Lindisfarne

I found this photograph in my drafts. It’s from a retreat I took on the island of Lindisfarne (Holy Island) in November 2019 with my dear friend Nick. Happy memories.

Lindisfarne is a special place.

Epiphany

*I couldn’t find a stock image of stars on my PC but this looked pretty and festive*

This is the sermon that I preached at St Mary’s, Newport-on-Tay on Sunday 2 January 2022 when they celebrated the feast of the Epiphany (which is today, 6 January).

Introduction

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.

— Howard Thurman

What are we going to do with St Stephen this year?

*Scottish Episcopal Church Calendar and Lectionary*

Each year I prepare a digital copy of the Scottish Episcopal Church’s calendar and lectionary which I then import into my Google Calendar. It allows me to easily see where we are in the church year, plus bible readings and this year for the first time the collect (prayer) of the day.

This year there has been a bit of a controversy about what we do about the feast of St Stephen (26 December).

Postcard

A couple of months ago, my lovely sister Jenni sent me this postcard on my first birthday without my Mum. She found it in a box of postcards that my Mum kept and would send people as a blessing.

It reads:

May God walk ahead of you
and guide your path
May God walk beside you
and keep you company.
May God walk behind you
and protect you from harm.
May God surround you
on all sides with his love.

I have needed to remember this over the last six months or more.

I hope that it blesses you too.

Clergy Malt Club

After the last Christmas Eve service, in church rectories and manses across the world, many clergy will sit down and pour themselves a glass of single malt whisky, take a photo and post it to social media with the hashtag #clergymaltclub.

This year, in collaboration with my good friend, the Revd David Meldrum in South Africa, we now have an official website to advertise it:

https://clergymalt.club.