2 December
Dear Friends,
One of my duties as locum is to lead the fortnightly Bible study and discussion group. I say it is a duty, it isn't, it is a delight, not least because I love hearing what other people have to say about a particular verse or passage and learning from their insights.
Micah 5 v2-5 was one of the passages we looked at this week, a passage which speaks about Bethlehem being one of the smallest places, yet from her will come one who is to rule Israel and whose origin is from old.
What a lovely image, something small and seemingly insignificant but yet still important and still with a part to play in God's much greater purpose…
25 November
Dear Friends,
On Thursday last week we took the train to Brussels where we spent the weekend with our daughter, Lindsey, and her family. Sadly due to all the Covid travel restrictions, we have not been able to visit for two years so you can imagine how good it was to be together again.
Lindsey has lived in Brussels for 16 years, is married to Francesco, and they have two children, 8 year old Caterina and 6 year old Alessandro.
On Sunday I was the guest preacher at Eric's church while he preached in our church. Built as a war memorial to the Scots killed in Belgium during the 1st World War, we have worshipped there on many occasions and I had the privilege of being the guest preacher in November 2018 at the service to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the war…
18 November
Dear Friends,
One of the great privileges during my year as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland was to lead a number of Remembrance services.
One of the most moving was at Arass in 2017, the centenary commemoration, not least because one of Margaret's great uncles had died during the battle. We were able to find his grave and lay some flowers, the first family members to do so for the better part of 100 years.
So with my late father having been an RAF officer during the 2nd World War, and serving in North Africa, Italy and the Far East, it was a great honour to lead the RAF Ceremony of Remembrance at De Nieuwe Ooster on Saturday morning, and then the Act of Remembrance in church on Sunday morning…
10 November
Note from ERC Consistory: as of Sunday 14th November we ask that everyone wear a face mask while entering and leaving the Church, as well as when moving about within the Church. We also remind you, while in the Church, to keep 1.5m distance from others. Thank you for your cooperation.
Dear Friends,
It hardly seems possible a week has passed since we arrived in Amsterdam. As you can imagine it has been a busy few days but I am glad to say we are settling well into the Manse and beginning to explore the city.
Margaret and I were pleased to be at Dam Square on Saturday to take part in the COP 26 rally.
It was a delight to lead my first service on Sunday, the music from Richard and Giles was wonderful, and we felt very welcomed by the congregation.
Margaret joined the knitting group on Monday and has made her first Christmas angel…
4 November
Dear friends
Thankfully all our travel arrangements worked out well, the paperwork was in order, Margaret and I are safely installed in the Manse, and for the next three months I am looking forward to being your locum.
It was in the early 1970's that I first heard about the English Reformed Church when the Reverend Colin Bell, a minister in my home town of Kilmarnock, came to be the minister of the congregation.
4 September
Dear Friends,
As you will know last Sunday was Rev John Bell’s final Sunday with us after having been our locum throughout July and August.
In September and October we are pleased to welcome the following ministers/preachers who will lead our worship:
28 August
Dear friends,
This is the last of these letters I will be writing as my spell in Amsterdam has come to an end, and my 'normal' work begins on Monday in Italy and thereafter in several parts of England It has been a real joy to be with you, to see that even in unusual circumstances new people come to worship, and that there is a network of care, prayer and connectedness which keeps this very unique congregation together.
21 August
Dear Friends,
One of the advantages (and also disadvantages) of being in temporary exile from your home country is the opportunity to look at it through different eyes. This certainly has been the case in the eight weeks I've been away from Great Britain, and I can't say that the view from abroad has been very attractive. It is almost an embarrassment to hear British politicians speaking of 'America, Britain and the E.U.' as if they were all the same size. Even worse is listening to the self-congratulatory rhetoric of Britain being 'world-beating' when neither dealing with pandemic nor withdrawing from Afghanistan show the United Kingdom in a very flattering light.
14 August
Dear Friends,
For me, one of the delights about being here in the summer has always been the freedom to choose passages on which to preach. The rest of the year, I follow the three year lectionary (calendar of readings); but because I am nearly always in Amsterdam on the same weeks, I change my habit.
7 August
Dear Friends,
I realise that my temporary title of 'locum' is not a word common in English or Dutch. That's because it is Latin, and mostly used in the worlds of medicine or religion where a doctor or pastor has retired or gone on leave, and someone else replaces them. You might also not be accustomed to the title 'Interim Moderator' but it will be used from time to time in respect of Revd Eric Foggitt, a previous member of the ERC who is currently minister in Brussels. This is also a temporary appointment.