Parish of North West Lochaber Church of Scotland

The Guild, or Women's Guild as its was known for years, is open to men and women.

The aim of the Guild is to invite and encourage commitment to Jesus Christ and to enable members to express their faith in worship, prayer and action.

The Guild's strategy for the current three years is
What does the Lord require of you? based on Micah 6:8

The theme for this year is To Walk Humbly With God

The following projects are being supported by the Guild from April 2011:

HIV/AIDS Project : A New Hunger, Various countries

International Justice Mission: Terrify No More, Cambodia

Ministries Council: A Place for Hope, UK

Mission Aviation Fellowship: Mission Run, Madagascar

World Mission : Interfaith Support, Israel/Palestine
 

Time - Meetings start at 7.30pm

Place - Arisaig Church Hall unless otherwise stated on the programme.

In addtion to our monthly meetings, we hope to hold informal Bible Exploration groups monthly. These will be confirmed at the meetings.

To find out more about The Guild visit it's pages on the Church of Scotland Website.

Details of this year's projects:

Through prayer and fundraising, the Guild in Arisaig supports two charities each year. During 2011/2012, we will be supporting “A New Hunger! And “Mission Aviation Fellowship”

A New Hunger

This project is committed to helping people with HIV/AIDS, both in Scotland and abroad. In Scotland, specifically Edinburgh and Glasgow, the growing number of Africans who have this disease and have settled in Scotland are being offered health care and help with the stigma associated with it. Abroad, we are endeavouring to provide good nutrition for the people who are afflicted. Food is essential for ensuring that the drugs administered to the sick can actually have an effect. Projects around the world are being set up to help people with the knowledge and equipment they need to grow their own food and become more self-sufficient, along with health care and education, in an effect to reduce the numbers of people being infected in the future.

To date, the national Guild has raised in excess of £74,500.00

Mission Aviation Fellowship MAF

MAF is based in Madagascar. This island is over seven times larger than Scotland and prone to cyclones, torrential rain and flooding, rendering three quarters of their roads impassable for most of the year. There are clinics in Madagascar but they are poorly equipped and some of them provide medical care for more than 250,000 people. Getting to the clinics can involve several days of walking over mountainous jungle-covered terrain. MAF is able to fly into many of these remote areas with medical teams, who provide health care and education. They also transport drilling equipment and the piping necessary to provide clean water. The Red Cross and UN World Food Programme also depend on MAF to reach these remote areas when disaster strikes. The Church of Madagascar also depends on MAF. 50% of Madagascans follow indigenous beliefs, including ancestor worship. Church members are flown into towns and villages to spread the word of the Gospel and educate the inhabitants.

In March 2011, aid for MAF from the EU was suspended. Foreign aid and non-humanitarian aid was also suspended due to financial restraints. These withdrawals make the donations given by the Guild even more vital in ensuring the survival of the service MAF provides. The money raised by the Guild for this project currently exceeds £83,000.

Message from Marion

1. The quiz night which took place in November was a success. Eight teams took part and there was lots of fun and laughter.

2. We had a sale of jewellery, made by ladies in Uganda suffering from HIV/AIDS and TB, the amount raised was £147.20. This was a very worthwhile activity.

3. There were very few people at the afternoon tea during Guild Week, but those who attended enjoyed the DVD of last year's Conference.

4. The Advent meal on 12th December took place with the Ladies' Bible Study Group. Helen gave a very thought provoking address using the letters of the word HUMBLY.
Everyone took away an address from C.S.W. so that we could all send cards to those persecuted for their faith. A collection taken for our projects raised £79.89

5. A Happy New Year to you all!

More News

The members of the Ladies' Bible Study group invited us over for a meal and a Pictionary game, all with a Scottish theme. They had decorated the hall in Mallaig with Scottish flags and the tables were all set out with tartan. We began with a hymn, a reading from Proverbs and then a prayer.

They served us with a lovely meal and then the fun began!

First of all, we had to name the Scottish landmarks printed out on a sheet for us. Then we attempted to draw famous Scottish icons, such as Mons Meg, The Waverley and John O'Groats. Suffice it to say that is was really a fun filled night!

Our thanks go to all the ladies in Mallaig for their hospitality and we look forward to meeting together again.