Monday 18 June 2012

Jubilee to Olympic Relay - a Jubilympic few days....


June came in with a blast!
 We began in the village with a weekend of activity; roads closed, community worship, activities and fireworks... all to celebrate the 60 year reign of our Queen.











Fast forward 10 days and Olympic fever reaches the Borders; our little village one of those visited by the torch relay. What a day! Barriers along the High Street; no parking allowed; police patrolling the street... and as the time approached more vehicles than I ever contemplated. I have heard the vehicle cavalcade was going to be over 100 vehicles - and had assumed it was all exaggeration!
Hah!!!

We began with some Police outriders; then 3 or 4 small buggy type vehicles playing loud music and giving away big blue rattly things; then a few more Police Motorbikes; then 4 big police vans with riot shields. 

Then a wee Coca Cola bus; some more vans; more motorbikes....
then bigger buses... Coke; RBS & Samsung.... an Olympic mini bus, a big bus.... more motorbikes
some runners...
more bikes
another big bus and finally
the torch bearer!!

He passed through in a matter of moments (29 seconds to pass by where I was, I recorded it!) the cavalacade had taken more than an hour to make its way along our little roads and lanes!
was it all worth it?
You bet!!
The High Street was lined with pupils from our Primary and Secondary Schols, plus some from neighbouring schools not on the route
Folks lined the street, cheered and laughed and turned a cold, dreich day into a happy, warm community event.
What's not to like?!

Sunday 10 June 2012

prayer for Sunday morning


God of rolling hills and deep valleys
God of brilliant sunshine and clinging mists
God of light fluffy clouds and brooding dark skies
Light and dark, high and low, you made it all
You made it for your creation to grow, to thrive, to enjoy and to reflect your glory and majesty
We are awestruck by the immensity of your creation
And we come, quietly, timidly, with joy and humility to worship and praise and adore you
Accept our worship we pray
Even as we approach you
Even as we bring you our worship
We pause
We hesitate
Aware of our weakness, our failings, our forgetfulness and our carelessness
For we know there is darkness in our hearts
There is sadness in the deep
And we cling on to old hurts and old ways
So we bring you these too:
The things we’d rather overlook
The times we forgot you, and turned away from your light
We are fearful to ask for forgiveness
And yet, through your Son comes the confidence
He pays the price
We receive the grace
And so we can be reassured that our sinfulness is forgiven
And our weakness is replaced by strength
Through Jesus Christ
Our Lord and Saviour
Who called us friends
And showed us your ways,
All our prayers, spoken and unspoken we make in his name

Saturday 9 June 2012

and finally.....

I have been meaning to do this for weeks (well a couple or so) but life kind of caught up with me.
Taking time out for the Assembly was good, and returning to parish for a relatively quiet week was good too... spent a week "just being a minister" visiting, planning worship, catching up on admin etc....
Then a week of mayhem- the Jubilee was lovely, but taking time off compromises the rest of the week...

A couple of days ago I attended Colloquium - a half day conference on the theme of Language, Women and the Church of Scotland (not its full title - but near enough) during it I had a few thoughts of my own which I need to work through.
I found myself with a question about nature and nurture - how much of our behaviour, response and way of life is decided by our being, and how much by the way we are influenced during development?

I am now, at 52, totally happy in my own skin
I like who I am, how I've developed
I like how I dress, and how I live
I will never be the tall willowy person I imagined was trying to get out of my tall and well rounded frame.
I am, who I am
But I also know that I am this person because of the influence of my parents and my teachers in my earliest years.
I grew up believing that I was capable of anything; that my gender made no difference. And that has stood me in good stead over the years. For a long time I thought this was a generational approach, until I discovered people of similar gaes to me with totally different outlooks on life!

I was raised to be independent, free to challenge, and free to express my own opinion - and always ready to justify and explain that opinion - thus, when I write, when I converse, when I reflect I know those early years are still influencing me... still guiding me on.
And that is something to be very grateful for