20 September
Dear Friends,
Thank you
Hilary and I wish to thank you all for the warmth of your welcome and for your support over the past seven weeks. It was an honour to share the gospel with you and to witness the outliving of the gospel in the ERC community.
13 September
Dear Friends,
The Rambling Rose
When Hilary and I moved to our retirement cottage on the shores of Belfast Lough, we had a lot of work to do arranging the house in the way we wanted it.
We concentrated on the cottage and ignored the garden. Previous owners had been keen on the garden but, since they left, it had become overgrown.
06 September
Dear Friends,
An Unusual Cathedral Procession
During the winter of 2020-2021 the great cathedral in Salisbury opened its massive doors as a vaccination centre in the fight against Covid19. Indeed on the first day of opening a thousand people in the over-eighties age group were vaccinated.
The cathedral organist volunteered to come in and play throughout the day. He played Bach, Handel and Pachelbel to sooth people as they awaited their life-giving jabs. To the accompaniment of glorious music a long procession of the elderly proceeded through the mediaeval splendour of that great church.
It was an event which embodied the heart of the gospel. God’s church was continuing its life-giving ministry and doing it accompanied by music composed to the glory of God. No doubt the angels watching from heaven were applauding loudly!
31 August
Dear Friends,
Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Faure
In June of 2022 while attending choir practice in ERC, I was captivated by a truly beautiful anthem, Cantique de Jean Racine composed by Gabriel Faure. It is a prayer of thanksgiving and set to a wonderful melody. It was obvious from their delight and enthusiasm that every choir member loved singing this masterpiece. When they discovered that I would be returning home before the Sunday when...
23 August
Dear Friends,
A favourite photo
My favourite photograph of our granddaughter was taken when she was just four. Her father snapped her from behind as they were strolling on the coastal path below our cottage. There she is, a carefree four-year-old, skipping along in the sunlight. On her left are the waves of Belfast Lough; on her right is rough grass. The stony path bends away...
17 August
Dear Friends,
My father’s best landscape
When he retired from business, my father took up painting as a hobby. His first efforts at landscapes were disastrous. His skies were too blue, his grass was too green and his daffodils too yellow. But in time he learned to tone down his colours.
His best painting was of a rugged County Down coastline. It hung for years in our manse in Dublin. When people enquired about it, we said, ‘It’s pretty good except for the clouds. Dad never could paint clouds.’ One day a friend who is a professional artist visited our house. He enquired about the painting and we replied, ‘It’s a pity about the clouds.’ His response surprised us....
10 August
Dear Friends,
The Supper at Emmaus (1602) by Caravaggio
https://www.ulstermuseum.org/whats-on/national-treasures-caravaggio-belfast
This summer Belfast’s Ulster Museum is exhibiting Caravaggio’s The Supper at Emmaus. The painting is on loan from the National Gallery in London..
2 August
Dear Friends,
It’s great to be back!
Hilary and I are delighted to be returning to the ERC. I was first introduced to the church in 2014 following my retirement from ministry in Dublin, Ireland.
This will be my fourth locumcy. Every time we come, we find the congregation looking forward in hope. In 2014 we witnessed the nomination of Lance Stone as your minister. In 2022 we observed your determination to leave behind the restrictions of the pandemic. In 2023 we rejoiced to hear…
27 July
Dear ERC Family,
One of the joys of life in the manse has been reading a book on the shelf in the study - a book by John Bell, Known Unknowns - new texts for familiar hymn tunes. I trust that you all know the familiar tune "Wondrous Love"; "what wondrous love is this, O my soul." John has written new words for that familiar tune. So hum that tune and think about these words…
19 July
Dear Friends,
Gratitude abounds from my heart – to God and to each of you - as we carry on. Ginger and I continue to enjoy so much our time in your midst at ERC.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby once used a helpful phrase: “GO-GO.” GO-GO stands for “Go On, Going On!” This is sometimes all we can do – as individuals, as a church family, as God’s people.
GO-GO. Some days, some seasons are very difficult for us – and we keep waking up each day and try to “go on.” Some chapters of life are dark and dreary, uncertain and full of fear; we can only “go on, going on.” Other times are full of joy and thanksgiving. Other moments, short or long periods, are full of goodness and grace. Yet we…