Blog on the Learig

  1 October 2026 James Hutton, the Scottish geologist,   wrote the   ‘Theory of the Earth’ and published it in 1788. In it, he argued that the age of the earth was incalculable. ‘With respect to human observation, this world was neither a beginning nor an end.’ It wasn’t eternal – just unknowable! This observation wasn’t without controversy. Until then, the Church had worked out a date for the dawn of creation – 23 October 4004BC. Amazingly enough, that’s six thousand and twenty-two years ago this month! Who is celebrating? Actually, the Bible says nothing about the date of creation. However, scholars analysed the text and deduced that the earth was about six thousand years old. From this, they were able to give dates to other major Biblical events. Hutton’s controversial observations seemed to question the veracity of the Bible. But history has vindicated him. The Scotsman was right. With major scientific advances, the earth is now considered to be 4.6 billion ye...

  30 September 2026 Professor Peter Fonagy has just completed a review into mental health, ADHD and autism among young people. He declared that Generation Z was not a snowflake generation and concluded that it was ‘harder to be young’ today! He said that the problem needed to be tackled across the whole of society. He blamed cuts in youth services over the past decade leading to fewer places for young people to mix and develop a sense of belonging. ‘We need to have opportunities for them to participate, because participating in things … maintains good mental health’. We have been good at providing warm spaces for older people. Why not belonging places for young people? At the same time, there is increasing evidence to say that Generation Z is interested in religion. A recent set of interviews by Theos revealed several interesting things about their views. Christianity was appealing because it offered an alternative to modern society. It was no longer the dominant force in s...

  29 September 2026 As a child growing up in Ardrishaig, we participated in the Harvest Thanksgiving. The local grocer prepared little trays of fruit – apples, oranges, grapes and pears. They were covered in cellophane and we presented them in the kirk. As a child, this was an awesome event. In our church, it was the only procession in which children participated. We walked down the aisle in a long line and handed our gifts to the minister. Throughout forty years of ministry, the children in my kirks did the same. The gifts and the recipients changed from local people to institutions and then charities with fruit being replaced with toiletries and woollen hats and gloves. But the Harvest Thanksgiving Procession remained. There was another at the Christmas Gift Service and a third during our celebrations of Palm Sunday. The only other procession was the Great Entry when the elders brought in the bread and the wine. As a minister receiving the children’s gifts was just as a...

  28 September 2026 Like Jesus, Hildegard used beautiful pictures to describe God’s world. Once she said that she was like a feather. On its own the feather falls to the ground. It’s lifeless. But the wind picks up the feather, makes it rise up into the sky and gives it life! On her own, Hildegard could do nothing but with God’s Spirit, she was full of life. She grew herbs, healed the sick, wrote books, preached sermons, composed music. A feather! Nine hundred years ago, Hildegard of Bingen described herself as a feather, ‘a feather on the breath of God’.

  27 September 2026 On the nine hundredth anniversary of Hildegard’s birth (1998), a recording of her plainsong reached the Top Twenty in the Classical Music Charts. Her music was one of three things which encouraged a renascence in her life and work. The fact that she was such a gifted woman inspired  those who valued the ministry of women. Her theology resonated within the contemporary world. She emphasised the goodness of creation and the importance of living in harmony with God, the world and all that it contains. The image of light   predominates. Darkness has befallen us because of the Fall. Our true condition is to live in the light and reflect the radiance of God’s light. ‘But God has created human beings to be full of light so that they could see the radiance of pure ether and hear the songs of the angels.’ she wrote. ‘He had clothed them in such radiance that they shone with the splendour of it.’ Another important image is greenness. She called her herbs...

  26 September 2026 As well as running two monasteries, going on preaching tours, writing and illustrating books, engaging with the abbot, emperor and pope, Hildegard also wrote about seventy-seven songs and set them to music.   Love Gives herself to all things, Most excellent in the depths, And above the stars Cherishing all: For the High King She has given The kiss of peace. This is her ‘Antiphon for Divine Love’. The music she wrote for the words was based on the plainsong which was sung in the monastery. God’s praises were not only to be made with the voice but with a variety of instruments. The outer song was not only praise in itself but an opportunity to tune   the inner life to praise God too! Surprisingly enough, much of Hildegard’s understanding of music has been gleaned from a letter which she wrote to the clergy of Mainz. In 1178, she had given permission for a nobleman to be buried in the monastery grounds. Although he had been excommuni...

  25 September 2026 Three things contributed to Hildegard’s extraordinary influence. The first was her position as abbess. Most of the nuns were of noble birth. The monastery had connections with rich, powerful and influential people in the land. It was a place of prayer and learning. It facilitated the creation of networks which surprise us today. The second was her preaching ministry. When most women nowadays may be thinking about retiring at 67, Hildegard discerned a vocation to ministry which was granted to few women until the twentieth century. For twelve years, she preached to the clergy and laity, in institutions and in public. The third was her amazing correspondence. Three hundred of her letters survive. She corresponded with the Emperor, four popes,   archbishops, abbots and priests, ordinary members of the church. She even wrote a letter to Henry II of England about the importance of integrity. She writes to Abbess Hazzecha.   Hezzecha wants to give up ...

  24 September 2026 Throughout the second half of her life, Hildegard embarked on several major initiatives. At forty-two, she began writing down and interpreting her visions. At fifty-two, she decided to establish her own monastery at Petersberg. Up until then, the community of nuns was part of a bigger monastery which was under the authority of an abbot. Whilst Hildegard ran the community of women, she depended on the abbot to provide priests for the Sacraments and finance to pay the bills. Luckily for Hildegard, God agreed with her! She had another vision. But the abbot was not convinced. A community largely full of richly endowed noblewomen provided useful income for the monastery. The abbot didn’t want to lose it. Hildegard took to her bed and remained there motionless! The abbot tried to lift her but to no avail. Seeing this as a sign of divine disapproval (rather than Hildegard’s) he relented. As soon as he did, Hildegard got out of bed, fully restored to health. A m...

  23 September 2026 ‘When I  was three years old,’ Hildegard of Bingen  said to her teacher, Jutta, ‘I felt close to God. Ever since then, I can see him in everything he has made – plants, animals, people, everything. It has made me so happy.’  This relationship was greatly enriched by a series of visions which she had during her life. S he explained how they came to her. ‘The visions which I saw I did not perceive  in dreams nor when asleep nor in a delirium nor with the eyes or ears of the body. I received them when I was awake and looking around with a clear mind, with the inner eyes and ears, in open places according to the will of God.’ She was unsure about them. In the first place, they were often accompanied by bouts of ill health – and so she suffered for them. In the second place, she didn’t feel free to share them with anyone. Jutta knew. But it was only when Jutta died and Hildegard gained the authority of abbess that she wrote her visions down. By ...

    22 September 2026 I have a copy of ‘The Times: Greatest Sermons of the Last 2000 Years’.  In it, there are eighty-five sermons altogether. All the big names are there – Jesus, Peter, Paul, Patrick and Francis, Knox, Bunyan, Wesley and Newman, Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King. All the preachers are men except one. In this collection of eighty-five sermons, there is only one sermon which has been preached by a woman and that is Hildegard of Bingen. The theme of her sermon is ‘The Devil’. It begins with one of her celebrated visions. She unpacks the detail in an  allegorical way. She makes important points about being wise to the devil’s wiles, resisting temptation and valuing the things of God. It’s quite a remarkable achievement for one who didn’t start preaching in public until she was sixty years old. Despite bouts of prolonged ill-health, she made four preaching tours in twelve years, travelling within a 200km radius of Bingen. ‘I permit no woman t...

  21 September 2026 Bede’s historical record about Hilda and the monastery at Whitby has a contemporary ring to it. Her ministry as the leader of a double monastery is remarkable. She was not alone in exercising so much power in the church. How was it possible for a woman to do this in the seventh century? Anne Warin in her biography of Hilda argues that it was partly to do with the position of noble women within Anglo-Saxon society. They were ‘guardians of knowledge … able administrators of court and estate … Their rights of property and inheritance were protected by law …’ Whilst the ministry of women has been developed in the Kirk and the Church of England, it has yet to be developed more fully in the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches. What happened to this wise, vibrant and influential ministry of women celebrated so brilliantly in seventh century Whitby? As well as the difficulties surrounding the ministry of women, Bede also exposes the theological diffe...

  20 September 2026 Of all the things which happened at the monastery under the rule of Abbess Hilda, the most dramatic was the Synod of Whitby, called by Oswy, King of Northumbria in 664AD. Whilst the King was brought up in the Celtic traditions of Iona, his wife was brought up in the Roman traditions of Augustine. Things came to a head in 663AD. Oswy was celebrating Easter according to the Celtic Church but his wife was observing Lent according to the Roman Church. The Synod was called. Several differences emerged between the two traditions – style of tonsure, the date of Easter, the validity of holy orders. Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, put forward the Celtic cause. Wilfrid, Abbot of Ripon, put forward the Roman cause. Colman wasn’t a match for Wilfrid who proved to be more persuasive. He traced his authority back to Peter. ‘Although your Fathers were holy men,’ said Wilfrid, ’do you imagine that they, a few men in a corner of a remote island, are to be preferred before...

    19 September 2026 Of all the people whose gifts were brought to birth through Hilda’s extraordinary leadership at Whitby, Caedmon, the herdsman, must be the most extraordinary. In his old age, he knew nothing of poetry nor music. He was shy of the harp and didn’t participate in communal singing on feast days. One night, he was in the stable looking after the beasts. He had a dream. ‘Caedmon,’ said   man, ‘sing me a song.’ Caedmon was surprised. ‘What should I sing about?’ he asked. ‘Sing about the creation of all things.’ And this is his song: How must we praise The guardian of heaven’s realm The Creator’s might And his mind’s thought The glorious works of the Father How of every wonder He the Lord Eternal Laid the foundation. When he awoke, Caedmon remembered everything and added more verses to his song. He told his superior who took him to see Hilda. She invited him to sing ‘in the presence of many learned men, so that a decision might be rea...

  18 September 2026 Bede makes four important points about Abbess Hilda’s ministry at Whitby. Firstly, the monks and nuns under her supervision were required to make ‘a thorough study of the Scriptures’. It became renowned as a school of theology. Secondly, Hilda established a rule in which everything was held in common. No one was rich. No one was in need. They followed the example of the Apostles as recorded in St. Luke’s book of the Acts. Thirdly, everyone was encouraged to occupy themselves in good works and to cultivate a virtuous life – ‘righteousness, mercy, purity … peace and charity’. Fourthly, Hilda’s wisdom attracted many people to Whitby. Bede writes, ‘So great was her prudence that not only ordinary folk, but kings and princes used to come and ask her advice in their difficulties and take it.’ As a consequence, five of the monks who lived in her monastery at Whitby became bishops – Bosa, Aetla, Oftfor, John and Wilfrid. ‘All of them men of outstanding merit a...

  17 September 2026 Many years ago, we visited Whitby. I remember the magnificent ruins of the abbey and the parish church, the clifftops, the rugged coastline and the sea. Our children don’t remember much of this. They associated Whitby with Bram Stoker and his novel, ‘Dracula’. But, for me, it was the church and the fascinating story of Aidan, Hilda and Bede which preceded the vampire, Stoker’s visit to Whitby and even the ancient ruins of the abbey. For Hilda was born in 614 AD and died n 680AD at the age of sixty-six. Her life has been recorded by the historian, Bede. Bede was only seven years old when Hilda died. When he grew up, he became a priest and was ordained by John of Beverley, one of the monks who had lived in the monastery under Abbess Hilda. His history includes a chapter about Abbess Hilda. It was written in 731AD, four years before he died. By this time, Bede was fifty-nine years old. Hilda had been dead for fifty-two years. Memories were still fresh. His ...

  16 September 2026 Some ministers are like fire-crackers. Others offer what Hovda calls ‘a running commentary which covers   the ritual action like a heavy and almost impenetrable syrup.’ He reflects, ‘Presiding in liturgy … requires a kind of modest prayerfulness that is heavy on awe and mystery, light on answers and recipes.’ The Kirk is strong on what it doesn’t know about God. The Word of God is contained in the Scriptures. Office-bearers have ‘liberty of opinion’. There is a silence between Word and Scripture, substance and the Faith, broken bread and the Body of Christ.   God is there in what RS Thomas calls the ‘interstices in our knowledge’. Our life has been constrained by the ’Five Marks of Mission’ which say nothing about worship. They have become   a   measure of   growth - success and failure.   But growth belongs to God, as Paul says and in the parable of the seed growing secretly, the farmer is puzzled. Jesus says,   ‘He know...

  15 September 2026 In the Nordic chapel at Carberry built in 1965,    two-thirds of the church is outside in the parkland. A huge wooden cross is located at what could be the high altar. The East side is full of glass. The West has Renaissance balusters reminiscent of the chapel in Falkland Palace. Surprisingly, Colin Day    repurposed eighteenth century box pews. Young people loved playing with the doors until the service started, the lights were dimmed and the double-whammy of the illuminated cross - joyful play to awesome silence and stillness. Day knew that to be contemporary you needed to be rooted in your past. It is a rich landscape which gives perspective and depth    to all our new initiatives. The interplay of past and present, inside and out, the striking symbolism of a wooden cross benefit from silence and stillness.