It is just three weeks since I started at ClincarthillParishChurch and there are a few things that instantly stood out for me:<\/p>\n
You were blessed as a congregation by Joan Kilpatrick\u2019s ministry over the last eighteen months and for me that will be a hard act to follow.<\/p>\n
It is my privilege, however, to journey with you over the coming months as you continue to await the arrival of a new full-time minister. Waiting is never easy and, if you are anything like me, you will be impatient for your new minister to arrive.<\/p>\n
Having waited for buses and trains over the last year as I have travelled back and forth to Edinburgh, I have watched expectantly as the digital displays promised a bus\u2019s arrival in 11 minutes, 10 minutes and so on until the point of arrival. I clearly remember one day when the digital display stopped at 7 minutes, and although the bus arrived on schedule, it was an anxious and much longer wait than I had anticipated. Maybe you feel a bit like that, and my arrival on the scene just highlights the fact that things are taking longer than you expected.<\/p>\n
The Bible speaks a lot about waiting. It speaks about waiting for God and his plans to unfold. Some waited patiently and others cried out \u201cDon\u2019t keep us waiting much longer, O God.\u201d\u00a0 Which of these folks are you most like?<\/p>\n
There are two Bible verses that stand out for me, the first is \u201cMy soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. (Psalm 62:5). This is an encouraging verse, as it reminds us that God\u2019s plans and purposes are worth waiting for and as such we should expect great things from Him.<\/p>\n
The second phrase says \u201cIf you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.\u201d Ecclesiastes 11:4 (Living Bible) This reminds me that we ought not to wait till everything is in place or perfect before we get on with the work God has called us to. The world around us is in desperate need and sometimes we just need to reach out to the community around us, no matter how inadequate we feel. Thankfully, when God calls, He also equips.<\/p>\n
I look forward to working with you, for however long, and trust that you will know God\u2019s blessing upon you as you wait for His purposes to unfold.<\/p>\n
Iain MacLeod<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It is just three weeks since I started at ClincarthillParishChurch and there are a few things that instantly stood out for me: The beautiful stain glass windows, particularly on a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8z2vw-dQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":886,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/new-minister-announced\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":0},"title":"New minister announced","author":"admin","date":"28 August 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We are delighted to announce that the congregation has voted for Stuart Love to become our new minister. We wish God's blessing upon Stuart and his wife Ruth and look forward to them both joining us this autumn. Arrangements for Stuart's ordination and induction will be announced in due course.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":463,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/farewell-to-mike-gargrave\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":1},"title":"Farewell to Mike Gargrave","author":"admin","date":"3 September 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Friday 5th September and Sunday 7th September 2014 Our Minister, Rev Mike Gargrave is leaving Clincarthill Church and moving on to a new ministry at Thornliebank Church. A farewell time of worship, giving thanks for his ministry, will take place in the sanctuary on Friday 5th September at 7.30pm. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1734,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/ministers-letter-march-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":2},"title":"Minister’s letter – March 2018","author":"admin","date":"7 March 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018So I say to you: ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":903,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/letter-from-our-session-clerk-oct-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":3},"title":"Letter from our Session Clerk – Oct 2016","author":"admin","date":"3 October 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Friends in Clincarthill, The month of October is a busy and exciting month for us here in Clincarthill. This will be the last time I write this \u2018Letter from the Session Clerk\u2019 to the congregation during our\u00a0 vacancy. Harvest Thanksgiving is on Sunday, October 2nd\u00a0 with our gifts going\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":588,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/letter-from-our-session-clerk-feb-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":4},"title":"Letter from our Session Clerk – Feb 2015","author":"admin","date":"7 February 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Friends in Clincarthill, Where does the time go!!\u00a0 January has just flown in and I cannot believe it is February.\u00a0 There is such a buzz about the church and it is great to see everyone working together in the Praise and Service of our Lord. The Kirk Session met\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":841,"url":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/letter-from-our-session-clerk-april-2016\/","url_meta":{"origin":858,"position":5},"title":"Letter from our Session Clerk \u2013 April 2016","author":"admin","date":"3 April 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Friends in Clincarthill, How wonderful it is to see Spring arrive with the profusion of Daffodils, crocus and other spring flowers appear.\u00a0 The daffodils in our church gardens look joyful and cheerful to those who pass or come through the gates. Many people have commented on our gardens and\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":859,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.clincarthill.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}