Lasswade & Rosewell

Parish Church

Hopefield Project

News

Rev. Elisabeth Spence, has newly been appointed as Pioneer Minister at Hopefield

The main purpose of the post is to develop, grow and nurture a new ecclesial community in the Hopefield area of Bonnyrigg, supporting residents of this large and growing area of new housing to find faith and to grow in faith.

Pioneering Ministry was highlighted in the General Assemblies of 2014 and 2015 as an opportunity for the church to explore new forms of ministry. Presbyteries were encouraged to consider making such appointments as part of their Presbytery Plan.

FUTURE FOCUS MEETINGS

Future Focus The Way Ahead

The dates for the four sessions of Future Focus that everyone is warmly encouraged to attend if they possibly can will be:

Session 1 Tuesday 14th March at 7-00  - 9-00 pm in Rosewell Hall

Session 2 Tuesday 28th March at 7-00 -9-00 pm in Rosewell Hall

Session 3 Sunday 9th April after morning service; light lunch at Rosewell hall 12-15 pm then 1-00 pm to 4-00pm

Joint Vision Session; Saturday 29th April with Cockpen & Carrington at Cockpen Church Hall 9-30 am to 1pm

The following are examples of the first 2 sessions.

Session 1-Timeline-A Panoramic View

God has been at work in the church and continues to be at work in this church. God’s story is woven into yours as the Lord’s people in this place. It is good to begin our focus on the future by recognising and celebrating God’s presence and work in the church throughout the years.

Often we only understand life events better when we look back and consider the past. This exercise will help the congregation to look back on their shared history and reflect, in order to plan better for the future. What can we celebrate about the past? What do we look back at as a struggle?

The aim is to record people’s experience of church, not necessarily to create a historically accurate record.

Session 2- Mapping- Picturing the Landscape

Whether the church sits in the countryside or in the midst of a city, we are called to love our communities, celebrate and understand them. In every congregation there are people who have a real passion for the community on the doorstep and want to see the church being salt and light in the area and others who may not know the community so well. Many churches have a significant  number who do not live in the parish area and may have little day-to-day contact with the community. The exercises in this section may open up their eyes to issues they have not seen. The word ‘parish’ comes from the Greek word ‘paroikos ‘, meaning ‘the stranger who lives alongside’. Our mission begins by being alongside people, whether we meet them within the parish or through work, education, leisure, or other activities. Two of the key shapers of Church without Walls are that ‘the church is shaped by the local’ and ‘friendship’-in what way is the church a friend to the community.

The Church of Scotland Future Focus handbook can be found here