2 June

Dear Friends,

There is a saying that “strangers are just friends we haven’t yet met” and, as I’ve still to meet most of you, I trust that when we do meet we shall, indeed, be friends – not least given that we start by being brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.

Who am I? My name is Derek Lawson and my wife, Moira, and I will be with you until 24th June, along with our dog, Milly. I’m supposedly retired but keep finding myself drawn back into ministry, having been, over recent years, locum in Costa del Sol (on several occasions), Rotterdam, Bermuda and Jersey. I’m also the Clerk to the International Presbytery and live in Brittany in France.

Both my wife and I are looking forward to our being with you in Amsterdam as it will be, for us, a return to the Netherlands, having spent three and a half years as minister of the Scots International Church Rotterdam. I should, perhaps, say that I do not hold a doctorate (as last week’s Weekly Letter stated): I’m just a simple Reverend. 

I would, of course, congratulate you on electing your new minister last Sunday and trust that the remaining administrative hurdles can be speedily cleared and a date set for his introduction as the Minister of the ERC. Hopefully, therefore, I’ll be one of the last locums in your vacancy as you move towards a return to the greater stability that a full-time minister provides.

I’m delighted that on my first Sunday with you we’ll be celebrating the Sacrament of Holy Communion, one of the central celebrations in our Christian faith, and I look forward to a good number of you coming to proclaim and celebrate your Christian faith. 

I look forward to meeting you and apologise in advance if I fail to remember all your names!

Derek