Dear Friends,

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the Lord’s House.”

And now we are here! - Psalm 122 v 1-2

My wife Adrienne and I arrived in your beautiful city yesterday afternoon to brilliant sunshine and a warm welcome from Heleen.

We are now comfortably settled in the manse, with everything we require and I’m sure we will be very happy here.

It will be good to celebrate Communion together on Sunday and to meet many of you after the service….

Dear Friends,

The American pastor, Fred Craddock describes how he went to be pastor of a rural church in the heart of America’s mid-West. To mark the arrival of the new clergyman the congregation held a summer picnic in a forest beside a lake. As the barbecue smoke died down and the shadows lengthened the people lined up to take their farewells and to wish the new pastor every success. One by one they shook his hand and explained who they were. They also added what their particular skills were. ‘I’m a nurse,’ one woman said….

Dear Friends,

The Irish writer, C.S. Lewis, asks us to imagine ourselves as a living house. God comes to rebuild that house. At first we can understand what he is doing. He’s getting the drains right and stopping leaks in the roof. But then he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably. What on earth is he up to?…

Dear Friends,

THE TINY WHITE CHURCHES OF GREECE

If you ever visit Greece, you can’t help wondering why they have so many churches. There are big churches in the towns and villages. But out in the country and even in remote places the hillsides are dotted with little white churches. If you ever go tovisit one of them, you will find it is very small indeed. Some of them are what you might call ‘two-seater- churches, but they have candles that you can light and the holy icons which are an aid to prayer in the Greek Orthodox Church. And they always smell of incense - another aid to prayer.

Bishop John Zizioulas loves to be asked why people build little churches in remote places. ‘Have you seen the hillsides around some of our villages?’ he asks…

Dear Friends,

THE FLYING SCOTSMAN

Malcolm Guite tells the story of a journey he made by train. He was one of many passengers forced to leave their southward bound train at York station because of a broken down train further up the track.

All the passengers were annoyed and were standing around looking angry or sad or lost. Then something wonderful happened. There was a chuff-chuff-chuff sound and clouds of steam covered the platform and …

Dear Friends,

FOCUS ON WHAT IS ESSENTIAL!

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was asked by his son to officiate at his wedding ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral. A rehearsal was held the day before the wedding and Justin Welby, who was out of practice when it came to weddings, asked the Dean of Canterbury to be present to make sure that he did everything properly….

Dear Friends

No visit to Amsterdam would be complete without a visit to the Vincent van Gogh Museum. Vincent took his own life in 1890. His brother Theo died six months later. Theo had been a tower of strength to Vincent throughout his life. Theo was his counsellor, comforter and financial backer. Vincent wrote hundreds of letters to his brother in which he confided his innermost thoughts and his mental turmoil...

Dear Friends

In the year 2000 the National Gallery in London put on an art exhibition of images of Christ. It was entitled ‘Seeing Salvation’. 

One sculpture was of a naked Jesus sitting on a rock wearing the crown of thorns and awaiting crucifixion. He looked so vulnerable and helpless. The impact of that statue on visitors to the exhibition was extraordinary. ….

Dear Friends

ANNE FRANK – EXAMPLE OF COURAGE

No visit to this city could be complete without a tour of Anne Frank’s House. The tragedy of this teenaged girl, full of life and highly skilled as a writer despite her young age, brings home to all of us the colossal tragedy of the Holocaust.

Back in the 1990s an exhibition based on the life eand achievement of Anne Frank came to Dublin. Hilary and I and the children were privileged to view the exhibition….

Dear Friends

IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK!

Hilary and I are delighted to be with you once again. I served as locum here in May, 2014 during the last vacancy. Indeed Lance came to preach as nominee and we were delighted to offer Sally and Lance a guest room in the manse, which was soon to be their home.

In 2014 we bought a little souvenir of this city, a Christmas tree decoration of two miniature clogs. Every Christmas when decorating our tree, we are reminded of the time we spent in the fellowship of ERC……