In Lanark there is a good tradition of the churches working together to promote a unified message, particularly throughout the Christian seasons. This Easter saw 10,000 colour postcards delivered to every home in the town advertising our services and inviting people to come to church and share in worship and fellowship.

One new idea for 2009 was the opening of the churches on Good Friday. Each church opened for an hour and provided a space for reflection and prayer. in Greyfriars, we provided different prayer stations for people to think about the journey of Jesus in that last week of his life on earth. It was extremely worthwhile for those who came along and took time to reflect and pause with their thoughts.

Holy Week saw the church hall in Greyfriars turned into a children's area as our holiday club got into full swing. This years club, called 'The Tale Machine' was written by our minister, Bryan Kerr, Peter Johnston (Blantyre) and Karen Harbison (Hamilton) and after road testing, it will hopefully be available as a new resource for churches very shortly. 

The holiday club is based around the parables of Jesus and a strange red machine which makes stories. Over 60 children came along during the week and all had a fantastic time! Watch out for 2010 - who knows what will be in store?

Well ... the time is here! Marianne Wong, who runs keep fit classes in Greyfriars appears on Deal or No Deal on Christmas Day at 3pm. The show can be seen on Channel 4. Yes, we know it is in direct competition with the Queens Speech but hey, what's one year of missing the speech?!? If you really want to watch the Queen I am sure you can catch the show on Channel 4 +1 if you have digital TV.

Marianne was picked to be on the Christmas Star show because that is exactly what she is. She spends much of the year fundraising to help aleviate suffering and poverty in Kenya. By running the Kenya Aid Project, Marianne ensures that the aid that people donate gets to the people who need it most. She and her partner, Fraser, have just returned from Kenya in her latest mission and no doubt we will all be able to hear of the good work she has done when she was out there.

So if you want a great afternoon's viewing on Christmas Day to save you fighting over a new board game, or throwing Brussel Sprouts at Great Aunt Nellie, tune in to see Marianne! As it is different from the normal shows, Marianne chose her family and friends to go and open the boxes with her ... and our minister, Bryan, got to go as well! 

Greyfriars Church supports the charity and you can find out more about the project, and make a donation to help the lives of many people living in Kenya, by visiting the website www.kenya-aid.org.uk.

In May over 30 members of the congregation took £10 and did what they were good at to raise money for the church!

We have had a whole host of events taking place from coffee mornings in people's homes to country dancing evenings, jam making to Reiki sessions. Each person was asked to take £10 and invest it to bring back more money for the church. The only rules were that people who took the money could not gamble, do anything illegal and they had to bring back at least the original £10.

Jesus told a parable about people who were asked to look after their masters money. Some made it grown and some didn't. We hope that all of our take 10 volunteers were able to make it grow. Early indications show a huge return on the original £10's. 

If you took £10 oyu are reminded that the money should be handed to Andrew Brown, the church treasurer or the minister as soon as possible. We hope to announce the total amount raised very soon!