Dear Friends,

There is a saying that “strangers are just friends we haven’t yet met” and, as I’ve still to meet most of you, I trust that when we do meet we shall, indeed, be friends – not least given that we start by being brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

Who am I? My name is Derek Lawson and my wife, Moira, and I will be with you until 24th June, along with our dog, Milly. I’m supposedly retired but keep finding myself drawn back into ministry, having been, over recent years, locum in Costa del Sol (on several occasions), Rotterdam, Bermuda and Jersey. I’m also the Clerk to the International Presbytery and live in Brittany in France.

Both my wife and I are looking forward to our being with you in Amsterdam as it will be, for us, a return to the Netherlands, having spent three and a half years as minister of the Scots International Church Rotterdam. I should, perhaps, say that I do not hold a doctorate (as last week’s Weekly Letter stated): I’m just a simple Reverend….

The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!

I cannot wait to share that response as we celebrate this greatest of all Christian festivals together here in the ERC. Apart from the sheer joy of proclaiming the Easter message of new life, resurrection, forgiveness, healing; of love defeating evil, life destroying death and light overcoming darkness, there is so much wonderful music to be sung and so much love in our hearts towards God to be shared….

Dear Friends,

This is the start of Holy Week, when we remember the events leading up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Two of his disciples had one thing in common - they both betrayed him. Why on earth did Judas sell out and turn Jesus in? And Peter, who swore he'd never deny Jesus, why did he end up swearing he'd never met the man? Who knows, but it seems they both wanted Jesus to fulfil their idea of the messiah, they weren't willing to accept Jesus’ way of….

Dear Friends,

Brussel sprouts, cod liver oil, spinach – how come the vitamins and minerals we’re supposed to need are all in the horrible food – why can’t they be in chocolate and cake? If you’re like me, I suppose deep down we all feel God wants us to be…

Dear Friends,

I was listening to a radio competition where folk had to phone in and guess a missing word and could win £2,000! Two thousand is a lot of money! And for just one word! Wow! As you can imagine, the phone lines were red hot with people keen to take part. It’s only natural, the bigger the…

Dear Friends,

This Sunday we celebrate Communion together, and when we do we remember the first Communion, where Jesus took a piece of bread and shocked his friends. It was the Jewish Passover and when Jesus had given thanks for the bread he broke it and said, “this is my body, broken for you.” I don’t think we…

Dear Friends,

Have you ever stood in freezing cold water? Have you ever wished you could stand there twice as long as you did? No, I didn’t think so. But curiously enough, I heard of an experiment to see how long people could put up with the pain of being in freezing water, and one thing that enabled them to stay in it twice as long as others was - encouragement! I’m not surprised. We all need it….

Dear Friends,

Hello! Or, to be more precise, ‘Hello again!’ You have no idea how happy Judith and I are to be among the many friends we made in the ERC last year. And what a privilege to be asked back. Thank you.

I’ll be sharing worship with you throughout Lent, Holy Week and then the great celebration of Easter. I hope that you…

As I approach my last Sunday in the English Reformed Church the first thing I would like to do is to thank you all for the warmth of your welcome to Moira and myself. It has been quite remarkable and will stay with us for a long time. We have also greatly enjoyed living in the manse and seeing the city of Amsterdam. We will….

Dear Friends,

This Sunday is marked in the United Kingdom as Guy Fawkes’ Night or Bonfire Night. It started with the discovery on 5 November 1605 of a plot, led by Guy Fawkes, to blow up the King and Parliament. Fawkes and his fellow conspirators were Catholics who wanted to see the end of the Protestant hold on power. When the people of London learned that the scheme had been foiled at the last minute they took to the streets and lit bonfires in celebration.

While it was once about Christian division, nowadays it is …