Blog on the Learig

  13 August 2026 In his essay on ‘The Firstborn’, Laurie Lee celebrates the birth of his daughter. ‘If I could teach her anything at all … I’d like it to be acceptance and a holy relish for life. To accept with gladness the fact of being a woman – when she’ll find all nature to be on her side.’ To relish life is to take delight in it, to find joy in it, to treasure it, to   remember it, to seize the day and to live every day as if it were our last. It is to see life not as an accident nor a right but as a mysterious gift which has been bestowed upon us. He wants his new born daughter ‘To know the natural intimacy of living close to the seasons, where they are still the gods in possession; to feel the quick earth stir when she treads upon it, to take the smokeless wind in her mouth, to watch the green year turn, lambs drop and stagger, birds hatch, grass grow and seed …’ But Laurie Lee not only talks about relishing life, he qualifies this relish with the word ‘holy’. T...

  12 August 2026 We went to the V and A in Dundee recently and saw an exhibition of around 28 architectural models of assorted Maggie’s   Centres throughout the country. I remember the one at the gatehouse to the Western General in Glasgow which is probably not there anymore. The centres were conceived by Maggie Jencks who suffered from cancer. She wanted to create a welcoming environment for cancer patients, their families and friends where they could gather together, talk, sit quietly or simply be in a peaceful, unhurried place. Although each centre has been beautifully and distinctively designed by different architects, there is one feature which is common to both – the kitchen table. It is described as ‘the literal and symbolic heart of every Maggie’s Centre’. There are no reception desks, no uniforms, no formality. People are drawn towards the kitchen table where the kettle is always on and people can have a cup of tea and drink at their leisure. It is a deliberat...

  11 August 2026 In acknowledging his failure to walk on water, Peter was able not only   to identify more closely with others whose failures are often more acutely seen than our own, but to acknowledge that it wasn’t his leadership but God’s which was of ultimate significance. Sometimes what we do for others is more like the ministry of Santa Claus. It is a detached generosity in which we remain fully in control. It isn’t borne out of our solidarity with fellow human beings who are all in need of each other and of God. Sometimes we are afraid to step out of the boat onto the stormy seas because we do not believe that God is to be found outside the church just as much as inside. We know he has promised to be with us when we gather in his name and   is uniquely present in Word and Sacrament. But   that doesn’t mean to say that he is not present beyond the kirk walls and in the hearts of those who do not belong to the church. By stepping out into the community ...

  10 August 2026 Peter   and his friends are   trapped in the boat in the midst of a storm. The wind is against them. The boat is in difficulties. What is going to happen next? Jesus sees the troubled boat and comes walking on the water. ‘Take heart, it is I: do not be afraid.’ he says. When Peter asks to walk on the water too. ‘ Come!’ says Jesus. Peter steps out and starts walking on the water. But when he feels the strong wind and sees its effect upon the water, he becomes frightened. He loses faith. He begins to sink. Quite naturally, he prays, ‘ Lord, save me!’ There are two encouraging insights. Firstly, those who are called to participate in the leadership of the church at whatever level need not be discouraged for long if they doubt the power of God to save, heal, help, build, renew. It was true of Peter upon whom Christ built his church. It’s true of us too! Secondly, the true nature of our discipleship is not to be found in a perfect life but a life whi...

  9 August 2026 Isaiah, the prophet,     sets   out God’s vision for a new heaven and a new earth in which his people are described as a delight and harmony will reign   across the earth and   within the animal kingdom! He sets out four primary characteristics, summarized in Raymond Fung’s   book,     ‘The Isaiah Vision’, subtitled, ‘A Strategy for Congregational Evangelism’. It specifies: ·          that children do not die ·          that old people live in dignity ·          that those who build houses live in them ·          that those who plant vineyards eat the fruit The strategy is simple. And most people would agree with it. It’s easy to translate into action and everyone can play their part.   But it’s not an exclusively Christian agenda. It’s one which co...

  8 August 2026 When we were children, my brother and I each had one of Beatrix Potter’s famous tales. I had the ‘Tale of Peter Rabbit’ and he had ‘The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck’. They were beautifully illustrated by the author and very easy to read. Even as children, we noticed the darkness in the tales. Peter Rabbit’s father had been chased by Mr. MacGregor – caught, skinned and baked into a pie for dinner. Jemima Puddle-Duck is lured into a shed by ‘a gentleman with a bushy tale’. She is rescued by a friendly dog but her puppies eat her eggs! As a child, I didn’t like this development. I wanted to deny this reality. Every time we turned the page, I wanted it to be different. But Beatrix Potter’s skill at story-telling is illustrated here. She writes simply but directly. She doesn’t deny reality and that gives her tale depth. When our children were born, my mother gave them Beatrix Potter books over a period of time. Eventually, they collected all twenty-three of her tal...

  7 August 2026 I have an old magic lantern slide which I bought in the museum in Dumfries. It was set into a block of wood which enabled the light to pass through. It is a picture of Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers. They sold him into slavery but now he has risen to become ‘the Lord of Egypt’. Joseph was Rachel’s firstborn and Rachel was Jacob’s favourite wife. You remember his Uncle Laban’s deception in giving him Rachel’s older sister, Leah in her place! As a result, Joseph becomes Jacob’s favourite son making the other eleven intensely jealous! Surprisingly, Joseph doesn’t bear any animus towards his brothers. At every stage in his exile, he sees the hand of God at work in his life. He says of his suffering, ‘God has sent me before you to preserve life.’ In the famine, Egypt has food to share. Later on he says, ‘So it was not you who sent me here, but God?’ They are cleared of all responsibility. Reconciliation is only possible when we make a shift like this i...

  6 August 2026 There is a beautiful text in St. Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus says, ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’ (18;20) It is reassuring for two reasons. Firstly, small is beautiful and our diminishing congregations are no less beautiful if they are gathered together in the name of Jesus. Secondly, the significance of these gatherings is the presence of Christ. It is his presence with the two or three which makes the church holy. It is not the building. It has no holiness of its own. Holiness is a quality belonging to God and Christ manifests it when two or three gather together in his name. This has something very important to say about churches and worship spaces. It is not the physical buildings which are significant but the people who gather in these places in the name of Christ. The Scottish Reformers knew this very well. They reordered the medieval worship spaces with their designated sanctuary and nave. They abolished the distincti...

  5 August 2026 Peter Conradi wrote an article in the Sunday Times entitled, ‘Shooting Party’. It raised an alarming question, ‘During the Siege of Sarajevo, hundreds of residents were killed by snipers hiding in the hills above the city. Did foreign tourists pay to join the gunmen on human safaris and murder civilians for fun?’ It is a barbaric proposition which has been exposed by an Italian thriller writer, Ezio Gavazzeni. He investigated the claim that Italian, German and British citizens were involved. As a result, he submitted a report to Italian prosecutors who have taken it seriously. The Siege of Sarajevo began on 5 April 1992 and lasted 1,425. The residents of the city lived with the fear of being shot and got into the habit of zig-zagging their way around the city. Of the 5,434 civilians who were killed in the Siege, 1,601 were children. 534 of these were killed by snipers. In the heart of the city, there is a small museum dedicated to these children. Each child ...

  4 August 2026 There has been a recent YouGov Poll about meting out punishments for various offences. Two things surprised me. Firstly, the survey contained questions about flogging and putting people in the stocks which   was most recently seen at funfairs with people throwing sponges at local celebrities. Secondly, the survey also asked people about their attitudes to capital punishment. Although there has been no-one hanged for murder in the UK since 1964, 42% of the public thought that   the death penalty was the most appropriate form of punishment for murder. It isn’t sufficient to bring it back. However, 82% of Reform voters and 67% of Conservative voters support the reinstatement of the death penalty. 35% of Labour voters, 30% Lib Dems and 26% Greens also supported it! Beware of where your voting preferences   might lead you! In the same week, three Anglican bishops wrote to Mohammed bin Salman, the ruler of Saudi Arabia, urging him to call a halt to ...

  3 August 2026 There has always been an ambivalence to art within the church. But the opening chapter of the Bible encourages us not only to see that God is the Creator but we are all made in the image of God. As such, we participate in the creativity of God. We do this in all sorts of different ways - art, music, dance and drama. These are human activities which stretch back to pre-historic   times. Historically, the Church has had two problems with art. At various times in its history it has taken a dislike to religious art and art of any form within the worship space.   Hence the two great iconoclasms. In the eighth century, the Eastern   Church was split over the issue of icons in the worship space. In the sixteenth century, the Western Church was split at the Reformation over the use of images. Objections to religious art all stem from the prohibition enshrined in the Ten Commandments. The first four are about God and the second reads, ‘ You shall not...

  2 August 2026 Jesus says three important things about the extravagant gift which the woman with the alabaster jar of expensive ointment gave him. Firstly, ‘ you always have the poor with you and you can show kindness to them whenever you wish.’     Jesus is not saying that the poor should be ignored at the expense of an extravagant gift. He is saying that the poor are part of us and we should be kind to them, literally treat them as our kin! Secondly, he says of the woman’s extravagant gift, ‘ She has performed a good service for me.’    The word which is translated ‘good’ not only has moral content – good as opposed to bad but also beauty. The word is used to describe goodness which is beautiful, attractive, bonnie, winsome and so on. God’s creation is described as good. It is beautiful. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. The beauty of his love attracts. And that’s the point! The woman’s extravagant gift was not dutiful but spontaneous. She did what she did b...

  1 August 2026 ‘The Parish Communion’ was a set of essays edited by AG Hebert in 1937. The essays were on various subjects pertinent to a deeper understanding of the Eucharist. Austin Farrer wrote, ‘Eucharist and Church in the New Testament’ and Gregory Dix wrote, ‘The idea of ‘the Church’ in the primitive liturgies’ and so on. The book was designed to encourage members of the Church of England to gain a deeper understanding of the Church and its central act of worship, the Eucharist. It was part of an initiative to centre the worship of the Church on the Sacrament of Holy Communion instead of Matins. In the Preface, Hebert emphasises the importance of teaching within the parish. Some have tried out the Parish Eucharist but it has failed through inadequate preparation. He introduces the testimony of a Belgian parish priest who has taken eight years to introduce liturgical reform: ‘ He would be a simple man who thought that he could gain from my people an active participati...

  31 July 2026 Erella has sent us another update on life in the West Bank. As she travelled to see a friend who was dying of cancer, she heard about the theft of 200 sheep. They had been stolen by armed Jewish settlers   from the pens of the Moor family in the village of Mnezel. Although the sheep had Palestinian Authority ear tags, they were being driven out in broad daylight by settlers who claimed they had been stolen from them! Full military backing prevented the herd owner, his family and his friends from resisting this outrageous theft. Friends got together to discuss the situation. Samir   drafted an e-mail to all the villages in the Masafer and beyond. Within twenty-four hours, 85 sheep had been brought to Samir’s home. They were loaded into a large truck and taken to the Moor family in Mnezel. As Erella wrote, ‘Neither reporters from the Palestinian Authority nor foreign correspondents showed up. It wasn’t reported in any newspaper or on the news. They di...

  30 July 2026 Last Saturday, there was an interesting act of worship on the island of Papa Stronsay in the Orkney Islands. It took place in the chapel at the Golgotha Monastery and lasted four hours. Three bishops from South America consecrated Father Michael Mary, the Superior of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, a bishop. The consecrating bishops were unauthorised by Pope Leo to conduct this act of consecration. As such is was considered to be a   schismatic act. Prior to this, the Society of St. Pius chose to ordain four new bishops without the authorisation of the Pope. It constitutes an act of schism. Michael Mary’s consecration comes late in life. He is now 73 and without this consecration the future of the order would be in jeopardy. It is only bishops who can confirm new communicants and ordain new priests so a bishop is essential for the future well-being of the community. Listening to what some of the members say is disheartening. Like many other splinter ...

  29 July 2026 In one of his holiday poems, Cardinal Newman wrote, ‘Welcome the thorn – it is divinely sent!’ This enduring faith is evident throughout his life. He was only free to take this extended holiday because of a specific thorn. In his work as tutor at Oriel College, he displeased the Provost by spending too much time with his students. One of Newman’s gifts was his pastoral care which he exercised effectively throughout his ministry. In the days when tutors had little personal contact with their students, Newman took time to listen, engage, guide and care for them in a way that is expected nowadays. But not then! As a result, his students were removed. Two things happened. Firstly, he had time to travel. And out of this experience came his sense of purpose. Secondly, he had time to concentrate on what became known as the Oxford Movement. In his second letter to the Corinthians, St Paul writes about a thorn which was given to him to keep him from becoming too ela...

  28 July 2026 Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is an economist and behavioural scientist at Oxford University. He is also the editor of the ‘World Happiness Report’ which has just published its findings. Once again, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world. It has retained this position for the past nine years! De Neve gives several reasons for their quality of life. Firstly, they have high levels of economic productivity but their wealth is more evenly distributed. Wealth inequality is much lower and as De Neve says, ‘Greater income inequality is associated with worse well-being’. Secondly, money gets distributed through a welfare state. Thirdly, there’s a healthy life expectancy. Fourthly, and most importantly, there are strong social ties in Finland. This relates to the number of shared meals and the number of friends you can rely on. Fifthly, the people in Finland have high levels of social trust. ‘If you lost your wallet what is the likelihood that you think you w...

  27 July 2026 On Wednesday, the Glasgow School of Art Board informed the public that the most prized building in Scotland would not be rebuilt in its original form. They were talking about the iconic Mackintosh building which was seriously damaged by two fires in 2014 and 2018. There has been a long running dispute with the insurers which had just been settled. Whilst the amount of the settlement was not disclosed, Ann Priest, the Chair of the School’s Board of Governors, told the press that £265M was required to reinstate it and they didn’t have the funds available. ‘It is a national disgrace what has happened here. Nothing less than an authentic recreation of what Mackintosh left Glasgow and the world will do.’ said Lachlan Goudie, painter and writer. ‘The Scottish Government need to be saying this is vital to our national character – we had architectural crown jewels left to us.’ It is certainly a different response to President Macron’s immediate intervention when Notr...

  26 July 2026 ‘Living Stones: English Cathedrals as Sacred Spaces in Changing times’ is a report produced by Theos, a think tank for understanding the Christian faith. It was based on a YouGov Poll of 1,300 cathedral visitors and qualitative fieldwork done across six Anglican cathedrals including Derby, Rochester and St. Albans. 75% of adults in England have visited a cathedral at least once in the last three years. This compares favourably with those who have attended a sporting event (30%) or engaged with a museum or gallery (41%). However,   this doesn’t extend to a sense of responsibility for sustaining cathedrals. One of the most interesting statistics refers to what are known as Nones, people with no religious affiliation. One in three cathedral-visiting Nones   say they experience God through the calm and quiet. Spiritual experiences are mediated through art, music and the building itself which is also a work of art. In the last fifteen years, there have b...

  25 July 2026 At various times in its history, the Church has taken a dislike to religious art and art of any form within the worship space. Hence the two great iconoclasms in the eighth century Orthodox Church and in the sixteenth century Reformation. Objections to religious art all stem from the prohibition enshrined in the Ten Commandments. The first four are about God and the second reads, ‘You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it.’ The commandment has encouraged people to think that they shouldn’t make any representation of God nor Jesus but the point of the commandment is not to prohibit a celebration of God and his works in art but the displacement of God by works of art!