I’ve spent the last few days in Orkney. Its quite a place, amazing sea views. There is nothing quite like a walk along the cliffs. Orkney has a wonderful shoreline. As you walk you become aware of the amazing power of the sea. It is this sea power that can change a coastline.

We visited a place called Skarabrae. It is on the southern shore of the Bay o’ Skaill, in the West Mainland parish of Sandwick. It is here that the Neolithic village of Skara Brae was discovered in the mid 19th century. Today, it is one of Orkney’s most-visited ancient sites. It was certainly busy when we viewed it yesterday. I believe it has achieved world heritage status. It is truly worth visiting

In the winter of 1850, a great storm battered Orkney. The notorious Orkney winds and extremely high tides stripped the grass from a large mound known then as Skerrabra.

What was revealed was in fact the outline of a number of stone buildings. The discovery intrigued the local laird, William Watt of Skaill, so he embarked on an excavation of the site. The Lairds house is close by and today you can visit the house and wander around the rooms. Its a facinating place that was built in the 17th century as a home for Bishop Graham.

Anyway back to the story. By 1868, after the remains of four ancient houses had been unearthed, work at Skerrabra was abandoned until 1925, when another storm damaged some of the previously-excavated structures. A sea-wall was built to preserve these remains, but during the construction work more ancient structures were discovered. Today it is well and truly secured and worth a visit. Makes you think though. Here is a civilization that dates before Abraham its over 5000 years old. As you ask questions you find they too were looking for answers seeking after God. Anway I hope you enjoy the pictures. They’re meant to get you to think - to begin to put life into a proper perspective. People have been before us and will be after us. We too have to make our contribution. Looking out from where we are

Tomorrow is the Bo’ness Fair Day but first I want to finish my posts about the Carberry Festival. I came across this clip on Youtube from the first Festival way back in 1987. It centres around an Ian Whyte Concert but I find looking at the audience most interesting its just full of memories. If you look carefully those of you who were at the festival you can have a walk down memory lane.

Tonight I continued to walk down memory lane. You see if you live in Bo’ness the Fair E’een is the time when most people get out and about to visit all the various arches and frontages. Bo’ness can be a pretty busy place. It was really good top meet up with some people that I haven’t seen for some time. If you have never seen the Fair it is worth visiting the town just to see the amount of work and effort that goes into the event by the whole community. Have a look at this year’s Queen’s Arch it is a huge birthday cake to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Children’s Fair. Today I had a visitor with me from India. He is the Chairman of the St Andrew’s Charitable Trust India, we have been looking at ways in which we can support a few humanitarian project in South India. As a congregation we are n the process of helping to support a number of projects in India, there is one callaed Sangita Trust. They aim to build an orhanage in the form of a village. It cost £6,000 to build one of the houses. Compare that with what is spent on the Fair and Bo’ness could be building an orphanage each year. Pray for the work in India it is challenging but we are encouraged by the progess that is taking place. In  a few weeks a small team from the Church will be on their way to join with Christ the Rock  Church in a children’s mission in the slums of Chennai. I think it would be great if we could find some way to link the Bo’ness Children’s Fair into an overseas development programme but it in India or Peru. Tell me what  you think.

One thing that I will always remember about the Carberry Festival is sharing a late night fish supper with John Bell, and the outstanding contribution that Adrian and Bridget Plass made to the Festivals over the years.One other thing I want to mention yet I’m not sure why, the picture of the crown of thorns which hangs in the Chapel hallway. I think John also added so much to those first few festivals. Maybe the crown of thorns speaks of themes and teaching that was not afraid to face suffering and pain head on.All of us who attended and shared ourselves discovered that the so called theological differences we all expressed, didn’t in the end divide us. Instead living together in community for a week or two made us aware of the important things that united us.Of course since those days the Carberry Festival has changed and different people have been in charge yet it would seem that the same spirit of community and companionship is still alive and well among those who regularly attend. I was privileged to perform at this the last festival as one who performed at the first. Iain Jamieson and myself had an enjoyable evening singing some of our old and new songs.I think one of the most moving experiences for me this weekend, was when we were all invited to bring closure to the Festival by burying the past in order to look forward to perhaps a different kind of event that might grow out of the experience of Carberry.If you’ve attended the Carberry Festival why not use this blog to record some of your memorable experiences.The picture above just reminds me of what it was like to stand at the back of the Chapel and look in or an event that could be musical, dramatic , or indeed worshipful. The picture below is the spot where we hope Jock Stein will be able to plant a tree to commemorate the influence of the Festival on the lives of so many people. If you have time visit my picture gallery highlighting the weekend. GALLERYLet me know what you think, should a new `Festival be born out of the old one? Here is a demo recording of a song Iain , Stephen and I performed on last Friday. I think it is very relevant to the thinking that Neil shared with us as he spoke of the power of a seed to be planted in the ground and in the end to bear much fruit. Maggie’s song reminds us of the power that comes through suffering and faith.

I want to write tonight about the importance of being a round peg in a round hole. Too many people beat themselves up for things they’re not doing. Too often they are being asked to do the impossible. I want to tell you a story that I told the children a few weeks ago in church. Its the story of a racing horse called Master Robert. When my dad was just a young boy he used to look after Master Robert, mainly because he was a horse that had gone lame and was no longer of any use to its owner. As my grandfather was in charge of the animals in the farm, he would let my father ride the lame horse to at least exercise the beast. One day they even tried to yoke the race horse to a Clydesdale horse to pull the plough. Well you can imagine how that went done with Master Robert. He just refused to move. He was bred to race. Finally one day a horse dealer arrived and bought Master Robert for a knock down price. He saw the potential in the animal. If you look at the film you’ll see Master Robert winning the Grand National in 1924. He was the real life Sea Biscuit.So the next time your going to write someone off as useless ask yourself if your playing them in the right position. Race horses don’t plough and plough horses don’t win races. Maybe we all need to bat to our strengths and stop worrying about the things we don’t do so well. 

It’s just turned 1.00pm and in the next 30 minutes Willie and I will be heading for the Airport. Thanks for the info James about the flights. We’ve been told that the Air France flight took off this morning a couple of hours late, however it won’t effect us because I believe the strike is now over. The city links seemingly have not been affected. So we should arrive home as planned.

I was so good to receive your comments over the past week and I felt that many of you were uplifting us in your prayers and for this I’m truly thankful. I’m also glad that Lorna and Erica’s parents got so much out of the live link between Bo’ness and Chennai. I’m just amazed at the two girls they have great determination and their faith has been growing fast during their world without walls travels.

Let me tell you something really quite interesting. Those of you who read the blog regularly will notice a few posts ago I mentioned Arthur Blessitt. Well just for shear fun I googled his e-mail and sent off a greeting to him. Lo and behold a reply came back. Guess what he too is coming to India. The only difference is as I fly out he is flying in. So we won’t meet. However, I’ve asked Raj to make contact. You never know what devine appointments God sets iTalker up to arrange. I’ll keep you posted. If Raj is reading the blog he might keep us all posted.

Tomorrow if I have time I write a bit about a fantastic project we visited this afternoon. It is a project seeking to rescue young girls from the sex trafficing trade. It is a poast well worth reading. There is alkso anoter posting which will be coming up about a visit we made to the tribal areas, and I’ll be introducing you to a tribe that still seem to live in the prehistoric age. So keep your eyes peeled for the next few posting.

When I was a wee boy I lived in Glasgow. one day a man from the Leprosy Mission came to our church. He showed us slides of people who suffered from leprosy and asked for our help. We were all invited to take a box and fill it with coins.  our family took one because we were all moved by the plight of the leperosy sufferers.

I remember the box was L shaped made of wood  and coloured red.  We used to go collecting for the Mission on the streets. We didn’t have a permit but no one ever questioned us in those days. I never thought that many years later i would be standing with my arms around a person who has had to suffer the curse of this dreadful disease.  It also makes me feel so angry that people with this illness have to steal themselves away and live in seclution from the rest of society. Many of the people who live at the Chengalpattu Settlement are unable to support theselves so they have to take to begging. We were told that a good number of them go begging in the street Monday to Friday and return home at the weekend to Chengalpattu.

It was quite an emotional sight seeing memberrs of St Andrew’s moving among these broken people praying with them and asking God’s blessing upon them. Later on this evening members of the team shared their own stories of enrichment relating to this visit today. One of the projects of Mount Zion Church in Chennai is to visit this community which is about 60 miles away  twice a month with food and a time of prayer  and fellowship many of the group have been responding to the gospel.

 

 We were able to spend just a limited time with these unfortunate people before heading out on the mini bus for another hour to reach Padappai. this is where Paul and Grace Moses have set up an extra- ordinary Orphanage called the Sangita Charitable Trust in memory of their infant daughter  Sangita. If you would like to read more about this work and it is well worth the effort click over to our India  Blog.

Well its time for me to sign off. I know a number of people are reading my blog but it would be great to hear from some of you.

This evening there was a glow in the sky all over Bo’ness. There is something about this little town that gets to you, especially on an
evening like this, it’s almost magical. Certainly Eva Cassidy singing Click here.“Somewhere Over The Rainbow” is to my mind the definitive version and it too is quite magical. So when they come together like this on the blog I really hope you can just grab a wee bit magic
for yourself. You look out across the Forth from our garden and you see some amazing views.The picture below was taken about two hours ago, Now you know why people come to live in this town. The views are quite spectacular even dare I say it for the third time magical.

I’m praying that God will bring a spiritual glow all around our town. And I’m hoping that the rainbow is a sign of God’s blessing resting on our town. Tomorrow I’m going to the CLAN Gathering in St Andrew’s to catch up with some of the congregation but also to promote the CWW National gathering which is going to be held at Ingleston from the 3/5 May 2008. Some of our planning team are meeting up with the CLAN organisers to get advice. Anyway I’m looking forward to it and I hope to get some good pictures.

Following on from the visit to the Transport Museum last Monday, it was truly a walk down memory lane for me. The sight of this Standard Vanguard car, reminded me of Summer evenings organised by our Junior Bible Class Leader Glen Laing. He used to dress like a gangster wearing suits with big wide collars and flamboyant ties. He’d load a bunch of young guys in this car and take us out to the countryside for what we used to call a ramble, the truth is it was more like a rumble. We had some good laughs bumping around in the back of this old car, no safety belts in those days. I can still smell the leather and the petrol. Got me thinking, we never know what memories we are creating for young people. I’m sure he never thought he was doing anything really important, he was though. We loved it as teenagers.

So what iconic objects will create memories in the minds of today’s teenagers fifty years on? I bet Valley FM. will be remembered as a high point. Now if you don’t know about valley FM have a look at the web page http://

I can’t believe how quickly time flies. In a less than a week we’ll have Paul and Marty Clark with us all the way from Peru.

( Paul is the gentleman standing to the left of Willie, as Willie, makes an impassioned plea to Peruvian business people to support the project.)

I’m really looking forward to having Paul and his wife Marty with us here in St Andrew’s Bo’ness on Sunday 20th May, he will be with us for two services. We hope that the evening service will attract people from all over. Paul is the visionary that has worked so hard to bring about a ministry in Peru that not only feeds the souls of children but also feeds their bodies.

Talking about feeding things. I was having lunch with Paul Clark in a restaurant in Lima just last January, when believe it or not the following happened. A parrot from a tree swooped down and stole a piece of bread from the bread basket and then took it up the tree to eat.

This is the guy who has inspired so many Scots who have visited Peru to return to Scotland as ambassadors for the poor. It was meeting Paul Clark away back in the early 90s that first inspired Willie McPherson to do something about the needs of the street children.

When Willie came to live in Bo’ness around 1994 we struck up a friendship and before long he became a Director of the Vine Trust. Little did we think then that this work would grow to the stage it is at today. When I started the Trust in 1985 it was giving away a few hundred per year. Today I think we have nearly topped a million in turnover last year. Its not the money, that excites me, it is the changed lives in Peru and Scotland and indeed the whole of the UK and even America that thrills me. So from little acorn great trees grow let us pray that the Vine Trust continues grow in a way that is honouring to God, “Connecting Lives To Change People.” Now that’s not a bad motto, but connecting lives to the Vine to change people, that is just BRILLIANT!

Things have been pretty busy since I wrote my last post. Being busy has included my visit to London to talk to the joint army navy and air force Chaplains about a proposed CWW Tattoo. Now how brilliant would that be? Anyway its under discussion.

Moving on, we had a great evening last Friday at the Ceilidh here in Bo’ness. I think we raised over £900.00 for our church partners in India. Saturday was a chance to catch up with Ian Ferguson who has just completed his 25 years of ministry at Westhill Aberdeen. Sunday was an interesting evening. it was the last of our “On the Street” services. It turned out to be quite a powerful service. It was even mentioned at the Session Monday night by two elders, who expressed their appreciation for the content of the service. I found that really heartening, because i enjoy putting these services together but the time involved is disproportionate to those who attend. Anyway I’ll try and find some clips to post about this service in next few days.

The “Hustings” turned out to be a valuable exercise, it certainly clarified for me the person who should get my vote. As usual our techy team did a great job, as did Aileen and Rae in setting up the church for the event. It looked really good.

Meanwhile today I’ve been trying to sign up a few people to take a table at the Vine Trust’s fund raiser in the Inchyra on the 17th May. I’m looking forward to having Paul Clark share a bit about the vision of partnership that exists between Union Biblica and the Vine Trust. It will also be great to catch up with Tom Morton the BBC presenter and DJ again. Tom is going to be our MC for the evening. I haven’t touched base with Tom for many years. Believe it or not we once played together in a band for a short time and he tipped Martha and me off about our first flat. we ended up living below Tom for a year or two.

Tomorrow will be a make or break day for many a politician. One thing that is really important everyone needs to use their right to vote.