GatheringTwenty years ago Iain Jamieson and myself wrote this song.  For a number of years it was a kind of theme tune for the Bogle Band.  We used to close concerts with it and I know it has touched many peoples lives. I remember singing it in Union Street Aberdeen. We were playing at a Pentecost Rally organised by the churches in Aberdeen.The street was closed off and a few thousands people turned up to participate. Now twenty years on I think the song has a significance once again.  In just a few days people from all over Scotland will be coming to the  CWW National Gathering in Edinburgh. Many people are coming to tell their stories of faith and renewal, others are coming to be encouraged. Some will be coming out of a sense of duty, while others will come with a sense of expectancy. I’m sure what ever the reasons , God is at work in all our hearts. making us see things in a new way. it is my prayer that everyone to comes to Ingliston might encounter the presence of the living God.  I’ve been encouraging people to look at the whole faith story that is encapsulated in the tents. Its not just our local stories we are telling, its the story of a people longing for intimacy with God down through history. This longing led Israel out to the wilderness, where they had to eventually face a journey for forty years because their was disbelief in the camp. They lived in tents to remind themselves that they had no abiding city in this world. Surely we are being continually reminded of our calling as Christians. We have to live expecting the return of Jesus while preparing for the long haul involved in just being a waiting people. Anyway there’s a crowd of people out their who will be making their way to Ingliston, on Saturday and Sunday. I want to welcome them and remind them that  this is going to be one of the best events ever and we all need to be there. You know something the most important person of all is going to be there JESUS! So lift your banners, pull them out and bring them on down to the Gathering.  

 The last few days have been pretty busy as we begin the countdown to the CWW National Gathering. I’ve been trying my best to get publicity in the press and also on the radio. I’m grateful to the journalist who have written about the event. We’ve have coverage on a number of local radio stations, as well as a five minute slot on Radio Scotland’s “Sally on Sunday” if you click here you can listen to the programme again but you need to wait for the last 5 minutes before the interview about the gathering comes on. (I think this link will remain live for about a week after the radio broadcast.) This week has been taken up with writing press releases and trying to get journalists interested in writing pieces about different aspects of the event. The truth is that its a bit of a lottery you have to keep on trying until someone eventually thinks this might fit our programme or this could make an interesting story. So keep praying.