Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my readers!

I hope you enjoy this last evening of the year, and of the decade. It's been an eventful ten years, and I pray that you will God's blessings during this next year, and the next decade.

Merry Christmas

If you have been following my Advent blog, then you will already have seen our family Christmas card for this year.

But since more of my friends follow me here, I thought I would post it here too!

My wife Liz drew it, with the help of her friendly computer, and I am very impressed with her artistic endeavours. I can't draw anything, unless I'm using a ruler!

We wish you a very Happy Christmas, and we pray that 2010 will be a Guid Year for you and your loved ones.

Journativity

Two of my friends, John Pickles and Neil Urquhart have been part of a group at Fullarton Parish Church who have made a modern-day Nativity video called Journativity. It is filmed in and around their community and is a great 6m30s video. Above you can see a screenshot from the video, and I leave you to guess which one is John and which one is Neil. Click on Journativity to watch the video on YouTube.

The two music tracks (one after the other!) set a great tone for the action. The Journativity actors journey through the community, interacting with the people around them, until they all come together for the final scene. The actors carry pieces of the final set with them, and it all comes together in the open air, as people mill around, in the middle of their Christmas shopping, wondering what is happening.

Jesus. He is everywhere. Keep your eyes open. Gasp in awe and wonder, and rejoice!

Weight off my mind

It's been a burden to me for the last few weeks, but I've not had any time to deal with it. I've had to carry it around despite the weight on my shoulders. Other folk haven't even noticed, and no-one has offered to help me carry the load.

I wondered what other people would think of me, but there was no time to do anything about it. Every morning I was reminded that I needed to do something. If I didn't then the problem would only get worse.

So today, I finally found space and time. I got on my bicycle and cycled over the hill to the barber's shop. He relieved me of that heavy load that had been pressing me down. He cut away what was no longer required. He released me from the worry and anxiety about what other folk would think. Now I am a free man.

Of course, although I am now free, my haircut was not. My wallet is considerably lighter than it was when I got up this morning. Although I have to say that the guy's prices are quite reasonable compared with prices in the city-centre.

Even in the barber's shop there was no escape from Christmas. Baubles were hanging from the ceiling, and there were silver stars hanging in the windows. Mind you, I was pleased to see that there was no Christmas Tree. I don't understand why we maintain that tradition, since the trees cost money, make a mess, and would be much better capturing carbon on the hills, than being turned into woodchip and compost.

There was even a free Christmas gift for customers. I enjoyed drinking mine, although I did have to concentrate rather harder than usual as I was cycling back home.

Christmas is all about giving. I have been giving that barber's shop my custom for around 30 years now. It was nice to get a present today as well as getting my hair cut.

Spreading Out

Since I turned 30 I've had a problem with Spreading Out! My wife developed the same problem around 9 months earlier, although for her, it was caused by the impending arrival of our first child, my son Peter!

In my case, I started a new job around that time. My wife Liz, and son Peter, both needed more of my time to look after them and the household. My wife's grandparents also needed our care, although by then they had moved into a nursing home on the other side of the city.

I had no time to play golf, or to go sailing, and life turned into a mad balancing act, trying to keep all the plates spinning, without dropping any to the floor.

I started putting on weight - eating too much, and not exercising enough. It's not an uncommon problem these days. At that time I managed to keep my waist from outgrowing my 32" trousers (the 30" trousers of my 20s never stood a chance!).

In recent years, while I was studying at New College, I again gave my waistbands a severe testing. However, I managed to get my degree before I suffered any wardrobe malfunctions! During the summer after I graduated, I managed to lose half a stone (7lbs, just over 3kg). My trousers were well pleased!

When I started my Final Placement last September, I was a bit alarmed at the amount of scones and biscuits I was consuming. However, I figured that if I scaled back, or even missed out, lunch on the days when I was eating too many cakes and other goodies, then I might just be able to keep my weight from exploding!

And so it turned out. In fact I've actually lost a few more pounds of surplus waist-line. Now I'm a sylph-like 10st 2lbs, or 142lbs US-style, or 64.5kg metric!

This month of unemployment might have been an opportunity to slim back even more, but it's the season of Christmas, with coffee mornings, mince pies, and the traditional Christmas Dinner.

I'll be happy if I reach January 3rd still able to get into my preaching suit!

Looking Forwards and Backwards

I was in Taynuilt, near Oban, on Saturday for the Ordination of one of my training colleagues as the new minister there.

There was a huge sense of anticipation as the congregation look to the future. Their new minister is a very energetic, sensitive and caring person, and I am sure the congregations will be encouraged and strengthened in the months ahead.

Looking backwards, we visited the preserved ruins of the old Bonawe Iron Furnace down by Loch Etive. It was founded in 1753, not long after the 1745 conflict. Iron ore was shipped up the loch from the sea, charcoal was made in the surrounding forests, and the resultant pigs of iron were shipped out as a raw material for manufacturers.

The blast furnace operated for more than 100 years before it was overtaken by more sophisticated smelting operations farther South.

The church in that place has a long history, but now it faces a future that will continue to bring many changes. Employment patterns change, new technology changes the way we communicate, education systems change the way we learn, travel becomes easier. And all these changes in the way we live bring change to our environment as well as our culture.

The core message of the Church, that God loves each person and calls us all to live with Him for ever, remains unchanged. But how does God's invitation change the way we live, and how can we share it with other people so that they too can take up the invitation.

I am sure that the folk at Taynuilt will look to the future - it's only just begun.

Life Goes On

I was back in Winchburgh again today. I haven't been able to stay away for very long, since I finished working there only two days ago, on Monday!

Today was a sad occasion, when we said farewell to someone at the end of her long life. She had lived all her life in Winchburgh and was well-known, and well-loved.

Many folk shed tears at the service. I did too, although I had only known the lady for the past year. Even although she was in hospital for the last 18 months of her life, she was still surrounded by her friends and family who visited her frequently.

Now she has moved on. We trust that she will be in that better place with God, her heavenly Father. We cannot tell - but God is generous and gracious - we can trust Him, and we ourselves are unqualified to judge.

We all have to move on. There is no holding back the clock. I can hear three of them ticking off the seconds as I type away here at my computer.

I visited another friend's cattle today. You can read and see more at my Advent Blog, but today was the last day that most his cattle would be with him. Tomorrow they will go to the Shows, and from there either for breeding, or to the butcher.

Life goes on. Babies are born, grow up, become two, produce more babies, grow old, and move on.

God breathed his life into us. Will we let it blossom eternally, or let it wither and die? God gives us that choice (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

Choose life.

Minister-in-Waiting

For the last four years I have been entitling myself Trainee Minister.

That hasn't been my formal title. That title is much longer! Officially I have been a Candidate for Full-Time Ministry of Word and Sacrament with the Church of Scotland.

It is a bit too long to use on my Business Cards! Also it is rather impenetrable. Even if someone knows what all the words mean, it's a bit difficult to deduce that the title refers to someone who is training to become a Minister.

The shorter version used in the training regulations is 'Candidate'. But by itself it doesn't tell anyone anything - except that one is a Candidate for something!

So I adopted the term Trainee Minister, which in two short concise words, seemed to tell everyone what they wanted to know. I am working as a Minister, but I am still under Training, and therefore I am liable to get things wrong more often than one might otherwise expect!

During the past fifteen months I have been working full-time in the Final Placement of my training programme. This placement used to be called the Probationary Placement, because although the Trainee had been Licensed to Preach, that Licence could be revoked if one's copybook became too blotted.

During that Probationary Placement the Trainees were called Probationers. But now that the our License is not granted until after the Final Placement, it is no longer a Probationary Placement. Thus the Trainees are still called Candidates, although informally everyone calls them Probationers, because no-one has invented a better title!

It does get you some funny looks though. When you tell some new acquaintance that you are on Probation, they wonder what crime you have committed, and where they can find the nearest Policeman or Parole Officer!

Now that I am no longer a Trainee Minister, or a Probationer, I am wondering what term I should now use to introduce myself.

When I checked up the regulations, I discovered that officially I am a Graduate Candidate. That will be my title until I become Ordained into a Parish as the Minister.

But I'm sorry, that title is no less enlightening than being called a Candidate, or even a Probationer. In fact, I know that some Candidates call themselves a Graduate Candidate when they Graduate with their BD Degree. But that's not right either!

I think I might use the term Minister-in-Waiting, because that's what it feels like for me, and it will probably give a pretty accurate picture for anyone to whom I introduce myself.

I suppose there is a slight chance they might think I am some kind of soon-to-be Government Minister, or maybe some kind of Royal Minister (like a Lady-in-Waiting). But given that I will be standing in front of them, I doubt that anyone will entertain that notion for long!

So Yes, I like the sound of Minister-in-Waiting! What do you think of that title?

Stewart's Advent Reflections

Today is the first day of Advent 2009.

I invite you to follow my reflections on the season at my Advent Blog.

Goodbye - Hello

Last night I was at a ceilidh organised by the teenagers at Davidson's Mains church in aid of the Nkhoma Hospital Project in Malawi. It was a great night, with lots of dancing, food, and chat. The Wild Cigarillos provided the music and directions for the dances. They are a great band.

When we danced the eightsome reel, for the section called the Grand Chain, where the 4 man and 4 ladies circle in opposite directions passing from hand to hand, our dance director called out Hello, Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye, to keep us all together.

As I reflect on leading worship at Bridgend and at Winchburgh this morning, I find the same words coming to mind. Goodbye, Hello, Goodbye, Hello; for this morning was my final Sunday with those two congregations. Goodbye, indeed.

But today is also Advent Sunday, the day we begin to look forward to Christmas, when we celebrate the arrival of Jesus Christ into the world. Hello, indeed.

The following extract from my sermon today is particularly appropriate for Advent Sunday.

In John 17, Jesus prayed for his disciples and all who would come after them, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”

That has been God’s purpose since the beginning of Creation. That you would come to know Him. That was why He came as Jesus. That was why He died on the Cross.

God’s love is not a weak love. It is the strongest love.

In John chapter 15, Jesus describes the greatest love, “Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” And Jesus calls you, his Friend. That is how much He loves you - to die for you.

Jesus continues his prayer, “I want those you have given me, to be with me where I am, and to see my glory.”

This is Jesus’ request to God, his Father. He wants you, his followers, to be with him - to see his glory.”

This is an echo of what Jesus told his disciples in John chapter 14, “In my Father’s house there are many rooms. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”

Yes, that is what Jesus said. You’ll have your own room, with your name on it, just waiting for you to check in.

Some of us will get there sooner than others. But it’s not only about us.

This innkeeper has enough rooms for everybody who wants to come.

But how will people want to come if they don’t know about the offer?

Everyone who makes and sells a product works very hard to advertise it as much as they can. If people don’t know about it, they won’t buy it.

But we know about the offer, and Jesus has given us the job of spreading that message, that Good News. Each of you has your part to play - not on your own, but together, united as a congregation, and united with God.

As a certain Bank Manager said recently, “Together you can do it.”

Final Funeral

I was leading worship at a funeral today. It's something that I have done quite often during this Final Placement of my training. But it was not something that I had anticipated occuring during my final week.

On reflection though, I was pleased to refamiliarise myself with what was involved. The last funeral I led was back in August, some three months ago. And during December I will be between jobs, so I doubt I will have any funerals to do then.

If I start my Locum job as expected in January, then I will probably have one or more funerals to take every week. So it's good that I have had this opportunity this week.

Of course, that is no consolation for the family of the lady who died. She and her husband had been married for more than 35 years, and he has been looking after her full-time for the last few of these. It will be a devastating loss for him.

Yet perhaps in time he will realise that both he and she have been released from a life of limitation, frustration, difficulty, and hard work - into a new life.

Jesus assures us that God's offer of eternal life is given for all people. We entrust those who have died into God's care. We pray that in his gracious love he will have mercy on our loved one. And on us too, come to that.

Balmoral and Aviemore

A couple of weeks ago I spent a few days away at Balmoral in Royal Deeside with twenty ministers, readers, and trainees, who live and work in rural settings. It was a very interesting and useful insight into working in rural churches. As I continue to search for a congregation, those in the countryside seem to be calling me the hardest. The Red Squirrel above was one of the pictorial highlights of the week!

This week I have been in Aviemore for a church conference on conflict resolution and reconciliation. This was a much bigger event with around 250 delegates. There were a range of speakers and workshop leaders from Scotland, England, and the USA. This conference also was interesting and useful and I look forward to seeing how these issues will be taken forward in the coming months and years.


As I waited for my train home I was surprised to see such a snowy scene at the top of the Cairngorms. After all it is only the middle of November!

As for the future, I finish my final training placement, at Abercorn linked with Pardovan, Kingscavil and Winchburgh churches, on Monday next week. After that I hope to apply to, and be selected by, a congregation with a view to becoming their minister for the next few years, or longer! I'll let you know when things become settled, but at present I can't say any more on air!

Books Galore

After our bathroom leak, these are all the books from the room below that got wet in the 'flood'! Fortunately the water missed the large majority of our books and we got those dry ones off the shelves in time.

It is now over two weeks since the episode of the escaping water and only a few of the wettest, most sodden books are still a little damp in the middle. The rest of them have dried. Mind you, some of them have gone so crinkly and expanded I'm not sure whether they are still usable.

Fortunately the dehumidifier works away by itself, blowing dry air across the wall. The books, wall, and ceiling, dry by themselves, without anyone needing to attend to them.

Round about our regular week-day work, we've been busy trying to figure out where we're going to go next. My training placement finishes at the end of November and we still have no clear idea about where God is calling us to go.

Certainly we will be going, at some point, for I'll have to live in the manse of whichever parish I end up in. Liz is determined she's not going to be left behind, and I'm glad about that!

Last weekend we went to visit some possible places. In those four days we travelled 800 miles and saw round 18 different church buildings and manses. Although seeing all these places in one trip was an efficient use of time and diesel, it has left our heads rather overwhelmed with images and impressions.

By Friday, only yesterday!, we had made some progress in sorting our the jumble of pictures and places, and were ready to go to Anstruther to spend some time with a minister friend, talking over where we had got to. He was very helpful and together we identified some of the underlying issues that have been making it difficult to find the way forward.

However, we still have a lot of work to do, looking at other places and comparing them with the ones we have already looked at. Sometimes it seems like we are making progress. At other times we seem to be sliding backwards faster than we are stepping forwards!

Last weekend we travelled almost as far as you can and still be on the mainland of Scotland. Below is one of my photos at that famous spot on the North coast, looking North to the Orkney islands. It is rather grey because the sun was setting and it had been raining recently. But you can't take that photo anywhere else!

Holy Bathroom

John's Gospel tells us that there are many rooms in the Father's house, but he doesn't say anything about bathrooms.

We had our bathroom completely renovated a few years after we came here, away back in the early 90s. In recent years, the chipboard units surrounding the sink, and containing the toilet cistern, had succumbed to the condensation and splashes. It was time for a refurb.

We got in touch with a bathroom company, picked some new units, and agreed the job.

I got a surprise on Tuesday morning this week, when two workmen arrived saying, "We're here to replace the three units in the bathroom." Although I had received a phone call the previous week to say that they might come on Tuesday, I had not received confirmation, and hence had assumed they weren't coming. Not so!

They got on well with the job, finishing it in one day, instead of the two days they had thought it might take. As you can see above, the refurbished unit looks very spic and span.

On Thursday morning, when I opened the curtains in the room below the bathroom, I got another surprise. The carpet was wet, the sofa was wet, stains were trickling down the wall behind the seven bookshelves, and the ceiling-paper was bulging and dripping. It was clear that a disaster had occurred in the bathroom up above.

What a commotion ensued. All hands on deck, but there were no pumps to be manned!

We woke up the son who was still sleeping, got the water all turned off, got the other son off to school, cleared out the furniture, TV and other electronics, and emptied the bookshelves. Fortunately only 10% of the 600 books had come into contact with the water trickling down the wall, and only a dozen or so of those were sodden. Hopefully the rest of the wet books will dry out and remain usable.



Later on that morning, the plumbers returned. They took apart the new units and checked out all their piping. No sign of water anywhere. It must be under the floor. But the only screws they had put into the floor were the two screws for the toilet bowl, and they had gone back into the same holes as before. Could it have been one of those screws?

The only way to find up was to lever up the previous floor cutting. Sure enough there was a pipe immediately under the floor boards, in line with the toilet screws, and the ash-fill between the floor and the ceiling below was soaking wet.

Well at least now we knew where the water was coming from. The plumbers disconnected the toilet and cut open the floor underneath. And there was the hole in the pipe.



It's all fixed now, and everything in the bathroom put back the way it was before. Now I can confess that the top photo above was taken after the leak had been fixed, and not beforehand! It still looks spic and span, but underneath the floor, not everything is as it should be. It's still soaking wet, and probably will be for some time yet.

It all looks wonderful on the outside, but inside it's another story. In fact, that's what the problem was on Tuesday afternoon. It all looked great, but under the floor the water was squirting out of the hole.

When the toilet had first been screwed in over 15 years ago, it had penetrated the pipe, and made a water-tight seal. But once the screw was taken out, and put back in again, the seal had been lost, and the water started squirting out.

So many of us are like that. Everything looks fine on the outside, but inside things are not as they should be. Maybe we are suffering from a physical illness that doesn't show on the outside. But I think many more folk are concealing spiritual disorders that are far worse than any physical disease.

After all, a physical illness can only cause pain, disability, or even death.

But if we have a spiritual disorder then it can separate us from God.

God wants you to be with Him, to be a part of his family, to live with him, in his house, for ever.

Don't let that hidden condition keep you from your destiny. Let Jesus the healer, touch you with his healing hand, and set you to rights.

Jesus knows who you really are, the hidden you, deep inside, that no-one else knows about. Jesus is the healer, he paid the price, he has the cure. He can set you free. Just ask him now.

Then you'll have the key to your own room, in the Father's house, for ever.

Mannheim to Basel

After a couple of days with our friends in Mannheim, we trailed our cases to the nearby tramstop and headed off to the railway station in town.

Before we got on the train to Basel, we had a good look round the famous water tower in the centre of Mannheim. There are some lovely varying fountains at the foot of the tower. It was a beautiful park.

Nearby the water tower we were amused to see a sculpture on a nearby building at roof level, portraying a man walking along a spike sticking out over the roadway. It looked very realistic!


The high-speed ICE train to Basel was as quick and efficient as the others we had been on and we soon arrived with our friends in Switzerland. It was very refreshing to cross all these country borders without any of the formalities we have to endure when entering and leaving the UK.

We arrived in the late afternoon before the Swiss National Day. The celebrations would start in the evening, so once we had got settled into our friends' flat, we headed into the town to enjoy the party!


A local running club was offering food and drink under one of the main crossings of the Rhine. We enjoyed our food in the open air and watched some of the party-goers indulging in the local sport of swimming down the river under the bridge. The river flows so quickly that it would be impossible to swim upstream, and most folk didn't bother to put any effort into their swimming - just drifting along on the current.

Finally it got dark, and to giant barges moved into place between the three main bridge crossings. All three bridges were closed to the traffic so that people could stand across the whole road to watch the fireworks.

I've never seen such splendid fireworks and I managed to take many good photos, as well as many more that weren't so good! I've posted my favourite shot below, but you can see some more on my Facebook site here'

Monster Spider

One evening recently I was about to get out an envelope from the box and I monster spider was sitting there daring me to come any nearer!

It was not at all fazed by my relative enormity and sat there patiently while I got out my camera and took a couple of snaps. The one above is a bit out of focus but shows the scale. On the photo below you can even make out the hairs on its legs!

Amusingly, after I'd laid down my camera, when I returned to catch the blighter it had disappeared without trace! So it's still prowling round the house all through the night looking for its next meal!!!

Heidelberg Disputation

Nestling in the hills at the edge of the flat Rhine valley lies the town of Heidelberg. It sits on the river Neckar upstream from Mannheim. We began our visit with a ride on the funicular railway up to the mostly-ruined castle above.

The castle began life in the 13th century guarding the important river crossing in the valley below. But it was destroyed by Louis XIV at the end of the 17th century. Inbetween-times the castle watched over the meeting in 1518 between the Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli and the German reformer Martin Luther.

Of the sixteen points put forward for agreement, they agreed on fifteen, and even part of the sixteenth. But that last half-point of disagreement resulted in the meeting going down in history as a Disputation instead of an Agreement. Thus the two Reformations, German and Swiss, continue separately to this day.

The castle is also famous for the largest wine barrel in the world. Built in 1750, it held 58,000 gallons of wine, which is 220,000 litres. There was even a pipe running from the barrel which allowed the wine to be pumped directly to the King's Hall.


The cathedral down in the town square had a splendid new organ which was being played for the lunchtime recital as we arrived. It was great to see the beautiful stained glass windows and hear the music reverberating around the building.


We then drove farther up the river to the village of Hirschhorn where we had coffee and cake in the castle cafe, high up and looking out over the river. At this point there is one of the dams that raises the river depth for the barges that ply up and down the Neckar's river valley. Each dam has a lock to allow the barges to pass through.


We drove back to Mannheim along the winding road through the hills down to the flat plain of the Rhine valley.

Mannheim Sights

Sorry for the delay in continuing the story of our summer holidays in Europe.

Our host took my wife and I for a gentle bike ride around their part of Mannheim. It was a very calm and peaceful evening. We watched a couple of hot air balloons gliding by in the distance and then cycled round the lake in a large park. After we got back we sat and chatted in their garden until the stars came out overhead.

The next day, our daughter went into her friend's school for their exam results ceremony. She had been there before on a school trip so it was nice to go back and see the people she knew from before. But it must have been strange to go back to school after finishing two years at university!

To celebrate their exam results we lunched outdoors at the foot of the local communications tower in the above photo. From the observation level there was a splendid 360° view, although the window reflections reduced the photo quality. The view below of an empty barge leaving the River Neckar and entering a canal shows the size of the river traffic even this far from the North Sea. The Neckar enters the Rhine only a kilometer or so North from this spot. At the lower right of the photo you can see a bunch of children out for a paddle in a large canoe.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the local park, walking slowly in the 28° temperature. We enjoyed a gentle boat ride on the lake and were amazed at the size of the Carp in the water. Although feeding the fish was verboten, some folk in another boat were dropping food over the side. In their competition to get to the food the ducks and the fish churned the water into a maelstrom! You can get an idea of the commotion from the small version of the photo below, and will see more if you click on it for the full-size image.

Flying Frog

While looking at the frog photo on my previous posting, I realised that frogs are like moths and butterflies!

Not that frogs fly, although when that frog leapt across the grass it was airborne for a short distance!

No, I was thinking that frogs metamorphose from baby tadpoles into adult frogs. It's not at all the same process that moths and butterflies go through as pupae in the chrysalis. After all, frogs are amphibians, and moths and butterflies are insects!

When I began this Blog in April last year, I related my continuing journey into ministry to that of the moth or butterfly which develops from an unspectacular caterpillar into a beautiful adult.

Now I am wondering if perhaps the development of a tadpole into a frog is a more appropriate analogy! What do you think?

Yes

Today my journey towards Ministry took a giant leap forward. At my Final Review (or Assessment) my two assessors decided that my training had reached completion. After the end of this month I will be able to apply to congregations who are looking for a minister. I continue working full-time in my training placement until the end of November.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me on my journey so far!



At lunchtime, a little earlier in the day, I noticed a cat in my back garden playing with something on the grass. When I went out to investigate, I discovered a frog. It was quite big, almost two inches long, and apparently none the worse for the cat's attentions.

Shortly after the above photo was taken it leapt off into the border for some peace and quiet, and hopefully continued eating up large numbers of pesky bugs!

Where the frog came from is a mystery because there is no pond in my garden. It must be a good climber, and have climbed over the walls surrounding my garden, from one of my neighbour's gardens. I hope it stays and eats up more of the creepy crawlies munching on my plants!

Onwards to Mannheim

In Brussels we had 50 minutes to wait before our Deutsche Bahn InterCity Express (ICE) train left for Koeln (Cologne).



The DB ICE train was a lot shorter than the Eurostar, with only about 8 coaches including the two end coaches. The two end coaches are favoured with seats that allow the passengers to watch over the driver's shoulder out the front, or rear, windows and see the track ahead, or flowing away behind. Our seats were farther back so we weren't able to watch while the train was moving.


After leaving Brussels we passed through Leuven, the home city for Stella Artois beer. One of the Stella Artois plants is close to the Leuven station as you can see from the photo above.



Most of the High Speed rail network in Europe is built on new track-lines, with many new stations. There was a lot of competition to build these stations and some of the designs were rather spectacular. I was particularly impressed by the one above.



At Koeln we had a short stop to change to another DB ICE train. The station is right next-door to the awesome Koeln Cathedral. We visited there in 2002 on a previous holiday. It is well worth a visit and very accessible from the train station. There are many good pictures of it on the internet.



Shortly after leaving Koeln station we crossed over the River Rhine. It is very broad considering the city lies about 400km inland from the North Sea. As well as the barge visible in the photo, there were many other barges and passenger craft moored to the river banks.



At one of our stops enroute to Mannheim I was surprised to discover that we were in Frankfurt Airport! We weren't planning to change to air travel, but it would have been easy to get off the train and jump on to a plane instead!

At last, some four hours after leaving Brussels, and seven hours after leaving London, we arrived in Mannheim. It was great to see our friends waiting for us on the platform. We tired but glad to have reached our destination.

Underground Underwater Twice

After departing from St Pancras at 8:34am, we tunneled under most of North East London, and by 8:52 we saw the spectacular Queen Elizabeth II Dartmouth Crossing bridge which carries the M25 across the Thames Estuary to the East of London. After we had tunneled under the Thames we crossed over the Medway River next to Rochester at 8:57, and by 9:22 we were in the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel for the 15 minute underground and underwater crossing.



The pretty French countryside passed by in a blur, on into Belgium, and finally we pulled in to Bruxelles Midi station at 10:34am, UK time, only two hours after we left London. Below is the mighty train that zipped us from the political centre of Britain to the political centre of Europe.

Passing through St Pancras

After arriving at Kings Cross station, we walked next door to St Pancras Station. From there we travelled to the town of St Alban's for our overnight stop, and then returned the next morning for our 8:34am departure to Brussels. The impressively ornate exterior dates from its construction in 1868.


The station has recently been redeveloped at a cost of £800m (twice the cost of the Scottish Parliament building) as the terminal for the International Eurostar trains to the the Continent. I like the bright colour scheme they have used for the equally ornate interior. You can read all about the redevelopment here.


I was very impressed by the departure lounge with its wooden floor and the vertical metal supports holding up the ceiling. The supports need to be strong because up above stand several of the Eurostar trains, each with their 18 coaches and twin power cars. The 400m trains are so long that the station had to be extended from its original 689-foot length. You can read more about the train technology here.

As we departed on our high-speed Eurostar I managed to snap a quick photo of the iconic Post Office tower before we entered the long tunnel heading Eastwards across the North London. It was further proof that we really had passed through London at the start of our European journey.

Diesel Electric

The train on the left of the photo is the 125mph express that brought us from Edinburgh to Kings Cross station in London, on the first leg of our European holiday. It's powered by twin diesel-electric engines, one at the front and another at the rear, which took us down the track in a nifty 4 and a half hours.

The train on the right is one of the newer 225kph trains that also run on the East Coast main line from Edinburgh to London. They are all-electric engines powered from overhead lines and have a top speed of 140mph.

This means they cannot be used for the Aberdeen to London route, for that section of track is not electrified. So the 125s are used for the Aberdeen to London trains, and once they leave Edinburgh, they stop only at the main stations such as Newcastle, York, and Peterborough. The faster 225s stop more often but their higher top speed allows them to keep up with the 125s all the way to London, so they also take about 4 and a half hours to do the journey.

We spent the night visiting family in St Albans, to the North of London, and continued on our trip to the continent the next morning. And I'll tell you about that part of our journey another time.

Back Home Again

Sorry it's been so long since my last post.

My family and I have been away on holiday for the past three weeks, and I'll tell you more about that in the coming days.

But one of our fantastic experiences was a wonderful fireworks display for the Swiss National Day on the evening of 31st July in Basel. We were there for a few days visiting friends.

I took lots of photos and some of them were quite good! I hope you like the one above.

It's nice to be back home - and back to work already!

Where Next?

"Where Next?" is a question that has not only been in my mind quite a lot during the last few weeks, but also has been asked of me on many occasions.

Now that people are beginning to look beyond the summer period, they are realising that the end of my time at Abercorn and Winchburgh is appearing on the horizon.

Of course the end is still a long way, some four and a half months, at the end of November. But see, even I am now counting down in half-months, instead of whole months. And just yesterday, my supervisor and I were working on the preaching plan through until the end of November. It's not that far away now.

We don't know where we will be going next, and not even when we will be going. But the next step in the process will occur on 25th August. On that day, I will hear whether my training has reached completion, or whether I have more to do, or whether my training will terminate without reaching completion.

It's quite a big hurdle I still have to cross over. Until that day is over I cannot make any plans for what lies beyond. Even the plans that we made yesterday might have to be changed depending on the outcome of that review meeting.

My wife and I have been exploring the list of Vacancies, but as yet we have not made any decisions about where we would like to go. We have decided, at this stage, not to go outwith mainland Scotland, but even that 'decision' could be open to change.

And in any case, we don't get a free choice of where to go. We have to apply to congregations with an approved Vacancy, and then they get to choose which one of the applicants they will invite to preach before the congregation as Sole Nominee. They may decline all the applicants and invite further applications.

So despite my desire to know the answer to "Where Next?", and the interest of all those people who keep asking me, we shall all just have to be patient. One step at a time, and the next big step is on August 25th.

Before then, and even after then, I've got lots of work to do. So no slacking, nose to the grind-stone, and stay focussed on what has to be done now. "Where Next?" will become clear later, in God's own good time.

Poetic Prayer

This week there have been some nice days of sunshine. On Friday, I decided to sit in my sunny garden, and spend some time writing prayers for Sunday.

I don't know whether the sun went to my head, but the prayer seemed to flow differently from usual.

I hope you find them helpful.

Prayer of Approach

Father God, as we come to you this morning,
We see tears upon your face.
“Why are you crying?”

“My child,
My heart is full of joy that you have come back to me.
As you cry in your happiest moments, so do I.”

“But my joy is tinged with sadness.
There are so many missing from your company.
I breathed my life into them,
And they have turned their back on me.”

“But you are here. I love you.
I know your weaknesses, your faults, and your sins.
And I forgive you.”

“Wipe away those tears from your eyes,
And I will wipe away mine.
Let us rejoice together in each other’s company.”


Loving God, we pray to you together, in the words of Jesus our Lord,

Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom, the power, & the glory, for ever.
Amen


Prayer for Others

God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph,
God of Samuel, David, Solomon, and Daniel,
God of mercy, grace, and loving compassion,
Hear us, O God, as we cry to you in our distress.

When we look upon your face,
Our hearts are filled with joy.
But as we gaze on the world around us,
Our hearts are filled with sorrow and distress.

Our children, Lord, in faith and prayer,
We brought to you right here,
But many of them, Lord, have turned,
And think of you no more.

So Lord, we ask you, watch them close,
And keep them from all harm;
That one day, Lord, they may return,
And worship you once more.

To keep the peace, we sent our troops,
To far Afghanistan.
But some of them are now no more,
To you, they have returned.

Be with their friends and family,
And comfort them this day,
And in Afghanistan, we pray,
Bring peace and hope once more.

O Lord our God, in North Korea,
You are not allowed.
In fear and dread, they fire missiles,
To drop on someone’s head.

Speak peace and love, within that place,
That they may turn from war,
And find that joy that comes from you,
And sleep safe in their bed.

O God of healing and of love,
We think of those who are sad,
Speak peace to them, and hug them now,
And heal their wounds, their hearts, their minds,
In you we trust and hope.

O loving God, you hear our prayer,
And what’s more, you do answer,
We thank you now, and always will,
In you we trust forever.

Amen.

Dumfries Delivery

Yesterday afternoon I enjoyed a pleasant drive from Edinburgh to Dumfries, taking my younger son to a week-long mountain-biking camp. He will probably return somewhat scarred and short of sleep, but hopefully happy and full of new biking tricks.

I took the opportunity to enjoy the late afternoon sun down by the River Nith as it passes through the town centre. The above view, down-river from the weir, is one of the best town-centre views I know.

If you look closely you should be able to see a number of seagulls standing patiently in the water. I thought that perhaps they were too hot and were cooling their feet in the water. Or perhaps their feet were dirty and they were letting the clean water sluice away the dirt.

But the picture below shows that, as they stand patiently, they are working very hard, watching for elvers (young eels) slithering up the weir. The photo below shows a gull standing on the pavement with an elver writhing in its beak, as the gull tries to get it into the right position to swallow. A few seconds later and the elver was gone!

Once is a Misfortune, Twice is Carelessness?

The classic Oscar Wilde play, 'The Importance of being Earnest', is a comic farce in which deception is rife, and in the end it all unravels to the audience's amusement.

There are many famous quotations from the play, but the one that strikes me at the moment is, "To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness."

Now I am quick to say that the incident which inspires me to recollect this quote is not the loss of either of my parents, or anyone else's parents either come to that.

Actually, it's about a bicycle, my son's bicycle, which he rode to school at lunchtime, and when he went to ride home, it had mysteriously vanished.

Mind you, when I say vanished, there was actually a small remainder, a residual, a clue, if you will. The locking cable had been left behind, neatly severed in two, just to prove that my son did actually lock the bike to the bike rack.

And the connection to the quote? Well this is the second time the exact same thing has happened in the last six months, from the same racks, leaving the severed locking cable behind, and everyone else's bikes untouched.

Of course, I know that it wasn't carelessness on the part of my son that resulted in the bike disappearing into thin air. One or more villains were and are clearly responsible.

You could argue that he should have used a stronger bike lock, and maybe he will the next time. Maybe I should have purchased and insisted that he use one of these heavy-weight D-Locks guaranteed to resist everything except an oxy-acetylene torch or a nuclear explosion.

Or maybe the school should beef up their security systems, CCTV, locking bike sheds, etc.

On the other hand, after some 3000 years, you would think we might have got the hang of one of the easier commandments, "You shall not steal."

Sing a Rainbow

A few weeks ago, as the sun was setting low in the Western sky, I saw a beautiful double rainbow as I travelled home from work. It was quite like the one in the photo above, although it was taken in Alaska (by Eric Rolph).

This Sunday we're going to be talking about Noah and the story of the Rainbow. I was looking for a Rainbow song, but the only one I could find in my books was 'Who put the colours in the rainbow?' The rainbow is only mentioned in the first line, and I had been looking for a song that talked more about the colours in the rainbow.

So I decided to write an extra verse, and here it is:

What are the colours in the rainbow?
Red is the first one that you see.
Then comes the orange and the yellow,
So far one, two, three.
Green is the next one of the colours.
Blue is the colour of the sea.
In-di-go amongst the showers,
Vio-let’s the last we see?
Red and orange and yellow and green,
Blue, indigo, and violet.
These are rainbow colours seven,
God made us to see.

With thanks to J.A.P. Booth for the inspiration.
He wrote the original song.

And thanks too to Eric Rolph for the photo via Wikipedia.

Midsummer Midnight

If you have been up late during recent nights you may have observed that it's not been that dark even at midnight.

Last night, or perhaps I should say this morning, I was burning the midnight oil finishing off the first draft of a report I have been writing.

Although it was midnight, I could see my garden quite clearly in the twilight filtering down from the North. The sky was quite bright in the distance, although it sky was cloudy and gloomy above Edinburgh.

My camera made a valiant effort to record the scene, although the image was very dark until I used some image processing to enhance the brightness and contrast.

Although it was an 8-second exposure the image is quite sharp, except for the solar light at the far end of the grass, which you can see has smudged as the camera shook.

Sometimes as we look at our situation everything seems very dark and gloomy. But if we take a long look, life is not quite so dark and hopeless as an initial glance would suggest.

Jesus of Nazareth, is sometimes described as the Light of the World. Many folk don't see the light. But if we look carefully, it is there, shining in the darkness, and the darkness can never put it out.

Take a long look.

Sport, Church, and Emotion

One of my friends commented recently that, "Sport can be quite emotional." And I replied, "If it's not emotional is it still sport?"

Then relating that thought to my own situation, I thought "Church can be quite emotional. If it's not emotional is it still church."

Nikki recently wrote a nice piece about Jesus sleeping through the storm while the disciples are frantically trying to stop the boat from sinking. At last, they decide they will have to wake him. "Do you not care that we are about to die?" they ask him.

Now that's emotion!

Sometimes I feel that we have taken Paul's instruction to do everything 'decently and in order' far too far. The stories of Jesus in the New Testament contain lots of emotion.

Jesus wept, Jesus was indignant, Jesus had compassion, Jesus was exasperated, Jesus was angry, Jesus felt abandoned, the prodigal's father was joyful.

In the Old Testament too there was much emotion.

The joy of the Lord is your strength. Rejoice in the Lord. By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept. He drew me up from the desolate pit and put a song of praise to God in my mouth.

When a sports person accomplishes a great achievement they celebrate in style.
When an actor wins an Oscar they throw an enormous party.
When an election is won there is a tremendous cheer from the winners.

Sunday by Sunday, as we come to worship our great God, let's celebrate in style, throw a great party, and raise the roof with a tremendous cheer.

After all, the Good Book tells us to 'make a joyful noise!'

Unity - at what price?

The history of the Church of Scotland is littered with division, perhaps not surprisingly, since it began with division back in 1560.

Although many of those historic divisions have been mostly healed, there still remain some independent Christian denominations, that began life in division from the Church of Scotland.

Even today, there are stresses and strains within the Church of Scotland that threaten the unity of the people of God. Some of those stresses and strains are about belief, and some about practice, but I think that Jesus is exasperated at our willingness to squabble over peripheral issues, and our unwillingness to proclaim the Good News that God offers to each person, through the resurrection of that same Jesus.

This morning I was preaching on the New Testament book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4 verse 32, through to chapter 5 verse 10.

It's a difficult story to grasp a hold of, not least because during the narrative two people die. But in the end it becomes clear that the central point of the story is the importance of unity to the followers of Jesus.

Ananias and Sapphira try to deceive the church by hiding away some of their money offering, but their deception is revealed, and the consequent shock results in the deaths of both Ananias and Sapphira.

The Church of Scotland is facing difficult issues, about money, about the place of the Bible, about the way we live as individuals and as community, and whether we will continue to realistically serve the whole country.

We need to find ways to engage each other on these subjects, not because they are central, but because they are important. Unless we find ways to discuss these subjects, to live together with our variances, we will fall apart, and that's the last thing the Church needs, and that Jesus wants.

As Paul wrote to the Ephesians (4:32), 'Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, as God in Christ forgave you.'

Arctic Ice sinks below 2007 minimum

Since the year 2000 the floating ice in the Arctic Ocean has been melting rapidly. Most of the multi-year ice has either melted in situ or has been swept out into more southern waters and melted there. In the Autumn each year the ice reaches its annual minimum before the winter re-freeze sets in again.

In 2007 there was a spectacular fall off in the area of ice due to southerly winds not only bringing warm air over the ocean, but also because the same winds compacted the fractured ice floes together into a minimum area.

Last year the weather pattern was more conventional and the minimum area of Arctic ice was somewhat higher than in 2007, although still far below the 1979-2000 average.

This year, with such little multi-year ice at the start of the year, scientists predict that there could be another record minimum. The graph above from NSIDC shows that the 2009 melt season got off to a slower start than in 2007. However, for the last four weeks the ice has been melting more rapidly than in that record minimum year.

For the time of year, the area of Arctic ice is now less than it has ever been in modern times.

Frenzy was a Blast!

Saturday was the date for Frenzy, the annual Christian Music Festival at Ingliston, beside Edinburgh airport. I would have liked to include a photo, but they're all copyrighted, so have a look at the Frenzy website itself.

There were three bands I had heard of, Hillsong London, The David Crowder Band, and Third Day. They gave great performances, mixing sing-a-long worship, new material, and a few well-known items from other popular artists.

The main stage also saw sets by bands I had not heard of, The Parachute Band, Starfield, Jeremy Camp, and ValleyUK. And there were also two outdoor stages, one sponsored by Authentic Media, with a range of their artists, and the other sponsored by Open Doors, promoting their work in support of persecuted Christians all around the world.

There well several thousand people in attendance, from 12 noon, through until 11pm at night. Most folk were in their teens and twenties, but with a scattering of 'old folk' like me, and older yet!

I was pleased to see a few ministers and trainees who I recongnised, and no doubt there were others there also who I did not know or recognise. But on reflection, I was disappointed there were so few. Such an event, so popular with young people both inside the established church, and those on the fringes or outside the church, should be showing us a way forward.

Hundreds of years ago, missionaries took the Good News of Jesus Christ across the World, adapting and connecting the message into the culture of those places and times. The Christian music scene is the fastest growing genre of the professional music scene. We should be making the most of it. Don't get left behind, but instead get onboard.

Come to Winchburgh Church tonight, at 7:15pm, for the journey of a lifetime!

Back to College!

Well actually it's my first time at College.

I started a course called Introduction to Counselling in Stevenson College at the end of April. Having graduated from Edinburgh University with my second Honours Bachelors degree last June I thought I was finished with Academic Qualifications.

But I was asked to do a course on Listening Skills during this period of my training and this course at Stevenson ticked all the boxes. And it was only £82 too!

So after seven O-Grades, seven Highers, one 6th-Year Studies certificate, two Honours Bachelor degrees, a Masters module, now I'm hoping to gain my first SQA Award this summer, an Intermediate 2, just like my youngest son and his classmates!

On August 5th, Andrew and I will be competing to be first to get the post and discover our exam results. The difference is that he needs his results, whereas I don't need to pass, just to attend the course. I'll let you know how I get on.

One of my training peers thought that I had gone crazy, going back to college again. But she was wrong - there is a good reason. I've not lost the plot after all!

Final Conference - Yay!

Our Final Conference (Yay!) was great! Our presenters would make a point of mentioning that this was our Final Conference (Yay!) - getting a cheer each time. At least there was no danger of anyone falling asleep!

Many of our talks/workshops were looking at the theme of "what next for us"; Vacancy Procedures, Parish Profiles, Letting Go and Starting Up, Manse Life, etc. It was exciting to think that from 1st September I would be able to apply to congregations who were looking for a new minister (assuming I pass my Final Review in August!).

As of now Liz and I haven't made any decisions about where we might go, or not go. It's too early yet. But we have begun to look at the adverts in Life and Work, and elsewhere, with a heightened level of interest!

Our Final Conference (Yay!) was tinged with sadness too. This year's cohort of 25 will not all be together again, although those in post by next year's General Assembly will be called together on 'Ministries Monday'.

Our final dinner together was a splendid occasion. Many of us had dressed up for the occasion, Helen had written a happy and humourous song, and there were some (mercifully!) short speeches acknowledging the milestone we have all reached.

Final Conference (Yay!) is over. Now, what next?!

Last Conference - gasp!

It's hard to believe that this coming week I'll be attending the Final Training Conference of my Ministry Training Programme. It will be at Gartmore House, near Aberfoyle, and it's a very beautiful and peaceful setting.

The photo above of Gartmore is from April 2005, for that is where I was accepted as a Trainee. So this Final Conference at Gartmore will be almost a full circle; back to where it all started.

It will be great to see all my trainee colleagues again. Most of us have been together since we began training in Summer 2005, although some started the year before, or the year afterwards. This will be the last time we are all together.

At least one of us has already passed through their Final Review. Others will have their's in the coming months. Mine is not until August, but that is not very far away! And my supervisor and I have our Final Reports to write during the next few weeks.

After Final Review, we all hope to be cleared to apply to congregations that have a vacancy for a Minister. We get to choose where to apply, and they get to choose who to accept! Currently there are more vacancies than applicants, so it's usually easier for Ministers than for Congregations just now.

My regular readers will have noticed a reduced frequency of updates on this Blog in recent weeks. Partly that has been due to the Lenten Blog, but also because the intensity of working has significantly increased.

It is likely that I'll continue not be posting so often, but I'll try and keep you up-to-date with the main milestones as the rest of this year progresses.

Kite-Surfing at Silverknowes

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon on Friday so I decided to drive home from town via Silverknowes and look out over the bay. There was a strong North-Easter piling the waves in from the North Sea. In amongst the white horses there were three wind-surfers and a kite-surfer.

Although I had seen kite-surfers before (on Lake Geneva in September 2006) they had been far off in the distance. This one was very close, and looking down from the hillside gave me a wonderful view.

The photo above shows the surfer creaming along across the wind. But I was amazed to to see that at the end of each run he was able to maneuver the kite to lift him right out of the water, as you can see in the photo below.

I only watched for 10 minutes or so, but it certainly brought back my enthusiasm for sailing again. It's a pity I'm so busy I hardly have time to Blog, never mind sailing or golfing!