The Fife Herald has kindly given the Dairsie web site permission to copy the Dairsie News that is printed in the Fife Herald every week.
The meeting was held in the church as the protracted improvements and repair work continues in the church hall. The theme this year is “Honouring the Soul” and at the first meeting of the new Guild year, Elspeth Smith was invited to speak on this theme and like a number of the members, she had sought the dictionary definition. The variety of usages for the word “soul” was a surprise, including the soul of honour, not a soul in sight, and upon my soul! Soul and Spirit overlap in meaning, and the words soul or spirit are repeated often in the Holy Bible and in Hymns. Mrs Smith’s talk proved to be wide ranging, challenging and entertaining in its depth, and the two quizzes she had compiled also stimulated much thought on the theme. She was warmly thanked by Eleanor Muirhead on behalf of all.
Winners of the September draw of the Dairsie War Memorial Hall 200 Club were all Dairsie folk. They were Sharif Suleiman £20; Jim Anderson £10; Judy Dowling £5.
A coffee morning (and evening in this case!) for Macmillan Cancer Support was held at the home of Carol Owen on Friday 26th September, and she thanks all who helped in any way, and is pleased to report that £200 was raised for this vital and much valued cause.
Worship was led by the Rev. Gareth Davies and with the return to duty of the minister, the Rev Sheila Blount, it was his final service as Locum. He spoke of how much he had enjoyed his service to this rural church, and his appreciation of the warmth of the welcome he had been given. Thanking him on behalf of all, the Rev Andrew Stevenson spoke with appreciation of his sermons, with his professional admiration for his ability to present his stimulating sermons using only brief notes as guidance! He then gave him a thank you card, signed by members, and a cheque in appreciation of his service to Dairsie at Sunday worship and in the pastoral duties he performed.
It is to be the service of thanksgiving this coming Sunday, 5th October for the safe gathering in of the harvest and there will be a retiral collection for Christian Aid.
The Quiz Night was held in the Hall last Saturday with 12 teams taking part. The questions were compiled by Blair Littlejohn and in his absence were read out by Sharif Sulaiman. The winning team were last years winner's Quizzie Lizzie. Liz, David, Josie and James fought hard to hold on to the trophey, winning by just half a point. In her vote of thanks Carol Owen Chairperson, thanked everyone for attending, and everyone who had sponsored the rounds.
Dairsie WRI met on Friday 4th October at 7.00pm. President Mary Booth opened the meeting and welcomed the members. The speaker for the evening was Liz Box who spoke about Bellydancing and then proceeded to teach us a dance which we performed complete with coloured belts with coins attatched! Liz then expertly performed a dance with a veil for us. Tea was served, the raffle held and the competitions were judged. A moulded jelly : 1st Jeanette Armes, 2nd Anne Brown; Flower of the Month : 1st Alice Johnstone, 2nd Anne Brown.
The worship was led by our minister, the Rev. Sheila Blount, and there were thoughts of harvests throughout the world. The church was decorated with flowers and some food items too. There was a retiral collection for Christian Aid, and £69.70 has been sent to the many less fortunate than ourselves. After the service, the flowers were taken to older or less able folk who all had some connection with the church, both in Dairsie itself, Cupar, Balmullo and around the district, bearing the message of warm good wishes as blessings are given for the harvest safely in.
The group has now been up and running for a few weeks and the feedback they have had is good. Thanks for all the support from the village so far. They have had more interest than was first anticipated, so it looks like they are here to stay. In the 2 hour session, the children have been enjoying themselves meeting new friends and playing with the toys. There is plenty of room in the hall for the children to run about, and there is a safe area for the smaller baby members of the group. They also have a wee singing session each week which is enjoyed by the adults just as much as the children! Everyone gets a cuppa and the children get a healthy snack. The group is for all under fives and new members are always welcome, so the group say “Don’t be shy – just feel free to pop along to the village hall any Wednesday morning between 10 and 12”. Each session costs £1.50. Contacts are Marianne 871437, Rob 871038 or Sarah 870082 for more information.
Next meeting is on Monday 28th October in Dairsie Church at 7pm, when the speaker will be Mrs. Nurse from Craigfoodie who will talk on the work of Macmillan Cancer Support. As usual, all are welcome.
Worship on Sunday was led by the Rev. Dr George Nicol, minister of Falkland with Freuchie. He also conducted the congregational meeting held following the service. This meeting was to consider the Draft Basis of Union between Cupar St. John's Church and Dairsie (the principle of moving towards a union having been accepted at the time of the linkage three years ago). Meetings between Kirk Session officials of the two churches have been ongoing for some time and, at a joint meeting of the two Kirk Sessions on 30th September, it was agreed the name of the church would be "Cupar St John's and Dairsie United Church of Scotland". Subsequently the Kirk Session met with Presbytery representatives and agreed on a Draft Basis of Union. This ‘Draft’, having been approved by the appropriate Presbytery Committee and the Church of Scotland Legal Department, was presented to the Congregational meeting on Sunday. At the meeting Dr. Nicol took the members through the sections in the document and, having had the opportunity to ask questions and make comments, a vote was taken. Then the Draft was unanimously approved. Subject to approval by members of St. John's Church and St. Andrews Presbytery the Union of the two churches will be as from the first day of January 2009.
Winners of the October draw of the Dairsie War Memorial 200 Club were: J. Anderson £20; Mr and Mrs Purvis £10; H. Yule £5. Tickets for next year will be available soon.