St James' Church of Scotland, Lossiemouth

For Christ, For You

Prospect Terrace, Lossiemouth, Moray.

Linked with St. Gerardine's High Church, Lossiemouth.

Minister: Rev. Geoff McKee.

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Christmas Praise at St James’

November 18, 2019 by 2

There will be a Christmas Praise concert in the church at St James’ on Sunday 15 December at 2.30pm.

This will include carol singing for all and various choir items.

Admission is free.

Refreshments will be available in the church hall afterwards.

Please come and join us for a time of praise and fellowship.

Christmas Praise at St James’ – Everyone welcome!

Filed Under: News / Events Tagged With: Slider

How can we hope to believe beyond what we see with our eyes?

November 17, 2019 by 2

This is the sermon for Remembrance Sunday 2019 (10 November 2019). Rev. Geoff McKee’s scripture is the story from John’s Gospel of how the disciple, Thomas, would only believe in Jesus’s resurrection by meeting Jesus face-to-face.

You can download a PDF of the sermon, if you wish, by clicking HERE.

John 20:24-31 (New International Version)

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Remembrance Sunday

One of the great challenges which a newly ordained minister has to come to terms with, and continually live with, is coping with funerals.

They are a necessary part of the vocation.

Their occurrence is unpredictable and so they can’t be planned for.

  • Who knows how many funerals will come, in any one particular week?
  • Will the minister be burying a stranger, a parishioner, an acquaintance or a good friend?

There is much work that needs to be done in visiting and preparation as well as managing the pressures of the service itself and any required follow-up.

How foolish the minister who does not pause to reflect on the impact of this work because it has the potential to bring emotional and spiritual challenges that can enrich a ministry or destroy it.

I have visited the cemetery in Lossiemouth about two hundred times in the past five years.

I have watched it steadily expand and I often reflect that as more and more land is claimed for sacred use so more lives are impacted by the blow of loss and the journey of mourning. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Sermons Tagged With: Slider

God’s family photo album

August 9, 2019 by 2

This is Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon for Sunday 04 August 2019, with Hosea 11:1-11 the main text.

You can download a PDF version of the sermon by clicking here.

Hosea 11:1-11 (New International Version)
God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 But the more they were called,
the more they went away from me.
They sacrificed to the Baals
and they burned incense to images.
3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
taking them by the arms;
but they did not realize
it was I who healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ties of love.
To them I was like one who lifts
a little child to the cheek,
and I bent down to feed them.

5 “Will they not return to Egypt
and will not Assyria rule over them
because they refuse to repent?
6 A sword will flash in their cities;
it will devour their false prophets
and put an end to their plans.
7 My people are determined to turn from me.
Even though they call me God Most High,
I will by no means exalt them.

8 “How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
How can I make you like Zeboyim?
My heart is changed within me;
all my compassion is aroused.
9 I will not carry out my fierce anger,
nor will I devastate Ephraim again.
For I am God, and not a man—
the Holy One among you.
I will not come against their cities.
10 They will follow the Lord;
he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come from Egypt,
trembling like sparrows,
from Assyria, fluttering like doves.
I will settle them in their homes,”
declares the Lord.

 

Father, hear us, we are praying.
Hear the words our hearts are saying.
We are praying for our children.

Keep them from the powers of evil,
From the secret, hidden peril.
Father, hear us for our children.

From the worldling’s hollow gladness,
From the sting of faithless sadness,
Father, Father, keep our children.

Through life’s troubled waters steer them.
Through life’s bitter battles cheer them.
Father, Father, be thou near them.

And wherever they may bide,
Lead them home at eventide.

These beautiful, poignant words were written by Amy Carmichael, who lived most of her life in India, serving God as a missionary.

She was born in Millisle, a little village, just a few miles from where I come from in Ireland.

After many remarkable years of sacrificial service in India, she was bedridden for the last twenty years of her life but she remained in India throughout her incapacity – with her people. She wrote countless books lying in her bed.

She died in India in 1951 at the age of 83.

She asked that no stone be put over her grave at Dohnavur.

Instead, the children she had cared for put a bird bath over it with the single inscription “Amma”, which means ‘mother’ in the Tamil language. She was a true mother to them all: nurturing, caring and inspiring.

I wonder if you have a family photograph album or albums at home.

The younger generations of mums and dads probably don’t because, with the advent of digital photography, photos tend to be stored digitally on computers.

The best of the photos will, of course, be printed and displayed at home, but most will lie unseen in a hard-drive.

But the older generations of mums and dads will probably still have the albums.

When my mother and father were preparing for their house move recently, out came the albums from dear knows when! They were downsizing and so there was a cull of the photographs. The ones that myself and my sister wanted were given to us and the rest were disposed of. But it gave us all a good laugh to see some of us with hair and others with different hair styles and all the changes through the years of growing up.

Mums and dads remember what the children have no memory of.

  • The first words,
  • the first faltering steps,
  • the tears and tantrums,
  • the quest for independence, with the skinned knees and joyful discoveries and all the rest.

Photo albums can bring those memories back, maybe with a wee tear in the eye.

We have the equivalent of God’s family photo album, in written, descriptive text in Hosea 11.

These are God’s memories of his son, his people Israel, sometimes referred to as Ephraim in the passage.

God’s memories that Israel has no memory of. Tender, poignant memories, yet laced with stark realism. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Sermons Tagged With: Slider

Make New Friends in Lossiemouth at the St James’ Church Twice-monthly Drop-In

June 25, 2017 by 2

(NOTE: This post was edited in August 2018 to reflect the fact that, from September 2018, the Drop-In changes from weekly to twice-a-month; upcoming dates are set out at the end of this article).

St James’ Church Drop-In started in 2014, as a welcoming place to come for a tea / coffee and a chat.

It is open two Wednesday afternoons a month from 2.00pm (suggested donation: £1.00).

Tables are arranged so you can sit in a group and enjoy one another’s company. There is no rush and the atmosphere is warm and friendly.

A selection of delicious home bakes is offered for you to help yourself – and tea or coffee is served at your table.

All ages are made welcome.

Young children sometimes come with mum or in a family group. Grandparents often bring grandchildren during the holidays. Some people come together, but others come on their own and soon make friends. No one is left to sit by themselves.

Some people come regularly and others pop in as and when they feel like having company.

You may come as a stranger but you will leave as a friend.

Why not give the drop-in a try?

If we haven’t seen you for a while, you will be sure of a warm welcome back.

Helpers are welcome too.

Anyone who would like to help at the Wednesday Drop-In or provide home bakes, please speak to Rosemary or Elfriede. We work from a rota, so a constant commitment is not necessary.

If you have any questions at all, feel free to get in touch with us via this website.

Upcoming dates (2019/2020):

 

4/12/19 and 18/12/19

8/1/20 and 22/1/20

5/2/20 and 19/2/20

4/3/20 and 18/3/20

8/4/20 and 22/4/20

 

Filed Under: Drop-In Tagged With: Slider

WELCOME TO OUTREACH

Christmas Praise at St James’

Christmas Praise at St James’

November 18, 2019 By 2

There will be a Christmas Praise concert in the church at St James’ on Sunday 15 December at 2.30pm.

This will include carol singing for all and various choir items.

Admission is free.

Refreshments will be available in the church hall afterwards.

Please come and join us for a time of praise and fellowship.

Christmas Praise at St James’ – Everyone welcome!

Recent Posts

  • Christmas Praise at St James’
  • How can we hope to believe beyond what we see with our eyes?
  • Recognising that oppression of the marginalised does not go unnoticed by God
  • Lossie Singers in Concert at St James’ Church
  • German Choir Concert at St James
  • God’s family photo album
  • Will everything be okay in the end? (Tales of outrageous kindness)
  • Why Christians must aspire to generous fellowship
  • What it means to have freedom in Christ
  • How do you choose your Church? (Or does your Church choose you?)
  • How one human being brings meaning and purpose to all the rest
  • Remembering that we are blessed by God in order that we may bless others
  • How everything is reconciled to the all-encompassing love of God
  • If the Lord is not our Shepherd, we will want (Psalm 23)
  • Journeying to the point of death and forward into life

Contact Us

We would be glad to hear from you. Feel free to contact our Minister, Rev. Geoff McKee, or attend one of the events or groups detailed on this website.

Our Minister

Our Minister is Rev. Geoff McKee.

St James' Church of Scotland, Lossiemouth, is a registered Charity No. SC000880.

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Our Mission

Our mission is to be a Christian community sharing the love of Christ, reaching out to the people in this area and encouraging them to worship God and grow in the knowledge of the care and love of Christ.

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