The Church Mouse Blog
20th January
,2012
A very good evening to you all, wherever you may be! I was invited to a birthday party in the church hall this afternoon, and I want to tell you all about it. One of my congregation here at Downfield South was having her 50th birthday (the little mice just don't believe that anyone can live that long, 'cause they don't understand about mouse years and human years) and her friends arranged a suprise party for her. She had a special sparkly thing to wear in her hair and a sash to wear which said how many birthdays she'd had (just in case she forgot, as it is quite a big number to remember). People had made food and tea and even ice cream and jelly and had brought her flowers and presents. Everybody was very happy and there were hugs. I hugged her ankle, but she didn't notice. Ice cream is a powerful distracting agent. There's a whole heap of love here at Downfield and Jesus is the one who started it all. Lots of love from C.M.
10th January, 2012
We went to Malawi today! Well, not really, but almost. At the Guild we had Pam Wilson speaking to us about the three years she spent working as a nurse and teaching student nurses in Malawi. It was fab and she had lots of pictures and stories to tell us about it. She had made many friends and is still in touch with some of them. Who knows where we will be next time? Come join us at 7.30 p.m. and see on the 31st January, when we will also have a Bring & Buy stall.
Looking forward to meeting you (and also for the Church Mouse to waken up), E.
6th January, 2012
Ssshhh! He's sleeping. This is the Editor saying hello to everyone today, as the Church Mouse has gone into a period of mini hibernation. He muttered something about getting a bit of shut-eye on the 2nd of January and I hadn't heard from him since. I tip-toed to his favourite nest (don't tell the Property Convenor I know where it is; he'll have the thumbscrews out before you can say "mousetrap") and sneaked a picture of him. He'll not be pleased, but he always chuckles a little when other people see that their photo finds itself up on the wall in the hall after a church event. It may be some time before he gets back to work again...
E.
1st January, 2012
A big hello to all of you out there! Here we are at the start of a brand new year ... what am I going to do with it and what's going to happen to us? There are so many mouths to feed and such a lot to get done and all the oldie mice are getting creakier in the joints and even my tail gives me a twinge in the mornings and what about my congregation and the heating and paying the bills and will it snow again?
Time to take a deep breath - in and out. The Editor has reminded me that Jesus knows all about what it's like living down here; he said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." , although probably in some foreign lingo, rather than in good clear Scots, or Mouse, for that matter. Let's leave it all in His hands and wish each other a Happy New Year!
C.M.
25th December
A very happy Christmas to all you out there who keep in contact with what is going on here at Downfield South Church! We hope that you are having a great day with family, friends or having a relaxing time on your own. We Kirk mice have been practising a little something for you which we hope you'll like. We were calling it The Shed Scene, but the Editor said it would be better as The Nativity Tableau. She really is a bit bonkers, but she held the camera straight, so has some uses. Anyway, here it is.
C.M.
25th October
Hiya! It's great to be back, tippy tapping on the old keyboard, letting you all know what's been going on here at Downfield South Church. I've got a freer rein these days, as the Editor wifie is busy with lots of other things; her craft group, her book group, knitting a load of little pumpkins for Halloween decorations at her day job (she'll never have time to read this, so I can say what I like) and learning to bake muffins for the Christmas Fair. Again, it is the Guild that I'm reporting on today; this was their 'Open Evening', where they have entertainment and an exceedingly yummy supper. Oh yes, and friends from local Guilds and their sister Guild in Kinclaven come to join in the fun. We had such a good time - you should have been there - come next time, we'd love to have you! Our entertainment was provided by 'The Impromptu Singers', who were great, as always; they even had everyone doing actions to 'Peace Like a River'. Yet another opportunity to laugh until you cry. If only I had a camera...perhaps I can ask the Treasurer? I can just hear the Editor saying, "Good luck with that, wee mousie." Anyway, here's a little poem for you to read around. See you in a bit.
C.M.
11th October
A right big hello to everybody out there! I couldn't hear the ones at the back; could you yell a little louder?
Here we are again at the start of the Guild season. It's great being a Kirk mouse here at Downfield South. People talk about being "as poor as a church mouse", but we buck the trend here. Downfield folk like to share time and food together and we mice get right sleekit on it. The supper after the meeting was braw... Back to the matter in hand; the first meeting of the Guild was tonight (I'm burning the midnight electricity here in the church office; it's hard to get a moment's peace from all the wee mice these days) and we learned from Sandra Thomson that there is much more to jute than we could ever have imagined. Sandra brought some things to show us: hot pants, hats, bags, scarves all in an amazing variety of colours, thicknesses and grades of softness. She didn't bring a coffin with her, but how eco-friendly is that? We were impressed. The story about garden testing the bird boxes made us laugh until we couldn't breathe - the birds took the jute fibres away to line their nests! It makes me think of that bit in the Bible (Google Philippians 4:19) where it says that God will provide all our needs from His glorious riches. How right that is. See you soon.
C.M.
12th September, 2011
The big day has b
een and gone and everyone will be eating leftovers for days to come. Bliss! Where to start? For those of you who hadn't heard (although that could only really account for a very few people who live at the tops of mountains or deep in caves, the amount we have been going on about it), yesterday Downfield South Church celebrated its 125th anniversary of becoming a congregation. And, by my whiskers, we celebrated in style! There was a big service in the kirk and LOADS of people came; so many that I had to scuttle up to the balcony where the Editor was 'advancing Powerpoint slides by means of a remote device'. It looked like pushing a button to get the next verse of the hymn up, but there you go...it kept her out of the way. The Moderator of the Presbytery of Dundee preached a sermon all about how we are not insignificant (the Kirk Mice were particularly chuffed with this, and are now big, or rather little, fans of his). We even had the great-grandson of the first ever minister of our wee kirk to read to us from the Bible. Wow! After the service all the people trooped around to the hall for food and drink. We sneaked through the short cut way to make sure we got onto the stage to see everyone properly. What fun!
C.M.
27th August, 2011
You might think that because I have been so quiet recently, I had either packed my bags and left the kirk, embarrassed at the tent– chewing activities of my cousins under the stage - but no.
The real reason for the lack of news is because we have all been on a summer break (but we weren’t responsible for that, it was broken when we got there, honest). That all came to an end when I slipped past the 4000 legs (that’s a lot of legs) to take my place at the front of the stage of the Caird Hall (between the pots of plants because it gave the best few of the speakers and the audience).
This was the Church of Scotland Annual Guild Rally and there were lots of women and a few men there and it was very noisy. I am sad to say that Dundee City Council don’t let people eat their sandwiches in the auditorium, so there were no crumbs for this mouse. Even worse, the Editor who gives me a lift to these things was right at the back and upstairs, being a steward, she said. But she didn’t give me any of the stew, either.
Apart from that, there were lots of speakers and singing and people and noise and thanks and clapping . It was probably really interesting, but I curled up in one of the plant pots and went to sleep because it was so lovely and warm...
18th July, 2011
All the little mice would like to say sorry for chewing holes in the Boys' Brigade tents and groundsheets. We didn't know what they were, and just wanted a taste of something new. We promise not to do it again.
The Wee Mice.
17th July, 2011
A big hello to all you out there! Life is full of adventures, and I've just been on another one. The older boys in the 
Boys' Brigade have gone camping in the far southern reaches of Scotland, in a village called Ancrum. A few adults have gone with them and they are all living in tents! The folk at the church were invited to visit, and so I hitched a lift for another fieldtrip. We had a lovely time checking up on the camp and watching the boys playing football. I had a look at the programme for the week and they had mountain biking, swimming and something called 'Hide the Junior' in store. The little mice back at church would probably enjoy the last game; I might let them play once they have apologised for something they have been responsible for. The BB officers were complaining that when they put up the tents there were holes nibbled in the canvas where the church mice had got to them. The youth of today... Obviously not just a problem we mice have, as I also saw that one of the sets of boys had got zero points for kit inspection! However, I overcame my embarassment about the activities of my family enough to enjoy the scrummy tea we were provided with at the end of our visit. Camp kitchens are ace. A big thank you to all the BB campers, and if you are a boy or the parent of a boy who would like to try out the BB, have a look at their page on the Downfield South Church website and find out more. See you soon,
C.M.
29th May, 2011
Hiya! Isn't it amazing how quickly after you're back from an Adventure that you feel that you have never been away? The other day I was double booked, scampering between the Session Room and the Small Hall to cover both the Guild Syllabus planning meeting and the Mission Shaped Church session. I'm fair puggled, not t
o mention very disappointed that the Guild Committee cup of tea was literally that; not even a biccie in sight. Guild President, get your act together for next time. The other gathering had chocolate biscuits, which almost made up for it. Anyway, the next year for the Guild looks very exciting - check out their page on this website once they've confirmed all the bookings, and come along to make some new friends! You will be made very welcome. And offered biscuits. While all this was going on, the Junior Choir was practising their next production - "Red Riding Hood". They sounded great and I am certainly looking forward to seeing them. Come along on the 8th/9th June for 7.30p.m. and have a fab evening! In the service today I was biting my tail with nervousness as the preacher man chopped up a carrot in a little guillotine and then asked for a volunteer to put their finger in! Squeak! Someone in the choir came up (gosh, they are a brave lot) and their finger was miraculously not chopped off. Whew! It was all to help us think about trust and how we need to trust Jesus. I'd certainly trust Jesus with my tail, but I'm not so sure about the preacher man... Looking forward to seeing you (tail and all) soon.
C.M.
22nd May, 2011
Well, a big hello to all you folk out there! I'm back from my Big Adventure to Cumbrae with some of my congregation from Downfield South. You'd think I had been away a month, the welcome I got when I poked my nose back under the floorboards. It's hard to know where to start, so the beginning seems the best option. When I woke up from a good long snooze in the Editor's pocket, we were in a sweetie shop in Largs. I have never seen so much stickiness in one place. We got some sticks of rock and I sucked on a sliver to calm my tummy when we were On the Ferry (!). We were on the island before I'd even cleaned my whiskers and came to the Cathedral and our home for the weekend. The rooms were great and we had three Common Rooms to use, all with big comfy armchairs. The food was really yummy, and my lot were generous in the dropping of crumbs at breakfast, lunch and dinner time. To work off all that great food, we went on walks, sometimes in the drizzle, sometimes in sunshine, and looked at all the birds and flowers. The birds were tweeting away the whole time, which was so distracting that I nearly fell out of the Editor's hood when I spotted the Cumbrae Crocodile (see photo). Once someone had told me that it was just a rock that someone had painted about a hundred years ago I felt quite brave. If you look very closely, you'll see me perched on his head! The Cathedral mice were very friendly, even though they did squeak a bit funny. Every single morning and evening there was a prayer service in the Cathedral, and they were helping us not to lose our places in the prayer books. It was something quite new to many of us, but I liked having a different kind of way to speak to God. By the time we had to leave, I felt that I'd quite miss it. We also went to a museum about Cumbrae and another one all to do with things that live in the sea. Most of those were really quite scary, especially the octopus in the aquarium. Finally, we had to leave, but not before having a lovely lunch at a place called Nardini's in Largs. The ice cream desserts were bigger than I am and the Editor sneaked me a piece of wafer. It's good to explore places far away, but it is always good to be back home again. Looking forward to seeing you all again soon,
C.M.
8th May, 2011
What does a wee mouse pack for a weekend away to Cumbrae? That's what has been filling my brain these past few days. The older mice have suggested candle wax and hazelnuts, but let's face it, what d
o they know? They have never been past the church gates. I was chatting to the Editor and asking if she could pack the laptop for me, but she refused! Apparently it is a Retreat, which is meant to get us away from work for a bit. Anyway, she said she'd help me remember enough to tell you all about it when we get back. We had a little meeting after church today to tell us all about the trip. I'll be staying in a room called 'Peace' - how cool is that? We will go for walks/drives, and I'll see the sea. Here's a thing, we have our very own church called the 'Cathedral of the Isles' (here's a piccie I found on Google Images) and I will need to take a letter of introduction and a pressie for the mice there. I am a bit twitchy about meeting cathedral mice; will they be a bit posher than ordinary kirk mice and will they understand East Coast squeaks? The Editor said not to fret, and that was one of the good things about being a Christian; wherever you go there are brothers and sisters you just haven't met yet. Looking forward to meeting you all out there!
C.M.