Cornerstone No. 193, page 2
A letter from the Interim Moderator
Heading off to the airport to bid farewell to Robert and Susan Simpson, it was
good to reflect on how well the first Locum period had gone, and how much the
Simpsons had enjoyed being part of the church fellowship in Lausanne. It was
good to get the sense that the congregation had appreciated Robert’s ministry,
and was looking forward to his return in February.
I’m sure when John Lindsay arrives with his
wife Jackie for the August Locum cover,
that he too will bring his considerable gifts
and energy to ministry, and will enrich the
shared life of the congregation. The
wonderful arrangements that have been put
in place are a great way of making Locums
feel at home very quickly, so a big thank
you to all those involved in making the
mechanics work.
It was a delight to share in the service in the
at which Alice Goodman
completed her training period for the
Readership – and it will be a special joy to
share in the Presbytery service of “Setting
Apart” that will take place in the Scot’s Kirk,
Lausanne on August 3rd – when the Moderator of Presbytery will welcome Alice
as a fully-fledged Reader. I know her ministry will be a valued resource within
the Church of Scotland in Switzerland, and who knows where else.
This time last year, I was on study leave, visiting our church project in Malawi.
Hard to believe a year has passed – but pass it has! Yet, the memories of that
visit are very vivid – the wonderful people and their unputdownable love for life,
their joyful faith – and their patient love for us. Seeing the crushing poverty and
exhausting limitations that people have to deal with every day is shocking,
humbling and perplexing… hard to believe that in the 21st century people have
still to make do with so little, and still have to find hope in face of a relentlessly
bleak future.
And always the question – what to do about it? How to turn the deep sadness
at the plight of so many, into change-making concern and action!?
I guess the least we can do is develop a spirit of gratitude, a perspective that
stops us moaning about the little inconsequential things, the occasional
inconveniences that, for no time at all, make our life a little less comfortable,
yet which compared to the struggle of others are as nothing.