A BOOK which is dedicated to the memory of a much-loved church minister in Cumnock is raising money for charity.

Called ‘It’s All About Jesus’, all profits will be donated to help poverty stricken children in Laos who are at risk of being trafficked into China and Thailand.

Author Janice Andrews was a member of the congregation at Cumnock Congregational Church, where Rev Matthew Sullivan served as minister for more than 40 years.

Rev Sullivan was 78 when he died on July 24, 2008, having dedicated himself to the people of Cumnock, where he was named citizen of the year in 1985.

More honours came his way when he was given the freedom of Cumnock and Doon Valley and was made an MBE just before he retired in 1998.

He had served for 42 years and stayed in the thoughts of the community with a street in a new development at Holmhead, Sullivan Way, being named after him in 2003.

Now a minister herself, at the Congregational Church in Musselburgh, Ms Andrews has fond memories of Mr Sullivan during his time in the town.

She said: “He was a tremendous example of a life lived for others, he was a man of the people, and man of faith, and truly a man of God.

“It’s All About Jesus is the perfect Christmas gift. Readers are taken to the ridge of time where they have an overview of God’s masterplan to bring the Christ child into the world, beginning with the Old Testament prophecies, the lineage of king David, the birth of Christ and the reaction of the world.”

The book can be purchased on Amazon online marketplace for £6.95 and is also available in Cumnock’s Words of Wisdom.

Its preface says: “Here is the familiar Christmas story but in a context that will be fresh and new to many.

“Janice goes behind the feel-good story of the baby in the manger, behind the message of goodwill to all, to uncover the deeper mystery of God’s purposes for the human race.”