Blog on the Learig

  10 May 2026 Sam Jackson is the Controller of BBC Radio 3. He was interviewed recently by Gerry Lynch. The result appeared in an article in the Church Times. The forty-five year old comes from Godalming. He was the first in his family to go to university and he became a Christian during his first term at the University of York. Interestingly, he is very much involved in his parish church. ‘I’ve always done a lot of volunteer youth and children’s work.’ he said. ‘Even though I love the day job, it’s a wonderful antidote.’ On Sunday morning, he works with a group of 4-7 year olds leading worship, telling Bible stories, playing games, doing craft work. Jackson was challenged by a fellow broadcaster to be more public about his faith. His response to the suggestion, ‘I’m always happy to talk about this part of my life.’ On his social media profile, he has quoted Philippians 4;13, ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’ He is clearly passionate about music and its ...

  9 May 2026 Although May has been cold, the sun has not withdrawn its face and we have not been severely disadvantaged. This has been confirmed by sightings of four butterflies – the Red Admiral, the Peacock, the Orange Tip and the Speckled Wood, all industrious, colourful and cheerful. Following advice from the RSPB, we have stopped feeding sunflower seeds to our garden birds. This has reduced the number of sparrows, finches and tits which we have been used to seeing. Apparently, there is a disease which is reducing the numbers of greenfinches and is passed on at bird feeders. There is more risk of this happening during the summer and the autumn when birds can find their own food e.g. seeds and insects. One of the RSPB recommendations is to help the birds find their   food. To this end, I have planted sixteen sunflower seeds in pots and will plant them in the garden shortly. Despite the loss of bird activity at the feeders, we still have the companionship of the wood...

  8 May 2026 A union of two congregations is like a marriage. Women and men   who are or have been married will know how much work is required to deepen the marriage bond and enrich family life especially if the marriage is blessed with children. Sometimes we look at other people’s marriages and say things like, ‘She wears the trousers in that marriage.’ Or ‘He is the breadwinner.’ Or perhaps he is a successful businessman, well-known in the community with status and increasing wealth. And people say, ‘She lives in his shadow.’ As the years pass, the shadow deepens and darkens and she is almost forgotten until one day an unexpected light is shone on their union and we see so clearly that she is the one who has sustained the marriage bringing to it an unseen but invaluable gift – her forgiveness.

  7 May 2026 The first century election of deacons has much to say about election, government, fairness and generosity. Firstly, democracy is not attractive to some people. It restricts their control and   the establishment of their views. This abuse of power breaks down trust, stymies true growth, inhibits the creation of something new. Just as the election of the seven men to democratise the food distribution created the office of deacon, so the democratic right of a congregation to call its own minister led to the acceptance of gay ministers. When Scott Rennie was called to his Aberdeen charge, the Presbytery sustained the call. Twelve presbyters dissented. But the minister was in good standing with the Church, it was unlawful to discriminate against gay people and the congregation at Queen’s Cross had elected him as their own minister! Secondly, in today’s election, we have two votes – a first past the   post and a proportional representation. One system can e...

  6 May 2026 The disciples were right not to neglect the preaching of the Word. Neglecting   the Word of God and the preaching of the Word would be to deprive the church of its life blood. For the Holy Spirit is to be discerned in the Word and in the preaching of the Word. Ministers of Word and Sacrament and other office-bearers need to discern what is important. Is the Sunday sermon less important than completing the Action Plan or setting up the hall or replying to endless e-mails? Discerning priorities and delegating responsibilities defines individual roles, establishes a community of trust, encourages individual pride in the fulfilment of their work, values openness and transparency, creates a community of people who both give and receive. What I like about this election more than anything else is the outcome. The whole community participated in the election and they chose seven men.   Stephen was one. What do you notice about them? They all had Greek names! ...

5 May 2026 The election of the newly established diaconate was born out of division within the early Church. We didn’t start well. Here there was complaint about the way food was being distributed to the women who had been widowed within the community. The Hebrew women were being favoured over against the Hellenist women. The leadership of the church were very skilled. They do two things. Firstly, they decide that they are not going to take over the food distribution themselves. Their first priority is to preach the Word. Life is all about discerning what is most important and prioritising what our work is going to be. Some people find it impossible to say no or to let go and spread themselves too thinly to the detriment of themselves and the kirk. Secondly, the leadership decide to delegate the work of the foodbank to others. Not only that, they effectively create the new office of deacon. They are unafraid to let go and give up control, to trust others and to share the load. ...