Fundraising

McCorquodale stone

On Thursday 19th September we dedicated the McCorquodale stone. This engraved stone had once formed part of the wall of the McCorquodale Hall at the Aberlour Orphanage. After the demolition of the buildings, the stone had gone to Stirling where it lay in the grounds of the Aberlour Childcare Trust offices. As they were moving to new headquarters this year, they approached Hugh Fraser, Chairman of the Aberlour Community Association, to ask if Aberlour would like to have it returned. Hugh in turn approached the church and we were delighted to accept the offer. Hugh’s grandson, Ben Morrison, kindly fetched the stone from Stirling and Hugh arranged to have it cleaned by Garry Laing, a local stonemason. It now sits in the entrance porch of the church.

The McCorquodale Hall was used as the boy’s dining room at the orphanage. It was a rather splendid hall and was used also for dances, film shows and other social events. The benefactors were Mr & Mrs George McCorquodale who lived at Dalchroy, now known as Tulchan Lodge. We were delighted to welcome Edmund Wood, a great-grandson, and Richard Heywood, a great-nephew, to the dedication service. Mrs Mary Heywood was also present as was George Knight, who in his youth had been resident for 10 years at the orphanage.

Marriage blessing

On 13th June 2019 Laura and Ben Benson brought their families from the USA for a blessing of their marriage. They had been married a month before in the USA and had a second ceremony here. It was a miserable, wet day but they didn’t seem to mind and everyone was warm and dry inside the church. The service was conducted by Rev Canon Michael Last, Rector of the Isla-Deveron group of churches.

The party stayed at the nearby Dowans Hotel where they had their reception. We wish Ben and Laura a long and happy married life together.

Antiques Valuation Day

We had a very happy and successful day on 25th May with lots of people bringing their collectibles for valuation. The experts from Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh were helpful and informative and so lovely with all the visitors. We are very grateful to them for coming.

There were mountains of sandwiches and cakes on offer so no-one went home hungry. All in all, a very good day for St Margaret’s.

Easter Day 2019

We had a good sized congregation for our Easter Day service. Rev Roy Vincent led the worship which started with bringing the light into the church. The paschal candle was processed to the chancel steps and then all the other candles were lit from its flame.

There was also a baptism during the service when we welcomed Susan McDowall into the church.

Tree planting

On Friday 29th March a team from the congregation planted an avenue of ornamental rowan trees down the church drive. Thankfully, one of the team had organised the hire of a small digger which considerably reduced the workload. Hopefully there will be lots of colour once the trees flower and produce their berries.

2018 Accounts

The audited accounts for 2017-2018 were presented to the congregation at their AGM.

Christmas Day 2018

What a lovely Christmas Day service we had!  There was a good sized congregation who all sang the carols with great gusto.  The church looked lovely with a splendid tree and the repaired crib figures.  We were delighted to welcome so many in the church – regular members, their families and visitors made up the number.  The service was led by Rev Roy Vincent and was very uplifting.  As he said ‘Jesus is the reason for the season.’

Christingle Celebration

On Sunday 23rd December we held a Christingle service in the church where we were joined by members of the Aberlour and Craigellachie parish churches.  There was a good sized congregation and we were fortunate to have three clergymen present.  Rev Roy Vincent opened the service, Christian Lontzek gave the address and Rev Morris Smith led the final prayers and blessing.  The children all received Christingles and sang by candlelight on the chancel steps.

Preparing the Christingles.

Rev Roy Vincent welcoming the congregation.

Sarah reads the nativity story from St Luke’s gospel.

St Nicholas with the Aberlour Toddler Group

On Wednesday 5th December we welcomed the children and parents of the Aberlour Toddler Group to celebrate the feast of St Nicholas which falls on 6th December.  We all listened to the story of St Nicholas and the Pirates and then the children hunted round the church to find their boots which had mysteriously filled with treats.  Following refreshments the children sang songs before leaving with their booty.  It was so nice to have all those children in the church and we look forward to welcoming them again.

The blessing of Otto

On Sunday 18th November, Otto Findlay Lontzek was welcomed into the church.  His parents, Christian and Kerstin, and his sister, Mathilde, have been with us since the beginning of September and have added greatly to our congregation.  We wish the family all the best when they return to Germany at the end of December.