St Mark's is planning to host a SEDAR meal on Maundy Thursday, (8th April). This will be a very special celebration, as it will be the last one to be held at St Mark's.

The evening starts with worship, during which the elements of egg, roast lamd, green herbs with salt water are explained as part of the Passover. At the end of the worship service, communion will be celebrated.

After this a meal similar to the Biblical meal will be served, consisting of lentil soup, beef stew, vegetables, rice and salad, which we believe was the meal served in the upper room. This will be a full meal, so people should not eat beforehand! 

There will be no charge for the meal, so donations to offset the cost of the food would be welcomed.

If you are interested in attending this service and the meal, please can you give your details to Julie at the Church office, either by telephone - (01224 213093) or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and she will pass them on to St Mark's

Julie's office hours are:

Monday 9.30am  to 12.3 pm

Wednesday 9.30 am to 12.30 om

Thursday 9.3 0am to 3.30 pm

Friday 1pm to 4pm

The Church of Scotland is currently going through a major time of reformation as it shapes itself for church life in Scotland in the 21st century. It is a challenging process as we have the weight of much tradition and history on our shoulders, but also the central purpose to be a living witness to the love of God as shown in Jesus Christ within our modern world.

This reformation is taking place at a national level with much change within the central management of the Church of Scotland, at a regional level with the formation of new Presbyteries such as our own Presbytery of the North East and the Northern Isles, and at a local level betweeen congregations. Planning for the future at a local level has been the focus of new Presbytery Mission Plans such as the one created by the former Presbytery of Aberdeen and Shetland of which our congregation was a part (download here). This was approved in September 2022.

Prior to this, and under the previous plan that had been agreed in 2020, Ferryhill Parish Church's Kirk Session had been in discussion with South Holburn and Ruthrieston West congregations. When the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland introduced further reductions to staffing posts then this had to be re-thought and the result was that South Holburn and Ferryhill looked towards closer working with the City Centre and West End congregations. These discussions have been developing over the past year with the intention of creating a new congregation from the former Ferryhill, South Holburn and St Mark's congregations. The West End congregations are also seeking to form a new congregation between Holburn West, Midstocket, Queen's Cross and Rubislaw. The goal thereafter will be to work together as a parish grouping on particular areas of shared interest. 

Representatives from Ferryhill, South Holburn and St Mark's churches have been working hard to lay the groundwork for a new future as a single congregation, including various joint services and social events so we can start to get to know each other better, and working on the practical side of things, which includes the creation of the legal documents required for a union, the Basis of Union and a Basis of Team Ministry.

You can download copies of both:
BASIS OF UNION
BASIS OF TEAM MINISTRY

Note that Rev David Stewart and Rev Peter Johnston have written a joint letter which appears in the new issue of Parish News, on page 4. You can download that issue here. It may answer some of the questions that will arise. However, if you have any other questions, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

The intention is for the creation of a new congregation, Devana Parish Church, and aiming for Pentecost Sunday, 28 May 2023, as the first Sunday of that new congregation. In order to do that, each of the three congregations will be asked to vote (only church members can vote) following morning worship on Sunday 26 March 2023 in favour of the two Bases. Only if both are accepted by all three congregations will matters proceed.

During the season of Lent we are hosting a Series that draws its inspiration from William Henry Davies' beautiful poem "Leisure":

What is this life if, full of care,
we have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
and stare as long as sheep and cows:
no time to see, when woods we pass,
where squirrels hide their nuts in grass:
no time to see, in broad daylight,
streams full of stars, like skies at night:
no time to turn at Beauty's glance,
and watch her feet, how they can dance:
no time to wait till her mouth can
enrich that smile her eyes began?
A poor life this if, full of care,
we have no time to stand and stare.

You are most welcome to join us for a reflective evening each Sunday of Lent either onsite or online.

Sundays 26 February to 26 March 2023
7 p.m.

Ferryhill Parish Church Foyer
or via Zoom
Meeting ID: 869 3687 7390
Passcode: 734830
or use this Direct Link.

Sunday 26 February - Session 1 - Full of care?
Sunday 05 March - Session 2 - No time?
Sunday 12 March - Session 3 - Streams full of stars
Sunday 19 March - Session 4 - Nature's dance
Sunday 26 March - Session 5 - Stand and stare

A series of devasting earthquakes have hit Southern Turkey and North West Syria, killing over 41,000 people and injuring many more.

The first deadly earthquake stuck whilst most people where inside their homes, asleep in their beds.

Thousands of buildings, including schools and hospitals have been damaged.

People have been left without shelter in freezing winter condiions and desperately need blankets, emergency shetler, food and clean water.

Christian Aid has come together in support of the DEC charity and their local partners, who were among the first to respond to this disater, providing urgent help to these devastaed people.

If you would like to help the people effected by this crisis, by making a donation to the DEC appeal, please follow this link:

https://www.dec.org.uk/appeal/turkey-syria-earthquake-appeal

Thank you.

The Friendship Team at Ferryhill Kirk has been collating helpful information about what places are open and when at the moment. We all recognise that during the winter months in the current cost of living crisis that sometimes we may need somewhere warm to go to meet up with others or just find a quiet corner in a welcoming environment. Plans are afoot to have the foyer at Ferryhill Kirk open on a Thursday morning, and you will see from the the table provided that there are many other options available in and around the community. Thanks to the Friendship Team for the work they have been doing compiling this information for us all.

DOWNLOAD TABLE OF INFORMATION HERE: Word Document or PDF Document.

Following on from our service last Sunday, where Adrian Turk from Compassion UK, addressed us about child sponsorship.

Here is some more information for anyone who is interested.

Compassion partners with more than 8,000 Church in 25 countries to deliver their Child Development programme to more than 2 million infants, children and youths, around the world.

Children, familes and entire communites are being empowered to overcome poverty and thrive both now and in the future.

By sponsering a child through Compassion, you are giving them life-changing support including food, education and health checks.Working together alongside a local church, to bring hope and lasting change to a child living in poverty.

If you are interested in finding out more please see the information below or contact the Church office on 01224 213093, for more information.

Thank you.

To mark the Platinum Jubilee for Her Majesty The Queen, the first British Monarch to celebrate 70 years of service, we hosted an Afternoon Tea in the Foyer at Ferryhill Parish Church on Friday 3 June. It was a lovely afternoon and thank you to everyone who made it happen, planning the decorations, baking the treats, serving and creating a lovely atmosphere.

Please do watch the update from Ministers and Interim Moderators of all the congregations in our future grouping above.

Each year a local and an international Charity are chosen for Advent/Christmas. The special collections in church this Christmas will go to support these charities. We would ordinarily have taken collections at the Christingle and Watchnight services, but as these are now online only that is not possible. You can still donate in-person if attending the 10:30 a.m. Christmas Day service at South Holburn Parish Church.

Note that direct donations can be made via the Rehoboth website, but that is not possible for the Living Well Project. For the latter you could write a cheque and send to the address on their website, or pop the donation you intended to make in an envelope, marking it clearly, and hang on to it until we are back to in-person worship when we will gladly receive those donations.

The Living Well Project

This charity aims to improve the physical, emotional and social wellbeing for those who are socially isolated and also for those living with dementia and their carers. The cafes have operated successfully in four Church of Scotland churches - Oldmachar, Newhills, High Hilton and here in Ferryhill. They have provided a safe, welcoming environment, a place of fun, entertainment and information about other services for those with dementia and/or memory loss.

Rehoboth

Rehoboth cares for and supports the needs of children and young people in the Philippines. The charity was set up in 1981 by Connie Andrews (from Aberdeen) and her husband Vernon who established in partnership with Pastor Juanito Luzano and his wife Ledobina, the first house parents. Since then Rehoboth Children's Home has provided residential care to children who have been orphaned, abandoned, neglected and who are at risk in the community. The Residential Accommodation for children is in Santa Maria in The Philippines. They also support the children through the Rehoboth Educational Assistance Programme (REAP).

Welcome to our Virtual Christmas Fair!

Here you will find the various items that are available listed with images, descriptions and cost. We have let you know how many of each item is available and this will be updated daily as orders are received.

Ordering

Please contact Fiona Firth with your orders using the email address This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Payment can be made on pick up either by cash, cheque (payable to Ferryhill Parish Church), or with card payment. Please do describe the item you are ordering well (please use any descriptions in ALL CAPS when there are multiple variants).

Picking Up

Purchases can be picked up from the church on
Wednesday 8 December, 6:30 - 8 p.m.
Thursday 9 December, 2:30-4 p.m.
Monday 13 December, 6:30-8 p.m.
or by arrangement.

A massive thank you to all the amazingly creative folks who have contributed to our Virtual Christmas Fair.

Please click on for the full and extensive list of items available.

The library in Ferryhill has been closed during the pandemic for a long time, but service is starting to resume again. Note that there is now provision for a "Click and Collect" service or a "Phone and Collect" service. You can use a computer or phone to request a book and then go to collect it from the library.

Collection times are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

More information including phone number and a link to the Booking Page for "Click and Collect" are available here.

Please do support your local library!