One of the most popular shows on TV centres around the lives of a group of friends. I think the above clip is pretty funny. It reminds me of a few people i know who have gone down the road of the fake tan. Its really strange, but you know when we were in India this Summer the TV commercials were advertising cream to make your complexion pale. While we in this country go looking to become tan. Human nature were never happy with what we’ve got.

On Sunday morning I asked the congregation to think of the qualities that they look for in a friend. I did so knowing that the sermon was going to be centred around the teaching of Jesus regarding the topic of making judgements about people. Its such a difficult thing for all of us when we are in a situation where we have to cultivate friendships. I asked the congregation to begin to discuss the topic this week in their homes.

I was in the church lounge making a cup of tea this morning as intrigued to over hear a conversation between two staff members all about the difficulty many teenagers have in discerning who are really their true friends. So many pressures seem to face them as they seek to discover who they are and also what kind of persona they should promote in order to attract friends.

The thing is its not only teenagers that have the problem there are just so many people out there struggling to hold on to life itself because they’ve been let down by so called friends.

At the end of our reflection in church I asked the question to all of us. What kind of friend are we, to those we call friends. So lets hear you thoughts on friendships.

French authorities forced a series of evictions of asylum-seekers and migrants living in makeshift encampments around Calais today.

No doubt you may have seen the pictures as they were broadcast as part of the News. So what is it that makes people risk everything to try and win British Citizenship? Maybe we have so much in this country that we take our way of life for granted. We are never afraid to speak our mind because we don’t expect to be arrested. The thing is all around the world today people are looking for sanctuary.

I believe genuine people looking for shelter and sanctuary should never be turned away. As I type these words I hear Grace in the Sangita Orphanage telling me she can’t turn a child away who comes to her door looking for sanctuary.

All this reminds me of the thousands of people who roam our streets at night who are looking for meaning and purpose to their lives. They may have homes to go to but they are looking for a different kind of sanctuarysanctuary. Will you remember in your prayers this new web based ministry that starts in the next couple of weeks. We’re looking for congregations and individuals to partner us as we seek to take this right into the ” Lions Den”

My friends Wilfred and Shanti Davidar took us out for dinner the other evening. We ended up at JCs Cafe in Chennai. Its actually quite a cool place. It was also quite busy. It is run by a Christian businessman, who is seeking to reach out to a group of people who are seeking to engage with spiritual ideas. It is a place where people of different faiths and no faith frequent, because they enjoy the ambiance.  I actually think it could be a brilliant place to promote and run Sanctuary First  in Chennai. I spoke to the owner and he seemed quite interested.

Anyway it was an opportunity for us to catch up with the Davidars after spending the day with their staff who run the Raphe Ministry. Shanti is always full of amazing stories and her faith in the Lord is quite irrepressible.

Among the topics we discussed was the work that was started in the Rainy Hospital by   another woman, this time a powerful Scots lady called Christina Rainy, she was ably served by another Scottish lady doctor . Together they founded the Rainy Hospital here in Chennai in 1888.  Christina Rainy had visited this area with her husband Robert Rainy who was the Principal of New College in Edinburgh. She returned home with a passion to establish the hospital and find women doctors who would come and work to establish a service for local women. Christina rainy knew that moist women like to be examined by a woman doctor. So the hospital was established.

I spent sometime looking round the facilities yesterday. I found it very sad to see that the place had been allowed to fall into such poor condition.  I was heartened to meet the senior doctor in charge of the hospital  Dr Chris Roy. I was also full of admiration for the task that he has taken on. He has only been in post a year. He tells me he is fire fighting everyday to raise enough money to pay bills. He is in need of so many resources. he is short of sterilising  equipment, a present he has cannibalised  an  older broken down machine to make the present machine work. It is difficult to know where to start he tells me as he shows me round a hospital that has been allowed to fall into such disrepair. Yet he has nothing but faith and praise for his team of doctors and nurses. He tells me they have just stabilised a young girl who was admitted the previous evening after trying to hang herself in her home. He tells me of the successes he has had with such meager resources. We try hard to keep the wards clean and tidy. We have no infection whatsover in the hospital. However he explains it would be wonderful if we could paint the walls and have the equipment we need to do the heart operations that I’m skilled to do.

I came away moved at the commitment of this man to bring back to life the vision of these two Scottish ladies and I thought to myself I’ll do all I can to help him make that vision a reality. When we get back home there will be opportunities i hope to speak with others who might take up the call.

I’m sure in the past this hospital no doubt has had challenging issues to try and resolve. However with the right support there are no issues that can’t be resolved and indeed turned to good. Pray for Chris Roy as he works tirelessly along with his staff to serve the poorer people in Chennai.

The last few days just seem to have flown by. I visited the Leprosy Colony at Chengelpod. It’s a facinating story how the Colony has been able to develop and survive. It is always a moving scene busting these people. We also spent some time at the Raphe Ministry. The group of women work among sex workers and their families. They have now formed themselves into a church. What an amazing stories these women shared with us yesterday. I’m actually hugely impressed with the quality of leadership that seems to be present in all these ministries. It also ntetesting to notethat the key players are all women.

It was actually no different this afternoon when we visited the Sangita Orphanage. What an amazing transformation has taken place in the last year. There are a number of key building erected now enough to move some of the children in next month. There’s still a considersbleamount of money required to finish the work. Paul tells that they at short of about 100,000 to complete the whole project. I’ll get some pictures up when we get to Temple Bay.

We’ve just been resting here for the past twenty four hours. I think it is a well earned rest. It also has allowed me to reflect on all that has gone on in this trip.

We are so grateful to our fixer over here Captain Alfred Thacker. He is a man with outstanding determination and is greatly respected in these parts. In India seniors are often referred to as Uncle. it is a term of endearment and also respect. So we salute uncle once again on this trip just encase he thinks he’s been overshadowed by the women. Anyway her are a couple of pictures from the Sangita Orphanage. We have been filming the new build. In due course when it is edited we’ll get it up on youtube so that everyone can see the massive improvements that will come about with the new build. Grace was telling us that she took the children to see their new home. their eyes were popping out of their heads at the sight of the new granite floors and the spacious sleeping areas. Here are some of the children.

India is a busy place. Everyone you see on the street seems to be going some where. Boys and girls dressed in their cotton school uniforms rushing to school. Workers, men and women, carrying great bundles on their heads and backs. Motorcycles moving in and out of cars. Engines reving, horns being blown, it all sounds a bit like a great orchestral piece of music.

In the midst of all this movement of people we too make our way out of the city of Chennai to drive for about four hours to  the State of Kerala, we are heading  for  the village of Marriyoor.

This is where we will meet up with the Sisters of Nazareth. Both of these women have quite outstanding stories to tell of the wonderful way God has called them to be servants among the people who live in this region.

They have been working here for over 15 years. They seek to be champions of the poor with a special remit to serve and support the tribal people who live high up in the mountains. This group of tribal people are known as “MUDHUWANS”. They have very little contact with civilisation. They are a primitive group of people and it is estimated that there could be up to 400 settlements spread out across the mountain range.  Jansi in forms me that some anthropologists have suggested that these tribes are linked in some way with the tribes of Indians found in South America.( I must look into this the next time I’m over in South America.)

The only way into their villages is to go on trek into the hills and climb high up tpo around 7,000 feet. This journey will take you at least five hours if your fit or perhaps your life if your not.

Freeda speaks with great passion for her work.She tells me how the Mudhuwan’s live. “They live in huts of bamboo covered with clay,” she explains. ” when we first went there all the people ran away from us they were terrified. Finally we met the chief and we managed to ccommunicate using  a language mix of Tamil and Malayalam. Today, some 15 years later, they run a school for the children in their complex which is just outside the village of Marriyoor. About sixty boys and girls from the tribal villages in the mountains attend the school and it is becoming a source of great pride to all parents who live in this area. The children come and live with the sisters and are educated up to secondary school age. There are many opportunities that come Freeda and Jansi’s way.  We need to help them maximise these offers.

This project has great potential if we can find so group out their who would be willing to lend a hand. I can see us doing a similar thing that Vine Trust do in Peru sending out work parties to help establish buildings and infra structure for this kind of work to continue.

It is from these distant mountains  communities that the  above children have come to study and be educated. On their returnm these children become the community educators in all sorts of subjects.one of the most important is in the area of health education.

I was just reflecting today that Madeline Makola is quite an amazing person. In the face of all that she endured she is still in one piece and able to let he past go. I guess she is the one qualified to answer the post i made a few days ago surrounding the steam train. Have a listen to her as she speaks to a BBC reporter about her feelings towards the man who locked her in the boot of her car for ten days. It is really worth listening to even if you’ve heard it before.Click Here. She is a wonderful example of Christian grace in action. Now compared to all the hype around Susan Boyle who is the real hero. i leave you to judge.

Just finished picking the set of songs for my radio show later on today. I love this opportunity to get behind a microphone and share some music and tell stories and speak with my guests.

Today’s guest is Stuart Murdoch the Baptist minister in the town. I think we’ll have a bit of banter. It will be a great show. I hope that Lilias will also be able to join me as part of the production team. Lilias is really chatty and good at answering the emails that come in from time to time while your on the air.

I’ve got a kind of theme in my head for tomorrow. We’re all in search of this theme but too often we don’t quite find it. And when we do it seems to just disappear. Anyway I thought I’d play a track from Blue Nile.Here is
Paul Buchanan singing

I just think this is a great song. So if your around check out Valley FM on 87.7 or if you are not in reach of this frequency why noot go to Valley FM Web site and listen in.

ARCHBISHOP TUTU AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Certainly history was in the making yesterday morning as the little frail looking man dressed in purple appeared in the play pen. By the end of his address the general Assembly gave him a standing ovation. ” Turn the wilderness into a garden of wonderful flowers.” He thanked all those who stood with him in the struggle because of them  he said, ” we are free today.”

SPEAKING AND FACING THE TRUTH

Well that’s me back from te General Assembly. It has been a challenging week in many ways for so many people. Someone sent me an email asking me if the church had gagged me. when it comes to my blog.   They were referring to the moritorium that has been placed upon ministers of the Church of Scotland commenting  to the press about the induction of homosexual people into ministerial charges. It is a crude instrument that is being used to try and prevent among other things,  the press from making up ridiculous headlines.  You know the kind that have been around recently.

I think it was one newspaper when reporting  on a report to the General Assembly on the issue of sex offenders attending church ran with a headline to the effect that “Kirk Supports Sex Beasts”  the truth of the report was that the Kirk is seeking to protect children at church from people who may have been involved with sex offenses. In doing so they were laying down procedures that should be followed  by the Church leaders when aware of such a person attending public worship.

I don’t believe the spirit of the moratorium is to prevent ministers speaking about and discussing the issues within the context of genuinely interested inquirers especially within the family of the church and community. It is more to do with preventing ministers from debating over the airwaves things that they might be better discussing face to face in a friendly manner. Certainly congregations will be expected to discuss and send their opinions to the Special Commission that has been set up to look into this matter.

I don’t think it will stop me in the least from contributing to the debate. For while I contend for a “Generous Orthodoxy ” (not my phrase but Brian MacLaren’s the author of a book with this title) , I hope to do so with respect and courtesy for those who see things in a different light. Never the less it would be a poor church that would try to stop a minister of the Gospel speak forth that which God has called him or her to say.  However we are all responsible for our words and the effect that they can have on others.  Let us hold to the counsel of John the beloved disciple and while we may disagree learn to love each other. By the way thank you James Hogg for the photo below. You thought I looked Presidential, personally I think I look as though I’m singing a version of “I did it my way”

BOGLE”S PARAPHRASE

Even if your world collapses all around you. Jesus said “I will never leave you to clear it up on your own” There is nothing too difficult for Him to do. So with great confidence think about this. If you have God as your helper what else do you need. Why would you be afraid of what others might think about you?  Heb 13. 5-6

Heb 13

Here is a short video highlight of tat memorable Summer way back in 2000. We toured round Scotland in a period of 6 days and connected with hundreds of people as we took our multimedia service into cathedrals and churches. Our idea was that we needed to raise funds to get our media project off the ground. in Bo’ness.

Its amazing that 9 years on we have SANCTUS MEDIA working out of the church as a media production company as part of our congregation’s ministry.

This week we will be streaming the General Assembly out live to the world. And to think it all started with a Bike Ride. If someone looked up the minutes of the Assembly for the year 2000 I think they’d find it mentioned. I was trying to get sponsorship for the ride. Who knows where technology will take us in the next ten years. let’s hope that SANCTUS MEDIA can continue to be a servant to the church throughout Scotland.

One of the most memorable evenings was the night we played in Glasgow Cathedral. I think there must have been about 400 people turn up that night. Recently i met someone who told me it was such a meaningful service. we had an opportunity for people to respond. I remember thinking the queues would never end as people came forward for anointing with oil and to receive a stone. It would be great to hear from anyone who was there that evening. What were your thoughts?

I think this idea could be resurrected and tried out again next Summer. Scotland is just a fantastic place to cycle if the weather is good. If you were cycling that week as part of the Challenge let’s hear from you.

It looks as though we might be considering a Scottish Cathedral’s Cycle Challenge again ten years on. So keep your ear to the ground. Mike Munro one of our elders has been researching the idea. It was actually a great event. It raised the seed money nine years ago to start the St Andrew’s Multimedia Youth Project”. When you look back we’ve achieved a great deal in those years. Much more still has to be done, however I’d like to think that if we do the Cycle Challenge next year that we will get people from all over the world to join in with us. It was great when we had some of our friends from Hillsongs come and join with us in our worship events around the Cathedrals.

This could be a great World Without Walls fundraiser. I must see if we can find some old footage and put it up on the blog. Anyway lets hear what you think. Would the Cycle Challenge get you moving to get in gear? Would you consider getting your self fit to cycle over 300 miles in a week?

Talking about worship we had some wonderful worship in church this morning the congregtion was in good singing mood. We opened wih a traditional hymn, “Praise to the Lord the Almighty the King of Creation” the congregation sang it really well. we then moved on to sing the song “Lord I come to You” and then ended the opening sesction of praise with the old Graham Kendricks song ” For this Purpose” I think these songs really lifted people this morning and I felt when it came to the sermon the congregation were listening intently. 

I’m preaching through a series looking at relationships and  their significance as they are understood in Christian Baptism and Marriage.   If you want to hear more check out www.standonline.org.uk

Finally we had a great join evening of praise with members of the Apostolic Church last night and I was able to sign up Len Bennett to be our giest preacher next Sunday evening.