December 5, 2010
Here in Grampian region we're used to bad weather and it's a very rare occurrence for us to cancel Sunday services or other gatherings due to the weather. But last Sunday, November 27th, was just such an occasion. The north side of the parish, Drumoak, had a lot of snow which was still falling and making clearing paths around the church more difficult than usual. On the south side, Durris, there was not only a lot of snow and unploughed roads (Balfour Brae and Stable Brae) but a prolonged power outage had put many people's schedules out; cooking breakfast by camping stove simply takes longer. The question then was how to let people know as the easiest method of telling people, the internet, wasn't any good to people around Durris; no power, no computers or routers. What also became evident was that many people have cordless phones which are useless without power, unlike the old, simple telephones with no features; they are powered by the central power in the exchanges and will still work. By ringing around as many elders as we could and asking them to call the people in their districts we were able to stop many worshippers from making a wasted journey. As for today, thanks to the efforts of the Blackhalls and the Harpers we could get to Durris church and enjoy a service led by Ronnie Mitchell.
So, if you haven't heard one way or another and you want to check if there's a service on - call your Elder or call the Session Clerk.