It's almost 30 years since the terrible disaster in the North Sea when 165 people from the oil rig Piper Alpha and 2 crewmen of the standby vessel Sandhaven tragically lost their lives.

To mark that anniversary, on Saturday 7 July, we will keep the Church Sanctuary open from 10am to 4pm providing a peaceful space in which to remember those who lost their lives and those who were affected.

Visitors will be drawn to the Memorial Chapel, home of the beautiful and meaningful Piper Alpha stained glass window. The designer of the window, Jennifer-Jane Bayliss, will be in the church from 11am - 12 noon and between 2 and 4pm.

At present, the church is also home to the Lord Provost's Book of Remembrance, and visitors will be able to read the names of loved ones who were lost that night, as well as survivors' names and official letters of condolence from all over the world.

A short film with some memories from survivors of the disaster will also be available.

There will be an opportunity to light a small candle in remembrance. Anyone wishing to remember this event and those who died will be welcome.

"Walking to Church, Ferryhill", an original painting by local artist Kathleen Bremner, was gifted to the church by the artist as a fundraiser and has recently helped us raise over £500!

Greetings cards of the picture are available at the coffee shop priced £2, but we are now offering 25x25cm unframed prints for just £15. Treat yourself, or consider birthdays or even Christmas! Please get in touch with Ann Ralph with your contact details and the number of prints you would like before the end of June.

Ferryhill Parish Church recognises the importance of protecting privacy and personal information, and has updated Privacy and Data Retention Policies which state how we use, disclose and protect such information according to law. These Policies are available by clicking this link, and any questions on the matter can be addressed to the Session Clerk by email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This year the amazing Summer Club’s Nutty Professor has built a time machine!

   Will it work?
     Who knows!

We will have to wait until 6th August to find out. 

Time Trekkers is a fun filled week of stories, laughter, crafts, games and songs which will see us travel in space and time around the world. It runs from 10 a.m. until 12.30 p.m. Monday 6 - Friday 10 and on Sunday 12 August 2018 as part of the Sunday service. All children attending Primary School after the summer holidays are very welcome.

We ask for a small donation of £1 per child per day to help cover the costs of the exciting week. 

You can reserve a space for your child(ren) through our Online Booking.

The Trustees of Ferryhill Parish Church approved the Annual Report of 2017 at a meeting held on Sunday 18 March 2018. You can download a copy of the Annual Report here.

A few comments are worth clarifying as you read the Annual Report. The first is to thank everyone who participates in the work that goes on through the congregation at Ferryhill Kirk. The breadth of different activities and ministries going on to support the local community is wide and that is only made possible through the time and energy people give through the church and to the financial support offered. Donations by members of the church is by far the largest portion of our income. 

Secondly, you will see that in 2017 we had a small surplus at the end of the year. This is good news, of course, that we were not running a deficit, but one of the reasons for this is that we were not able to complete as many of the upkeep jobs as we might have wished over the course of the year. Part of the reason for this is that we are still striving to find someone or a few people to take on the responsibilities of Property Convener.

And thirdly, if you have a keen eye for the details, you may note on page 12 where there is a note of the movements of money in the various funds that one of the funds ends up with a negative balance. It highlighted for us at our Trustees meeting that these figures only record the cash held in our local bank accounts and not the proportions of these funds held in investments by the General Trustees of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh. If you followed all that, well done!

A huge thank you to Val Hutton, our Treasurer, for all the work she and the Stewardship Team have put in to ensuring the finances of the church are well managed and to Lorna Glen, our Session Clerk, for the update in the first sections of the Annual Report on what has been going on in Ferryhill Kirk.

Rev Peter Johnston
Minister

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Over the next couple of months we will be encouraging us all on a Sunday morning to join with Rev Mary Whittaker during the Lord's Prayer to also sign the prayer. If you would like to practise that, please use the video above!

At the beginning of September we welcomed Rev Mary Whittaker to Ferryhill Parish Church. Mary has started a probationary placement jointly with us at Ferryhill Parish Church and also at St John’s Church for Deaf People.

Mary is already an Auxiliary Minister in the Kirk, but is now transitioning to the full time Ministry of Word and Sacrament. As part of that training Mary is undertaking this probationary placement. However, Mary comes with many years of experience in ministry already. She has been serving as locum at St John’s Church for Deaf People and leading worship in Elgin as part of a ministry amongst deaf people.

Mary is profoundly deaf herself and will be joined by her hearing dog, Scott. We will enjoy getting to know them both over the months to come, and learning a bit of British Sign Language in the process.

Say hello when you see them!

The Living Well Café at Ferryhill offers a safe, friendly, relaxed and welcoming space for people with a diagnosis of dementia or memory problems and their carers. It is well supported by both café friends and carers and is held every second Thursday from 1 - 3pm.

We enjoy a variety of activities including singing and dancing, reminiscing, word searches, jigsaw puzzles and boccia to name just a few. Refreshments are provided throughout amid a very happy atmosphere.

If you know of anyone who may benefit from being part of this group, please do let us know - you will be made very welcome at the café.

Call Rita King Tel. 01224 572391 or Shona Matthew Tel. 01224 704378 for more information.

Young people from P7 up to S6 ages are very welcome to join us, meeting in the foyer and hall of the church on Sunday evenings (2nd and 4th Sundays) at 6:30 p.m., finishing around 8:30 p.m.

You will find more information here.