Revd Ian Gilmour - St Andrew's & St George's
Revd Ian Gilmour - St Andrew's & St George's
Revd Ian Gilmour - St Andrew's & St George's
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<strong>St</strong> Andrew’s and <strong>St</strong> George’s West<br />
Diary and Newsletter<br />
July- August 2011<br />
1
What’s inside?<br />
Page<br />
Don’t covet your neighbour’s spiritual path 3-4<br />
Summer Diary at a glance<br />
5-7<br />
Holiday Cover – Listening and Sharing – Church and<br />
Society Day Conference - Congregational Register<br />
TOGETHER News togetherness – <strong>Revd</strong> Tony Bryer – 8-9<br />
FoSP – Jazz in the Church<br />
News from church groups Amnesty – Chapel Group – 10-12<br />
Undercroft – Church Flowers – Volunteer Speaker<br />
Kirk Session News 13<br />
Festival news 14<br />
Music News - The Choir goes south – Bach and Mozart 15-17<br />
on the Fringe – Music and Meditation<br />
News from our bellringers 18-19<br />
Cornerstone Service <strong>Revd</strong> Norman Shanks: Not lost, 20-23<br />
just finding our way – wordle – Alex’s Angle<br />
In the footsteps of Livingstone? 24-28<br />
Visual arts Precious Light – Prestonpans Tapestry – 29-30<br />
People‟s Bible – It could have been me<br />
15 minutes with...Sarah Forrester interviews <strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong> 31<br />
A Chance to Thrive: Russell McLarty moves on 32<br />
Easter Play 2012: an appeal for support 33<br />
Truth 34<br />
Contacts 35-36<br />
Newsletter team<br />
Design and layout: Andrena and Alison B<br />
Mailing Rosemary W<br />
Email: inspire at standrewsandstgeorges dot org dot uk. Many<br />
thanks to all contributors. Photos, articles, events, prayers,<br />
poems are welcome by email or through the offices at<br />
Shandwick Place and George <strong>St</strong>reet. Next copy deadline:<br />
Monday 22 August for publication Sunday 28 August.<br />
Save a tree - read the newsletter online on the home or diary<br />
page at www.standrewsandstgeorges.org.uk<br />
2
Don’t Covet Your Neighbour's<br />
Spiritual Path<br />
One of the stimulating aspects of<br />
working at <strong>St</strong> Andrew‟s and <strong>St</strong><br />
George‟s West is that each member is<br />
different, all unique personalities,<br />
having had diverse experiences of life<br />
and of God.<br />
We are all shaped by our journeys and<br />
perhaps in the life of the wider church<br />
we need to recognise this more<br />
deeply. In his recent book, „Sacred Pathways‟, Gary Thomas<br />
suggests alternative pathways to God for different personalities.<br />
The book unpacks nine distinct spiritual temperaments -their<br />
traits, strengths, and pitfalls. In one or more of these, you will<br />
see yourself and the ways you most naturally express your<br />
relationship with Jesus Christ. Whatever temperament or blend<br />
of temperaments best describes you, rest assured it‟s not by<br />
accident. It‟s by the design of a Creator who knew what he was<br />
doing when he made you according to his own unique<br />
specifications. „Sacred Pathways‟ helps show you the route<br />
you were designed to travel.<br />
Activists: Loving God through confrontation<br />
Ascetics: Loving God in solitude and simplicity<br />
Caregivers: Loving God by loving others<br />
Contemplatives: Loving God through adoration<br />
Enthusiasts: Loving God with mystery and celebration<br />
Intellectuals: Loving God through the mind<br />
Naturalists: Loving God out of doors<br />
Sensates: Loving God with the senses<br />
Traditionalists: Loving God through ritual and symbol<br />
3
As we plan our future our worship services and our outreach we<br />
can consider how we can provide for these types both within<br />
and beyond our congregation? Is our personality type more<br />
important than our age for our spiritual journey? How can we<br />
offer glimpses of the richness of faith and love for those who<br />
see the world and respond to it in a dissimilar fashion to us? In<br />
„Sacred Pathways‟, Thomas strips away the frustration of a onesize-fits-all<br />
spirituality and guides you toward a path of worship<br />
that frees you to be you. If your devotional times have become<br />
dull, perhaps it is because you are trying to follow someone<br />
else‟s path. Better to discover the path God designed for you -<br />
a path marked by growth and fulfilment, based on your<br />
temperament.<br />
I have also been considering various bible passages as we plan<br />
our joint future. I am looking for a passage which summarises<br />
the elements that our members would like to experience in the<br />
journey of our new congregation. Three passages have come<br />
to the forefront of my mind: Acts Chapter 2, Romans Chapter 12<br />
and Micah 6.8 which is short enough to print here<br />
And what does the Lord require of us?<br />
To act justly<br />
to love mercy and<br />
to walk humbly with your God.<br />
I would be pleased to hear which one is most helpful for you<br />
and if any other passages encourage you as you consider the<br />
exciting pathway ahead for all the personalities which make up<br />
<strong>St</strong> Andrew‟s and <strong>St</strong> George‟s West.<br />
Smile through this summer season.<br />
Live, Love, Enjoy God,<br />
Blessings, <strong>Ian</strong><br />
4
Summer 2011 Diary at a Glance<br />
Information correct at TGP. Please check the website diary<br />
www.standrewsandstgeorges.org.uk/diary.php and weekly<br />
notices for up to date information.<br />
Summer 2011 Diary<br />
July 2011<br />
Sun 3<br />
Thurs 7<br />
Sun 10<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> <strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong><br />
10.30 am (George <strong>St</strong>) Chapel Group meets (p10)<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> Alastair McGregor<br />
Sun 17<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> Tom Gordon<br />
Sun 24<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> Tom Gordon<br />
Tue 26<br />
Sun 31<br />
12.30 pm (George <strong>St</strong>) Amnesty Group meets (p10)<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> Tom Gordon<br />
6-7pm (<strong>St</strong> Cuthbert’s) Jazz in the Church<br />
ecumenical service with Lillian Boutte (p9)<br />
5
August 2011<br />
Thurs 4<br />
Sun 7<br />
Sun 14<br />
Sat 20<br />
Sun 21<br />
Sun 28<br />
Tue 30<br />
Wed 31<br />
10.30 am (George <strong>St</strong>) Chapel Group meets (p10)<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> Elizabeth Curran<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> <strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong><br />
Bold Moves Genesis 45:1-15<br />
7.30pm (George <strong>St</strong>) Choir Concert (p16)<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> <strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong><br />
Be Transformed Romans 12: 1-8<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> <strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong><br />
Full Life, Despite Disability Romans 12:9-21<br />
12.30pm (George <strong>St</strong>) Amnesty group meets (p10)<br />
11.30am - 1pm (George <strong>St</strong>) One Song - bringing<br />
harmony to our common home<br />
part of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace<br />
September 2011 preview<br />
Sun 4<br />
9am, 9.45am, 11am services (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> <strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong> A Merchant Navy Theme Psalm<br />
104 Guest interviewee Professor Gordon Milne<br />
Congregational Gathering 1pm-3.30pm<br />
6
Listening and Sharing<br />
<strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong>'s feedback on the<br />
listening process of which the<br />
questionnaires and numerous<br />
conversations have been part<br />
will take place on the Sunday<br />
4th September after worship<br />
between 1.00pm and 3.30pm.<br />
All will be made most welcome<br />
as this process is designed to<br />
help us together set a course<br />
for the next phase of church<br />
life. <strong>Ian</strong> will be sharing what he<br />
has heard from our members<br />
and elders and will outline<br />
some options for the future of<br />
the congregation.<br />
Holiday Arrangements<br />
The minister is on holiday<br />
from the 8th of July to the<br />
8th of August.<br />
Pastoral cover will be<br />
provided mainly by <strong>Revd</strong><br />
Alistair McGregor with<br />
support from the <strong>Revd</strong> Bill<br />
Clinkenbeard.<br />
Initial contact should be<br />
made with the George<br />
<strong>St</strong>reet Church office on<br />
Tel 0131 225 3847, email<br />
info at standrewsandstgeorges<br />
dot org dot uk<br />
Church and Society Day Conference<br />
Saturday 17 September, Larbert<br />
Supporting the Next Generation: Education and Early<br />
Intervention<br />
Congregational Register Update<br />
IN: <strong>Revd</strong> <strong>Ian</strong> Y <strong>Gilmour</strong> and Mrs Donna <strong>Gilmour</strong><br />
Removal by Certificate of Transference<br />
Mr John W Wightman, CVO CBE<br />
Miss Josee Mobbs<br />
7
News from TOGETHER<br />
Coming soon:<br />
Details of Festival services at<br />
the TOGETHER churches<br />
Just announced:<br />
the appointment of <strong>Revd</strong> Tony<br />
Bryer as Workplace Chaplain in<br />
Edinburgh City Centre, funded by<br />
TOGETHER. He will start work in<br />
early October.<br />
Just published:<br />
If you missed hearing Norman<br />
Shanks speak at the TOGETHER<br />
service on 5 th June or if you‟d just<br />
like to “listen again” you‟ll find<br />
edited highlights of his sermon in<br />
this Diary and Newsletter<br />
The Festival of Spirituality and<br />
Peace: Faith, Hope and Reality<br />
Pick up a programme<br />
Volunteer with FoSP 2011<br />
6th -29th August<br />
We will be accepting volunteer<br />
applications until 28th July<br />
www.festivalofspirituality.org.uk<br />
8
News from Church Groups<br />
Chapel Group (formerly the House Group)<br />
The Chapel Group will meet at 10.30am on Thursday 7th July<br />
and the topic is "An Introduction to the book of Revelation"-<br />
this follows from the last chapters of "The Prodigal God". We<br />
will meet again on 4 th August at 10.30am.<br />
Margaret McGregor<br />
Amnesty International - good news!<br />
We were delighted to hear that Eynulla Fatullayev has been<br />
pardoned and released from prison in Azerbaijan. Eynulla is a<br />
newspaper editor and was jailed on charges Amnesty<br />
believes were fabricated to silence his criticism of the<br />
authorities. We sent greetings cards to him in December and<br />
sent letters to the authorities on his behalf in March.<br />
Our Amnesty group meets on the last Tuesday of the<br />
month at 12.30pm in the Undercroft Café. Our next<br />
meeting is Tuesday 26 July. Please join us - all are<br />
welcome<br />
We hope you‟ve got your contacts list<br />
and find it useful. If you don‟t yet have<br />
one and would like a copy please ask<br />
at the George <strong>St</strong> office. We have made<br />
enough for all members and friends of<br />
<strong>St</strong>A<strong>St</strong>GW.<br />
10
News from Church Groups<br />
Church flowers<br />
Some time ago an appeal was<br />
made in this Newsletter for<br />
more people who would be<br />
prepared to supply and/or<br />
arrange the Church Flowers.<br />
Unfortunately this produced no<br />
new people. The number who<br />
are on the list is now down to<br />
five and this puts a huge<br />
burden on the Flower<br />
Convener and those who are<br />
on the list.<br />
We all enjoy the floral displays<br />
on a Sunday morning so can<br />
we please once again appeal<br />
for people to join in the service<br />
to the Glory of God.<br />
If you can help, please contact<br />
Cath Reid via the Church<br />
Office.<br />
Can you help me,<br />
please?<br />
I am a volunteer speaker for<br />
the Macular Disease<br />
Society and am looking for<br />
engagements.<br />
Macular Disease (MD) is<br />
the commonest form of<br />
blindness in the UK. Too<br />
many people are still being<br />
'diagnosed and dumped'<br />
and told "Nothing can be<br />
done". The hospital/optician<br />
wash their hands of you.<br />
But the MD Society is there<br />
to support, advise, inform<br />
and does a great job in this<br />
and in raising funds for<br />
research. If you are a<br />
member of any society,<br />
association, group who is<br />
looking for a speaker, even<br />
at the last minute, please<br />
let me know via the church<br />
office.<br />
Jesus said he came to bring<br />
fullness of life. That is what I<br />
want for those with MD.<br />
11<br />
Nancie Swan
News from Church Groups<br />
For as long as anyone can remember, the first Friday of every<br />
month at the Undercroft has had a unique character, one of<br />
indefinable benevolence. Margaret Horsey has been a faithful<br />
member of the team of Crofters for 31 years, but now that she is<br />
in her tenth decade she has decided to step back from the table<br />
where she radiated charm and friendliness for so long. Here is<br />
an opportunity to thank this great lady for exceptional service to<br />
the church and bless the gifts she has so freely given to both<br />
the Undercroft and to Christian Aid.<br />
Margaret represents in<br />
two ways the principle<br />
of outreach which is<br />
the visionary ideal of<br />
the Undercroft. It was<br />
in 1980, in what was<br />
to prove a stroke of<br />
genius, that the<br />
Misses Gardner, who<br />
were members of the<br />
congregation, invited<br />
Margaret, their New<br />
Town neighbour, to<br />
become a Crofter.<br />
Ever since then she<br />
has given a warm,<br />
hospitable welcome to<br />
visitors who were<br />
delighted with her<br />
sparkle, her lovely<br />
personality.<br />
Mary Davidson<br />
12
News from the Kirk Session<br />
The first Session meeting with our new minister, <strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong>,<br />
moderating, took place on 31 May. <strong>Ian</strong> said he hoped we would<br />
have a successful, happy and joyful experience as a Session,<br />
and he set out clearly the way he hoped to work. Needless to<br />
say, he was welcomed most warmly.<br />
The Session received reports from the Centre Management -<br />
<strong>St</strong>affing Group, the Fabric Group and the joint Fabric/Building<br />
Options group. This was followed by an update from the<br />
Shandwick Place Development Group which was working<br />
towards a business plan for Shandwick place. Reports were<br />
received from Finance & <strong>St</strong>ewardship, Wider Horizons and<br />
Communications Groups.<br />
The minister led the Session in prayer for the son of John<br />
Chalmers, Principal Clerk and former interim moderator in <strong>St</strong><br />
Andrew‟s and <strong>St</strong> George‟s, who is a serving Marine and had<br />
been seriously wounded in Afghanistan.<br />
The minister proposed a Congregational Gathering on Sunday<br />
4 September, when he would give feedback on his “listening<br />
time” and seek the congregation‟s engagement in future plans.<br />
An information leaflet would be delivered to every home in the<br />
parish, and followed up by personal consultation with a<br />
proportion of people. <strong>Ian</strong> said it was crucial to have hard data<br />
in order to make good decisions.<br />
The meeting was warm and positive. We rejoice in <strong>Ian</strong>‟s<br />
exhilarating leadership, while recognising the renewed energy<br />
and commitment which will be demanded of all of us.<br />
Alison Campbell and Barbara Finlayson, Joint Clerks<br />
13
<strong>St</strong> Andrew’s and <strong>St</strong> George’s West (George <strong>St</strong>reet)<br />
at Festival Time<br />
We have a very full programme in the George <strong>St</strong>reet building<br />
this year, with 74 performances by 48 performers over the 3<br />
weeks from Monday 8 th to Sunday 28 th August.<br />
Many of our regulars are back: Edinburgh Music Theatre<br />
Company, the Bohemians and Edinburgh Grand Opera, organ<br />
recitals, piano recitals, Triplicity and the church choir as well as<br />
Lawrence Dunn, Edinburgh <strong>St</strong>udio Opera, Geoffrey Madell, Big<br />
Band Swing and Aberdeen a Cappella to name but a few.<br />
New comers include 3 student groups: our own Andrew Carvell<br />
and friends, Catherine Backhouse (daughter of the assistant<br />
organist at <strong>St</strong> Giles) with piano accompaniment, and Graham<br />
Dickson, a young flautist performing with some friends of his.<br />
There are 4 performances by acclaimed mezzo-soprano Andrea<br />
Baker, who starred in Porgy and Bess at last year‟s Festival,<br />
and performances by the Fejes Quartet, a young American<br />
composer/performer, Sid Samberg, and an Italian choir<br />
performing Mozart. And on Monday 22 August the Scottish<br />
Chamber Forum presents a full day event showcasing the<br />
Scottish Chamber Music scene.<br />
Our Exhibition in the Undercroft is from Amnesty International.<br />
We are fortunate to have James Dow again as the festival<br />
assistant, and we will be looking for volunteer helpers to staff<br />
the advance box office and undertake front of house duties.<br />
Brochures and advance tickets are available now.<br />
Mary Margaret Scott<br />
14
The Choir goes south 10-13 June<br />
Alison Campbell<br />
The “dreaming spires” were braced against wind, rain and cold<br />
when the Choir travelled to Oxford, but the experience was<br />
magical, and a new one to many of us. Singing a Palestrina<br />
mass as part of the morning service in the little church of <strong>St</strong><br />
Frideswide was uplifting – one of these times when the music<br />
seems to sing itself and the choir takes on a spirit of its own.<br />
<strong>St</strong> Frideswide lived up to its traditional Anglican image by<br />
having a door carved by Alice Liddell (the original of Lewis<br />
Carroll‟s Alice), and by giving us sherry and fruit cake after the<br />
service.<br />
Some of us went to hear the Schola Cantorum of Oxford – an<br />
outstanding young ensemble, two of whose members are Thea<br />
Harris and Neil McCleery, of our own choir.<br />
This was a mindblowing concert of 20 th and 21 st century music,<br />
accompanied by a superb pianist, and introduced many of us to<br />
new works including songs by Jonathan Dove and Quentin<br />
Thomas, both of whom were in the audience.<br />
15
Sunday concluded with a Pentecost<br />
service including a Mozart mass<br />
performed by us with the choir of<br />
Corpus Christi College, in their tiny,<br />
beautiful chapel.<br />
We were conducted by Brigitte<br />
and by Thea (the Organ Scholar there,<br />
whose choir had excellent<br />
voices and technique) and that was a<br />
lovely experience for us all.<br />
We also contributed various “tongues”<br />
to the Pentecost reading,<br />
including Scots, German and Russian<br />
– a real cacophony of a dozen<br />
languages. Who says the British are no<br />
good at other languages!<br />
We hope we will be invited back to a<br />
city which is one of the wonders of<br />
Europe.<br />
Bach and Mozart at the Fringe<br />
Saturday 20 August at 7.30pm<br />
For their annual Fringe Concert this year our choir is<br />
preparing the Requiem by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.<br />
In addition to the Requiem this concert will also feature<br />
Mozart‟s exuberant Exsultate, jubilate, sung by Frances<br />
Cooper. The Cantilena Orchestra, led by Angus Ramsay, will<br />
be playing for the concert. Also on the programme is the<br />
Double Concerto for two violins, BWV 1043, by J.S. Bach.<br />
Tickets £10 (£8 concessions) available now.<br />
16
Music and Meditation Autumn 2011: call for<br />
volunteers<br />
Love art and music? Up for a challenge? Our popular series<br />
of Wednesday lunchtime Music and Meditation resumes again<br />
in autumn. These are short lunchtime services combining<br />
music, words and visual art.<br />
<strong>St</strong>udents from Napier University supply the music. Words and<br />
visuals are put together by volunteers from <strong>St</strong> Andrew‟s and<br />
<strong>St</strong> George‟s West. The meditations are not lectures, more a<br />
creative exploration of a theme.<br />
So far we‟ve examined Scottish artists, poetry, flowers,<br />
mandalas… sometimes we even manage to tie the meditation<br />
into what‟s going on elsewhere in the church. Doing the first<br />
one is quite daunting but the more you do, the easier they<br />
become. We can even give you help on putting your slides<br />
together and using the computer and projector.<br />
Interested in volunteering? Speak to Brigitte Harris<br />
“Ambitious work in<br />
ambitious surroundings”<br />
Shandwick Place is host to<br />
Remarkable Arts during<br />
the Fringe 2-29 August<br />
Pick up a brochure now for<br />
full details.<br />
17
News from our Bellringers<br />
Simon Aves<br />
It is nearly five years since the bells of <strong>St</strong> Andrew & <strong>St</strong> George<br />
West were restored, and the sound of them ringing for<br />
weddings and after the 11 am Sunday service has become a<br />
familiar feature of church life. Ringing a bell is a skill that takes<br />
some time to master, and our band of ringers is mainly made up<br />
of people who volunteered to learn when the bells were rehung,<br />
or who re-learnt something they had not done for decades.<br />
One of the good things about ringing changes on bells is that<br />
however experienced you are there is always something new to<br />
move on to, more complicated or musical ways of changing the<br />
order in which they are rung. Another is that it is an activity<br />
which requires cooperation and teamwork.<br />
Ringing bells is not usually competitive but when ringers, for<br />
fun, want to test their ability against others, it is on how the<br />
ringing sounds outside that they judge themselves. Of course<br />
the actual pitch of the bells is fixed, so the ability of the ringers<br />
lies in the rhythm.<br />
Once a year the Scottish Association of Change Ringers<br />
arranges a „striking competition‟ and invites bands from across<br />
Scotland to compete for a trophy. This year‟s competition took<br />
place on 21 May in Glasgow. Until now we have either not felt<br />
experienced enough, or have been unable to get a band<br />
together because of the Christian Aid sale, so this was the first<br />
time we have entered. Five of our band of six were not ringing<br />
when our bells were restored, so with seven other teams from<br />
all over Scotland competing we were really only hoping not to<br />
fail.<br />
18
Competition rules gave us only a three minute practice on<br />
unfamiliar ropes (which went „nervously‟ to say the least), and<br />
then we were into a five minute test-piece of 120 changes.<br />
Once the judge was rescued from his hiding place the results<br />
were given. We didn‟t win – that honour went to Dunblane<br />
Cathedral – but we were pleasantly surprised to have been<br />
placed a credible second.<br />
If you would like to find out more about the art of change<br />
ringing, or learn to ring, visitors are always welcome at our<br />
Monday practices 7.15pm - 8.45pm. Contact Tower Captain<br />
Mike Clay or Sally Evans<br />
Our team at the SACR <strong>St</strong>riking Competition: Alex Hunsley,<br />
Sandra Mitchell, Simon Aves, Andrew Scobie, Mike Clay,<br />
Sally Evans<br />
19
Not lost, just finding our way<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> Norman Shanks<br />
I am very pleased, indeed honoured, to be speaking at this<br />
significant occasion in the lives of the West End churches – the<br />
annual joint service affirming your commitment „Together‟, and<br />
celebrating also the opening in May 1971 of the Corner <strong>St</strong>one.<br />
40 years ago.<br />
Robert Philp has already given you more than a hint of what it<br />
was like – a rich, horizon-extending, even life-transforming<br />
experience for so many of us who were involved; the church<br />
reaching out in service and mission into the heart of the<br />
community‟s life, providing hospitality and welcome for an<br />
amazing diversity of customers, late at night at weekends, at<br />
first in the days before the pubs were open late; so there were<br />
concert-goers alongside homeless people - tourists, locals,<br />
church-goers and chancers all rubbing shoulders, looked after<br />
by a team of volunteers who signed up for once a fortnight –<br />
around 100 of us in all, also a very diverse crew in terms of age,<br />
background, faith allegiance, some but by no means all of us<br />
from the churches. Inevitably there were challenges, surprises,<br />
ups and downs. It was an exciting, mostly enjoyable thing to<br />
do, a good place to be; and life-long friendships, and<br />
partnerships, were formed there.<br />
For the last two weeks I have been on Iona staying at Iona<br />
Abbey. I know that many of you have been to Iona. And<br />
whether you have been there as a day-visitor, a holiday-maker<br />
or a guest at one of the Iona Community‟s centres, I think you<br />
will have had a sense of being on a journey. Of course we‟re all<br />
on a journey all of the time: Together is part of our journey; for<br />
many of us the Corner <strong>St</strong>one was a milestone on our journey –<br />
or a staging-post, a cross-roads (a whole range of images<br />
springs to mind!); and from the perspective of faith, within the<br />
20
Not lost, just finding our way<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> Norman Shanks<br />
community of faith we may see this journey of ours as a<br />
process of growth or a search – seeking meaning, depth, a<br />
closer relationship with God and with one another, wanting to<br />
make sense of things, discover and experience something of<br />
the joy, peace, fullness of life that is God‟s promise and<br />
purpose for us all. So we are searchers or explorers, for<br />
exploration is what the Christian life is all about – an adventure,<br />
a leap of faith.<br />
A couple of months ago we saw a very good film called Meek’s<br />
Cut-off, about pioneers on the Oregon Trail in the 19 th century.<br />
For most of the time, despite having a guide with them, they<br />
didn‟t really know where they were; and one of the women at<br />
one point came out with the marvellous one-liner: „We‟re not<br />
lost; we‟re finding our way‟!<br />
Isn‟t this after all where most of us are? Finding our way. In the<br />
first chapter of Acts Jesus assures and encourages the<br />
disciples of God‟s continuing presence and support; then he<br />
disappears (we are told „he was lifted up and a cloud took him<br />
out of their sight‟), and as the disciples gaze upwards in<br />
bewilderment the voice of angels brings them back down to<br />
earth and focuses their attention on what lies ahead. Here too<br />
there is a strong sense of the dynamic between the divine and<br />
the human, of mystery and movement: upwards, onwards,<br />
outwards, forward; the awareness of „the-beyond-in-our-midst‟;<br />
the journey, the pilgrimage, the exploration goes on.<br />
The Christian faith is after all about exploration rather than<br />
about explanation; above all it‟s about transformation – the<br />
promise of new life, new possibilities, changing lives, changing<br />
21
Not lost, just finding our way<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> Norman Shanks<br />
the world. Christianity is not a watertight or comprehensive<br />
package of dogmas: it doesn‟t so much provide answers as<br />
enable you to live with, or simply live, the hard questions.<br />
It is good this morning in and through this service to be<br />
reminded of our calling to be „Together‟. Within our culture<br />
today there is a trend towards keeping to ourselves –<br />
suspicious of strangers, averse to anything that is risky, each of<br />
us self-sufficient and secure within our own territory. This is<br />
true within individual lives and it‟s unfortunately true also of life<br />
within the church, where too often congregations are hesitant<br />
about relating to or co-operating with one another, regarding<br />
them rather as competitors. But the message of the Gospel of<br />
course is that we are „better together‟, that we find and develop<br />
our true identity as we relate more closely to others, that we<br />
are all „bound together in the bundle of life‟.<br />
We are blessed to have tasted, touched and experienced the<br />
grace of God – even if the continuing course of our lives may<br />
not always reflect this. Soon we shall share once more the<br />
sacrament of bread and wine – visible signs of invisible grace.<br />
May we all too, each in our own small way, whatever our age,<br />
whatever our circumstances, be signs and channels of God‟s<br />
grace. May we give the lie to the charge that people in the<br />
church „spend too much time trying to prove the resurrection<br />
and not enough time being the resurrection‟. May we look<br />
forward to celebrating Pentecost once more next Sunday and<br />
pray that God‟s Spirit will continue to guide, support, disturb,<br />
challenge and energise us, individually and together, as our<br />
journey goes on.<br />
Amen Thanks be to God.<br />
Norman Shanks (abridged)<br />
22
What’s this? It‟s a “wordle” of the Corner <strong>St</strong>one address.<br />
Important (i.e. more frequently used) words are bigger.<br />
Find out more and make your own at www.wordle.net.<br />
TOGETHER! Alex Harper<br />
The light-controlled West End pedestrian crossings were even<br />
busier than normal on the morning of Sunday 5 June as a large<br />
congregation assembled for a City Centre Churches<br />
TOGETHER joint service in celebration of the work of the <strong>St</strong><br />
John‟s Corner <strong>St</strong>one over the years. The happy choice of<br />
Norman Shanks as preacher produced, as we would have<br />
expected, a well-judged, thought-provoking sermon – and must<br />
have jogged a few memories! A well organized, moving act of<br />
Communion was served by representative clergy from all the<br />
churches, sending us out faith restored once more to take our<br />
places in the world of today. Appreciation and gratitude for all<br />
the thoughtful preparation and hard work are duly recorded.<br />
23
In the Footsteps of Livingstone?<br />
Jack Thompson writes from Malawi<br />
Yesterday was one of the most interesting days in my time in<br />
Malawi and yet, in a sense, it was foreign to the country. The<br />
previous day I had been picked up by a driver from Zomba<br />
Theological College and driven for two hours to the western<br />
bank of the Shire River. In the darkness a small boat waited to<br />
ferry me across to the other side. In a river usually teeming with<br />
hippopotami, elephants and crocodiles, I couldn‟t help<br />
wondering during the ten minute crossing what was around and<br />
underneath the boat. But, as it turned out, it appears only to<br />
have been water.<br />
We were heading for Mvuu Camp, a tourist lodge on the East<br />
Bank of the Shire, (pronounced SHEE-RAY) where I was to<br />
meet a BBC team making a documentary on David Livingstone.<br />
The following day I was to be interviewed as one small part of<br />
that programme. The last time I had met the producer, Richard<br />
Downdes, had been in the palm lounge of the Balmoral Hotel.<br />
Now we were in very different circumstances, and the palms<br />
were certainly not in pots! We were surrounded by hundreds of<br />
them in the African bush alongside the mighty Shire River, for<br />
much of its course several hundred metres wide.<br />
In a large open sided dining area (a cross between a marquee<br />
and a huge African hut) the BBC team was assembling for<br />
dinner. The team was larger than I had expected: two<br />
cameramen, a sound engineer, a producer, a director, a „fixer‟<br />
(who looked after things like transport, permission to film in<br />
certain places, food etc.) and, of course, a presenter – the<br />
seemingly ubiquitous Neil Oliver. In this case, I discovered, the<br />
word „seemingly‟ was unnecessary, since the series he was<br />
making - „the Last Explorers‟ - involved trips to Antarctica, USA,<br />
Japan and Africa. The team were happy and friendly and, three<br />
24
In the Footsteps of Livingstone?<br />
Jack Thompson writes from Malawi<br />
quarters of the way through the shooting of the series, were<br />
clearly at ease in each other‟s company. They made me feel<br />
immediately welcome.<br />
By eight o‟clock next morning we were ready to embark in two<br />
smallish boats packed to the gunnels (the first time I have ever<br />
been able to use that phrase in its literal sense) with cameras<br />
large and small, tripods, boom microphones, walkie-talkie<br />
radios, cool boxes, waders, life jackets, etc. Neil Oliver, together<br />
with two game wardens, was in one boat; the camera crew,<br />
director, producer and myself were in the other, from which<br />
camera shots could be taken of Neil gazing longingly or in<br />
contemplation at the horizon, elephants, hippos, or whatever<br />
else appeared interesting. Often this entailed walkie-talkie<br />
messages between the boats, asking Neil‟s boat, for example,<br />
to go nearer the bank, or drop back behind us so that we could<br />
get a better angle. Several times we went on land, making sure<br />
that elephants or hippos were not too nearby.<br />
So far, our only interaction had been with the animals, but after<br />
a couple of hours, as we passed out of the northern end of the<br />
game reserve, we landed to film a giant hollow baobab tree in<br />
which Livingstone is reputed to have slept one night on his way<br />
north to „discover‟ Lake Malawi in 1859. Here, for the first time,<br />
we encountered crowds of local people fascinated by all the<br />
exotic equipment which the crew were carrying with them. In a<br />
sense, however, this fascination was no more than our own with<br />
the means of transport employed at this point in the river. We<br />
encountered a „ferry‟ which crossed regularly from one side of<br />
the river to the other. It was basically a rowing boat, piled high<br />
at the bows with around twenty bicycles, some hanging out over<br />
the front of the boat, and weighed down at the back with around<br />
25
In the Footsteps of Livingstone?<br />
Jack Thompson writes from Malawi<br />
a dozen bags of maize. Two crewmen rowed and punted the<br />
boat across the river. Passengers travelled separately in<br />
another boat and presumably, this was the most efficient way to<br />
carry both passengers and bicycles across the river, which, at<br />
this point was around three hundred metres wide.<br />
After around forty-five minutes of filming and re-filming Neil<br />
Oliver and one of the game wardens walking to the tree,<br />
climbing inside (together with a cameraman, of course) climbing<br />
out and walking away, we got into our own boats and crossed<br />
to a village on the west side of the river. Local people, of<br />
course, just jumped from the ferry into the shallow water and<br />
waded ashore, but it was thought that there was bilharzia in this<br />
part of the lake (and judging by the number of snail shells on<br />
the beach there probably was) so Health and Safety at the BBC<br />
had decreed that all those working on the programme had to<br />
use oxter-high waders to travel the very few yards between the<br />
boat and the shore. We only had three pairs, so the locals were<br />
completely bemused by the strange antics of the Azungu<br />
(Europeans) donning this very strange clothing, struggling<br />
ashore, only to take it off again, and hand it to someone else<br />
(still wearing a similar get-up) who carried it back to the boat for<br />
someone else to repeat the performance.<br />
Once I got ashore, I realised that this was probably the poorest<br />
village I had ever visited during my many years in Malawi, and<br />
that some of the children, at least, were possibly seeing<br />
Europeans for the first time. Given the equipment we had with<br />
us, including, of course, the waders, I imagined that their<br />
impressions would have been somewhat similar if there had<br />
been local inhabitants on the moon, when the first astronauts<br />
26
In the Footsteps of Livingstone?<br />
Jack Thompson writes from Malawi<br />
arrived in 1969: „who are these weird people, and what kind of<br />
silly clothing and equipment are they carrying with them?‟<br />
The village had been chosen by the producer during a previous<br />
planning trip, because it is likely that David Livingstone passed<br />
this way in 1859 and because it still looked very much as it<br />
might have done then: apart, of course from the brightly<br />
coloured plastic buckets and the fake Manchester United and<br />
Chelsea shirts available in the tiny local store. And so, after<br />
around four hours of travelling came what was to be my big<br />
moment (and when the programme is edited and finally goes<br />
out it probably will be a moment!). Surrounded by hordes of<br />
curious and very noisy children Neil Oliver and I chatted about<br />
David Livingstone, his character and his achievements, his<br />
strengths and his weaknesses.<br />
Then for me it was back to the Game Park in one of the boats,<br />
and then straight on to Zomba by car, while the camera team<br />
carried on for a couple more hours in the sweltering heat. By<br />
the time my driver got me back to base I had been on the go for<br />
almost nine hours – most of it under the hot African sun. It had<br />
been a fantastically interesting experience, with the opportunity<br />
to photograph African wildlife at close quarters from the river<br />
and also to see as an „insider‟ how a modern television outdoor<br />
documentary is made. But it also raised questions for me about<br />
the relationship between Europe and Africa. Both in the<br />
planning and the execution the BBC team had been very<br />
sensitive to local people and their customs; they were treated<br />
with great courtesy and respect. But seeing African village life<br />
at its poorest, with children bare-footed, with many dressed in<br />
little better than rags and some clearly suffering from skin and<br />
other diseases, while we with our sophisticated equipment were<br />
27
In the Footsteps of Livingstone?<br />
Jack Thompson writes from Malawi<br />
apparently suffering from no worse than sunburn, made me<br />
wonder, as I stood where David Livingstone had probably stood<br />
a hundred and fifty years ago, whether the gap between<br />
Africans and Europeans might not be wider now than it was<br />
then.<br />
Of course there are parts of African society and aspects of<br />
African life which are extremely modern and sophisticated. In<br />
the last few weeks I have twice been in the presence of<br />
Malawian camera crews with equipment similar to that of the<br />
BBC, filming events which were going out live on local<br />
television. Modern African cities have high rise office blocks,<br />
traffic jams, business men and women with their iPhones and<br />
Blackberries: yet the majority of Malawians still live in rural<br />
villages, many without electricity or mains water; many also<br />
without a hospital within many miles.<br />
I would be the last to argue that we should be pushing for a<br />
„development‟ which aims at turning Africa into a new Europe.<br />
David Livingstone didn‟t want that either! Nor would I wish to<br />
ignore positive developments in Malawi. But when more than<br />
half the population of Malawi live on less than $1 a day, when<br />
under- five death rates are more than twenty times as high as in<br />
Britain, where the average life expectancy is currently under<br />
forty and where only a small proportion of the population have<br />
the opportunity to attend secondary school, it is legitimate to<br />
ask both Malawian and Scot „Where did we go wrong?‟ Or more<br />
importantly, „How can we begin to put it right?‟ The children of<br />
countless Malawian villages such as the one I visited yesterday<br />
on the banks of the Shire River may not know how to formulate<br />
such questions. But that doesn‟t mean that they don‟t deserve<br />
answers. TJT 03/06/2011<br />
28
Visual Arts<br />
Precious Light: David Mach<br />
30 July – 16 Oct 2011<br />
City Art Gallery, Edinburgh<br />
The exhibition explores the<br />
themes and legacy of the<br />
King James Bible in the year<br />
of its 400th anniversary.<br />
Precious Light is a<br />
contemporary imagining of<br />
the King James Bible in<br />
collage, sculpture and words.<br />
David Mach will move his<br />
working studio from London<br />
to Edinburgh for the duration<br />
of the exhibition. Visitors will<br />
be able to view the artist and<br />
his team as they create a<br />
decoupage depiction of the<br />
Last Supper.<br />
http://www.edinburghmuseu<br />
ms.org.uk/<br />
Launched in Edinburgh on<br />
19 June, the birthday of<br />
King James VI/I, this<br />
digital – manuscript touring<br />
project encourages folk to<br />
write verses of the Bible in<br />
their own hand. It returns<br />
to Edinburgh 20-25 Aug.<br />
www.thepeoplesbible.org/<br />
29
A visual arts response to the Cumbrian shootings of 2 June 2010.<br />
I am a bellringer at the three Edinburgh churches with bells hung<br />
for change ringing. I spent my childhood in West Cumbria and was<br />
deeply moved by the events of 2 June 2010 in all the places that<br />
used to be home. What happened in West Cumbria on 2 June 2010<br />
was a tragedy on so many levels.<br />
Those of us who are left behind have a responsibility to ensure that<br />
Mr Bird‟s little grandson inherits a better world than that of his<br />
grandfather. We can choose whether to fix man‟s inhumanity to<br />
man whereas we have no choice over natural disasters such as the<br />
recent Japanese earthquake and tsunami. Not to choose to adjust<br />
our approach to human life to enable the world‟s human population<br />
to really live, to love and to be loved is to completely miss the point<br />
of being alive at all. We<br />
must learn, and teach,<br />
how to love ourselves.<br />
Loving others and the<br />
planet will follow.<br />
The exhibition had its first<br />
showing in Edinburgh<br />
between 28 May and 5<br />
June 2011 and was<br />
extremely well received.<br />
Many of the comments<br />
and responses were deeply moving. The anonymous contributions<br />
to the participatory pieces will form the basis of future work.<br />
Meanwhile, there is still the opportunity to view the work and to<br />
contribute using the website: www.itcouldhavebeenme.co.uk<br />
Susan Brightman is a bellringer at <strong>St</strong>A<strong>St</strong>GW<br />
30
15 minutes with…<br />
<strong>Revd</strong> <strong>Ian</strong> <strong>Gilmour</strong><br />
Q. Full name?<br />
A. <strong>Ian</strong> Young <strong>Gilmour</strong> (Young<br />
is named after his aunt). If <strong>Ian</strong><br />
was a girl he would have been<br />
called Elizabeth<br />
Q. Age?<br />
A. 54<br />
Q. Home town?<br />
A. Born in Glasgow but grew up<br />
in Lanarkshire<br />
Q. Main hobbies?<br />
A. Learning a new skill each<br />
year. For example motor biking,<br />
sailing a yacht and joining a<br />
choir.<br />
Q. Favourite type of music?<br />
A. Jazz mainly but lots of others<br />
as well.<br />
Q. Reason for becoming a<br />
minister?<br />
A. He felt called<br />
(for full details badger <strong>Ian</strong>).<br />
Q. Favourite movies?<br />
A. West Side <strong>St</strong>ory, Butch<br />
Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,<br />
Dr <strong>St</strong>rangelove<br />
Q. A book to hand down to<br />
future generations?<br />
A. The anti-war book 'Catch 22'‟<br />
31<br />
Q. A book that reminds you of<br />
past generations?<br />
A. „The Guns of Navarone‟<br />
because <strong>Ian</strong>‟s father worked<br />
for a book publishing<br />
company and this was their<br />
best-selling book<br />
Q. Favourite poem?<br />
A. 'Hearts and Flowers' by<br />
Roger McGough<br />
Q. Favourite Quote?<br />
A. „Be the change you want to<br />
see in the world‟ – Gandhi<br />
Q. If you were granted three<br />
wishes, what would they be?<br />
A.1. Good health for the wider<br />
family<br />
2. For leaders of all nations<br />
to display integrity<br />
3. For <strong>St</strong> Andrews and <strong>St</strong><br />
Georges West to attract new<br />
people whilst loving and<br />
nurturing the ones we have<br />
I hope you found out a little<br />
more than you knew already<br />
about our new minister. I<br />
enjoyed finding these things<br />
out and look forward talking to<br />
<strong>Ian</strong> much more in the future.<br />
Sarah Forrester
‘A Chance to Thrive’<br />
Russell McLarty<br />
moves to a new post<br />
Russell McLarty has<br />
moved from Interim<br />
Ministry to take up a post<br />
as Coordinator for a new<br />
Project called ‘A Chance to Thrive’. This Project will give an<br />
opportunity for 8 congregations from the poorest parishes in<br />
Scotland to work to develop exciting ideas in partnership with their<br />
local community. The hope is to be able to develop church<br />
buildings in a way that they can be a wonderful resource for that<br />
work.<br />
The Pilot Project is for a 3 year period and will draw on experience<br />
Russell gained in 21 years in a Priority Area Parish in Glasgow in<br />
major community initiatives along with his architectural back ground<br />
and knowledge of the church structures. The hope is that, with<br />
concerted support, it will be possible to put together excellent<br />
partnership proposals which can get government and private<br />
support even in these very difficult times.<br />
‘A Chance to Thrive’ is looking to recruit up to 40 volunteers (from<br />
accountants to artists to architects) to support local congregations<br />
over the next 3 years. The founding principle of all the work in<br />
Priority Area Parishes was established through the 2009-2011<br />
Poverty and Truth Commission – ‘Nothing about us without us is<br />
for us’.<br />
From this declaration it is clear that we<br />
recognise that local people are the real<br />
„experts‟ on poverty and that any professional<br />
or outside support must respect that expertise.<br />
That having been said, if you would like to<br />
know more about the support role please<br />
contact Russell.<br />
32
The Easter Play - 2012<br />
As you may know, the Princes <strong>St</strong>reet Easter Play took a pause<br />
in 2011. The Easter Play costs approximately £30000 to stage<br />
and unfortunately we were not in a secure enough financial<br />
position to produce it in 2011. This is a large sum of<br />
money. Perhaps it is easier to understand how this amount is<br />
divided up ....<br />
Production Fees £10000<br />
Sound and Lighting £7000<br />
Production and Administration Costs £2000<br />
Insurance Premiums £1000<br />
Publicity Costs £4000<br />
Rentals (Council) £2000.<br />
Miscellaneous (van hire, security guards, first aid etc) £4000.<br />
Money comes from various sources - grants, donations from<br />
Churches, personal donations and other donations and gifts.<br />
The Play has been a significant Christian witness in Edinburgh<br />
since 2005, and to help ensure it can be performed next year<br />
we are asking all the Churches in and around the City to take a<br />
retiring offering on Sunday 25th September, or the nearest<br />
convenient date. If your Church would prefer some other<br />
method of making a contribution, that will of course be<br />
welcome.<br />
We would truly appreciate your help. We, the Trustees, aspire<br />
to make sure everyone in Edinburgh and beyond can be part of<br />
the Easter Play journey of faith. We hope to have a launch<br />
event in early September, and need some indication before<br />
then of likely financial support.<br />
Thank you in advance.<br />
Susan Kidston (on behalf of the Easter Play Trustees and<br />
Fundraising Group) www.easterplay.org/ Scottish Charity<br />
SC035933 Company Number: 390398<br />
33
Truth<br />
For some, Truth is a fortress, square and strong,<br />
In which, once entered, safety lies.<br />
Only like-minded people dwell there,<br />
none disturb<br />
The calm and certain sureties of<br />
belief.<br />
Outside, the world pursues its way, its<br />
noise and<br />
Clamour offering small attraction to<br />
those<br />
Whose knowledge keeps them safe<br />
beyond the Drawbridge of conviction.<br />
If any try to breach the Bastions of<br />
tradition, they are repelled with<br />
Boiling scorn. Truth is impregnable.<br />
For others, Truth is both journey and<br />
Discovery, a Way which leads and<br />
Urges without rest.<br />
No castle for retreat, but<br />
Camps, where fellow pilgrims join<br />
To take refreshment in each other‟s<br />
Company. Assorted in experience, they<br />
Enrich, enlighten, challenge and<br />
Go on to further exploration.<br />
Travelling light. Knowing that in this life<br />
All is provisional; seeking fulfilment,<br />
The end and explanation of the quest.<br />
From Watching for the Kingfisher by Ann Lewin<br />
Thanks to Phyllis Thomson for this poem<br />
34
<strong>St</strong> Andrew’s and <strong>St</strong> George’s West, Edinburgh<br />
Minister<br />
Rev <strong>Ian</strong> Y <strong>Gilmour</strong><br />
0131 225 3847 (George <strong>St</strong>)<br />
0131 225 7001 (Shandwick Place)<br />
Joint Session<br />
Clerks<br />
Joint Treasurers<br />
Director of Music<br />
Alison Campbell<br />
Barbara Finlayson<br />
John Innes<br />
Allan Sim<br />
Brigitte Harris<br />
Key <strong>St</strong>aff at our Shandwick Place Building 0131 225 7001<br />
Centre manager<br />
Deputy e Manager<br />
Volunteer<br />
Coordinator<br />
Caretaking<br />
Cook<br />
Becky Duncan becky@stgeorgeswest.com<br />
Joe Doody mail@stgeorgeswest.com<br />
Becky Duncan<br />
volunteers@stgeorgeswest.com<br />
Alan Hynd<br />
Colin Sharp<br />
Key staff at our George <strong>St</strong>reet Building 0131 225 3847<br />
Church Secretary<br />
Church Manager<br />
Church Officer<br />
Café Manager<br />
TOGETHER<br />
Co-ordinator<br />
Joyce Garland<br />
info@standrewsandstgeorges.org.uk<br />
Cathie Donaldson<br />
Eddie McRiner<br />
Wayne Williams<br />
Joe Evans 07951 529717<br />
joe@togetheredinburgh.org.uk<br />
<strong>St</strong> Andrew’s and <strong>St</strong> <strong>George's</strong> West Church of Scotland,<br />
Edinburgh is a registered charity. Charity number SC 008990.<br />
35
<strong>St</strong> Andrew’s and <strong>St</strong> George’s West<br />
Shandwick Place Building<br />
58 Shandwick Place<br />
Edinburgh EH2 4RT<br />
Tel 0131 225 7001<br />
www.stgeorgeswest.com<br />
mail@stgeorgeswest.com<br />
Centre open Mon – Fri 9am - 5pm<br />
Olive Tree Café Mon - Fri 9am-3pm<br />
The Christian faith<br />
is after all about<br />
exploration rather<br />
than about explanation<br />
above all it’s about<br />
transformation<br />
the promise of new life<br />
new possibilities<br />
changing lives<br />
changing the world<br />
<strong>St</strong> Andrew’s and <strong>St</strong> George’s West<br />
George <strong>St</strong>reet Building<br />
13 George <strong>St</strong>reet<br />
Edinburgh EH2 2PA<br />
Tel 0131 225 3847<br />
www.standrewsandstgeorges.org.uk<br />
info@standrewsandstgeorges.org.uk<br />
Church open<br />
Mon- Fri<br />
10am - 3pm<br />
Undercroft<br />
Café open<br />
Mon - Fri<br />
10am - 2.30pm<br />
Christianity is not a<br />
watertight or<br />
comprehensive<br />
package of dogmas<br />
it doesn’t so much<br />
provide answers<br />
as enable you to live<br />
with, or simply live,<br />
the hard questions.<br />
Norman Shanks<br />
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