Minister Elect

Well.....really gone done it now! This afternoon the very lovely people of Aberlour Parish Church elected me as their new minister. No longer simply the parish by the river but the parish that we will move to and I will serve.

Its been quite a journey - as I told the people of Aberlour on accepting their invitation - Aberlour is not where I thought I might end up when I began training 4 and a bit years ago. BUT it feels just so right and I am very, very excited about the future.

Yesterday as I was preparing the final and bits and pieces for this evening I was sent a wee note from my dear friends Doug & Lesley - they pointed me in the direction of 1 Peter 5:1-7 - wonderful, wonderful words of encouragement and guidance. I particularly like verses 6 & 7:

"So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you."

I carried these with me this morning.



So now there will be lots to organise - lots of plans to make and see through. But today is for celebrating - celebrating being the right person, in the right parish, at the right time, with the right people.

I come to the garden alone

I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice,
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

I’d stay in the garden with Him
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

C. Austin Miles

We sang these beautiful words at our evening service last night. My supervisor had used the words during a funeral yesterday. I had not heard them before but I was touched by them. Its an old fashioned hymn - if you want to hear the tune that goes with it you will find it here.

The words of the refrain speak to me of the very personal relationship we each have with God. As we walk with our Lord no one call tell us what that relationship is like; no one can tells us what it should be; it just is. And that means we each experience it in a different way. There may be commonalities but there most certainly will be a uniqueness to each relationship.

My prayer for this moment is that we can all acknowledge our differences but rejoice in our commonalities. We have a Lord that loves each and everyone of us - with all our individual eccentricities. None of us perfect - ALL of us Rag dolls - broken and bent.

Amen

The photo above is of our front garden - taken a few years ago.

Thanks ASBO you put is so perfectly!

http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/713/

Sometimes I despair that people can get so hot under the collar about one issue but let bigger more important ones go bye without a murmur!!

We have light....

He is risen - allelujia!!!
Today is a day for joy and the skies are blue and the sun/son is shining!!
(well it is here!)
Have a truly blessed and wonderful day!

Waiting for the light...

We wait...

He will walk...

Completely and utterly borrowed from Danny - but this is beautiful...

He will walk...

Hot Chocolate Ministry

So we did it! We stepped out on to the steps of the church and reached out!
And it was great fun - the young people really appreciated the hot chocolate and we appreciated their politeness and laughter.

This project has been a wee dream of mine for a while - before I started on my placement I had noticed that on a Saturday afternoon young people liked to gather on the steps of the church. The church just so happens to be right in the middle of the pedestrian part of the high street - an obvious place to gather. Unfortunately there has been some problems with graffiti and litter and ALL the young people have been blamed by some - so a group of us decided that instead of scowling at the young people we would like to get to know who it is that shares our steps with us. And we hope over the next few weeks to build up a relationship with whoever is there.

What I really loved was that the young people not only enjoyed their hot drinks but they also did not seem to mind us being there in amongst them. Most sat on the steps and enjoyed their drinks and a bit of banter with their pals. But some asked if they could see inside the church, others if they could sit inside in the wee hall that we have (it was cold), some wanted to use the loo AND one asked if he could borrow a music edition of CH4 (Church of Scotland Hymnary version 4) - turns out he is a very talented pianist and plays the organ sometimes at a couple of local churches. He was also interested in the services we have at the church.

So you can see why we are all excited about next week - the young people asked would we be there and it was great to be able to say we would be. It really did feel good to be a church reaching out asking nothing in return...being the living witnesses to Christ in the world. We have no idea where our project might take us but are we are going......

Fired up

I was quite shocked to see how long it had been since I last posted something - but I have been away and on top of that I am lacking inspiration.

But one thing does spring to mind today. At church this morning it was communion and the minister led a really lovely service. Hi sermon focused on taking time to work out what God wants of us and he reminded us of our promise to serve. He used the analogy of a steam train and how it needs grease for the wheels, wheels to move and coal to stock the fire and glow. I loved the image of being fired up for Christ. The minister was certainly fired up and glowing today.

I have been feeling quite fired up myself lately but I know I am not always like that. There are times that I want to hide from God and not be his visible presence. But I know that there is no hiding and what I should be doing is finding ways to keep my fire glowing.

One thing that is helping is the lenten journey that Christian Aid have put together - a Journey to Jerusalem that you can do on line. For someone who is an internet addict this is ideal!

Air-Kissing in the North-East

The following is taken from a wee gem of a book I have bought and given to a few of my friends who recently were ordained and inducted into their first parishes. The book is a rather irreverent look at the Calvinistic nature of people in the North-East of Scotland. Some of it is funny, some of it brings back memories of phrases used by people no longer with us. The book is entitled "The Wee Book of Calvin - Air-Kissing in the North-East" by Bill Duncan. Enjoy these:

Are you Calvinist?

you are if:
1. You prefer travelling north to travelling south.
2. You remain unable, despite attending evening class, to greet acquaintances by air-kissing.
3. You fill a basinful of hot water to wash dishes, unwittingly allowing the water to become uncomfortably hot. You nevertheless close your eyes and plunge your hands and forearms into the scalding liquid, despite excessive heat and pain, mindful of your own responsibility and because to not do so would entail guilt.
4. You feel suddenly and unaccountably sad during moments of pleasure and relaxation with friends.
5. You prefer black and white to all other colour combinations, except black and black.
6. Your favourite confectionery product is 'Fisherman's Friend - Extra Strong.'
7. You recoil in lovemaking from experiencing those acts and sensations that you desire and enjoy most intensely.
8. You prefer saying No to Yes.

Recognise yourself in any of these? mmm...It is 500 years since the great man Jean Calvin was born.

How many 'me's are there?

This is the question posed by Stewart. He puts it slightly differently but essentially he asks how many different aspects are there to your life/persona. Here is what I posted in reply:

"Like you there is the ‘me’ that is in and of the world - I am involved in my community, I socialise in that same community - go to the pub, the gym, the shops. I love my community - I grew up in it, I cant walk down the street without bumping into lots of people that I know and who have known me for a long long time. I am a mother and wife - my kids and hubby are very precious to me. All of this part of me has helped shape me into the forty something I am.

I too have worked for the ‘church’ albeit the denomination I belong to. I now find myself training for the ministry in that same church. I have never been more content in what I ‘do’. It feels so right - whether it is leading worship or sitting holding an old lady’s hand whilst she tells me what is worrying her or even joining in with the kids at Sundays school. This ‘me’ is a content me. Working for the church allowed me to find this person.

At the moment because I am on a placement in a different town to that in which I live - these two ‘me’s don't seem to meet very often. Except, perhaps, when I know someone that someone else knows. The family don’t come to church with me - they prefer their long lies and work. But they do support me - 100%. For us, what might cause others conflict or concern, seems to work quite well. And that is despite the fact that in around a years time I might be asking them to leave our home and community to set up somewhere new. (Ask me again about this in a years time!!!)

Can I reconcile these two ‘me’s? I think I can. The two may only collide in me the person - but they both contribute to the whole ‘me’. They both influence the way I look at the world. There is cross pollination - I live my life in my community with an ethic and outlook shaped by my faith. My faith is in turn influenced by the world around me. And that is the way I think it should be."


I now want to go a step further and make this observation: I am a Christian and I belong to a community of faith BUT that does not exclude me from being of the world and community in which I live. My faith, as I said above, has helped shape me. But so has my community. I care about my community and in so doing I get involved. I have on a number of occasions got stuck in and joined various committees - including an action group to campaign for new play equipment for the local park, I have been chair of the Playgroup Committee, the School Board and even sat on the Community Council. I have for the last 6/7 years been heavily involved in a youth project in the town. But I am not sure that I ever thought to myself "I am a Christian and as such I must go out and help"- I have helped because I saw a need - I wanted to help.

Perhaps my faith has encouraged me to want to help - but it has not been my conscious motivator. I have instinctively got involved. And that is the crux of - instinctively I serve. Perhaps this is where my two 'me's collide?

One thing I am certain of is that God has called me to serve the church and my community - it is not one or the other, it's both. Not for me the Hauerwas world of Christians leaving the Christian huddles and 'doing' good works in the world before scurrying back to their Christian huddles. For me it is important to live in the world and be of the world. That is how I can best live out my faith and best share that love of God with others.

Sorry for the rather lengthy post - blame Stewart for getting me thinking!!!

Out of nothing...

I used the following during our all age worship this morning. I thought it was beautiful and challenging all at the same time. Beautiful in the way it is written - the challenge being the potential in each of us as seen by God and the possibilities - if only we let him.

Creation out of Nothing by Peter Dainty from The Electric Bible

Darkness is nothing
but the absense of light;
and, out of nothing,
God made all things visible,
sparking the empty black
with blazing stars
an innumerable mornings.

Silence is nothing
but the absense of sound;
and, out of nothing
God made all things audible,
plucking the noiseless tension
into the throbbing music
of creation's song of joy.

Stillness is nothing
but the lack of movement;
and, out of nothing,
God made all things move,
broadcasting seeds of life
in the growing fields of space.

God's nature always is
to turn poor nothings
into something great.
He called weak slaves
to be his chosen nation;
he made a dying man
the world's salvation;
and from the grave he raised
a new creation.

If from such nothings
God makes all things new,
what might he, in his wisdom,
make of me and you?

We are amazing creatures - so full of potential, so loved by God.

Christmas in ministry...

Yesterday was a lovely day - I was particularly touched that my son announced his favourite present was the rather nice sketchbook he found in his stocking. (I think it cost £3.99!) And my daughter loved her lipsalve keyring. (Bought with her expedition to Peru next summer in mind.)The family were all in good form - lots of love and laughter around.

Family has been an important part of Christmas for me my whole life. I have been blessed with wonderful parents who ensured our Christmases were always full of love and I hope we have been doing the same for our children. I am blessed with a fab husband and two lovely (if at times trying!) children.

On Christmas Eve they all came to the Christingle Service at my placement Church: my mum and dad, Neil and the kids, my sister and her family. It was lovely having them there to share in the noisy fun. With over 70 children and their families it made for a noisy service - my voice at one point was drowned out by the excited children as they queued to get their Christingles lit. But rather than fight it, I let it go. Everything calmed down and we finished on a high sharing the blessing together. To be part of such a happy church service was great. To see more chairs having to be put out to accomodate the crowd lifted everyones spirits.

Tomorrow we come down with a bit of a bump. I have blogged recently about visiting a lady whose husband was ill. Well he died on Tuesday. Tomorrow is his funeral. So in this week of happiness I have been reminded it is not everyone who has felt like celebrating. I visited the lady on Tuesday to pay my respects. I had so few words for her but few seemed needed. Tomorrow I take part in the funeral, a year to the day after I took the funeral of my aunt. It might seem the saddest time of year to be dealing with death, but it is also the time of year that we are reminded of the love and peace that came to earth when Jesus was born. A love and peace that offers the comfort of knowing our Lord knows our pain and sorrow - he shares it.

Such is the lot of a minister (albeit probationer) that following the funeral I hot foot down the road to meet some old school chums for lunch. The last time we were all together in the same place was about 7 years ago and that was at my sis-inlaws wedding, so in reality the last time we met for a proper girly chat was more than 20 years ago. We were all at school together and don't see enough of each other. Infact one of my chums and I have had more contact in the last year than in the whole of the last 20 thanks to Facebook! I am really looking forward to catching up and no doubt sharing more than a few remanicences.

No doubt there will be blogging material.....

Jesus's Mum & Dad

These words from Mary & Joseph are courtesy of "Hay & Stardust" from Wild Goose Publications.


Mary
Your eyes are open now.
Those eyes will open the eyes of others.
You study my face
and, just for the moment,
though you came for the world,
you are mine and mine alone.
I made you and you made me
and we gaze at each other
in equal wonderment.






Joseph
Here I stand
holding the tiny, warm weight
of God in my hands,
Such a tiny weight
to lift the huge weight
of the world.
Here I stand,
The proud father? Not me.
I have been utterly humbled
by your arrival.
You're not my offspring,
not part of me,
and yet, at the same time,
already inextricably part of my life.


In the coming days I will be thinking of Mary & Joseph and their journey. A journey that took them to that cave/stable/shed, a journey that had to be made. They had not chosen their path, rather they had been chosen. Chosen to be the earthly parents of our Saviour. I know what it is like to be a parent. The joys, the worries, the happiness, the frustrations, the wonder of a new life, the responsibility for that new life. This I can share with Mary & Joseph. I love being a parent. I love my children. They are a delight. They are a challenge. But I love them, just as they are. Just as God loves me. Just as God accepts me. He sent his Son for me, for you, for the world. To be our light in the darkness. My prayer this Christmas is that amongst all the glitter and baubles that all can glimpse a picture in their hearts of Mary & Joseph and their child. And that a light will be ignited in their lives. A light that will not go out.

What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn't put it out.
John 1:4-5 The Message