1 February 2026 One of my favourite films is ‘The Mission’, produced in 1986 and starring Jeremy Irons as Father Gabriel, a Jesuit priest who sets up a mission in Paraguay. The soundtrack was composed by Ennio Morricone, an Italian composer. He recreates the colonial and indigenous music of the eighteenth century. What fascinated me was the way in which Father Gabriel with his famous oboe was able to teach the indigenous people music which belonged to the Spanish Baroque. I wondered whether this was true or not but today I heard it for myself. The University Chapel Choir combined forces with El Parnaso Hyspano who specialise in music from the Spanish Golden Age when the Spanish Empire was at its height (1500-1700). They have recovered indigenous music of the time and yesterday it was played and sung for the first time in Scotland after four hundred years! There were three distinct influences in the music – the European colonisers who came to mine gold and silver, the indi...
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31 January 2026 Our street is very long – a mile at least. Apparently, when someone is recruited to work as a postman in the local area, they are automatically told to deliver the mail in our very long street. It’s like a rite of passage. Everyone has to do it. It means that we get to know quite a number of the postmen and, at least, one postwoman. A lot of people like to know their ‘postie’ by name and we do too. One of our friends, told us about theirs. One day, he asked her if she knitted. She hesitated for she hadn’t been knitting for a while. ‘Yes.’ she said shakily. The next time postie visited, he had a big black bag full of wool. It came from a shop clearance. Our friend was astonished. What was she going to do with it? She began by knitting a knee warmer. Postie gave it to a relative who took it to a nursing home and gave it to a resident. On a subsequent visit, he brought a photograph of the resident with the knitted blanket over her knees and news that sh...
30 January 2026 Matthew Syed was reporting on a recent visit to Florida where there is huge support for President Trump. He met a fifty-year-old woman called Jeanette who has voted consistently for Donald Trump in his bids to become President. Syed found himself pushing back against her admiration for the President. ‘But what about his lying?’ he said. ‘What about his serial deceit?’ A smile crossed her face at what she took to be his naivety and then she let the cat out of the bag, ‘Who cares about truth anymore?’ Clearly, Trump doesn’t care about the truth. Talking about British troops in Afghanistan, he caused outrage by saying that ‘they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines’. No less than 457 British soldiers were killed on the front line and many more injured and disabled for life. It was moving to hear the testimony of mothers of injured and dead soldiers and to see the fortitude of soldiers walking with prosthetic limbs and making something positive o...
29 January 2026 It is almost thirty years since I read ‘The Diving-Bell and the Butterfly’ by Jean-Dominique Bauby. He had a massive stroke in his early forties and could only move his left eyelid. Nevertheless, he wrote this book of reflections and demonstrated something very important. No matter what happens to the body, the inner live may still thrive and sustain a person with a spirit of hope. Health and wholeness may not be restored, illness and disease may not be dispelled but there may still be hope, meaning and purpose in life. Bauby wasn’t a Christian but he inspired me and enabled me to see the power of the inner life whether shaped by Christianity or not. It is a constituent part of everyone’s life and the medical world is waking up to this too. GPs and primary care-givers are being encouraged to consider this inner life. Dr. Ishbel Orla Whitehead, a GP, has been researching spiritual health and is pioneering a training programme for primary health giver...
28 January 2026 We saw the film ‘Hamnet’ starring Jessie Buckley as Agnes Hathaway. We always knew her as Anne. Her husband, William Shakespeare is played by an equally accomplished actor, Paul Mescal. The former won a Golden Globe for her performance and has been nominated for an Oscar. Although the works of Shakespeare surpass any other, his part is subsidiary to that of his wife in Maggie O’Farrell’s novel on which the film is based. His character is more thinly drawn. It is remarkable that Mescal made so much of it. The chemistry between husband and wife was electric. The film focuses on the Shakespeares’ family life and the death of one of their twins, Hamnet. O’Farrell’s thesis is that Shakespeare’s grief over his son’s death was creatively worked through in his most famous play, Hamlet. But is this true? Although the play is about a father and a son, both with the same name, it is about the murder of a father and the grief of his son. It is ...
27 January 2026 – Holocaust Memorial Day There has been much concern about the number of schools who have declined to participate in this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day. In 2023, more than 2,000 UK Secondary Schools signed up to participate. In 2024, the number fell to 1,200 and last year it was 854 out of 4,000. The change has been wrought by the massacre of 1,200 Jews in Israel by Hamas and the subsequent retaliatory action by the Israeli Government. This has resulted in the decimation of Gaza and among the casualties have been many women and children. Parents in some catchment areas have been objecting to Holocaust Memorial Day being marked. For some, it is seen as a form of propaganda which favours the Jews. For others, marking this day should be accompanied by an opportunity to highlight the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza. Three important things should be said. Firstly, the Holocaust was the systematic murder not only of Jews but of Roma, Jehovah Witnesses, peo...
26 January 2026 Although I think it is an encouragement and an education for members of the congregation to hear about charitable work which they have supported, I don't think this should replace the preaching of the Word which is a central and an essential feature of our corporate life. The Sunday sermon should be sacrosanct. Preaching the Word is one of three marks of the Church. It defines it uniquely. In his letter to Timothy, St. Paul says that ‘All Scripture is inspired by God.’ This is our starting point. By prayerful study and reflection, the Word is enlivened in our day by the Holy Spirit. This is a very important work. St. Paul goes on to say that the Word should be proclaimed in and out of season, when the times are favourable and unfavourable. The preacher cannot choose to preach this Sunday or that but every Sunday. It is a demanding task not least when the congregation criticise or complain or are reluctant to hear the message. It is a Word which is v...
25 January 2026 – Burns’ Day For a’ that, an a’ that, It’s comin yet for a’ that, That man to man the world o’er Shall brithers be for a’ that. ‘Is There For Honest Poverty’ is one of Robert Burns’ most famous poems and songs, famously sung at the opening of the Scottish Parliament. It embraces the equality of every human being born out of the first page of Genesis where the author tells us that we were all made in the image and likeness of God. The sacredness of every human being is what inspires more secular laws about equality but the Biblical reference is to God not man. And one of the ways in which we can embrace this sacredness is to be compassionate, to stand in the shoes of another and see them as God sees them! For Jenny had her problems decorating her head with a fancy hat and thinking of herself more highly than she should. The louse which the poet saw crawling on her hat during the minister’s sermon was the inspiration for another of his famous verses, ‘...
24 January 2026 Although contemporary nursing homes are better than the long-term geriatric wards which I visited forty-five years ago, nothing can replicate the comfort of being and remaining in your own home. Everything should be done to ensure that people stay at home for as long as possible. Of course, there may come a time when there is no-one else at home and twenty-four hour nursing care is required but for everyone else it must become a personal ambition to stay at home. We have built an extension with a wet room to keep us out of nursing homes for as long as possible. Recently, I read about a new invention for people with dementia which will enable some people to remain at home much longer. The invention relies on AI. Although there are limitations to AI, this is one area of scientific research which has benefitted. It’s a pair of glasses equipped with CrossSense, a new AI tool which helps people with dementia to navigate their world. Inside ...
23 January 2026 I once submitted an article to a journal about a theologian who was also a mathematician. The article was peer reviewed by two academics. One favoured it, the other did not. He raised questions about my arguments. I answered them successfully. The article was then reviewed by a third academic. This time, he argued that the article should not be published. The feedback was brief. What I remember most vividly was the objection that my quotations were not in the original Latin! I tell this tale to illustrate the extent to which publishers will go to ensure that the articles which they approve for publication are of the highest quality. The peer reviewers need to be rigorous. Is there any plagiarism. Are the arguments coherent? Are the quotations from the original text? Recently, there has been some controversy about the number of scientific articles which have been published with falsified data, manipulated images, injudicious use of statistical information e...
22 January 2026 There have been two interesting surveys conducted recently. The first was called, ‘Grateful Britain’ and it was undertaken by the Policy Institute of King’s College, London. In October 2025, 2050 people were surveyed. Their belief in God and experience of transcendence were plotted. There were some interesting results from young people. About one quarter of the total sample (27%) said that they had an experience of awe and wonder at the universe or in nature at least once a week. This rose to 36% for the youngest group of people (18-34 year olds). The study also found out something remarkable about belief in God. 51% of the 18-34 age group was most likely to say that they believed in God to some extent. This compared with 33% of 35-49 year olds, 30% of 35-49 year olds, 30% of 50-64 year olds and 41% of people aged 65-plus. The second survey was undertaken by SPCK, the Christian publisher. It found that the total sales of Bibles in the UK ...
21 January 2026 St. Paul not only said, ‘There is one body and one Spirit.’ He also said that we should make every effort ‘to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’. (Ephesians 4;3) The bond of peace is what we read about in the Gospel of St. John where Jesus says something very significant about the crucifixion. ‘I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ (St. John 12;32) His ministry makes people one through the power of his unifying ‘one Spirit’. It is beautifully summarised in his letter to Colossians. ‘Through Christ, God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of the cross’. (Colossians 1;20) The ministry of Christ is a ministry of love which is prepared to suffer and die for the other, exercising a ministry of reconciliation, forgiveness and peace-making. Celebrating the unity which is established in our baptism ...
20 January 2026 ‘There is one body.’ says St. Paul. We are all united across our parish and denominational boundaries through our baptism into Christ. We do nothing to deserve this. It is a gift of God’s grace. And it is the life of Christ living within us which creates this one body. And as Martin Luther famously wrote, it is through our baptism that we become priests. Christ, of course, is our High Priest but as Peter says we are called ‘to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’ (1 Peter 2;5) St. Paul highlights the gifts given to the Church ‘that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers’. (Ephesians 4;11) And these gifts were given for two reasons. Firstly, to equip the saints for the work of ministry. All our gifts are given to enable others to minister too. ‘I have been crucified with Christ.’ says St. Paul, ‘and it is no longer I who live, but it is...
19 January 2026 Yesterday, over a hundred people worshipped together in Pittenweem Kirk. This was the third Sunday of the new union between Pittenweem and St. Ayle. On this occasion, we were joined by the local Episcopalian congregation, St. John’s. When the kirk at Pittenweem united with their neighbours in Cellardyke and Anstruther, they took with them this very precious relationship. It is a distinctive gift – a significant ecumenical dimension which enlarges our vision of the Church and inspires us to look beyond our own natural boundaries. For many people in the Kirk, the Radical Action Plan which was agreed in 2019 has brought a lot of turmoil in terms of readjustment, impacted by the Covid virus and the delays in reaching agreement across the different parishes. It has been a negative experience in some respects but in one major respect it has been very positive. It has encouraged parishes to look beyond their historic boundaries and to reconne...
18 January 2026 Dawn was breaking on my way home from the East Sands where I was a lone walker. At the foot of the brae, heading up to town from the Kinnessburn, I saw a robin on top of a stone wall bordering the garden. I stood still. The robin came towards me and stopped at the edge of the wall. He was looking at me. Was he longing for some food in very wintry weather? I wished I had brought some meal worms but I was empty-handed. The robin turned at right angles onto a wooden fence and continued to walk. I did too. The ‘City of Haarlem’ is sitting outside my study door. I put the thirty-sixth hyacinth bulb in a glass jar of water to see its white roots grow. It is growing much faster than the bulbs planted in soil and sitting in the cooler environment of the front porch. As you can see in the photograph, the ‘City of Haarlem’ is yellow and blooming beautifully. Whilst it is not as fulsome as it would have been if it had been planted in soil, i...
17 January 2026 The book of Proverbs is a treasure chest of wisdom. Some say it was written by King Solomon probably to add an authority to them which is unnecessary because this wisdom literature speaks for itself and has an authority all of its own. Consider these two proverbs. The first is to be found in Proverbs 6;16-19. ‘There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.’ The first six are hated by God. They include pride, deceit and violence. We agree. They are bad, very bad. But the seventh is an abomination to the Lord. And what’s that? ‘One who sows discord in a family.’ The unity of a family, a community, the Church is to be treasured more than anything else. It is disunity which is an abomination – and yet, unity...
16 January 2026 The ‘Five Marks of Mission’ have dominated the life of the Kirk since the Radical Action Plan was accepted by the General Assembly in 2019. They have been used as an instrument to measure not only the health of a congregation but also the retention of its buildings. The five marks are all active – to proclaim, to teach, to respond, to seek to transform, to strive to safeguard. There are two areas of the life of the Church which are not often highlighted as they should be. They are even more important. The first is public worship. There is a reference in the ‘Five Marks of Mission’ to proclamation of the Gospel and to baptism but nothing is said about the commitment to worship with fellow Christians week by week. So much so that this aspect of church life is not considered sufficient to retain a church building. Isn’t it the case that the proclamation of the Word which has been happening in our kirks without fail for almost five centuries is a...
15 January 2026 ‘The Thoughts of Marcus Aurelius’, a former Roman Emperor, are full of wisdom. In thinking about those who act badly towards us, he invites us to remember a number of things which will help us cope with this apparent injustice. Here are three. ‘Reflect that, if these actions of theirs are right, it is no duty of thine to take them amiss; while if they are wrong it is clear they err through ignorance, not of free-will.’ He argues that people wouldn’t choose to sin against us because it is natural to treat people according to their merits. He also reminds us that we have vices too and sin as others do. Then he gets under our skin. ‘True, thou holdest aloof from certain errors, yet thy character is prone to fall into them, though cowardice, love of reputation, or some equally despicable motive may save thee from such overt commission.’ One of his most effective suggestions to cope with what happens to us is to gain an eternal perspective. ‘When utter ve...
14 January 2026 On Sunday, I illustrated my sermon with a tale told by Jim Crumley in his beautiful book, ‘The Company of Swans’. He befriends an enfeebled pen who has been rejected by the cob. She feeds from his hand and on one occasion she slept in his shadow for ten minutes. It is a tale about the relationships which can be made with wildlife through a gentle and compassionate spirit. It underlines the truth that the earth does not belong to human beings but to God and everything in it has been created to live in harmony. Telling this tale had an extraordinary effect on the congregation. It seemed to inspire people not only to reflect on their own relationships with wildlife but to share these tales not only with me but with each other over the tea and coffee which followed the service. One person told me a remarkable story about a small, newly born rabbit which had been abandoned. It was so small, it could be carried in her pocket. For this reason, it was given...
13 January 2026 At the end of November, it was reported in ‘The Tablet’ that ‘more than one-third of priestly ordinations in the Catholic Church in England and Wales from 1992 to 2024 were former Anglican clergy’. All in all, 486 Anglican priests were ordained in the Catholic Church. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, thought these conversions to Roman Catholicism was ‘not so much a turning away or rejection of their rich and precious Anglican heritage but an experience of an imperative to move into the full visible communion of the Catholic Church, in union with the See of Peter’. I am cynical about this. For in 1992, the Church of England General Synod voted to ordain women priests with the first woman ordained to the priesthood in 1994. This was Angela Berners-Wilson, a fellow student at the University of St. Andrews. The imperative to align themselves with the See of St. Peter came from this negative impulse to reject the ordination of women al...