Change of name and venue for Keswick in Buckie
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THERE will be a new name and a new venue for an annual bible study convention in Buckie.
Formerly Keswick in Buckie, next month will see the Moray Coast Convention launched. The week-long event will also be moving to Buckie Baptist Church, as opposed to Buckie North Church as has previously been the case.
The convention is due to be held over Saturday, August 5 through to Friday, August 11.
Convention chairman Bill Mowat said: "The main reason we decided to change the name of the convention was to spread ownership of it across the coast, to expand its reach beyond the Buckie area.
"We want to say to folk 'It's your coastal convention'.
"We've also got the benefit of the Moray coast as a tourist attraction and hopefully some visitors to the area will be encouraged to come along to some or all of the convention.
"It will have much the same structure as before with guest speakers – Rev Dr Colin Dow and Roger Carswell – in the morning and afternoon. There will be a prayer meeting in the morning from Monday to Friday.
"We decided to cut the number of guest speakers from the traditional three to two in order to give a more focused approach to what's covered in the morning and afternoon bible studies.
"Colin will be responsible for the morning sessions when he will explore the many names of Jesus while Roger, in the afternoons, will bring a challenging message under the title of Faithful Living in a Faithless Society.
"Last year the convention still had Covid hanging over it so we're looking forward to being back to normal and to our new venue in the Buckie Baptist Church. I hope we get a good crowd; last year was good given the circumstances at the time.
"I look forward to seeing from along the Moray coast and from further afield as well."
In addition to the daily sessions the Saturday will see a praise evening, featuring the Highland Harvest Band, held in the church from 7pm. The following evening from 7.30pm will see a fellowship evening featuring informal interviews with guest speakers. One of those scheduled to appear is Colin Murray from Portsoy who will be discussing his MND diagnosis and his hopes for the future.
Tea will be served after each service in the Baptist Church hall, with soup and sandwiches available at lunchtime.
Rev Dr Colin Dow originally hails from Golspie before going on to Aberdeen University where he achieved a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry then a PhD in Solid State Chemistry. London beckoned next where he worked for Lafarge Braas as a research and development engineer.
Brought up in the Free Church of Scotland tradition, Rev Dr Dow became a Christian at the age of 15 and almost immediately started preaching. He left Lafarge Braas in 2009 and studied for three years at the Free Church College in Edinburgh, after which he was ordained to St Vincent Street Free Church in Glasgow, now called Glasgow City Free Church. He has ministered there for the last 16 years.
Roger Carswell was born and raised in Leeds and has lived in Horsforth for many years. Like Rev Dr Dow, he became a Christian when he was 15 years old.
After university, Mr Carswell was a teacher for several years before concentrating his energies on becoming a full-time evangelist.
Travelling largely in the UK, he speaks at universities and churches. He has also written numerous pamphlets and many books, including titles such as Grill a Christian, Things Gods Wants us to Know and Where is God in a Messed-up World?
For more information on the convention, visit https://www.moraycoastconvention.co.uk
The convention has been running since 1986 under the Keswick in Buckie banner.
