching our youth fellowship which will be called established. We have taken Ephesians 3: 17, being rooted and established in love our young people may have the power to grasp how wide, and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. We want to create an environment where our young people are discipled and encouraged to deepen understanding and indeed commitment to Christ. We want to see them established in the church and in their faith. If you have young people of secondary school age, then please do encourage them to come along to this on the 2^nd and 4^th Sunday evenings of the month. We will have more promotional material coming shortly for this.

This of course is only a snapshot of what is starting up again. To keep fully abreast of what is happening keep an eye on our website, social media and the printed announcement sheets which are issued Sunday by Sunday. If you miss a week and want an announcement sheet, they are normally available to download alongside the recording of the service each week. https://www.portstewartpresbyterian.org/sermons/

As always it is with sadness that we report the deaths of much-loved members of our congregation since I last wrote to you.

Doreen Boyd died on the 27th of April 2024

Margaret Logan died on the 28^th of May 2024

Kathleen Stewart died on the 20^th of June 2024

Edna McFarland died on the 26^th of June 2024

Phyllis McKergan died on the 9^th of July 2024

Jean Wallace died on the 12^th of July 2024

Noel Johnston died on the 15^th of July 2024

Please do continue to pray for those who mourn. Each name listed represents a family still struggling to come to terms with death of a loved one. Ask that God by his Spirit would bring the comfort and hope that is only found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have also had cause to celebrate, especially due to the baptism of Esme Poppy Nicholl who was baptised on Sunday 23^rd June. Esme will be familiar to many of you as she has taken her place at the front of the church while her mum Samantha helps lead us in worship. Continue to give thanks for Esme, and all our children, and pray that they would grow in their knowledge and understanding of the Lord.

I hope you are looking forward to the new church year. I hope you are excited because of what God is doing amongst us. Please do continue to pray for our church. Pray that we would grow, not only in numbers, but also in the depth of our faith. If it has been a while since you’ve been out with us, or if you have never been, then why not make this September a time to come and be part of our family once more, or even better – to join us for the first time.