Letter from your minister

“Empty spaces, what are we living for?” – with this emphatic and haunting question Queen confronts the listener at the start of their song The show must go on.  This ballad was released just six weeks before frontman, Freddie Mercury, died in 1991.  It is his lasting legacy.  And isn’t that the basic question?  As long as we try to avoid answering it – do we not live our lives just blindly?

“Does anybody know what we are looking for?”  What makes this ballad so poignant is that it does not give an answer.  It just describes our situation that the show simply goes on and on; and so we stumble from day to day, driven by desires or forces that we are not in control of.  “Does anybody want to take it anymore?”

As Freddie Mercury was confronted with his own death, he did not cling to this life as this song shows.  All his successes in the end only revealed to him the earthly vanity.  People normally numb themselves by setting earthly goals and by plunging into the pursuit of these goals – a holiday, a car, a house, a garden, an award, a better salary, a next career level, a special experience and so on.  But the happiness about achieving such a goal does not last long; it cannot really fill the emptiness inside.  It only makes you yearn for a next goal, so that in the end you never find satisfaction and peace in this life.

“Outside the dawn is breaking, / But inside in the dark I’m aching to be free.”  This song may seem to be depressive in its verses, because it does not offer anything positive about this life.  But there is the bridge – the final section of the song – that strikes a very different tone: “My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies, / Fairytales of yesterday will grow but never die: I can fly, my friends!”

A butterfly is an image of transformation soaring into unknown heights as it is no longer an earthbound caterpillar.  The caterpillar represents this earthy life.  Freddie Mercury does not sing about improving this life or about hopes for this life; what strengthens him is the prospect of a new reality in a new world, the world of the butterfly.  He cannot find hope in anything what the modern civilisation offers but in “fairytales of yesterday”.

For many people the stories of the Bible are just fairytales of yesterday.  But are they not the anchor in the storms of this life?  Are they not the only thing that can make us fly?  For they point us away from this vanishing vanity to eternity.  Everything earthly – even if glitters glamorously and is admired by the masses – is in the end a formless void, just dust in the wind as it is revealed by death.  Death is not a gruesome calamity; it is the key to truth and wisdom that brings an end to this superficial masquerade.  “Teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely.” (Psalm 90:12)

Would we have been granted the wisdom of “The show must go on” if Freddie Mercury had not been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS?  Life does not end with death, on the contrary, it begins with death.  As long as we cling to this life and hope for this life and do everything to live as long as possible, we will end with nothing.  But if we repent and begin to understand that life only makes sense as a loving sacrifice for God and our neighbour, we have entered heaven.  Let us fly with the wings of faith.

With every blessing,

Johannes

11 Laurieknowe, Dumfries DG2 7AH

tel:         01387 257238

email:    jwildner@churchofscotland.org.uk

KIRK SESSION NEWS

Kirk Session

The joint Kirk Session continues to meet monthly, alternating venues between both churches.  It is a slow process to amalgamate the two congregations and to retain our individuality.  To this end we will retain our own newsletter/magazine but articles of interest from each will be published in the other.

We are currently working with the designer of the Max West website to create a new joint website.

Joint activities

On 22 June, we will hold a joint service in Max West church at 11am with a barbecue afterwards in the Manse garden (11 Laurieknowe), weather permitting.  There will be no service in New Abbey on that Sunday.  We hope to arrange a return ‘match’ at New Abbey in the autumn.

Mission partner

We receive regular news from our mission partner in Malawi, Gary Brough.  Printed copies of his letter are available in the church.  The latest one, entitled Glimpses of the Garden and the City, includes wonderful wildlife photographs from a visit to a national park as well as news about his work.  He is currently working to train new church leaders in the Synod of Zambia.  He is also involved in distributing grants from the Church of Scotland stamp appeal for a tree planting project in Malawi.

Dumfries Christian Network

A ‘Songs of Praise’ will be held on 15 June at Dumfries High School in conjunction with the Guid Nychburris celebrations.  Doors open at 7.00pm for refreshments and pre-event entertainment.

Stamp Collecting

I still collect stamps for Church of Scotland World Mission projects.  The project currently supported is the Al-Ahli hospital in Northern Gaza.  It is run by the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, a partner church of the Church of Scotland. and is the only cancer-treating hospital in Gaza.  Since the conflict began, it has continued to serve the population as best it can, despite being damaged in the bombing.  Once a peaceful solution is found, funds will be needed to rebuild the hospital and the medical infrastructure in Gaza.

Food Bank

We still collect donations for the First Base Food Bank in Dumfries.  Contributions can include toiletries, toilet rolls, UHT milk, pet food and non-perishable foodstuffs.  There are boxes at the back of the church for donations.

Maundy Thursday

We enjoyed a time of fellowship and reflection at our Maundy Thursday shared meal and Communion.  The worship group at New Abbey joined forces with the praise group from Max West, on 17^th April, to lead a short act of worship and readings followed by Communion led by Rev. Johannes, to commemorate the Last Supper.

Church of Scotland General Assembly: 18 – 22 May 2025

Rt Rev Rosie Frew, Moderator of General Assembly, described this year’s Assembly as both “challenging” and “inspiring”.

Challenging, because the church is struggling to balance its budget and has had to make compulsory staff redundancies.  It was also announced that Life and Work, the magazine of the Church of Scotland, will cease publication later this year, as it is no longer financially viable.  A new publication is to be planned but I suspect this will be online only.

Inspiring, because new worshipping communities and outreach funded by Seeds for Growth have been set up and supported.  A new venture – The Good News Project – will be a national campaign involving the whole church.  Ecumenical relations have been strengthened and confirmed by declarations with partner churches.  A new, non-traditional, less daunting route towards leadership and ministry has been opened up to allow those who do not have the academic qualifications required by current ministry training, to explore the call to ministry and be mentored as they do so.

Now that all presbytery plans are in place, delegates were encouraged to look forward to better days ahead, which will perhaps mean letting go of old ways and “embracing new ways of being the church in a shifting world”.

This is a short summary of some of the reports given to General Assembly this year. These and others given at Assembly can be read on the Church of Scotland website – www.Churchofscotland.org.uk/news-and-events.

Catherine Lye

Joint Session Clerk

CHURCH FINANCES

At this point in the newsletter, we would normally publish accounts to show the current financial position of the church.  The fact that the Treasurer, David Kingan, made these available not only to church members, but also to the wider community was a way of being both informative and transparent.  It also gave anyone who reads the newsletter the opportunity to ask questions about the finances and where these were being put to use.

With the amalgamation of the two congregations comes the uniting of their finances.  Separating the two for the purposes of publication is simply no longer possible.

So, at this point, we say a huge thank you to David for producing the figures in the past.  Lochend and New Abbey Church will continue to offer anyone in the villages, or beyond who reads this newsletter, the opportunity to raise any financial questions.  Feel free to email Richard Allen or Catherine Lye (see the contacts list on page 9) and we will ensure your query is directed to the right person.

CHURCH FLOWERS

Happiness held is the seed;

Happiness shared is the flower

John Harrigan

Summer is now upon us, and the gardens are starting to look bright and colourful after the lovely sunshine in May.  It is always nice to share the beauty of flowers with others, and we like to have a corner in church which is brightened by their presence.  Could you find a small bunch for a vase in your garden or maybe some catch your eye when you are shopping in the supermarket.  If so, we would welcome your contribution.

Church flowers need not have the presence or creativity of a Chelsea Flower Show exhibit or indeed be worthy of the decor for a Royal Wedding.  Quite simply, they need to be a small personal contribution to share with others during Sunday worship.

If you would like to contribute, the flower rota hangs in the entrance porch of the church – feel free to add your name.  There is a selection of vases in the old vestry for everyone’s use and, of course, please contact me if l can be of any assistance.

Liz Robertson – Flower Convenor

01387 850274

NEW ABBEY GUILD

On March 4th, Mary Somerville and I attended a mini gathering of Guilds at St George’s Hall in Dumfries, where Katie Flockhart from CrossReach (https://www.crossreach.org.uk/) – the social care arm of the Church of Scotland – spoke about their delight that they had been chosen as one of the projects to be supported by all guilds for the next three years.  They run a total of 75 projects all over Scotland, from early years to old age.  The money collected will be focused on the early years in a project labelled ‘Playfull Beginnings’, ensuring strong foundations through peri-natal support, Stay and Play sessions, special counselling etc.

Three other projects chosen cover:

• supporting a community in Bulgaria to build a church which will be a hub for a number of activities
• the Scottish Bible Society supporting children over the first five years of life with age suitable bibles and other reading resources if the parents want them
• Operation Hope in Upper Egypt providing practical and pastoral support to Christians

On March 29th we held our Daffodil Tea in the village hall to celebrate the end of our guild year meetings.  It was so well supported by visitors and friends from Maxwelltown West Church and raised £410.

Following on from our ‘Let us build a house’ theme, our ‘Strong Foundations’ now continues as ‘Living Stones’.  At our Business meeting in April we started looking for speakers to join us as we plan next year’s syllabus.  We look forward to welcoming any new members when we reconvene in September, as we continue to encourage one another through fellowship and friendship.

As a postscript I can’t resist adding this as I think it deserves a wider audience than our small guild!  It is written on a case of clock in Chester Cathedral:

When I was a babe and wept and slept,

Time crept;

When I was a boy and laughed and talked,

Time walked.

Then when years saw me a man,

Time ran.

But as I older grew,

Time flew.

Soon, as I journey on,

I’ll find time gone.

May Christ have saved my soul, by then,

Amen.

Glennys Ardin

Convener

According to that contemporary fount of all knowledge, Wikipedia, Glennys’ version of that poem is by Arthur  Pentreath, an Anglican clergyman of the 20^th century.  The original, entitled Time’s Paces, was written by Henry Twells, also an Anglican clergyman and published posthumously in 1901.

The original runs:

When as a child I laughed and wept,

Time crept.

When as a youth I waxed more bold,

Time strolled.

When I became a full grown man,

Time RAN.

When older still I daily grew,

Time FLEW.

Soon I shall find, in passing on,

Time gone.

O Christ! wilt Thou have saved me then?

Amen.

With apologies for the lack of inclusive language, I guess you pays your money and takes your choice as to which version you prefer.

Richard Allen

NEW ABBEY 65 CLUB

The New Abbey 65 Club meets 4 times a year.  We have talks, an outing and a Christmas meal.  Any person of 65 years and over who resides in a three-mile radius of New Abbey, including Glensone and Drumburn, would be warmly welcomed.

The following events will be taking place in the coming months.

Monday 14 July – outing to Dumfries House leaving

New Abbey at 10.15am with the return late afternoon.  Tickets cost £40, to include lunch and entry to house and gardens.  The remainder of the cost will be subsidised from Club funds.

If you are interested, please contact the Secretary on 01387 850373.

Sunday 28 September – Music Song and Dance in

the Village Hall (time TBC)

Tuesday 9 December – Christmas Meal in the Village

Hall (time TBC)

The Christmas meal is the only event specifically for Club members.

Christine Hutton

EASTER EGG HUNT

What a great morning we had on 12 April, when 18 enthusiastic and delightful children came along to the church in New Abbey for a craft workshop and Easter Egg Hunt.  After decorating their egg collection bags with Easter images, everyone listened to the Easter story before joining in with the craft activities:

• decorating eggs and egg cups
• making Easter cards
• creating Easter egg fridge magnets

After enjoying an Easter themed snack, the children tackled the Easter Egg Hunt around the church and grounds.

Thank you very much to everyone who generously made donations towards the cost of the chocolate eggs, and to all the children and their parents who made the morning such fun.

Hazel Hubbert

RECYCLING – WHAT’S NEW?

You’ll all recognise this picture (in the hard copy) as that of New Abbey church; and some of you will know its history…….

It was built in 1877, after the previous 18^th century church was demolished.  That building was constructed against the ruined south wall of the Abbey on the edge of what had been the Cloister Green, adjacent to what is the Auld Manse.

According to ‘Places of Worship in Scotland – https://powis.scot/sites/new-abbey-parish-church-7435/ – it ‘has granite walls, faced with red freestone’.  As Edith Macdonald (surviving cousin of Elizabeth Weir, the previous editor of this newsletter) observes in her brief paper entitled Church Buildings in New Abbey the ‘stones for this new church came from the old Kindar Mill which was being demolished after its business had failed.’  What’s left of the mill is now a house.

So, being canny and thrifty, our predecessors showed us the path of recycling and gave us a treasure in the village for all to value and share; and, if my maths is correct, in two years’ time, their vision will be 150 years old.  Surely a cause for celebration and also a moment to ask ourselves, how many things do we recycle that will offer such value in a century and a half’s time.  Perhaps not very much.

Food for thought?

NEW ABBEY SCHOOL

Hello from everyone at New Abbey Primary.  A wee update on what’s been happening in school.

In P1-3 this term, the classroom has been changed into Fairyland.  Using traditional fairytales as a platform, the children are thinking about the different perspective of each character, using their imaginations to write, draw, build and role play.

In P4-7, the focus has been the story of the Titanic.  They have been learning about the story of what happened, the lives of different passengers, researching parts of the ship and creating detailed drawings.

There has been a lot of sport on the menu in recent weeks.  We try to give our children as many opportunities as we can.  Our P4-7 children participated in the Active Schools’ cross-country event with the boys winning a shield.  Our football team played very well in the small schools Cairn Cup which was held in Gretna.  We entered the Sprint Relay Festival at the David Keswick Centre and the P3 Tennis Festival at Nunholm.  After having a picnic with our families, we enjoyed our Sports Day at Abbey Vale FC’s pitch under blue skies, which was followed up by ice creams provided by our Parent Council.

Next, we will be participating in the Guid Nychburris Football Tournament at the Queen of the South Arena.  Wish us luck!

Alan Clingan and Maureen Shuttleworth, Vice President and President of the New Abbey Bowling Club, kindly came to talk at assembly, teaching us all about the history of the club and how to play the sport.  It was fascinating.  The older children have been invited along to try bowling in person, later this term.  There may be some budding players in the future – watch this space.

The children have just finished helping the Community Council to plant the village hanging baskets for the summer.  We know we are incredibly lucky to be in such an inclusive community.

Soon, we will have another Wellbeing Day.  This was a pupil idea several years ago which we have kept.  The children help to plan the day, with a focus on physical and mental health, building resilience and relaxation.  We will also have a delicious buffet, as voted for by the children, paid for with a donation from Liz Rae Flowers and prepared by one of our parents who is also a chef!

Still to come, the older children will be visiting the Samye Ling Monastery, thanks to fundraising by our friend Dakpa and the community.  Our younger children will be visiting Tiny Town in Dumfries for a magical woodland experience followed by playing at the Catherine Street Park and a drop-in at The Usual Place.  We will have a whole school trip to Mabie Farm Park during the last week of term.

Reverend Johannes continues to visit us at assembly, and we are looking forward to our end of term award service at New Abbey Church on Monday 30 June at 9.15am.  All are welcome.

Let’s hope this beautiful weather continues into the Summer Holidays!

Helen Anderson

New Abbey Primary Head Teacher

CHRISTIAN AID

A sincere thank you to all who have donated in any way to Christian Aid so far this year.  We raised a total of £5,093 at the annual Soup and Roll lunches held in St John’s church in Dumfries, held during the period before Easter, often termed as Lent.  At our own Guild Daffodil Tea in March, we raised £45.50 for Christian Aid.  Since then, we’ve had Christian Aid Week, 11-17 May, where we collected donations at the church services and also had, for the first time, a collecting can in the village shop.  A huge thank you to all those who contributed to the total of £290.72.

The purpose of Christian Aid Week, held in May every year, is to promote the charity and highlight a particular need, although in practice the charity works in many extremely needy areas across the world.  This year’s topic concentrated on a particular region of Guatemala, where climate change is causing the normally predictable weather pattern of dry and rainy seasons to intensify and shift erratically.  This in turn causes vital crops to fail resulting in the families for whom this is their crucial source of food to suffer from malnutrition.  The specific typical family chosen is that of Amelia, who tries to grow a range of crops and root vegetables to provide her children with a balanced diet, such as bananas, peppers and cassava, to protect them from the lasting developmental changes caused by malnutrition.  However, the loss of recent harvests means that their diet now consists mainly of rice and tortillas, as there are simply no fruit or vegetables obtainable locally.  With the support of specialist agricultural training from the Christian Aid partner, Congcoop, Amelia is changing the way she farms and is beginning to plant climate resilient crops, conserve water and make fertiliser.

The river that runs through the valley of the mountainous region where she lives is central to her life and farm.  But the climate crisis and thirsty industrial plantations nearby are causing the river to run perilously low.  Ironically, these plantations feed the world’s richest countries by robbing the natural resources of people living in poverty.

By giving generously, more farming families like Amelia’s can receive the help they need, to beat hunger and survive their current situation.  For example:

• £10 could pay for the climate resilient seeds that produce a variety of foods to protect a farmer’s children from hunger
• £15 could buy the tools that maintain cacao trees, which are a source of nutritious produce to eat and sell
• £30 could help fund the rainwater collection system that sustains a family’s crops, guarding them from malnutrition.

It’s possible to donate in many ways.  Envelopes are available at the back of the church, or you can donate online simply by searching for Christian Aid – https://www.christianaid.org.uk/.  Please Gift Aid if possible.

Another great opportunity to contribute to Christian Aid funds will be a Plant Sale to be held on Saturday 21 June, from 10am until 3pm, at New Abbey Village Hall.  There will be a wide variety of plants on sale from annuals to perennials.

Eleanor Kinghorn

THE VILLAGE HALLS

NEW ABBEY VILLAGE HALL

Well, first, I would like to say it’s been glorious weather these last few weeks, but recently I found myself a rainy evening to finally write up my part for the church newsletter.  We’ve had a busy few months behind the scenes organising different things.

• Sue has been writing up LOOOOAAADDS of funding applications. We come in and tell her ideas and she goes away for hours on end putting things together and applying.  I call her Mary Poppins.  She always pulls that thing out the bag and she’s great at it.
• So, from her part, we have funding for warm hubs which is great for the community. We had a Lego group run by Rachel last week.  I took Alfie along and we both really enjoyed it.
• There will be more events to follow. If anyone has anything you would like to see happening.  No ideas are silly, so let us know.
• We now have funding for furniture, blinds, curtains and carpets. These will be installed over the next few months.  Feel free to come for a nosey.

For my part, I have a wee team of volunteers helping me with the fun weekend on 13 & 14 June.  There will be lots to do including the football matches starting at 4pm on the Friday.  There will be a tuck shop with teas/coffees & cakes available, and the pizza wagon will be on the school grounds, so you won’t go hungry!  There will be lots to do for children and adults on the Saturday, so please get in touch if you have any questions.

Before I go on to anything else, I’d like to take this opportunity to mention Mary Holland and all her input and ideas over the last few months.  Sadly, Mary passed away in April and it makes me sad to know she won’t be with us on this weekend.  We will all be thinking about her when it comes.

• We have a coffee morning running once a month. The next one is 6 June and then we’ll stop for the summer.
• We also have a knit and natter every second Wednesday which will restart again in the winter. I would like to thank Jane Gray for giving up her time to run this group.  It sounds like there’s a lot of natter that goes with the knitting!
• We also have a gentle exercise group every Tuesday at 10am. This includes a cuppa and a gab after.
• We had snooks come in the Easter holidays to do cupcake making. Watch this space for the next time.  Put it this way the cakes might be SPOOOOOKKKKKYYYYYY!

I’d like to thank each and every one of you who’ve supported our village hall.  I’ll see you all at the fun weekend.

Lorraine Sweeney

BEESWING MEMORIAL HALL & LINDESAY MEMORIAL FIELD

The recent Hall activities – the Games Night in March (carpet bowls, dominoes and a game on the theme of ‘play your cards right’) and the Quiz night in May (kindly prepared with multiple choice questions!) were both well attended, and the feedback was good.  More events are planned.

Dates for your Diary:

• On Saturday 7 June it’ll be ‘eyes down’ when a Bingo and Curry Night will be held in the hall; Bingo entry fee is £3, curry is £5 and doors open at 7:00pm. Drinks can be purchased at the licensed bar until 11:00pm.
• A BBQ with a licenced bar is planned for Saturday 5 July at 6:30pm.

Look out for details of more events later in the year.  Regular activities taking place in the hall include:

• Yoga – Monday evenings 6pm
• ‘Groove’ (dance exercise) – Thursday evenings 6pm

Contact Lucy on 07 950 702 165 for details.

The attendance was good for The Sunday Morning Service in the hall on 18th May with our new minister, Rev Johannes Wildner.  Another service is planned for the end of the summer – the date to be confirmed.

There have been many compliments about the repairs and redecoration of the hall from those attending the various events.  It is available for private hire by contacting Melanie Brown for bookings on 07 754 144 608 or email Melbrown50@btinternet.com

Richard Lye

DEVELOPING THE NEWSLETTER

Up and down the land, indeed throughout the world, church newsletters and magazines take a wide variety of forms.  Some concentrate solely on matters of faith and the local church; others cover community life beyond the church.  What they all try to do is to be informative and engaging within the boundaries of their operation.

In the format that I inherited it from Elizabeth Weir, this newsletter seems to embrace church news but also gives voice to other organisations that affords the area its character.  As one who is new to New Abbey, my sense is that this is what tends to happen in rural locations, where local identity is a powerful force.  To me, this feels appropriate, just as it also feels appropriate for Contact, the equivalent publication at Max West, to have a feel and content that is different and appropriate for its urban context.  If you haven’t seen a copy, they are available at the back of church or email me (see below) and I will get one to you.

However, I’m not sure why some community groups contribute to this newsletter and others do not.  Perhaps it was a Kirk Session decision, taken some while ago, and duly minuted, in that very organised Church of Scotland way.  More likely, I suspect, it’s a result of suggestions made by individuals over the course of time.

All that is a bit of a preamble to the idea that there will be some gradual changes to this newsletter, in a way I hope you will find interesting:

• First, we’ll be inviting more community groups (though not local businesses at this stage) in and around New Abbey and Beeswing to submit news about themselves for publication.
• Second, we’ll introduce a new feature in each publication – a spotlight on one of the regular contributors – to give them the opportunity to tell us more of the background behind who and what they are and why and how they do what they do.  We’ll start with the Guild, one of the Church of Scotland’s treasures, but perhaps not so well known outside church circles.

As editor, I have to be careful not to make each publication so large that it becomes a burden for those who photocopy, collate and distribute it.  The first of those is undertaken generously free of charge by one person, the second and third by a group of volunteers, all members of Lochend and New Abbey church.  It’s one of our contributions to village life, part of what it is to be church.  So, please, watch this space!

Richard Allen

LOCAL CONTACTS

Johannes Wildner        Minister of Max West & New Abbey  01387 257238           jwildner@churchofscotland.org.uk

Catherine Lye                Joint Session Clerk                                      01387 760232           catherinehowdle@yahoo.co.uk

Lorraine Sweeney       New Abbey village hall                              07770 910156           newabbeyhall@gmail.com

Richard Allen                  Newsletter editor                                       07352 066089           brasell10422@gmail.com

PLEASE NOTE RICHARD’S NEW CONTACT DETAILS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Baptism

30 March 2025               Rory James Kingan

EVENTS

All the images in this newsletter (hard copy version) are used with the permission of the owners.

Maxwelltown West & New Abbey Church of Scotland: Scottish Charity No. SC015925

Christian Aid Scottish Charity No. SC039150

New Abbey Village Hall: Scottish Charity No. SCO50057