The Cinnamon Network

“It is difficult to plan ahead and remain optimistic when the carnage of decline is evident in empty retail units and the fear of: “who will be next” is almost palpable.  Yet it is exactly that feeling of hope and optimism mentioned in the article that we must nurture and encourage until it becomes a reality not just for the benefit of the Scottish economy, but for the well-being of its workforce who will be its saviours.”

WPCS National Director, Rev Iain McFadzean

THOUSANDS of high school pupils from Scotland’s Central belt have been finding out about the devastating human cost of bad driving.

Statistics show road crashes are the biggest single killer of young people in the UK.  Closer to home, Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service figures show road traffic incidents in the Falkirk, Clackmannanshire and Stirling area resulted in 38 fatalities and more than 2500 injuries over the last three years.

This week (Jan 28 to Feb !) the ‘Safe Drive, Stay Alive’ (SDSA) Roadshow in Stirling’s Macrobert Centre, aims to show around 4000 local pupils in 4^th, 5^th and 6^th year what are the real consequences of young drivers speeding, drink driving, or simply showing off at the wheel..

Co-ordinated by Central Scotland Road Safety Partnership supported by Work Place Chaplaincy Scotland (WPCS) – an independent Christian charity which has four chaplains working with Central Scotland Fire Service – the free, ticket-only shows run twice a day from Monday to Friday with a late show on Thursday evening.

A hard-hitting DVD underlines the devastation to families of serious and fatal road crashes

Input from A&E nurses, disabled victims and their families, ambulance, police and fire service personnel and a funeral service presided over by a real chaplain all help drive home the message.

SDSA has been running in Stirling for six years now, but this year organisers consulted WPCS volunteer chaplain Rev Stuart Murdoch, minister at Bo’ness Baptist Church, when putting together a revised version of the original video.

WPCS plays a key role in helping fire fighters come to terms with the sometimes traumatic call-outs they attend.  Said Paul Wilson, WPCS Central area organiser, “WPCS has an excellent relationship with Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service and we were delighted to be asked to help.  We must do all we can to safeguard our young people from the dreadful waste caused by road accidents.”

Rev Murdoch agreed:  “As a volunteer WPCS chaplain and a local pastor, I have a passion for supporting the emergency services and the wider community”, he said.  “The SDSA film starts on quite an upbeat note, but by the end of the session many of the youngsters in the audience were in tears.  The impact was profound, particularly when seriously disabled victims and their families came on and gave their stories.  If it saves even one life then it has served its purpose, but I hope it will enable the majority of those who see it to drive safely and as the campaign says, ‘Stay Alive’.”

Gordon Pryde, SDSA co-ordinator and group community safety manager at Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service said, “Road crashes are traumatic for everyone involved, from the victims and their families to the emergency service personnel attending.  Since the campaign started in 2007, we have completed 66 shows, reaching thousands of potential young drivers.  There is no doubt SDSA has a huge effect on the pupils and our hope is that they will remember what they have seen and heard when they take to the roads themselves and drive more safely as a result.”

I am very much a ‘people person’, meeting new people, getting to know them and encouraging and helping them and when the opportunity arises, sharing with them what Jesus has done in my life.  I knew a little but decided to find out a bit more about “Work Place Chaplaincy Scotland” which “provides pastoral and spiritual care to people in the work place” and after training am now a voluntary part-time chaplain.  For whatever reason, many people today have no interest in going to church and I feel that the only way we in the church are going to meet these folk is by going to them and as a Work Place Chaplain – that’s exactly what I can do!  Not to preach but to befriend, to gain trust and become a listening ear when they have worries and concerns but also to celebrate with them during happy times.  It’s also great when I meet someone who is a believer and then we have a chance to encourage each other!  Jesus met his first disciples at their work place (Luke 5) and that is a great encouragement to me.  The gospels describe many journeys.  The journey of the Son of God to live among his people on earth. The journey of Jesus to where those people lived and worked, cried and cheered and the journey of people, with Jesus, from an initial conversation about things they understood, fish, seeds, wine, to a realisation that the kingdom of God was very close.  That is Chaplaincy!

 

Photo from Flickr, by Share the Word

To share the journey of life with people to serve them in Christ’s name in the highs and the lows and to translate the presence of God in all we say and do into a language which allows people to glimpse the Kingdom of God, what a privilege, who wouldn’t want to be a chaplain!

To find out more about Work Place Chaplaincy, Scotland – www.wpcscotland.co.uk

Gaynor Scott, Volunteer Chaplain

It is written by Rob Drummond, and directed by Suzanne Loftus,  Artistic Director of Cutting Edge Theatre, who has also been involved with the Edinburgh and Glasgow Easter Plays, and also with the Dundee Nativity.  She is just beginning to recruit and rehearse actors for this year’s production, which will be performed at the same venue as last year, at 6pm on Thursday 6 December.

Suzanne said of last year’s production, “I loved the fact that a community group of actors came together from different nations and backgrounds, – some of faith, some of none – to tell the Nativity story.  If God is not an inclusive God – what hope do we have?  Perhaps the Christmas message is not so traditional after all, but a timeless message for everyone!”

It is sponsored by a number of organisations, including Cutting Edge Theatre, Edinburgh City Centre Churches Together and Work Place Chaplaincy Scotland.  This year, through the event, it is intended to raise funds for the L’Arche communities in their work with people with learning disabilities.  The funds raised will be divided between L’Arche Edinburgh’s new house and L’Arche Bethlehem’s workshops, bringing a very appropriate interfaith dimension to the Edinburgh Nativity.

The drama is designed to appeal to all ages and backgrounds, and is a contribution to Edinburgh’s Christmas programme, putting the story of Christ’s Nativity at the heart of the city’s celebrations.  We are grateful for the help and support of Edinburgh City Council again this year, as we seek to do this.  The event is also part of the churches’ role in helping to develop and strengthen the community life in Edinburgh and further afield throughout the year.  Thus we welcome the partnership we are developing with Edinburgh L’Arche, and through them with the Muslim L’Arche community in Bethlehem.

To see images of last year’s production, see the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Edinburgh-Nativity/268209163210823

As I was wrestling with the hose, he shouted to me to keep it close to me at all times, as it was my defence against the fire;  ”Hold on to it:  that’s your Bible, that’s your defence!”