During a special service of Communion on Sunday 6th April we welcomed into the Diaconate of our church; Janice McKay, Marion Gray and Robert Glen. The service was very unusual in that it ran over time quite considerably, but this the admission and commissioning of new deacons takes place so rarely that we wanted it to be their day. After the sermon, the theme of which was based upon Moses being called and he in turn asking God to find someone else, moving to Isaiah asking, 'Is it I, Lord?' and then moving to the Great Commission found in Matthew's Gospel. The Great Commission was taught as CO-Mission as we are ALL called to serve God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Each of the new deacons played a part in the service, in true Congregational style, each gave their testimony of being called, each felt like Moses, each wanted to hide like Jonah but eventually found themselves answering, 'Is it I, Lord?'. As the service progressed, each new deacon also had the opportunity to pick their favourite hymn, which included How Great Thou Art, Trust and Obey and O For A Thousand Tongues.....

I wish so many of you could have been there to hear the voices in unison sing these hymns, truthfully it sounded like a host of heavenly voices. We celebrate today as Coatdyke has in many ways returned to its roots, it is no longer a “Church” but a Home for God and His people and today we all shared in that great news, as traditions old and new were observed. We are grateful because generations of families have passed on the batons of responsibility to the next generation and we can honestly claim that Coatdyke's next generation is healthy indeed and long may it continue.

On a separate item - over the past seven years that I have been the Minister at Coatdyke, we have made many changes and improvements to our buildings, from disabled access to sound systems, pew cushions, disabled toilet, new sanctuary roof, new boilers and the list is not exhaustive and by no means finished. We have identified other areas that we would like to improve and I am sure that through time and by God’s Grace these improvements will indeed happen. Many of our improvements are down to gifts from the congregation, our last major gift being the sound system in the hall. We are delighted to share with others that our kitchen (also a gift) has been replaced; lock, stock and barrel and soon we will be able to enjoy the benefits of a state of the art, fitted kitchen, fit for the 21st Century. Coatdyke has indeed been blessed and we are enjoying something of a revival in so many ways. We still ask for your continuing prayers as we so desperately need others to see this revival and that God is truly at work in our midst.

Project 2007 - Coatdyke Congregational Church

"As our Project 2007 draws to a close we are delighted to be able to announce that our collective efforts have raised a grand total of £3,322.60. These monies are being donated to Oxfam and will not only finance the building of a classroom in Africa, which was our initial target, but we have also raised the additional £1,300 needed to provide the animals, tools and equipment to enable a community to thrive and there's still enough left over to buy essential medicines for a whole village, clean water for 100 people and 3 emergency shelters. Various fundraising events were organised throughout the year by organisations, teams and individuals and involved support not only from within the Church but from families and friends in the community and beyond. "