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New Life!

It was a bit misty and all was silent when I awoke this morning. Probably a bit like that first Easter morning when Mary went into the garden and found the stone had been rolled away and the tomb behind it lay empty.

After a time of waiting & expectancy, the sun soon came out (no pun intended!!!) and it is now a beautiful Easter Day.

 

When asked this morning what Easter meant to them, one wee boy in our Sunday School said 'New Life'.

Out of the mouth of babes indeed!

Oh that we could all be as children and come up with answers like that. 

The wee Robin in the attached pic (click on pic for a larger view) is certainly looking forward to new life as he has been busy for the past few days in my garden building a wee hoose for his good lady too settle into. Hopefully new life for them will follow soon too.

PS - Was looking out my front window during a telephone conversation with my daughter this morning (Monday) and saw a Wren, two Long Tailed Tits and numerous Blue Tits all within 5 minutes.
Spring and 'new life' are most certainly in the air.

Good Friday Revisited

My good lady and I decided to break with tradition today and actually go away for Good Friday. Although the weather was overcast, we decided to head off with the intent of revisiting a wee favourite place to eat at Tayvallich.

However, about 5 miles before Tayvallich, another road goes off to the left and heads down to Kilmory.
Ever on the lookout for new territory to discover and being an hour early for lunch, we decided to try it. A good number of miles later we eventually reached Kilmory which consists of a few old but re-furbished cottages, some  with corrugated roofing, surrounding the ruined Kilmory Knap Chapel and looking over to the Isle of Jura.

Kilmory Knap Chapel itself stands in the middle of a small walled graveyard and was built around 1100AD as a dependency of the parish church of Knapdale at Keills. It is thought to stand on the site of an even earlier church. 

Entrance to the Chapel is by a locked door. But the key is in the lock... a nice touch!

Once inside, the visitor discovers that the building does in fact have a roof. This has been added in the recent past and is made of glass. The odd thing is that instead of sloping UP to an apex, this one slopes DOWN into the interior... so that it cannot be seen from the outside. However, it still does the job of keeping the contents of the chapel protected from the elements and at the same time allowing light inside.

'The contents?' I hear you ask! The contents are West Highland medievil grave-slabs in surprisingly good condition. There is a similar collection not all that far away at Kilberry where my Granny came from.

One piece of sculpture stands out from the rest – 'MacMillan’s Cross'. Erected in the later 1400s, this commemorates Alexander MacMillan, keeper of nearby Castle Sween for his lord, Alexander MacDonald, Lord of the Isles. Unfortunately I can't say that I am any relation to Alex!!!!

The cross stands almost 3m high and is splendidly decorated. but it is what is depicted that caught my eye on today of all days. The cross-head shows Christ crucified.

So as Christians gathered to mark the crucifixion in churches throughout the world, my wife and I stood alone in a remote area of Scotland beside something 600 years old which depicted an event which happened 2,000 years ago... and just as we left the sun came out!

Absolutely amazing!

More pics are available under 'Kilmory Knap Chapel' in the PHOTO ALBUMS below.

The feet have been washed and the meal has taken place...

Good service again tonight at Dalmuir Barclay and great that the folks who travelled from Abbotsford had the chance to share in Communion with our linked congregation for the first time!

Thank you!

A Personal Thought...

As can be seen from the list of Holy Week services here in the Clydebank area, we are somewhat spoiled for choice.

However, I cannot but feel that choice, in this instance, is divisive and putting too much of a work load on an already stretched ministry.

Over the past two evenings my choice has been to attend the services at Dalmuir Barclay (our linked congregation) where our minister has been leading worship. Both services were excellent in their simplicity in putting over the message of the days leading up to the crucifixion and eventual resurrection.
I thoroughly enjoyed them! The singing too, unaccompanied, was really good.

Tonight 'choice' was replaced by 'involvement' as I was at the 'Clydebank Churches' service held at Abbotsford. Lead by our minister, the service was again simple and yet captured the moment. 

'Simplicity' in a service does NOT mean that it has been given little thought and preparation! 

All three services were, relatively speaking, well attended.
However, midweek service attendances, even in Holy Week, are always a little bit hit and miss and invariably fewer people attend than at Sunday Worship. I am sure that Ministers will say that getting the message over, even to a few, is worth it and I can empathise with this, but it is still questionable whether a lot of work for little overall gain is ever an efficient way of doing things. Due to linkages, we are now in the position in Clydebank where, in Holy Week, Ministers have a mixture of between one and five services to lead. This is over and above the work entailed in Easter Services for schools, chaplaincy work, funerals and other day to day pastoral duties.

Oh yes!... and the Sunday Service too!

In these days of dwindling congregations and even fewer ministers (who have to split themselves between their linkage churches) is it not time for a complete rethink on Holy Week services?

I personally think that it would be easier if ALL the churches in Clydebank really did get together, so that each minister only had to take one service, Monday to Friday, in Holy Week.

Although transport is always a problem, especially for those more advanced in years, I am sure that a 'list on the notice board' would soon gather enough cars to give those wishing to attend, the chance to do so.

... and if you want a lift to the service for the Maundy Thursday Communion Service at Dalmuir Barclay tomorrow evening, then please do let me know!

On this night of thinking about thirty pieces of silver, that was my 'tuppence worth'!

Peace to all!

Tom