This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem: In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more. Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2:1-5 NIVUK)

As you might know, history is one of my hobbies. I enjoyed learning about history in school, and while I haven’t taken my study of history any further in an academic sense, I do enjoy reading about it in my own time. I am particularly interested in the time of the Roman Empire, and the Napoleonic Wars/Victorian Era Britain (just to let you know a little more about my interests!).

Because I enjoy learning about history so much, I get frustrated when I perceive others failing to learn from history. This can be on a global scale: for example, the frightening rise of far-right groups in Europe in the last few years (did we learn nothing from the 1939-1945 war against such powers?!). This frustration can also be more personal, and aimed at myself as much as anyone else: I can’t be the only person who sometimes fails to learn from my own past mistakes!

History and remembrance are important. It’s why we have an annual service of remembrance on the Sunday closest to Remembrance Day. This year, Remembrance Sunday is particularly significant: it will be exactly 100 years since, on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month, the guns fell silent, and the war which was supposed to end all wars finally concluded (another frustration: if we had truly learned the lessons of World War 1, it would have been the war to end all wars. Sadly, war and conflict continue to engulf our world).

The Christian faith is, in part, a faith of remembrance. We are invited, every time we open the Bible, to look back, read and remember the experiences of those faithful people who lived hundreds or thousands of years before us: such as Isaiah, who is quoted above. Yet, this quotation, and the Bible as a whole, also encourage us to look forward in hope: trusting and believing in the work of God to put our world right.

This work peaked with the death and resurrection of Jesus, and will peak again when Christ returns. We trust that, when He does come back, God will do as He promised through Isaiah: that the weapons of war will be destroyed, that peace will reign, and we will live eternally and harmoniously with God and all His faithful. It will be the world God always intended; free from the sin which we have allowed to spoil this world.

And so it is that, when we gather on Sunday 11^th November, we are not there to glorify war, or celebrate that “our side” won: we are there to look back, remembering those on all sides who died in conflict, giving thanks for those times when wars end and peace returns; but we also look forward, declaring that we, as the people of God, will pursue the cause of peace wherever we can, and trusting in the assured hope that, one day, God will ensure that peace will reign in our world for all eternity.

May God bless you,

Stuart

Today has been marked with a time of remembrance; planting poppy crosses in our garden for people we know who died at war; the laying of a wreath at our war memorial; and reflections on the past, the present and the future. We followed this with an old-fashioned tea party celebrating peace.

We hold a special Armistice Centenary service this Sunday 11th November, starting at 10.45am (note the earlier than usual start time). We mark 100 years since the end of the Great War, so join us to remember those who sacrificed their lives for country and for peace. The service will be followed by an indoor street party (as would have happened at the end of the war) in the hall. All are welcome.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (1^st Corinthians 5: 18-21 NIVUK)

One of the most difficult parts of my recent trip to Rwanda was learning of the country’s recent history: specifically, the events leading up to and during the 1994 genocide. The events of that time were appalling: 800,000 people were murdered over a period of 100 days. The death and destruction brought the country to its knees: lives were lost, infrastructure destroyed, and the ability to function ruined.

If you visit Rwanda today, it is impossible to tell that these horrific events took place, 24 years ago. Homes have been rebuilt, roads re-surfaced, and the country functions once again, just like any other. Given the level of destruction, this was achieved in record time. And it could only be achieved if the whole country united and worked together in the rebuilding process. The question is this: how could such a divided population be brought together? How could there be reconciliation between Hutu and Tutsi, after the pain and suffering caused by one on the other?

On the one hand, the government which took over in 1994 led a huge campaign of reconciliation. The new leadership understood that the only way for the country to move forward was to bring people back together. Yet, with the best will in the world, governments cannot manufacture the kind of deep healing and reconciliation which was required for Rwanda to move forward.

During the genocide, the Church did not give herself a good name. While in some places, the Church worked to help those being killed, in others she stood by and did nothing; in others still, the Church was complicit in the killings! After the genocide, and despite the poor reputation of the Church, the message of the Gospel rang out through Rwanda: a message of the deep reconciliation Jesus achieved between us and God. If Jesus can reconcile us, horrid sinners, to God, perhaps He could also reconcile the Hutu and Tutsi?

Today, 94% of Rwandans identify as Christians. While this figure may be inflated by those who identify because it’s the cultural thing to do, the fact that the country has been, and continues to be, reconciled after such a dark period suggests to me that a majority do seriously believe this Gospel, and have allowed it to shape their lives and their actions.

The Gospel of reconciliation is so powerful, it can re-unite a country divided by ethnicity and genocide. I wonder: what could this same Gospel achieve here, if we took the same approach, sharing it believing and being confident in its power?

Some food for your thoughts. God bless, Stuart

²⁰Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3: 20-21 NIVUK)

It was the week before this years Holiday Club, and I asked how many children had registered. I was told 3, with the assurance that, “that’s 2 more than we had this time last year”.

I confess that I began to feel increasingly anxious about the attendance at the Holiday Club, fearing that it would end up feeling like a bit of a flop. I, therefore, began to pray, “God, if we could just get 30 children, like we had last year, that would be fine”.

Wonderfully, by the end of the Holiday Club week, I believe we welcomed around 70 children in total, with the highest attendance going to 48 on the Wednesday. I was in awe – not only had God answered my prayer, He had done so beyond what I had asked, or even what I imagined might be possible.

What can we learn from this?

The first, I think, is that prayer works! I have been wondering why we had such a successful and well attended Holiday Club. We didn’t really do anything differently this year: we planned the same, advertised the same, held the Holiday Club on the same week.

So, what made the difference this year? I believe it is because we had a much greater and concerted effort of prayer before the Holiday Club. This, for me, is a very powerful example of the fact that prayer works, and God answers prayer!

The second thing is that, not only does God answer prayer, but He does so beyond out imagination or expectations. If you’d told me that we would engage with 70+ children in the same breath as telling me we only had 3 registered, I would not have believed you. I would have thought it impossible. Yet, God confounded my expectations, and did a much greater thing than I could imagine.

I believe God is trying to show us what He can do when we turn to Him and earnestly pray for the ministry of our congregation. He can help us achieve things beyond our imagining!

I hope this example can act as an encouragement to us, to marshal our prayers and seek God’s hand in the ministry of our church. If we do, we cannot begin to imagine what God will achieve, for it will be immeasurably more; not so that we can glorify in ourselves, but so that He will receive all the glory throughout all generations, forever and ever!

May God bless you,
Stuart

This year the Clincarthill Holiday club team will be taking a deep breath to “Chill“. We will provide an opportunity to hear about God and His Son, Jesus, through the parables – stories told by Jesus in the bible.

“Chill” is open to all children entering Primaries 1-7 and will run from 10am to 12 noon on Monday 6th to Friday 10th August 2018. Please bring your child along any morning to join the fun.

We are looking forward to hosting a fun-filled programme of sports, crafts, dance, singing, jokes and messy games.  Please tell family, friends and neighbours about it and encourage them to come along where they will be warmly welcomed.

A family service will take place at 11am on Sunday 12th August to round off the holiday club week and we would be delighted to welcome you for  a reflection on the week’s activities.

If you are intending coming, it would speed things up when you arrive if you would print the registration form, complete it, and bring it with you – here it is 2018 Chill registration form. It would also be helpful if you would email us at youth@clincarthill.org.uk in advance so we have an idea of the number of children planning to attend. Thank you.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
(Psalm 121: 1-4 NIVUK)

“There are two seasons in Scotland. June and winter” (Billy Connolly).

As I write this letter for our summer congregational newsletter, I cannot help but feel that summer is already here. We have enjoyed an incredible transformation: we’ve gone from snow in April to temperatures of 25 degrees plus in May.  We can only hope that the Big Yin’s predictions don’t come true, and that our summer is over before we are even aware that it has begun!

Regardless of the weather, we are all preparing for summer. For the months of June to August, things seem to slow down. Organisations finish, people visit other parts of the world and we often make more time to enjoy hobbies and activities that are not work. This can be especially true of churches: during these months a kind of contented slumber falls, as groups and events pause for a summer break.

It is this kind of halting that caused Ministers across the land to often remark, “God doesn’t take a summer holiday!” Indeed, the LORD whom we love and serve, “neither slumbers not sleeps”, according to Psalm 121. Just because church activities take an often-well-deserved rest doesn’t mean God does! And thank goodness for that: our world is bad enough, never mind if God decided to take time off from looking after us!

The same is true of being a Christian. Following Jesus and serving God are not part-time things. We don’t get holidays from being a Christian. This is a calling which is to shape our whole life: mind, body and spirit. Just because church life is quieter doesn’t mean we take a break from living for God, sharing the Gospel, reaching out in Christian love. Just as God never sleeps nor slumbers, so our living out of our faith never stops.

The fact that we are to never stop serving God relates to some changes we are exploring at Clincarthill. Many of you will be aware of the proposal to change to the Unitary Constitution. I know this may seem like a rather dull thing, but it is my sincere hope that making this kind of change will enable more people to use their gifts and respond to this never-ending calling to serve God. We’re creating teams to enable people to serve where they feel gifted. I cannot give more detail in this letter, but the information is available: might I encourage you to seek this out, and find out how you can serve?

That being said, I know that not all of us are able to serve as we once did, and that’s ok: just as the church sometimes rests, so too do God’s people. Yet, we are still called to serve God, and there is something we all can and must do for God’s Church: pray! As such, can I suggest that, over the summer, you might pray for the following things:

• For the ministry of Clincarthill: that it would follow God’s plan and direction;
• For the people of Clincarthill: that we would hear God’s call, and use our gifts for Him;
• For me: as I seek God’s leading, and guide everyone as best as I can.

Thank you for your prayers, and may God bless you this summer,

Stuart 

Feed the Fans – Saturday 2nd June – 3pm – 7pm

Coming to see Ed Sheeran in Hampden on Saturday? We’ll be feeding the fans from 3pm – 7pm! Our church building will be open, and we’re providing tea, coffee, refreshments, snacks, a place to sit, and facilities to use. If you’re in the area, you’re welcome to pop in!

I will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob,
honour him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
(Psalm 22 NIVUK)

I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you.
(Psalm 35 NIVUK)

I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know.
I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.
(Psalm 40 NIVUK)

This month sees another first for me: as a commissioner at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. As such, I decided to look up the various occurrences of the word “assembly” in the Bible. The word appears in the NIV translation of the Bible 161 times. Three of these caught my attention, and I’ve quoted them above: all from Psalms written by David.

In these 3 quotes, we get a sense of the purpose of assemblies of God’s people. When we gather together, we are to praise God; we are to give thanks to God for all He has done; we are to proclaim that our God is one of salvation, faithfulness and love. These are wonderful reasons for assemblies of God’s people: they focus on God and remind us of His goodness to us.

While the General Assembly meets for several reasons, it is still a gathering of God’s people; therefore, one of its primary purposes is to glorify God in the way David describes. I think this is why I am sometimes disheartened by the Assembly: there are elements of this gathering which seem far removed from the glorification of God (and I don’t just mean the decisions which go against Biblical principles, although these are obviously troubling).

The Assembly retains, for whatever reason, the pomp, ceremony and pageantry from decades (even centuries!) past. This strikes me as, at best, an institution trying desperately to hold on to tradition; and at worst, self-glorification. These things should trouble us: they appear to have no connection to God, the Gospel, or our call to minister in this world and build His Kingdom.

The Assembly is, however, at its best during those moments when God is glorified, the Gospel is proclaimed, the Church is equipped, and God’s people are called to go into the world and build His Kingdom. As such, and in keeping with our theme of prayer, I wonder if you could pray for the General Assembly this year? Some suggestions:

• That God, and His glorification, would be at the heart of all the Assembly does;
• For wisdom, clarity, and stamina for myself and the other commissioners;
• That the decisions this year would equip and empower the Church in the spread of the Gospel.

Thank you for your prayers, and may God bless you,

Stuart

³⁰Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20: 30-31 NIVUK)

²⁵Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25 NIVUK)

Holy Week is a special time for me, and not just because it centres around the vital moments of our faith! With worship occurring almost daily, and with regular opportunities to share the message of Jesus in other settings (e.g. school assemblies), I must, out of necessity, set aside some of the other aspects of full-time ministry and focus on these times.

I am grateful to those who helped and supported in the leading of our Holy Week services, and I give them my thanks. Even so, I find I still need to pour a great deal of time and energy into these times of worship, and it is liberating to do so. I personally find it an enriching experience.

I hope that you had a blessed Holy Week, and through it you were able to reconnect with the central moments of our faith; namely the death and resurrection of Christ. I hope this because this is one of the reasons behind Holy Week: to allow Christians and the Church to get back to our foundation, to reorient ourselves around Jesus’ death and resurrection, and prepare to go back out into the world, proclaiming His love and Kingdom.

Holy Week reminds us that Jesus truly was the Messiah, the Son of God. This was also part of the reason John wrote his Gospel: in the first quotation above, he makes it clear that he has written that his readers might believe Jesus is the one who brings salvation to our world, and that through Him we might receive life. The experience of Holy Week helps us to believe that Jesus is our saviour.

The second quotation helps us to understand what we are to do now that Holy Week is over. While I doubt this was John’s thinking, I tend to think that part of the reason Jesus complete work cannot be contained within books is because He is still working today. If we were to try and write it all down, we’d never finish, because He is still working; through the Holy Spirit and through the Church, calling people back to Himself and God.

As a congregation, this is our calling: to respond to God’s call to work for Him, retelling the message of Holy Week, reaching out in love with the Gospel. I’ll be giving you more information soon, about how I hope we can ALL be encouraged to participate in God’s work. For now, I hope we can take the message of Holy Week to heart and be ready to respond when God calls.

May God bless you
Stuart