Just a reminder of this morning’s in person service at 11:00 a.m. which will also be streamed live.
We welcome everyone to this morning’s service, being led
today by Revd Maggie McArthur, Locum Minister.
What’s On –
THIS WEEK –
TODAY –
You are reminded that today is your last opportunity to sign the Form of Call (for Members and Adherents on the Electoral Register) or Paper of Concurrence (for those associated with the congregation), before being submitted to Presbytery.
If you have not already done so, please sign the appropriate document either before or after the service. Thank you.
MONDAY 21st – 28th SEPTEMBER, 2026
Maggie is on holiday between these dates.
The Rev. Anne Paton will be available for URGENT PASTORAL COVER from Wednesday 23rd – Monday 28th September 2026.
Anne’s Contact details are as follows –
Telephone – 07912 295940
EMAIL – apaton@churchofscotland.org.uk
TUESDAY – 22nd SEPTEMBER, 2026
The In Stitches Craft Group meet in the Session Room from 10:00a.m. until 12 Noon. New members to the group are always welcome.
At 1:30p.m. for 2:00p.m., the Senior Circle continue their meetings for the new session. The speaker today is David Wilson from Mission Aviation Fellowship. A warm welcome awaits you.
WEDNESDAY – 23rd SEPTEMBER, 2026
Our Delve in @ 12 Mid Week Service continues at 12 Noon.
This will be led by Rev. Anne Paton, Interim Moderator. Everyone will be made most welcome.
THURSDAY – 24th SEPTEMBER, 2026
The Choir resumes their practices for the new session in the Session Room at 7:30p.m.. New Choir members will be made most welcome. Come along and join the fun.
FRIDAY – 25th SEPTEMBER, 2026
The SNACK BAR is CLOSED today, re-opens 2nd October 2026.
VESTRY TIME – There is NO Vestry Time this week.
The Art Class continues to meet in the Upper Hall from 1:30p.m. – 3:30p.m. New members always welcome.
FOODBANK DONATIONS
Our collections for the foodbank continue – items urgently required for this week are the following – Porridge, cereal, UHT milk or diluting juice.
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NEXT WEEK –
SUNDAY – 27th SEPTEMBER, 2026
Morning Worship begins at 11:00a.m. and will be led by Rev. Rob Jones. ALL Welcome
Items for the OCTOBER/NOVEMBER Edition of The New Wellwynder should be with the Editor – George Randall today.
TUESDAY – 29th SEPTEMBER, 2026
CAMEO will meet in the Session Room at 7:30p.m..
WEDNESDAY – 30th SEPTEMBER, 2026
Our Delve in @ 12 Mid Week Service continues at 12 Noon. This will be led by Rev. Maggie McArthur, Locum Minister. Everyone will be made most welcome.
THURSDAY – 1st OCTOBER, 2026
The Choir meets to practice in the Session Room at 7:30p.m..
FRIDAY – 2nd OCTOBER, 2026
The SNACK BAR opens from 10:00a.m. – 1:00p.m.. Last Orders at 12:45p.m..
VESTRY TIME – Rev. Maggie McArthur will be available in the vestry from 10:00a.m. until 12 Noon.
The Art Class continues to meet in the Upper Hall from 1:30p.m. – 3:30p.m. New members always welcome.
SATURDAY - 3rd OCTOBER, 2026
The Monthly Coffee Morning will be held in the large hall from 10:00a.m. – 12 Noon. All welcome
In preparation for Harvest Thanksgiving, the Flower Convener and team will be available in the Crush Hall from 10:00 – 12 Noon on Saturday, 3rd October, 2026 to accept donations of flowers.
If you are available on Sunday afternoon from 1:30p.m. to help deliver the flowers, please advise Avril Cockburn.
At 3:00p.m., the Lanarkshire Society of Organists hold their opening recital for Session 2026/2027 in the Sanctuary.
Esther Ersfeld and Andy Wang musicians from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland will perform during the recital. Entrance by Donation. Refreshments will be served afterwards. ALL Welcome
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HARVEST THANK OFFERING
The Kirk Session is supporting Mary's Meals with year with our Harvest Thank Offering.
The following information has been issued to Congrgeation Members -
THE STORY OF MARY’S MEALS
From a family shed in Scotland to millions of children around the world
The story of Mary’s Meals began with a desire to help people affected by conflict and poverty. In 1992, during the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, brothers Magnus and Fergus MacFarlane-Barrow travelled from their home in Scotland to take humanitarian aid to people in need. Their efforts developed into a charity called Scottish International Relief (SIR). Over the following decade, SIR supported communities affected by poverty and conflict in several countries. Its work included building homes for abandoned children in Romania, supporting returning refugees in Liberia and providing aid and healthcare in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Much of the early support came from people in the small Scottish village of Dalmally in Argyll. Food, blankets and other donations were collected and stored in the MacFarlane-Barrow family's shed. A shed with a remarkable history - That same shed continues to serve as the global headquarters of Mary’s Meals. It is a reminder of how a small, community-led response can grow into an international movement.
The moment that changed everything
In 2002, Magnus travelled to Malawi during a famine. There he met a mother who was dying from AIDS. He asked her eldest son, Edward, what his dreams were for his life.
Edward's answer was simple: “I want to have enough food to eat and to be able to go to school one day.”
His words made a profound impression on Magnus. Mary’s Meals was subsequently born from the vision of ensuring that children like Edward could have both food and education. The first Mary’s Meals programme provided school meals to around 200 children in two primary schools in Malawi.
Why the name Mary’s Meals?
The charity is named in honour of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who brought up her own child in poverty. From its beginnings in Malawi, Mary’s Meals has grown into a global organisation providing school meals to millions of children every school day.
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A simple meal. A powerful change.
Feeding children. Supporting education. Changing lives.
Mary’s Meals provides nutritious school meals to more than 3 million children every school day in some of the world’s poorest communities.
For a hungry child, a daily meal at school can make an enormous difference. A good meal encourages children to come to school, gives them the energy to concentrate and participate in class, and helps open the door to education and a better future.
£19.15 can feed one child for a whole school year
Mary’s Meals believes that every child deserves enough to eat and the opportunity to receive an education. The charity works with local communities to provide nutritious meals in places of education, using locally sourced food wherever possible.
“I want to have enough food to eat and to be able to go to school one day.”
These simple words, spoken by a young boy called Edward in Malawi, helped inspire the creation of Mary’s Meals.
- Why school meals matter
For children living in poverty, hunger can be a major barrier to education.
- A reliable meal at school can:
Encourage children to attend school regularly.
- Give children the energy to learn and participate.
Help children concentrate in the classroom.
- Reduce pressure on families struggling to provide food.
Support children's health and wellbeing.
- Give children greater opportunities for the future.
One meal can make the difference between a child being hungry and a child being ready to learn.
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MARY’S MEALS AROUND THE WORLD
Reaching children who need it most
During 2025, Mary’s Meals worked alongside communities to provide consistent, nutritious meals to children in more than 6,400 schools across 16 countries.
Children served by country – 2025
Haiti 196,000+; Lebanon 900+; South Sudan 85,000+; Benin 3,500+; Syria 5,000+; Ecuador 350+; Liberia 95,000+; Zimbabwe 179,000+; Zambia 605,000+; Kenya 24,000+; Mozambique 5,000+; India 50,000+; Yemen 10,000+; Malawi 1,315,000+; Madagascar 97,800+ and Ethiopia 245,000+.
Contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals
Mary’s Meals' work contributes directly to:
SDG 2 – Zero Hunger - Providing daily school meals helps address childhood hunger.
SDG 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing - Nutritious meals can support children's health and wellbeing.
SDG 4 – Quality Education - Meals help remove hunger as a barrier to school attendance, participation and learning.
SDG 5 – Gender Equality - School feeding can encourage girls to engage in and remain in education.
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THE IMPACT OF A DAILY MEAL
Simple food. Significant results.
Mary’s Meals' community-led approach is based on a simple idea: Provide a nutritious meal in a place of education, and help remove hunger as a barrier to learning. Evidence from Mary’s Meals programmes demonstrates the difference this can make.
Working with communities
Mary’s Meals does not simply deliver food. Its school feeding programmes are community-led, working alongside communities, governments and partners. Meals are locally procured wherever possible. This helps support local food systems and economies while providing children with consistent, nutritious meals. The approach is designed to be practical, sustainable and responsive to local circumstances.
More than a meal
A school meal can have benefits beyond the classroom.
It can: Reduce hunger - Children receive a dependable meal during the school day.
Support education - The promise of a meal can encourage children to attend school and provides energy for learning.
Support families - School meals can reduce some of the financial pressure on households struggling to provide food.
Support local economies - Local purchasing can create employment and support food producers and suppliers.
Encourage equality - Mary’s Meals focuses on reaching children in some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable communities.
MARY’S MEALS - A daily meal. The chance to learn. Hope for the future.
Information summarised from Mary’s Meals 2025 Impact Report and supplied Mary’s Meals information.