Visiting congregations
On Friday morning I travelled up from Aberdeen to Sumburgh to visit the parish of Shetland. It was an early start and a bumpy landing (after one aborted attempt). But over the weekend, the weather improved dramatically and it was…
The Calling
“Everyone thinks of changing humanity and nobody thinks of changing himself.”Leo Tolstoy On Friday I was invited to attend The Calling in Glasgow. It was a national leadership summit for Scotland, creating space to reflect, grow and lead with purpose…
Belonging
On Friday last week I attended the Civic Prayer Breakfast hosted by Aberdeen City Council. Rob Parsons was the guest speaker and it was a really encouraging event. He spoke powerfully about his own story involving an individual, called Ronnie,…
Harvest
Travelling through our Presbytery at this time year is always a joy for me. The colours are often rich and vibrant, with autumn in full swing. (Although perhaps the rain and darkness of earlier today felt more like winter!). And…
Getting your homework marked!
On Saturday, at our Presbytery meeting, we heard from our Congregational Support Officer, Natasha Hepburn, about the Annual Inspection of Congregational Records. A tremendous amount of work was undertaken by office-bearers across the Presbytery to submit digital records. A huge…
The September Squeeze
I love the month of September, particularly because of what it brings in terms of crisp mornings, glorious autumn colours, fruitfulness (in the gardens and fields) and a sense of energy after the summer break. I think there is often…
Succession Planning
Passwords… For those us who use Church of Scotland IT equipment, we have regular training on what you might describe as Cyber Security. Last week it was about using passphrases. A passphrase is a sequence of words, typically longer than…
Places of worship
Over the summer I was fortunate to spend some time in Barcelona with family on holiday. It was a return trip for me, and one of the things that I most looked forward to going to see was the Sagrada…
What does a Presbytery Clerk do?
It is a good question and one that I often get asked, particularly by those who are less familiar with the jargon of the Church of Scotland. Like those in parish ministry, it is fair to say that every day…
Bits n’ bobs
As a child I found it strange when my mother insisted on us tidying up the house before we would go out for the day. It seemed to me to a perfect way of making life easier for burglars, who…