Broomhill Church is situated in the West End of Glasgow in a busy parish of some 1700 households. Founded in 1899 as Broomhill UF Church, the congregation numbers around 600.
Our minister is the Rev. Bill Ferguson. Bill is the sixth minister in the history of Broomhill Church. With two Sunday services and a full programme of weekly activities Broomhill has a lot to offer the local community. Officebearers and organisation leaders are always willing to provide more information about the Church.
July 2009
Sunday 5 11.00 am Morning Worship : Rev Dr Angus Kerr
6.30 pm Evening Worship : Rev Dr Angus Kerr
Sunday 12 11.00 am Morning Worship : Rev Ada MacLeod
6.30 pm Evening Worship : Rev Ada MacLeod
Sunday 19 11.00 am Morning Worship : Rev Bill Ferguson 6.30 pm Evening Worship : Rev Bill Ferguson
Sunday 26 11.00 am Morning Worship : Rev Bill Ferguson
6.30 pm Evening Worship : Rev Bill Ferguson
Pastoral Letter
Dear Friend,
The cathedral-like silence in the bank is rudely broken when a fierce sounding man wearing a balaclava charges up to the counter wielding a pistol. “This is a hold up,” he shouts, “get down on the floor!” Handing over a satchel he commands the bank teller to fill it with paper money. As he runs out towards the door with the loot, a brave customer manages to yank off the robber’s balaclava. The robber immediately shoots the customer. Standing by the door he asks in a gruff voice, “Did anybody else here see my face?” The robber notices another customer peering from behind a counter and callously walks over and shoots him. Waving the pistol above his head the robber again asks, “Did anyone else see my face?” There is silence for a few seconds before an elderly male voice is heard from a distant corner, “I think I saw my missus having a peek in your direction.” You may consider that story sexist and politically incorrect yet it encapsulates a snapshot of modern life. We quickly segregate people into ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’, heroes and villains, yet – in truth – there is often very little to distinguish the one from the other. In recent weeks a shameful chapter has been written in our nation’s history by so-called ‘honourable’ Members of Parliament behaving in decidedly dishonourable ways. We often speak about the few ‘rotten apples in the barrel’ yet daily news reports leak information hinting that the whole orchard may be diseased! “Do others and see that you’re not done yourself!” would seem to be the motivating philosophy of many people. “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone!” We feel sorry for the honest Members of Parliament who’ve been tarred with the same brush as those accused of fraudulent and unacceptable behaviour but every family or group has its black sheep. The church is no exception. Even within the small group of hand-picked, carefully chosen disciples, there was one black sheep – Judas Iscariot. Even in the first days of the church, when its life was fresh and pure, there were two black sheep, Ananias and Sapphira, by name. (Acts chapter 5) There may have been more; we are not told. But we are grateful to the author who was frank enough to release the story of these two. For one thing it increases our confidence in him as a writer of history. He was an ardent adirer of the church, and in his enthusiasm he might have held back a story that would discredit it. he chose, however, the way of his predecessors and the tradition of Jewish scripture: he told all the facts. For another thing, we, who find so many black sheep in the Christian society of our day, have at least this encouragement, that they have always been there, that they are not a sign of total decay and disintegration. Apparently as it takes all kinds of people to make a world, it takes all kinds to make a church.In this particular case the black sheep seem blacker than usual because of the fact that they stand so close to Barnabas. (Acts 4:36 – 37) Barnabas had just been introduced by the writer of ‘Acts’. He was generous, holding back nothing, clear and clean all the way through. Standing beside him, the calculating Ananias and Sapphira look even blacker than they otherwise might. It is when sin is thrown against the background of real goodness that its evil is unmasked. Pilate, Judas, Caiaphas, the soldiers and all the rest who carried out the details of the crucifixion show themselves in their real colours because behind them stands the vivid contrast of Jesus. without that background, what they did might easily pass as one of the expedients of political action. One of the reasons why black sheep are less conspicuous in the church today than they were in the days when ‘Acts’ was written may be that the average degree of whiteness is less intense. When most of the sheep are a dirty grey, the black ones have an easier time of it. when ninety-nine are honest, it is hard for the one hundredth to chisel without notoriety.The world needs people…who cannot be bought, whose word is their bond, who put character above wealth, who will not lose their identity in a crowd, who will be as honest in small things as in great things, who will make no compromise with wrong, whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires, who will not say they do it ‘because everybody else does it’, who are true to their friends through good report and evil report, in adversity as well as in prosperity, who do not believe that shrewdness and cunning are the best qualities for winning success, who are not ashamed to stand for the truth when it is unpopular, who can say ‘no’ with emphasis, although the rest of the world say ‘yes’.God, make us this kind of person.
Your Minister and Friend,
Bill Ferguson
Verse of The Day
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.” (Psalm 33:12)
