July / August




		Assistant Minister's Update I am back from camp and I think I have caught up on my sleep. We had an excellent camp for the sixth year in a row in North Uist. Thirteen campers gathered from around Scotland and Peru for seven days of water sports, outdoor activities, and trips to the beach (North Uist with the exception of New Jersey must have the best beaches in the world!). Every evening Iain MacAskill or myself gave a talk from Mark’s gospel to the young people. We used and adapted Christianity Explored to present the claims of Jesus and there was a real interest shown by many. Some who were Christians were encouraged and strengthened in their walk with Christ while non-Christians were challenged by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For me camp is a reminder of the great opportunities that we have to share the gospel with young people. It is also a challenge to present the key truths of the faith in a meaningful and relevant way in the space of a week. Please pray for the young people who attended our camp and the hundreds who attended camp in Scotland and Eastern Europe. Today (Friday) I began my day visiting a friend at Saughton and making arrangements to visit another friend currently serving a 60 day sentence. Many have asked me in recent months about the status of Chaplaincy work at the prison. After speaking with one of the senior managers, I plan to apply for part-time chaplaincy position when the posts are advertised sometime in the autumn. Please pray that God would make it clear to me whether this is the right path for me to pursue. Also give thanks that in the meantime, I am able to visit prisoners through the chaplaincy department. The challenges are great but so to are the opportunities. I am constantly reminded of Jesus’ words in Mark 2:17, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners.” Our regular visits to Bethany House on Monday night continue to be times of blessing and encouragement. Pray that friends from Bethany would continue to worship with us at church. Please pray too for my visits to former residents of Bethany and my visits to friends in Niddrie. Thank you all for your continued prayers, support and encouragement. Bob Akroyd



		News Bereavement We were sad to learn of the death of Mr Manolo Lopez, Antonio’s father, who passed away on 25th July in Spain. We extend our sympathy to Antonio and Catriona and we also remember Antonio’s mother, Josefina, his brother Emilio and his sister Rosa Maria at this sad time. May they know the help of the One who is “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3) Recovering at Home Following a further period of hospitalisation, Mary Macleod, Catriona Taylor’s mother, is recovering and regaining her strength at ‘home’ in South Steil. We assure Mary, Catriona and Donna (Mary’s daughter in Inverness) of our continued prayers for a full recovery. Andy Mackay Update Alistair and Kath Mackay, and big brother David, would like to express their deep gratitude for your prayers and messages of concern shown in recent weeks since Andrew’s accident. Andrew is now back home in the U.K. He has been through an operation since his return, and is awaiting another surgical procedure, hopefully in September. He has made a truly amazing recovery in both body and mind. The family are most thankful to God, and ask that you would please continue to remember him in the days ahead. Your support has meant a lot. Graduations and Farewells Our congratulations go to Hazel Batty who has graduated with a II.I in psychology. Sadly we have to say farewell to her also as she moves back home to Argyll. We thank her for her amazing contribution to our congregation over the last couple of years and wish her every blessing for the future. Hazel left this note for the newsletter: Hi there, I just wanted to write and thank you all for the fantastic time I have had in Buccleuch over the past two years. Thank you so much for welcoming me into your hearts and homes and making me welcome into your church family. With so much going on and so many places to serve I have learnt so much and met people I wouldn’t have otherwise. Getting involved really gives God an opportunity to pour out his blessings. I’m off to a camp in the south of England, then back to Lochgilphead for the Free Church mission there. My email address will be: battyhazel@hotmail.com Thank you so much, Love Hazel John Mackay has graduated with a first in maths. He is off to the States to continue his studies at the University of Michigan, leaving on the 13th of August. I can’t begin to list all of the ways I have gained from growing up in Buccleuch. It has been great and I’ll miss you all, so keep in touch! Finally, as I’m off to the US this is my last newsletter. I’m not sure who is taking over, but whoever it is please do keep giving (or better e-mailing!) them news about things going on in the congregation. It is a really good way of helping us all to share as a congregation. My email address will be john_m_mackay@hotmail.com Youth Fellowship It’s the time of year for the YF committee to change, and this year it is a total transformation! Rob MacDonald is the retiring president this year and we would like to thank him for his dedication and enthusiasm for the YF. We also thank the rest of the retiring committee: George Brownlee, Hazel Batty, John Mackay and James Forsyth. This year the president is Alison MacDonald and the brand new and sparkling committee is Ruth Macleod, Johnnie ‘Culbokie’, Alison Walker and Al Black. We thank the congregation for the support they give students (especially the food for YF and inviting folk out for meals) – it’s great that Buccleuch is a welcoming place. Baptism Jude Laing will be baptised at the morning service on the 24th of August.



		Noticeboard Home Bible Studies There will be no home Bible studies during the month of August. The next home Bible study will be on Wednesday 10th September. Look out for a studysheet listing the topic and the venues for the study. Office Bearers Deacons’ Court meets 8pm on Monday 11 August in the Church hall. The Kirk Session meets at 7.30pm on 19th August in the Manse. International Reformed Youth Conference From 27th to 1st September, the Free Church will be hosting the 2nd International Reformed Youth Conference. The Conference, based at St Columba’s, will welcome delegates from as far away as the United States, Indonesia and Africa, together with a variety of European nations also represented. For more information consult the website at www.reformedyouth.org Internationally August was the most convenient and suitable time for the conference, however accommodation is at a premium in Edinburgh due to the Festival. It is the responsibility of the Conference to find accommodation for all overseas visitors, this is proving to be an extremely difficult task. If anyone would be willing to host a delegate over the period 28th August to 2nd Sept, please contact either Neil DM Macleod (convenor) at neildm@btinternet.com or Rebecca Norris (conference secretary) at rebeccaknorris@hotmail.com Psalmody Recital This will be taking place on Saturday the 6th of September at 3 p.m. in the Free North Church, Inverness not in St. Vincent’s Street, Glasgow as was stated in last month’s newsletter. Everyone who is interested is invited along. Charity Shop needs help! EMMS International has a shop at 55 Raeburn Place, Stockbridge (Tel. 477 2212; hours 9.30 am to 5.00 pm). The Shop needs help: Anything that can be sold in a charity shop (not large furniture or large white goods). Volunteers to help sort and sell. There are sometimes opportunities for students to earn. People to pop in and buy. Bargains are guaranteed! Buccleuch contact Iain Gill.



		Tear fund world watch prayer link (August) Asia Bangladesh Treacherous monsoon conditions hampered rescue efforts, and more than 500 people died after an overcrowded ferry capsized on the Meghna river last month. Pray for Tearfund partners Koinonia and Heed, responding to recent flooding which affected over three million people in 20 provinces. Nepal The government and Maoist rebels have still to set a date for resumed peace talks. Over 7,000 people have died since 1996 when rebels began fighting to replace the monarchy ith a communist republic. Pray for lasting peace, and for Tearfund partners UMN and INF, as they undergo major organisational changes. Africa Ethiopia and Eritrea Tearfund’s response to the food crisis is now in full flow thanks to the continuing generosity of Tearfund supporters to the recent appeal. Please pray for our partner churches as they support and work with about 200,000 of the most needy people in the region. Sudan Although peace talks broke down last month when the government refused to suspend Islamic law in the capital Khartoum during the transitional government period, hope still remains that a just and lasting peace agreement can be achieved this month. Burundi Nearly 200 people have died in rebel attacks on Bujumbura; an estimated 20,000 are now homeless. Tearfund’s Disaster Response Team has left the country; pray for Tearfund partners the Anglican Dioceses of Bujumbura, Matana and Gitega and Scripture Union. Liberia The UN says many thousands of people in and around the capital Monrovia now lack access to safe water, food and health care; outbreaks of cholera have been reported. Liberia’s president Charles Taylor says that he will not leave office until international peacekeepers arrive; pray for a just and peaceful solution to the crisis. Central Asia Afghanistan A Tearfund partner is going through major changes which include relocating its main office from Peshawar, Pakistan to Kabul. Pray for Hamid Karzai’s government, still facing many challenges, including reasserting its authority beyond Kabul. Iraq Although coalition troops are likely to remain for some time, Britain’s most senior representative in Iraq believes that the new Iraqi Council will give a sense of hope and a voice to the Iraqi people. Pray that it will be so, and a new vision of democracy and peace can be realised. Latin America Brazil President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva’s attempts to reform the pensions system have led to largescale strikes by public service workers in the capital, Brasilia. Pray that social and economic reforms will benefit the needy; many in Lula’s party oppose the reforms, which economists claim will rescue Brazil from bankruptcy. Argentina President Kirchner launched a nationwide food programme to combat rural poverty and hunger last month. Food shortages now affect over half the population. Pray that relief funds will enable supplies to be targeted towards those in greatest need, including young children and pregnant women.



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