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I watched BBC Newsnight once again dissecting the the fall out of the News International scandal. Its getting to the stage of being ridiculous, so much important news being missed or not reported in depth. Anyway at the end of one interview the question was asked what is happening to all of our Institutions in [...]

Today Sheena Orr our trainee minister flies out, along with a number of other ministers and theologians to visit Israel. During this visit Sheena will have an opportunity to reflect on the current political and religious divides in the Holy Land and perhaps bring back a more informed point of view for all of us [...]

The last few days have been pretty busy. On Thursday last the church was packed to capacity as people from all walks if life attended the funeral of John Constable who was one of our local councillors and also for many a local hero and mentor. He was someone who passionately believed in his political [...]

You might not believe this but apart from bringing health care to over 100,000 thousand people in Amazonia. Amazon Hope can also add to its impressive CV the fact that it has encouraged friendship between the Huitoto tribe and the Bora and is promoting international trade. The picture captures Alec Carstairs the Vine Trust Treasurer [...]

You’ll have noticed that I’ve been making one or two comments on the blog about the 400th Anniversary of the King James version of the Bible. Its actually been quite wonderful to begin to rediscover the shear wonder and magic of the language especially when it is read out loud in church. We’ve been doing [...]

Will you spare a thought and perhaps a prayer for all those who suffer in silence this Christmas. We’ve set aside one of the transepts in the church this year to highlight the work of Amnesty International. We would like to invite people to drop in and pray for prisoners of conscience. A few years [...]

There is never a dull moment in life of a parish minister. I was sharing with you my visit to London a couple of weeks ago. This was an opportunity to tell more people about the story of the Vine Trust and also to engage the support of big business and also parliamentarians as we [...]

Cold damp November Sunday morning Boots and berries Top and toe, comrades who once fought a common foe. They march in solidarity to remember what they have tried to forget. Its sixty five years for some since the guns fell silent. For others the guns still pound in their heads and in their hands Their [...]

It was a brilliant day the sun was shining and there was a refreshing breeze blowing in from the Atlantic. I was glad we had gone through the registration for the conference the previous day. The centre looks fantastic and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful, but I must confess I’m already feeling hemmed [...]

As we all face the possibility of greater numbers of unemployed people due to the present economic downturn. Does this mean that work is defined simply by employment? As christians should we be encourageing more people to think about an intigrated life of service. For the past couple of Sunday evenings I’ve been preaching about [...]