Cornerstone No. 188, page 2
Letter from the Interim Moderator
By the time you read this, things should be getting back to normal for the
congregation of the Scots Kirk Lausanne – and my brief but enjoyable connec-
tion will be coming to a close.
It has been a delight meeting
with the leadership of the
church and discovering the
commitment and talents, the
vision and the strengths that are
to be found within that diverse
and talented group of people.
They are all so different, with
such different reasons for being
in Lausanne and having made
such different journeys on the
pilgrim way – yet they are held
together by a spirit of faith in
Christ and love for his Church. I
have certainly enjoyed my
meetings with them – meetings
that have been carried out in a harmonious and constructive way. This can only
be a good sign, and bodes well for the coming weeks and months.
These are challenging times for the church, with real pressures pushing hard,
and tough challenges facing men and women of faith, trying to be the people
of God in a world that is very busy, easily distracted and full of pain. In order
to help people understand who we are and why we believe what we believe,
live how we live, search as diligently as we do – we have to overcome many
obstacles – cynicism, mistakes in the past, little understanding of the things that
matter to us, and the issues we consider important. Translating what we believe
into the language of people who seem to have a very different way of looking
at the world, and living in it… while not compromising our convictions in order
to be listened to, is a hard circle to square. We love to sing, to pray, to gather
around the Bible and think through its truth – for other people, not familiar with
that world, it seems strange, alien and often inaccessible.
Yet, we know – the truth is the same, the needs of men and women are the
same – and there is reason and purpose in all that we do. Some things are not
negotiable, so central are they to the character of the faith we espouse.
Have we reached an impasse – an awkward silence in our conversation with the
world?