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 the name ‘Pocket’. It has become a pet, sitting on a cushion under the table at breakfast.

A fisher told of day’s fishing by the side of a loch. A bird dropped down from the sky and sat beside him. He picked it up in his hand and gazed at it. He laid it back down beside him and the bird continued to sit patiently beside him. Was it waiting for a catch too?

Another told of a daughter who had been rising early to break the ice in a nearby park to ensure that the swans and the ducks had enough water! And that morning, in the light of a street lamp, I saw the otter for a second time  in the muddied waters of the Kinnessburn!