Month: March 2019

We were delighted to welcome some 300 guests, friends and members of the Church to our Tercentenary Service on Sunday 24 March. It was a real treat to see the body of the kirk and the gallery full of people.

Our special guest was the Right Reverend Susan Brown, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, who dedicated the renovated organ and preached the sermon.

After the service we continued our celebrations in the hall with food and a celebratory cake. The hall was full of people renewing old friendships, making new ones and enjoying a display about the 300-year history of Crown Court.

We’ve put together a short slideshow of sound and images from the service that we hope you’ll enjoy.

• Maundy Thursday – 18 April. This year our joint Maundy Thursday service with Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church will be held at Bloomsbury, and this year it has been extended to include members of the Welsh Chapel. The service will start at 7 pm, and will take the form of a simple supper followed by a brief celebration of Holy Communion. To help our friends at Bloomsbury to organise the catering, it would be helpful if members could let the church secretary know if they would like to attend this service.

• Good Friday – 19 April at 11.15 am in the church.

• Easter Day – 21 April at 11.15 am in the church, with a celebration of holy communion.

• Easter Day – 21 April at 6.30 pm in the church.

Our Christmas gift bags and Easter eggs for the young residents of Bruce House have been greatly appreciated. So once again this year we are planning to collect Easter eggs to take over just before Easter. We would like to ensure that all the eggs are more or less the same size, so nearer the time we will provide a sample to show what we’re looking for. Further details will be included in the church notices in due course, but donations should be brought to church by Palm Sunday. Donations of money will also be acceptable.

Annual Business Meeting Sunday 31 March
after the morning service and a quick lunch

This meeting is your opportunity to find out what the Kirk
Session and its committees have been doing in 2018, and to
receive reports from church organisations. The minutes of last
year’s meeting have been posted on the notice board, and an
agenda and reports for this year’s meeting will be sent out to
members and adherents in advance of the meeting. There will
be a chance at the meeting to ask questions of the Minister and
office bearers, so do come along and join in the discussion.

The deadline for the submission of reports to the Church
Secretary is Wednesday 13 March. Committee conveners
and secretaries of church organisations – please make a note of
the date and ensure that you get your reports in on time.

We very much hope that all members and friends will be
present at the Tercentenary Celebration Service at 11.15 am
on Sunday 24 March. In addition to the Moderator of the
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, we look forward
to welcoming many old friends of the church, including former
Ministers, Assistant Ministers and Session Clerks. We have also
invited representatives from St Columba’s Church, and from
the many organisations which have close connections with
Crown Court, together with our neighbours in Martlett Court.

We won’t be doing our usual sit-down lunch after the service,
as it seems likely that there wouldn’t be room for everyone.
Instead there will be a finger buffet and a special celebration
cake! Don’t miss this important event in the life of our church.

We hope to have as many people as possible at the spring clean
on Saturday 16 March. This year the spring clean is particularly
important, as we need to ensure that we get rid of the residual
dust caused by the re-installation of the renovated organ and
have the church looking its best for the Tercentenary
Celebration Service on 24 March. So please do come to help out.
Cleaning materials will be provided, and no experience is
needed: just enthusiasm and a willingness to muck in!

We will aim to start at around 9.30 am and finish by 4 pm, but
any time you can spare will be greatly appreciated. Lunch will
be provided, as well as lots of tea, coffee, biscuits etc to keep us
going.

The Minister will lead a series of Bible study sessions for Lent,
which will begin on Ash Wednesday, 6 March and continue
every Wednesday until 3 April. The sessions will be held in
the vestry from 6.00 until 7.00 pm. These are always
interesting and enjoyable sessions, so please come and
improve your knowledge and understanding of the Bible. Don’t
worry if you can’t commit to attending all of the sessions: you
will be very welcome whenever you are able to attend.