4 September 2026 When JM Barrie, the Scottish playwright, became rector at St. Andrews University, he was invited to address the students. His theme was courage and the rectorial address runs to forty-five pages. It was delivered on 3 May 1922, barely three years after the Armistice was signed. By this time, Barrie was sixty-two. It is a remarkable piece of writing characterised by the courage of which he speaks. Early on, there is a confession. ‘For fifty years or so we heeded not the rumblings of the distant drum.’ he says of those whom he describes as the students’ betters! ‘And when war did come we told youth, who had to get us out of it, tall tales of what it really is and of the clover beds to which it leads. We were not meaning to deceive, most of us were as honourable and as ignorant as the youth themselves; but that does not acquit us …’ He goes on to challenge the students to do two things. Firstly, to work in partnership with their betters to make the world mor...
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3 September 2026 Paul is writing to the church at Philippi. He is concerned. Two of the women are not getting on. We even know their names – Euodias and Syntyche. Imagine being remembered in Holy Scripture for being unable to get on with another member of the church! Paul appeals to the others in the congregation to help sort out this problem. Unity is a key feature of the gospel and it features in the ordination vows both for ministers and elders. ‘Do you promise to seek the unity and peace of this Church?’ He wants the two women to ‘be of the same mind’. He gives three pieces of advice. Firstly, rejoice in the Lord. Whatever happens to us in life, we can find our joy in Christ. Our relationship with Christ transcends everything else even divisive behaviour. If we all find our joy in Christ, we will surely find joy in each other and be united. Secondly, let your requests be made known to God. In prayer, we are able to share our worries with God. In this action, we b...
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2 September 2026 Autumn is making its presence felt. The chestnut leaves are on the turn. Other trees too. The students have begun to arrive in St. Andrews after their long summer break. Our apples, pears and plums are ripening for a rich harvest. The fruit has been exceptional this year. In the summer, we had a lot of strawberries. These plants were taken as runners from the ones we bought four years ago. We must have about two dozen plants but I had another 175 runners from that initial set. We are now harvesting the plums. We got none last year and felt pessimistic about this year’s crop. The tree is purposely small and the leaves were crinkling in the summer heat but we got over hundred Victoria plums. There’s nothing more refreshing than picking a plum in the early morning sun and savouring it. One of the James Grieve apples fell to the ground. I turned the others but they were steadfastly attached to the tree. I baked the apple for breakfast filling it...
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1 September 2026 In order to save money, some professions have been broken up into various different tasks and others have been trained to fulfil these particular tasks. By their very nature a profession is much more than the sum of its parts. It is much more holistic than that. I thought about this the other day when I read about Rajendra Dadabi, the Principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in north-central Nepal. At 9-20am on Wednesday 26 August, there were 900 students in the school. They were half way through the early shift. Another 700 were on their way by foot and bus. Rajendra got a phone call from a friend who lived five miles upstream. As Chris Haslam reported, he told the Principal that his village had gone, taken by the river. ‘Run!’ he said. Rajendra thought for a moment and assessed the situation. The three storey school was built of concrete and 60m above the river. A parent interrupted him. ‘The River is rising!’ Now he knew what to d...
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31 August 2026 The beauty of the gospel and, in particular, the person of Jesus is that he doesn’t favour stereotypical behaviour. We see that in his priorities. ‘The last shall be first, the first last!’ We see it in his reaction to others. ‘Why does he eat and drink with publicans and sinners?’ In particular, we see it in the open-hearted way he invites people to join his circle. John the Baptist recognises Jesus and acknowledges him as ‘The Lamb of God’. Two others hear him and are intrigued. They follow Jesus. He turns around and sees them. ‘What are you looking for?’ he asks. ‘Where do you live, Rabbi?’ they ask acknowledging his status as teacher. ‘Come and see!’ says Jesus rather enigmatically. And they do. It’s such a gentle and generous response. He accepts them and makes room for them. They become disciples. Andrew tells his brother, Peter. And the circle begins to grow. This is how it works. It’s essentially a ministry imbued with gentleness, characterised by acc...
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30 August 2026 In Psalm 121, the Psalmist sings, ‘I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.’ My help comes from God but we look to the hills for help because of their permanence, strength and majesty. In Psalm 46, the Psalmist confirms this when he sings, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’ Having declared that God is our strength, the Psalmist goes on to say, ‘Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.’ Somehow, the Psalmist knew that this could happen. And now we have seen it for ourselves. When we lived in Stirling, we were surprised to discover that the Abbey Craig which houses the iconic Wallace Monument was breaking up. Boulders broke off and landed on the road. Metal fencing was constructed around it to protect drivers and pedestrians. When my dad had dementia and I was visiting Ardrishaig more often, I passed through the ‘Rest...
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29 August 2026 In ‘The Architecture of Hope’, Charles Jencks illustrates the different plans for the assorted Maggie’s Centres which have been specially built around the country. They were inspired by his wife, Maggie, who suffered from a terminal cancer. The architectural plans have interesting names – pinwheel, pinwheel spiral, central spiral, central doughnut, centric blob, spiral arms. All of these have a sense of circular movement about them. The pinwheel turns, the spiral spins, the doughnut has a circle at its centre. Maggie Jencks wanted to create ‘a friendly convivial atmosphere with food and drink offered as you come in the door.’ It is a philosophy which they called ‘kitchenism’. Unlike the hospital or the clinic, this was more like a home than a medical centre although lots of information is available there. At the heart of the Maggie’s Centre is the kitchen table and a cup of tea. It is a homely environment where people can gather together around the table an...