On Sunday, 3rd November, Aberdeen North Church will welcome the Riding Lights Theatre Company for a special performance of Cups on a String, a heart-warming and powerful new play.

This unique production is based on real-life stories of school mentoring relationships, highlights the transformative impact of connection, listening, and trust. The play powerfully shows the incredible difference that one caring adult can make in the life of a young person.

The Cups on a String performance coincides with the Church’s launch of an exciting new mentoring initiative through a partnership with the charity Transforming Lives for Good (TLG).

Jay Thomas, our Church’s Community Development Worker explained, “This play marks the beginning of our church’s involvement in TLG’s Early Intervention Mentoring Project, an initiative aimed at supporting young people who are struggling in school and beyond. The programme trains volunteers from local churches to mentor children, offering them practical and emotional support to help them overcome challenges and build brighter futures.”

The Early Intervention Project will be delivered by volunteer mentors from Aberdeen North Church, Northfield United Free Church and Sheddocksley Baptist Church.

Jay added, “Our involvement in the TLG programme aligns beautifully with the themes of Cups on a String. Both the production and the mentoring project emphasise the importance of connection, communication, and community support in helping young people flourish and thrive.”

The performance of Cups on a String takes place at Aberdeen North Church on Sunday 3rd November from 7.30pm. It promises to be a powerful, thought-provoking and entertaining night.

Tickets for the show can be purchased at: https://www.ridinglights.org/cupsonastring

Transforming Lives for Good is partnering with Riding Lights Theatre Company to tour Cups on a String to venues across the UK for 8 weeks in autumn 2024, offering a powerful and moving evening of theatre. The show comes to Aberdeen North on Sunday 3rd November at 7.30pm.

Joe’s eleven and home is hard. School is even harder. He breaks stuff: pencils, chairs, rules. One thing he won’t break is his silence.
Heather’s fifty-seven. She’s got a comfortable life and a comfortable home. But once a week, every week, she spends a very uncomfortable hour – with Joe.

Where will this journey of hours and weeks take them?
Cups on a String is a warm-hearted and moving new play, developed from remarkable true stories. It’s about playfulness, listening and laughter, and how risk-taking and trust can lead to growth and transformation.

Tickets can be purchased at the link below 
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/select/RdiEJKhzXNnT

Pavements and pathways across Aberdeen’s City and Shire were a sea of tartan at the beginning of June for what was a record-breaking Kiltwalk. A remarkable 5,200 people laced up their walking shoes to raise funds for over 400 Scottish charities, in what was the biggest ever Granite City Kiltwalk to date.

Among the walkers was Jay Thomas, our Church and Community Worker at Aberdeen North Parish Church. He was joined in the challenge by Church Elder Ian Anderson, and together they were raising funds to help send a number of young people and their families to the ReFuel Festival taking place later in the summer.

Both took on the Mighty Stride, a 18 mile route starting at Duthie Park and finishing at Bellfield Park in Banchory, with most of the walk following the Deeside Way (which follows the line of the Old Royal Deeside Railway).

Jay explained, “This was my first Kiltwalk and I was nervous beforehand whether or not I’d manage to complete it. Having Ian there to push me on made all the difference, especially for the final few miles. It was an incredible day and seeing so many people take part helped me to realise that the Kiltwalk is more than just a scenic stroll through the city and surrounding countryside. It’s a celebration of community spirit and charitable giving, where every step taken translates into support for worthy causes.”

A massive well done to Jay and Ian, who at time of publishing have raised £1000 towards their fundraising goal.

Donations to support this valuable work can still be at here.

Join us on Friday for the launch of our brand new community cafe – The Coffee Pot. Offering a variety of hot drinks, home baking and pastries, the cafe will run on a pay-what-you-can basis. The cafe will be open on Fridays from 11am – 2pm. All are welcome!

We recently partnered with our local SU Regional Workers to deliver an interactive Easter event for local Primary 6 pupils. Children from Kingsford, Muirfield, Westpark and Heathryburn Primary Schools took part in an Easter Journey to discover the things that happened during the week of Jesus’ death. The week-long series of events were delivered together with our friends from Northfield United Free Church.

Through role-play, storytelling and listening pupils travelled through the palm-waving celebrations in Jerusalem of Palm Sunday and the clearing of market traders from the temple. They gathered around the table at the Last Supper with the disciples, listened in to what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane and witnessed Jesus’ cruel death on the cross on Good Friday. Children experienced for themselves some of the emotions felt by those who knew Jesus well. And of course, the children discovered that the story didn’t end at the cross, hearing a first-hand account of from the disciples of finding the tomb empty and Jesus appearing to them in the locked room.

This was the first time we had embarked on a project this size and  we were keen to seek the advice and support from local SU Regional Workers Cheri Young and Pamela Sloan.

Our minister, Rev Fiona Lister explained, “SU’s support was invaluable – we couldn’t have done it without their help and input. I first saw the Easter Journey programme being delivered at my home church in Kemnay and I was keen to bring it to Aberdeen North. Andy Ellison and I had already worked together delivering a Faith and Conflict project at the local high school, and we wanted to build on that relationship. And together we recognised that the Easter Journey programme would be a great opportunity to engage and involve the members of our congregations in supporting the local schools.”

Rev Andy Ellison, minister at Northfield United Free Church shared a similar sentiment, “It was great to work together as churches in the area to share the Easter story in an engaging and interactive way with local school children. It was especially encouraging to have school pupils come along to the church as we had previously held events in the school but the school coming along was a first.”

He explained, “For many of our volunteers, this was their first engagement with our local schools, and it was uplifting to see them interact with pupils, teachers and parent helpers and to feedback that they would be willing to help again in future. We look forward to continuing to work together as churches in serving our local schools.”

Fiona added, “Across both churches there is so much heart for supporting and reaching out to all age groups in our community. Our aim was not only to educate the children in our faith but more importantly to help them to view the church (and the people in it) as a safe and secure place to be.”

At the end of the week, we had a community event in the form of a games night, and it was great to see some of the children return to the church with their parents to participate. We hope to repeat this event next Easter as well as offering the option of a Christmas activity for younger children to participate in.”

We are delighted to welcome Rev Fiona Lister as our new Minister, and look forward to getting to know Fiona and her family!

2022 Aberdeen North Parish Profile