Men of All Ages – Summer 2011
You are never stuck for something to do when you join us at MOAA whether it is in our group at Newhills or in the wider group of men who meet throughout the area.
Our Area Breakfast at Newmachar at the end of March was slightly down in numbers with 40 men attending. However, all who were with us agreed it was well worth making the effort for the message they received, not to mention the worship, fellowship and, of course, the food! Our own minister, Hugh, shared with us his hopes and challenges for the future of the church in the north-east, while Douglas MacNab, the new minister at Newmachar, revealed his hopes and aspirations for the church and people of Newmachar. There could be exciting times all round if we are willing to step out in faith!
The Easter Praise evening at Bucksburn/Stoneywood church a couple of weeks later was well attended by men and women alike. Thanks go to Maurice Maitland for putting together and guiding us through the very meaningful programme of praise interspersed with words from Max Lucado on the events leading up to and including Easter. We are grateful to Bucksburn/Stoneywood for their hospitality.
Saturday 14th May was another Area Breakfast, this time hosted by the men at St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Inverurie. Mark Stone, Pastor of Aberdeen Elim Church, was our Speaker and he threw out the challenge to us to “empty ourselves of worldly things and fill ourselves to overflowing with spiritual matters.” What we do today will reflect on our children and grandchildren. This was another wonderful time of fellowship as 60 men sat down to breakfast, then worshipped together. There was also an opportunity to have a time to discuss certain points which led to us sharing our hopes and dreams for the future of the church.
For our own group in Newhills, our final meeting of the session will be over by the time this magazine reaches you. It will be on Thursday 19th May when we will gather to share a dinner and take it from there.
And so we have travelled about quite a bit these last few months– from Newmachar to Bucksburn and as far as Inverurie. But our home is in Newhills and it is here that we will once again hold our Annual Christian Men’s Rally in September this year.
This will be the fifth year we have held this Rally and the group who are responsible for the organisation of this event felt it was time for a change to the timing to allow those from further afield the opportunity to join us without having to set off very early in the morning. The Rally will start at 10am with a finishing time of 3pm. Instead of our usual breakfast therefore we will share in a soup and sandwich lunch provided by outside caterers.
The date is Saturday 24 September, time as previously mentioned is 10am start with registration open from 9.15am. Tea/Coffee will be available at this time. Our main speaker this year will be Adrian Plass, the noted poet, author and raconteur–a man with a deep faith.
And so I would ask you to encourage men, young and old, those with a strong faith and those who have none, to join us on 24 September. I have no doubt the Lord will be present with us and there will be a message for each one who shares that time with him.
Have a great summer full of God’s blessings!
Andy Mackie