St Andrews Scottish Episcopal Church
This Week
 
Thursday              9:00am                 Morning Prayer with Communion
 
Thursday              6.00pm                 Prayer for World in Conflict
 
Friday                   6:30pm                 Compline On-Line
                                                                      (Zoom ID 839 0522 7517)
                                                                      (Pass Code   010788)
​Next Sunday
 29th September

10:30 Eucharist
(Scottish Liturgy 1982)
 All Welcome to Join with Us
 
 

​

​Not wanting to invoke some country-wifie lore but at the last full moon we had a skene of geese fly over the cottage, honking as they do. A full month earlier than we have come to expect and leaving just a little foreboding of the winter to come. Their flight also brought forward thoughts of autumn and the harvest being brought in – the turning of the year bringing thoughts of dark nights to come. Such first thoughts risk dwelling on the passing of time and the gloom of things ending. Perhaps that is partly why, in the church year, we are entering what has become known as ‘Creationtide’ or the season of creation.
 
Genesis 1:1 states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
 
 These famous opening words of the Bible set the scene for all that is to come: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. All that was, all that is, all that will be, all this comes from God. Right from the off the Bible speaks of a God who is not passive or distant, but active and involved. The opening chapter goes on to describe the scale, the diversity, the goodness of God’s creation, but here it is enough to simply reflect on the one who creates. The creation of the world was not a one time burst of energy that left God exhausted, rather it was a pouring out of something deep within God—a desire to create, to bring about beauty and order and all that is good. God created because God is creative, and God’s creativity does not run dry. This creative heart has left its fingerprints throughout the creation: in the wild evolution of nature, in the instinctive desire of our earliest ancestors to make art on the walls of their caves, in the stories that we tell to our children. The world is filled with creativity because it was created by a creative God whose art and talent are inexhaustible. We can be distracted away from the wonder of creation by what we might take as portents in the world around us, the gloom of headlines reciting tales of pain diming our sight of all that is good or fear of what seems like long nights ahead. Against these shines to light of God and if we listen we can hear that quite voice citing promises of hope. As the season of creation opens before us we are called to remember - In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth—and that was only the beginning!
 
Mike

​St Andrews Scottish episcopal church – this week
(02 June)
Collect for the week
 
O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers:
loose us from the chains of our sins;
and keep us from all adversity;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen.
 
This Week
 
Thursday – 09:000
Morning Prayer & communion
 
 
 
      18:30 - Friday Compline
(Zoom)
 

For the Diary
 
 
Saturday 8th June
Choral Come & Sing
Workshop led by Paul Mealar
Fountianhall Cross Church
Aberdeen
(See notice at rear of church for details)
 
Wednesday 26th June
Open Table Discussion
St Drostan’s Church Hall,
Insch
 
Next Sunday
9th June
 
3rd Sunday after Pentecost
 
09:30 Holy Communion
 
10:30 Morning Praise
Next Sunday’s readings
 
1 Samuel 8:4-20
Psalm 138
2 Corinthians 4:13 – 5:1
Mark 3:20-35
 
 

 

June Ramblings
June – halfway through the year, days warming, the sun shines brighter (when we see it) and greenery is bursting out all over. Listening to the presenters of Beechgrove Garden now is the time to plant out that bright summer bedding that has been nurtures through the colder months ready to enjoy the bright and uplifting colours of blooms that have such an effect on us. For the experienced gardener there may be quiet excitement in waiting for some new variety to flower, in the vegetable plant a different kind of produce to be tasted or for the newcomer to gardening the satisfaction of planting up a container (no matter how small) watching the green grow and then the buds opening to glory. So many metaphors have been built on this demonstration of creation by far better commentors than me that I’m not going to try but as the church year moves into the long period of Ordinary Time between Pentecost and Advent I’m always drawn to wonder what spiritual seeds have been planted by God through the celebrations from Christmas to Easter, have they responded to the careful nurture of Christ in my life and what fruit will the Holy Spirit bring forth in due time. That perpetual cycle of our life in Christ and Christs life in us. Perhaps as we enter this time of exuberant growth all around us it is worth giving a few moments of stillness to reflect on the words of God proclaimed by Isaiah:
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.
                                                   (Is 43:19)
 
God keeps his promises so what new things are sprouting in your life? What new path will you follow in his footsteps, and will your thirst be quenched by the living water poured out for all?
 
Mike
 

If there is anything that defines followers of Jesus it’s our faith in resurrection and the Easter season is a time of reaffirming this faith, moving deeper into its mystery, and allowing it to permeate our lives still more. Resurrection living is not just about us as individuals – it connects us with others in communities of faith. Apart from Mary’s first meeting with Jesus (John 20:14-18) there is no account in the Scriptures of anyone encountering the Risen Christ alone. Every resurrection appearance, after the first, happens when the disciples are meeting together as a group. Thomas was not with the other disciples when they first saw Jesus – he didn’t share the experience of his friends and, for more than a week, he struggled to believe. When he did finally encounter Jesus, it was when he was back in the gathering of the disciples, and he found the faith he had been missing.
What is also significant about the resurrection is that it reveals the truth about Jesus’ message and mission. When Jesus rose, it was not just about him becoming alive again as an individual who lived long ago. It was about the amazing truth that God’s Reign – God’s grace, compassion, peace, justice, and love – cannot be defeated even by death. This means that being a witness to Jesus is not just about believing that he rose again. It’s about living the eternal values of Jesus now and inviting others into the abundant, eternal life of Christ now. So, you may need to use words to share Christ’s life, but you will definitely need to make your commitment to Christ’s values, Christ’s gracious actions and Christ’s welcoming acceptance of others visible. Being witnesses is about letting the resurrection impact the world through us as we embody the character and purposes of Jesus in day-to-day contacts and on a wider stage as communities of faith. A testimony that is much in need in our world of turmoil.
Mike.

One month down already and this year seems to be passing even quicker than the last, seemingly even more hasty as the Church Calendar is soon to change again. From our current season after the Epiphany, we will soon be embarking on the journey of penitence and preparation that we know as Lent. Starting with the Ash Wednesday act of penitence, lent was traditionally a time of preparation for baptismal candidates who would be baptised on Easter Sunday. While we may not be looking forward to baptism, we are preparing for the important spiritual exercise of Holy Week, and the Easter season that follows it and this year I’m suggesting that we consciously think about, reflect on, and participate in prayer. At the Wednesday evening conversation time we shall be delving into the prayer that Jesus led his disciples in when they asked him to teach them how to pray and throughout the lent period and on into the Easter season I am encouraging folk to make use of a book and videos composed by Pete Greig, one of the founders of the 24/7 prayer movement, of which more will follow.
Prayer is something we are all called to do and on which much of our growth in relationship with God depends. Prayers of thanks, of requests for others and for support when those hard times of life surround us are very much part of our journey of faith and yet are often taken lightly or as a cry for help when all else seems ineffective. Many years ago, I saw a poster outside a church in a poor part of a big city challenging passers-bye with “Prayer – spare wheel or steering wheel?” it is a question which has stayed with me ever since and still challenges me today. 

January Ramblings
December 31 to January 1 is a strange kind of night. Some simply go to sleep as usual with no thoughts of anything special about the date, some strenuously work at making the night an occasion, others stay up just to make sure that the 31st does become the 1st and time keeps rolling. But I suspect all have thoughts about what the year ahead will bring; perhaps hoping for improvement in some way most settle on an echo of The Who’s line in won’t get fooled again – “keep the new laws the same as the old laws” and hold some level of trust that things keep going with no great change. There is certainly much to concern us in our lives , both as individuals and as society but although we don’t know what 2024 will bring, scripture repeatedly reminds us that we don’t need to worry about anything when we keep our focus on Jesus. God will be with us in the new year. He’ll be our strength. He’ll guide us. And when we stay close to Him and hold His hand, we have nothing to fear. If you’re feeling apprehensive about what might lie ahead I encourage you to reflect on these verses from the book of Isaiah, written when he and his kin had been transported to a foreign place, were living in captivity and had no certainty of what lay ahead:
“…do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God;
 I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.  Yes, all who are incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.” (Isaiah 41)
 
Wishing all a happy and peaceful New Year.
Mike
 

​December 9, 2023 by MikeDecember Ramblings
“The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
While Advent is certainly a time of preparation and anticipation of Christ’s birth, it is more than that. It is only in the shadow of Advent that the miracle of Christmas can be fully understood and appreciated, and it is only in the light of Christmas that the Christian life makes any sense.
It is between the fulfilled promise of Christ’s first coming and the yet-to-be-fulfilled promise of his second coming that in the words of Karl Barth “Unfulfilled and fulfilled promise are related to each other, as are dawn and sunrise. Both promise and in fact the same promise. If anywhere at all, then it is precisely in the light of the coming of Christ that faith has become Advent faith, the expectation of future revelation. But faith knows for whom and for what it is waiting. It is fulfilled faith because it lays hold on the fulfilled promise.”
Borrowed words from a couple of the 20th centuries greatest theologians/philosophers (in my opinion anyway) but as relevant in our troubled times as much as when they were first penned. Barth’s statement emphasizes the importance of faith in the coming of Christ and the fulfilment of God’s promises. Faith is not just about waiting for the future revelation but also about knowing for whom and for what it is waiting. It is a fulfilled faith that lays hold on the fulfilled promise.
Mike