Friends,
This week marks the 80th anniversary of Pte George Mitchell of the London Scottish Regiment winning the Victoria Cross, the British Army’s highest award for gallantry. His achievement is commemorated in the inscription on the font in the London Scottish Regimental Chapel.
Fighting in the Italian Campaign of 1943 – 45, Pte Mitchell was one of the so-called “D-Day Dodgers”, the ironic title that those serving there gave themselves. In the Damiano mountains, on the night of 23rd and 24th January 1944, Pte George Mitchell’s advancing platoon came under heavy enemy fire, from well-entrenched Germans on higher ground. As a result of his initiative and determination the enemy in the immediate vicinity were defeated. Mitchell having taken several prisoners was eventually shot and killed by one of those who had surrendered, but who then picked up an unguarded weapon, fatally turning it on Mitchell.
“Throughout this operation, carried out on a very dark night, up a steep hillside covered with rocks and scrub Private Mitchell displayed courage and devotion to duty of the very highest order. His complete disregard of the enemy fire, the fearless way in which he continually exposed himself, and his refusal to accept defeat, so inspired his comrades that together they succeeded in overcoming and defeating an enemy superior in numbers and helped by all the advantages of the ground.”
Following Private George Mitchell’s posthumous award of the Victoria Cross for his heroic action in northern Italy, it was invested by King George VI at Buckingham Palace on 17th July 1945 and placed into the care of his family. In 1949 his brother placed the VC into the custodianship of the Farmer Road Boys School, Leyton, East London, which was renamed the George Mitchell School in his honour in 1959. In March 2006 George Mitchell’s nephew came to an agreement with his old regiment, the London Scottish (Gordon Highlanders), where they would purchase the George Mitchell Victoria Cross group for the sum of £150,000, the money going towards providing a mobile classroom with job search facilities that would also be used to provide computer training located at the George Mitchell School.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Minturno War Cemetery & Pte Mitchell’s headstone.
George Mitchell is buried in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Minturno War Cemetery (also known as the New Military Cemetery, Sessa Arunca) overlooking the Garigliano River and Damiano Mountains, which he had done so much to capture. The cemetery contains 2,049 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.
The motto of the George Mitchell School is “More is in me”, and the video on its school webpage gives a nice insight into its current aims and aspirations http://www.georgemitchellschool.com/
If we choose to remember George Mitchell this week, we might reflect on the rich weave of threads that link Scotland, Italy, and East London, with soldiers, church members and school children. And maybe with gratitude, ponder what more is in us.
Angus
Live Streaming of Worship
Services can be watched via the church website, https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/live-stream
To access the live stream from the homepage (front page) click the Menu button in the top right-hand side of the page and scroll down and click on “Live Stream”. This will bring up the live stream to the church. The act of worship of approximately 60 minutes, includes include prayers, a sermon and music. The words for the hymns and readings will be on the website.
For those without internet, the Dial-In facility continues. Many people comment that they do have a sense of worshipping together, even if invisible to each other.
Reminder: If you do not wish to appear on the live-stream please choose a seat in the rear half of the sanctuary.
Please note that the Evening Services on the 1st of the month are not live streamed as they are held in the London Scottish Chapel.
Dial into Sunday Service
If you are aware of church members or friends who do not have access to internet please inform them that they can now phone in to join the Sunday service. No visuals clearly, but at least they can hear the service. Those interested should follow:
Step 1: At 10.40am call phone number 0203 051 2874.
Step 2: You will be prompted to enter a meeting ID. Please type (using your telephone keypad) 266 883 5072#
Step 3: You will then be asked for a participant number – simply press the #.
Step 4: Enjoy the service! You will hear the organ music from 10.50am.
Hymns, Music & Readings for Morning Worship, 28th January 2024, Third Sunday after Epiphany
Hymn 113 God the Father of Creation (Cwm Rhondda)
Hymn 718 We cannot measure how you heal (The Banks O’Doon)
Hymn 657 Father most loving, listen to your children (Christe Sanctorum)
Hymn 19 Ye gates lift up your heads on high (St George’s, Edinburgh)
Hymn 468 Son of God, eternal Saviour (Blaenwern)
Anthem: There shall a star, Mendelssohn
Musical Interlude: O radiant dawn, MacMillan
Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20
Gospel Reading: Mark 1:21-28
Reader: Ian Russell
Congregational Offerings
Details on the many ways you can support St Columba’s can be found here https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/giving/supporting-st-columbas
Would anyone wishing to contribute to St Andrew’s, Newcastle please contact the Session Clerk on standrewssessionclerk@gmail.com for bank details or other means of donating.
Church Member
We are sorry to announce the death of St Columba’s church member Elizabeth Sandison who died on 15th January. Please keep her family members in your prayers. It is hoped that a Service of Thanksgiving will be held for Elizabeth at St Columba’s at a later date.
THIS WEEK: Kirk Session, 6.35pm, Upper Hall
The Kirk Session meets on Friday 26th January at 6.35pm. As always, the meeting is open for non-elders to attend as observers.
THIS WEEK: Communion Sunday, 28th January 2024
Quarterly communion (11am Morning Service) is on Sunday January 28th. In recent times, responding to the pandemic, we have distributed communion by inviting the congregation forward to receive the bread and wine. On Sunday 28th January we will trial serving the elements (bread and wine) to the congregation seated in the pews – similar to our pre-pandemic procedure but using the small communion glasses. To facilitate the elders bringing the elements to the pews we will ask worshippers to sit in alternate pews only. You may therefore be asked to sit one row in front/ behind your normal pew to accommodate the arrangements. The pews will be carefully labelled on the day to avoid confusion. As our communion arrangements continue to evolve, we would welcome your feedback. Please let the ministers and/or elders know your views.
UPCOMING: Ash Wednesday, 14th February & the Season of Lent
To mark the beginning of Lent there will be a short service of holy communion on Wednesday 14th February at 1pm, in the London Scottish Chapel.
UPCOMING: “Let Me Go There”: Lent Study.
The book selected for our Lent Study is “Let Me Go There” by Paula Gooder, Theologian in Residence for the Bible Society. Arranged as a series of engaging and profound biblical reflections the book is an invitation to experience Lent, not as a season of restriction, but of wide-open spaciousness, in which to learn new lessons, to grow in faith, and to give God the chance to meet us in new ways.
A morning and evening group is offered. Wednesday evenings (7.15 – 8.15pm) and Thursday mornings (10.30 – 11.30am.) Sign up via the church office to receive zoom invite. Attendees asked to provide their own book copy.
UPCOMING: Saturday 2nd March, “Embody Lent” London Scottish Chapel, 10.30 – 12noon
Revd Pauline Steenbergen author of the newly published Embody Lent, (Wild Goose Publications, Iona Community, £10.99, available on their website) is offering a free session of Christian spirituality, via her yoga practice. Pauline gave two well-received sessions at the Festival of Silence at St Columba’s last November. The session will be held in the London Scottish Chapel, 10.30am – 12noon on Saturday 2nd March. Twelve places available. Please sign up via the church office, indicating whether you would prefer chair/mat yoga.
Pauline’s book intersects Yoga and Christian Spirituality in an illustrated 8 session course; involving movement, breath awareness, biblical reflection and ways into silent prayer. It is a resource for individuals, pairs or groups and there are options for chair yoga only, if necessary. Pauline is a Spiritual Director and a Church of Scotland minister living in Carlisle in the Presbytery of South-west Scotland; she is currently an ecumenical pioneer minister in the Diocese of Carlisle and a Yoga Scotland teacher, with classes in Cumbria, SW Scotland and weekly on Zoom.
NEXT WEEK: Scottish Country Dancing for Children, 4th February, 1pm, Sunday School Room.
With the support of RSCDS, we are delighted to offer the children a Scottish Country Dancing class.
Classes will take place once a month after Sunday School starting from Sunday 4th February. Rose Kreloff will teach the first class, she is an RSCDS London member who teaches regularly in London and the Southeast. Children are encouraged to bring their packed lunch.
UPCOMING: St Columba’s Quiz Night, Saturday 10th February:
Come and test your general knowledge at the St Columba’s 17th Annual Quiz. Saturday, 10th February 6.30 pm for 7 pm start. Tickets £6 per person will be on sale after 11am service on Sunday 21st January or by emailing the Church office. You could join The Choir, Tennis Club, The Magnificent Seven, Reeling Together and The Lanark Collective, who are all immortalised on the Quiz shields in the Lower Hall.
UPCOMING: Friends of St Columba’s – Visit to BBC with Hugh Pym, Saturday 17th February
Meet at 11 a.m. at Broadcasting House – we shall spend around an hour there. The we shall proceed by tube or taxi to TV Centre at Shepherd’s Bush where we shall have lunch. Hugh Pym is available for more details. Numbers are limited to 10 and the places are filling fast. So please book early to avoid disappointment! You can book by contacting Isobel Carter via the Church Office.
UPCOMING: Scots in London Ceilidh Evening: Saturday 9 March 2024, Lower Hall, 7pm – 10:30pm
Join for an evening filled with Highland Dancing to a live Ceilidh Band plus a range of live entertainment from the London Scottish Pipes and Drums, the London Gaelic Choir and the Burns Club of London. There will also be the opportunity to join in with a community sing along. No previous dance experience is required, just enthusiasm, as there will be a caller to lead guests through all the moves step-by-step. A light supper is included in the ticket price, and there will be a bar available to purchase drinks.
The evening will start at 7pm (doors open 6:30pm) and tickets are £20.To book tickets please visit: http://tinyurl.com/29jyxj6z
Office Hours
The church office is open from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.
E-mail: office@stcolumbas.org.uk
Website: www.stcolumbas.org.uk
Facebook: @stcolumbas churchpontstreet.
Twitter: @LondonKirk
Pastoral Emergency Number (out of office hours): 07591926271