Dear Friends,

With restrictions easing just a little, I am delighted we will be able to welcome people back to church on Sunday. What a difference it will make. 

Although the online services have kept people in touch with the church, speaking to a camera lens is not nearly as good as speaking to a live congregation.

And on Sunday we will also celebrate Elijah Digber's baptism, the 8 week old son of Ivan and Naa Digber - a very special occasion indeed….

Dear Friends,

On Monday afternoon Margaret and I caught the train to Haarlem and enjoyed walking around the cathedral and the old town. Two shops caught our attention. One was a gents outfitters which boasted 'We help men to be gentlemen' The second was a chocolate shop which is wonderfully named Olala Chocola. Having long despaired of the first, you will not be surprised to hear Margaret took refuge in the second shop and bought something to enjoy with her coffee after dinner…

Dear Friends

Let me wish everyone a very good New Year and let's hope and pray 2022 proves to be a much healthier and easier year for us all.

It hardly seems possible that January has arrived and my last month as the locum minister. Although the restrictions have meant we have not been able to welcome visitors, or visit the many places we had hoped to visit, we continue to enjoy our time in Amsterdam…

Dear Friends,

With restrictions meaning the church services need to be live streamed, can I express my warmest thanks to the tech team for all their skill and hard work. As I have watched the services later, I am amazed at how well they have been able to weave everything together….

Dear Friends,

With all the new restrictions putting an end to so much of our Christmas plans - our son Robert and his family will not be joining us from Scotland while Lindsey and her family will remain in Brussels - I imagine such disruption and disappointment will be the same for many people and families throughout the Netherlands.

And while I had been looking forward to a packed church with the choir in full voice as we celebrated the birth of Jesus, everything has moved online…

Dear Friends,

Although the Covid restrictions mean the normal Sunday School nativity is not possible this year, an alternative nativity is planned for Sunday morning.

With carols, readings, the choir and a nativity set, during the first part of Sunday's service the children and young people will help us celebrate the gospel story of Jesus' birth.

Following the nativity the children will leave for a Christmas party in the church hall and the service will continue with the Magnificat, Mary's great hymn of praise. …

On Wednesday afternoon Margaret and I went to the church to help put up Christmas lights and decorations. It was great fun to join the ERC team as the sanctuary was transformed with lights and a tree and angels and wreaths.

What I also enjoyed was the opportunity to meet up with people and enjoy some conversations, something which has not always been easy given all the Covid restrictions.

On Tuesday evening we welcomed our first two guests from Edinburgh…

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…

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…

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…