Blog on the Learig

  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...

  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...