Here is a simple little prayer I wrote earlier this week for the service tomorrow evening. At Sanctuary First our aim is to try and lead those who attend into a deeper experience of worship. The video clip was put together by Rae Manger who works as a staff member in our creative media team. Take time to see the close connection between words and music and how we have used the idea that less often can mean more.

Broken1.mov

Creating a worshipful atmosphere is something that Christians have been exploring down through the centuries. Later on this evening we hope to explore the theme of the mystery and majesty of God as described in Isaiah chapter 6. We’ve got a smoke machine and a burning flame all as part of the props tomorrow. I’ll get some pictures of the sanctuary as we prepare to encounter the peace of god

When we encounter the awesome presence of Almighty God we discover that we are no longer in control. Indeed the holy presence of God makes us aware of our human frailty and our shabby lives. In the presence of Almighty God none of us can stand up to his scrutiny

In this chapter Isaiah has an amazing life changing encounter with God. The thing to notice is the sublime presence also reveals our sinful and twisted nature. I hope the service will make space for the power of God to work bringing forgiveness and healing into many lives.

SANCTUARY FIRST

This new project has the ability to become an amazing presence on the web. Will you pray for it as we begin to make onnection around our presbytery to begin with and then take it further afield. If you think this is something you’d like to know more about why not pop over and see us on Sunday . It starts at 7.00pm but we’re serving food at 6.30pm. We’re hoping to launch our Twitter Prayerline for the whole church at the Sanctuary First Service this Sunday.

UNITARY CONSTITUTION

This Sunday we’re going to have a special meeting of the Kirk Session and the Deacons’ Court to look at a new structure out of which to organise ourselves as a church. At the last Kirk Session, Session agreed to allow , St Andrew’s Multimedia Youth project (SAMYP ) to morph into a new not for profit company which is going to be known as SANCTUS MEDIA LTD. We’ll be looking for some folks to invest in this new outreach project.This will allow us to bring together our our fur social outreach programmes under the leadership of our new associate minister whenever they arrive. These include the Shalom Counselling Service which operates out of the Kinglass Health centre two afternoons per week. The Bounce Higher Programme which focuses on children and families. The Youth Work lead by Lilias and her team and of course the Tuesday Club our award winning programme wich has just received a certificate of excellence from the Care Commission

WORLD WITHOUT WALLS

Over the next few weeks we’re going to be missing Rae and Adam from the staff as they go off to India to visit our partners. This will be an opportunity for them to see the work and report back on the progress of the various projects we support. As Rae and Adam leave we’ll be delighted to welcome home Erica and Lorna from thier 15 month tour of all our World Without walls partners. Please remember us in your prayers

We had a very interesting weekend at church. The Must Be More Festival turned out to be an interesting start to the coming church session. I pray that we are on the right tracks.

At present we’re in the midst of a capacity building exercise. This calls us to look at the way we organise ourselves so that we can become more effective as an organisation. I’ll tell you more about this in the coming weeks.

We have come to the conclusion that we need to be continually reviewing the way we structure ministry. The picture of scaffolding on the left is one that I saw in India last year. It was pretty dangerous looking, made up of pieces of wood tied together with rope. Got me thinking that while the structure needs to be flexible it also requires to have an element of security about it. However the structure cannot in the end determine the shape and the purpose of the organisation. The shape and vision must determine the structure required to support its function.

Part of our vision in St Andrew’s is making church relevant for those with young families this  is one of our priorities as a church. The Children’s Holiday Club was well attended last week and it was great to see many of the children and their parents return to church for the Sunday service. We need to be reflecting on the right things to do that will keep attracting the children to worship. I’ve noticed thatwe don’t always get the same children eturning i the following weeks to the Holiday Club. the question is do we need to change the way we do Children’s ministry?

Got me thinking about how we do church at the present. At one time we used to have three services on a Sunday. An early morning one which was especially focused on young families. We ran it for nearly seven years. Eventually we merged the two services. Sunday morning last week was a great service focused on the children, it got me thinking about how we might further develop such services in the future. I must say a big thank you to Craig Hannah and his team for doing such a great job.

This week I’ve started working on a series of sermons centred around the book of Nehemiah. I think it is going to be very useful to us all as we consider this winter what is going to be the way forward for us as a congregation. We have had a group looking at the refurbishment of our present building to help us bring it up to standard for the 21st century. We also have a group as i mentioned before looking at the way we organise our administration. The shape of all this is determined by our vision.

I’m looking forward to exploring all this with the congregation. Nehemiah is all about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. There will be lessons for us all to learn as we consider the walls that we need to rebuild in our ministry and the ones we need to tear down in order to fulfill our ministry to be a local congregation with a global calling. We’d love to hear from others who are going through a restructuring. there is much no doubt we can learn.

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.

 Summer is a great time to reach out to our communities and share the Gospel. This year I’m hoping that we might be able to run a tent mission in  the town. I know there is not a lot of time, but I think we could pull it off. We had a group of enthusiastic people meet up to talk about the idea last week, and we had great fun thinking about how we could use a big tent, for mission here in Bo’ness. If we do it, we’ve decided we’ll try and get permission to put the tent up on the foreshore. Here is a picture of the site. Bo’ness foreshore is really quite amazing. I don’t know why it isn’t used more often for events.I think the tent could attract quite a lot of people and if we have a good programme organised I tbelieve we could also see a lot of people come to Christ this summer. It seems to me that there is a longing in so many people today to  find a purpose and a meaning to their lives. It doesn’t call for you to be too bright, to know that we all have a sense of wonder and mystery in our hearts. However sometimes that feeling of not knowing turns to doubt and skepticism. Yet most of us have a sense  that their is something beyond life itself. There is a holy discontent around. I sometimes feel that many people outside the church feel let down by those of us who call ourselves Christian. They are looking for the church to say in a clear way what it means to be a Christian. And too often we have spoken out like “politically correct” politicians.  There was an interview on “Newsnight” last night with the Archbishop of Canterbury, and he was challenged to be more clear about the things he really believed in. We need to know when to speak and when to listen. We have the habit of saying much,  and accepting  too much, and this  0ften leads to confusion. We need a church with leadership that is convinced about the power of  the Gospel to change and direct people’s lives. So anyway, I’m hoping we can put up a tent in our town and pull off a mission. keep praying for us. Oh there is there is the small matter of £2,000 which I need to rent the tent. So I’m taking a leaf out of the Moderator’s theme - yes it will happen God willing - Prayer and Money can change the world. What do you think?

 I was at an interesting meeting in the church offices in Edinburgh today. It was a conference where Town Planners, Property Developers and Church Leaders, in areas undergoing regeneration, were all invited to listen to each other and understand the whole process involved in regenerating a community.  It was interesting to hear this discussion in the light of the latest news regarding the regeneration of Bo’ness.  What was going to be a spectacular waterfront development starting with the harbour and shops and waterfront cafes, has been reduced to a couple of six storey tower block flats and a few three storey town houses.  Quite a disappointment for the town!  There is a promise though without  any guarantees that the harbour will eventually be tackled when the right financial package can be arranged.  The thing is Falkirk Council seem willing to promote this slimmed down revised plan as being acceptable in the present economic climate.  Breaking promises because they may cost more seems to go with the territory of making money.  Some of my colleagues today were impressed by one of the speakers who was a developer, because he spoke clearly and honestly reminding everyone that the role of the developer was simply to  make money.  The thing is, I wasn’t totally convinced.   You see, I think simply making money is not enough even for the most successful.   I’ve come to the conclusion that most people with wealth that I have known  want to make a difference in the world if they can, and it is the role of the Church and Christians like us to help them find ways to make their wealth bring about changes in the world for the better.  I couldn’t resist asking the young upwardly mobile developer as he left the room about his statement regarding the sole purpose of the developer to make money.  ”So tell me I said, after you’ve made the money what do you do with it.  Surely making money is not an end in itself.  You know I think the penny dropped, or the money dropped.  He looked at me as he went out the door, and said, “When I make my first million I’ll get in touch with  you right, I’ll help you make a difference. He was gone before I could make the reply, “You don’t need a million to start making the difference - you need a heart.” So I think what I’d like to say to ING and the Council  is this, it takes more than a pile of money to make a community.  You see you can’t regenerate a town without understanding the importance of community and you can’t create community where there is no trust.

Just watching Amazon Heartbeat on STV this evening. There is just so much that is never said and that frustrates me as the Chairman of the Trust. Television companies of course are looking for the cheapest and easiest way to make a programme  yet I don’t know why it is that they never get round to identifying our drivers.  People ask me and say what is it that makes the Trust so successful and I can only say prayer. If we didn’t have the prayer base we have all round the world then we would have packed up and gone home years ago.  Anyway enough of my rant about the Amazon Heartbeat. Its quite a challenge to begin to focus back on some of the local issues  here in Bo’ness after being involved with the National Gathering. This week I’ve been along at a meeting in the Town Hall hearing about the amended plans for the regeneration of Bo’ness. I must confess that I’m not convinced  by what I hear. the developers are now pulling out of completing the harbour before building houses. They now want to build a series of houses first. This of course makes you wonder if a harbour will ever be brought back into action. I think few people in the town are happy with the proposals, so I imagine the progress of the regeneration will come to a halt or slow down considerably. What will happen in the future is all up in the air, but I’m sure that  the majority of people have come to the conclusion that a harbour will be key in renewing the infra structure of our town. I think many believe that the Council has been duped by a very powerful and experienced financier who is more eager to make money than see the regeneration project to fruition. All this brings me back to our TV programme. At the heart of so much of what actually happens, be it making a TV series or seeking to renew a whole community, there are  faceless financiers who are calling the shots. I’ve come to the conclusion we need to be more constant in our prayer lives in order to connect more people to the Vine.   

We had a very interesting few hours in Polmont Young Offenders Prison on Wednesday. Over 80% of all young adults in the prison were there due to alcohol related crimes. So why does our government allow shops to sell cheap alcohol to young people. Another interesting statistic was that many of the crimes were related to feelings connected with loss and abandonment. I began to realise that it is not simply in places like peru that young boys feel abandoned. So many children today are trying to deal with the feelings of loss and hurt due to marital breakdown. The chaplain pointed out that a considerable number of young people inside were struggling with issues of bereavement. He felt that more parish ministers should be aware of the opportunities to support such young people.

He also spoke about the concerns that haunt many of the prisoners when they are preparing for their release date. He pointed out that often prisoners are concerned that they will let their families down if they fail to deliver on the promises they make to go straight when they are released. Donald continued to share that he was in the business of helping prisoners in the following areas;
Spiritual well being
Coping with prison
Preparing for release
Guilt and forgiveness
Healing.

When I heard Donald speak about these issues I started to think that many of these prisoners are no different from those of us who are on the outside. We too have the same issues with which to contend. Perhaps the only difference between us is that they have been caught breaking the law that many of us have also broken.

I also started to think is prison the right place for many of these boys. It was also disturbing to discovered that some of the prisoners have learning difficulties and are inside because of their inability to make rational decisions and judgments. Then there are those who are in prison for drug related crimes. In all I was told that around 50,000 people pass through our prisons each year.

Here is an issues for us as a congregation. We all live less than 20 minutes away from the prison, should we be praying for he prisoners and their victims? Should we be seeking to support and help the work of the chaplain in the prison. Let me hear what you think. I believe there are opportunities to go visiting and also to take part in Bible Studies in prison.

You’ll never guess where I’m going tomorrow? Polmont Young Offenders Institute! A few years ago I did a “Johnny Cash”, I took my guitar and sang in the prison. A riot nearly broke out. I think the song lyrics were an invitation to violence. Anyway thought I’d get you thinking about prisons, but before you do I hope you enjoy this clip.

The central committee of the Mission and Discipleship Council sometimes take their meetings out of 121 George Street. Its an opportunity to think about issues of discipleship and mission in different settings. It is a valuable excercise. Maybe this is something all Kirk Session should do? You know, hold a meeting in another venue away from the church buildings? I think more elders might turn up. What you think? Anyway,this time we will be making history. I think it will be the first time such a committee of the General Assembly, has met in a prison.

Donald Scott the Senior Chaplain of the prison will be hosting the committee. I hope he finds it an encouraging day. So often prison Chaplaincy is overlooked and those who send their lives working with prisoners are seldom given the support and the recognition they deserve. I think next week might be “Prisoners’ Week”. This is a week when some of the issues that surround prisoners is brought to the public domain. I wonder if some of the issues that Dr Andrew McLellan, the Chief Prison Inspector, has raised in the past about Polmont have been addressed? I think i’ll raise the question tomorrow.

Dr Andrew MacLellan is reported to have said, “the situation in the young offenders’ institution drives me to despair.” Writing in the Sunday Herald in February 2006 ,McLellan says: “What should worry us most about Polmont is that every day it is becoming more and more overcrowded. I rejoiced when I saw the fine new accommodation block opened three years ago; I now despair when I see these good conditions being spoiled by ever-increasing numbers of young men being crammed into them.” He continues, “If we want our jails to be safe then we need to make it possible for prison staff to do their jobs. Overcrowding makes everything worse for everyone.”

These comments were made in 2006, only a week after the Sunday newspapers highlighted the escalating levels of violence and indiscipline in Polmont, the country’s national centre for criminals aged 16 to 21. Previously unreleased figures showed that despite having only 9-per cent of the total prison population, Polmont’s inmates committed 16-per cent of all crimes behind bars.

As I write this article the Conservatives Social Justice think tank have appointed ex prisoner and cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken to head up an Inquiry into the state of prisons in the UK today. I don’t know about you, but I know people in Bo’ness who have family in prison. They worry about them, especially those who have young adults serving time. They hope that they’ll come through the other end unscathed. A tall order.

If it were possible to make jail a place where people get the opportunity to make amends and change don’t you think that would be a good thing? Instead of it being the training ground for further criminal activity. Let me know what you think. Should we as a congregation being so near the prison get more involved with prisoners? Should we be offering to help Donald in his work? If your interested in prison work get in touch.

Lord today was glorious
And I just loved the view
The soft sunlight has
given us all a rich warm glow.
Your world is quite spectacular.
The colour scheme is breath - taking
When the sun shines,
it seems to bring out the best in everyone
People actually talk to each other
The TV gets turned off
And people go for walks.
Lord I just love this view looking over our town.
It calls from within me a prayer
I heard from a friend recently,
so simple yet so profound.
“Come down and come in”
So Lord I pray,
Come down and come in to our town;

our homes
our shops
our schools
our Churches
and above all
Come down
and come in
to our hearts
Lord,
Could we be like the tree that has been planted by the river?
Flowing through our community
Bringing health and healing
to our families,
Lord Come down
Come in
Your Kingdom come!
Lord,
Lift our eyes to see the hills
So that we might always be reminded
of your long lasting generosity.
Lift our eyes to see the hills
For you alone know the plans
You have in your hands
For our lives.