Barony St John's Church, Ardrossan

At the time of writing I have been your minister for exactly a year! And this is how the year turned out!

I was ordained and inducted to Barony St John’s on 22nd January 2009. For the first 9 months I commuted the 30 mile round trip from our family home in Barassie to the parish while the manse was being upgraded and extended. The ‘Manse Project’ took longer than anticipated due to a combination of factors beyond the control of the Property Committee who, with their convenor Mr Duncan Lyon (and helpers too numerous to mention), have put in a power of work getting the manse ready for habitation.

I grappled with the usual first parish stuff - getting to know names and faces (not quite there yet) and finding a routine within a lifestyle which can be anything but ‘regular’.

I prepared and conducted Sunday worship and funerals. I visited the sick, bereaved and housebound, care homes and hospitals. I chaired the Congregational Board and moderated the Kirk Session. I wrote and presented reports for meetings and articles for the church magazine. I attended presbytery meetings and committees, site meetings at the manse and I started to get to grips (slowly) with the nuts and bolts of parish ministry.

As part of our Year of Music, on Sunday 28th March we shall be holding a Songs of Praise evening. It is ten years since we held our last one. Please enter your 3 favourite hymns on the form below before March 14th. The full listing will be available on this website in April 2010.

Throughout 2010 there will be a series of special musical events within Barony St John's Church. The first event is being hosted by The Guild when we will welcome the Aeolian Male Voice Choir on February 25th at 7.30pm. Tickets (£5) available on the door.

The flooded Sacred ValleyThe Casa Girasoles streetchildren's centre located in the Sacred Valley near to Machu Picchu has been destroyed by recent flooding in Peru which has destroyed over 3000 homes. A video, including some dramatic footage of the roof collapsing, can be viewed here. The centre, supported by the Vine Trust and SU Peru, houses 40 streetchildren. The welfare of the children is the main priority as SU Peru look for temporary accommodation for everyone involved. More information is available here. If you would like to give a donation to the Vine Trust, please click the box at the bottom left of this screen.

In contrast to the picture posted in November, here is a beautiful shot of the church with the snow covered mountains of Arran in the background, taken on 5th January 2010.

Photos have been added from our Nativity Play, held on Sunday 20th December 2009, and from Carols By Candlelight, held on Monday 14th December. Click our Gallery link above to view them.

A shot of the church taken on Sunday 22nd November in some rather fresh weather conditions.

The Guild meets on Thursday nights at 7.30pm in the Church Hall unless otherwise stated. Everyone is most welcome to attend.

Guild Syllabus 2009/2010

February
11th - Ian McCrorie - The MacBraynes Story
18th - Mrs Roina Sloss, Millport - Indo China
25th - Aeolian Male Voice Choir - Tickets £5. Year of Music Event.

March
4th - Sian Kater - "Clear Light" Flower Essence
5th - World Day of Prayer
11th - Gaelic Waulking Group - Musical evening
18th - At Home - "The Golden Girls"
25th - AGM. Community Policeman

Our photo galleries have been updated. Clicking a thumbnail with a blue outline will open a slideshow of all photos in that window. You then have the option of viewing more info on the photo on our Flickr website.

You can also now email photos to pics@baronystjohns.co.uk and they will appear in the Submitted Pictures Gallery. The subject line will become the photo title. Any text in the body of the email will become it's description.

Historic photos, scenic shots of the church and photos taken at church events are all welcome.

To any member of our congregational family who is ill at home or in hospital, we send our best wishes and hope you will soon be back with us.

If you need the services of a minister, please contact either Archie McAllister, Session Clerk, on 01294 602461, or Alison Buick on 01294 464531 in the first instance.

Please inform Alison if you know of anyone who is unwell or in hospital. We are relying on the co-operation of everyone for this so that a visit can be scheduled timeously.