Dear Friends,

FOCUS ON WHAT IS ESSENTIAL!

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was asked by his son to officiate at his wedding ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral. A rehearsal was held the day before the wedding and Justin Welby, who was out of practice when it came to weddings, asked the Dean of Canterbury to be present to make sure that he did everything properly….

Dear Friends

No visit to Amsterdam would be complete without a visit to the Vincent van Gogh Museum. Vincent took his own life in 1890. His brother Theo died six months later. Theo had been a tower of strength to Vincent throughout his life. Theo was his counsellor, comforter and financial backer. Vincent wrote hundreds of letters to his brother in which he confided his innermost thoughts and his mental turmoil...

Dear Friends

In the year 2000 the National Gallery in London put on an art exhibition of images of Christ. It was entitled ‘Seeing Salvation’. 

One sculpture was of a naked Jesus sitting on a rock wearing the crown of thorns and awaiting crucifixion. He looked so vulnerable and helpless. The impact of that statue on visitors to the exhibition was extraordinary. ….

Dear Friends

ANNE FRANK – EXAMPLE OF COURAGE

No visit to this city could be complete without a tour of Anne Frank’s House. The tragedy of this teenaged girl, full of life and highly skilled as a writer despite her young age, brings home to all of us the colossal tragedy of the Holocaust.

Back in the 1990s an exhibition based on the life eand achievement of Anne Frank came to Dublin. Hilary and I and the children were privileged to view the exhibition….

Dear Friends

IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK!

Hilary and I are delighted to be with you once again. I served as locum here in May, 2014 during the last vacancy. Indeed Lance came to preach as nominee and we were delighted to offer Sally and Lance a guest room in the manse, which was soon to be their home.

In 2014 we bought a little souvenir of this city, a Christmas tree decoration of two miniature clogs. Every Christmas when decorating our tree, we are reminded of the time we spent in the fellowship of ERC……

Dear Friends

This is my last letter as locum minister. Dorothy and I return to Northern Ireland on Monday after nine weeks in Amsterdam. We benefited greatly from the ministry of the ERC when we lived in the Netherlands and it has been a great privilege to be able to contribute to the life of the church during this period of vacancy. …

Dear Friends,

I want to begin with a word of thanks to everyone who picked up responsibility for the service last Sunday in my absence. Particular thanks to Heleen for leading and Giles for reading the sermon. It was so interesting to hear the service online rather than see it. There’s something to be said for the simplicity of sound in a culture where we are constantly bombarded with images….

Dear Friends,

It appears that it was not only the clocks that changed last weekend, the weather too has changed. Having been so used to bright sunny days it seems that over the next week we will have to settle for cloudy days and some rain. As always, what is disappointing for some is relief for others. I suspect there will be plenty of farmers and gardeners pleased to see a little rain. Those touring the fields at Keukenhof may feel differently.

As we approach the end of Lent and begin to move into the heart of the Easter festival, we are reminded of the very different ways the events of Easter were experienced at the time. For the disciples it was an anxious time. They knew that Jesus’ determination to be in Jerusalem for the Passover would lead to trouble. For the religious authorities there was the welcome opportunity to rid themselves of a troublemaker. But no one, not the religious leaders, not the soldiers at the tomb, not the disciples could have foreseen the final outcome, the resurrection.

Our circumstances can change like the weather – bright today, dark tomorrow. Whatever our experience of life, maybe we can be encouraged by the knowledge that, because of the resurrection, up ahead lies glory!

David

Dear Friends,

On this coming Sunday (27th March) 02:00 hours will become 03:00. The clocks go forward while we are sleeping so if you turn up at church without changing your clocks you will arrive just in time for coffee and the AGM but will have missed the service!

You don’t want to miss the service this Sunday for lots of reasons:

1. You really don’t want to miss church at anytime

2. You won’t get to hear an interview with Gillean MacLean the new moderator of the vacancy

3. You will probably spend the rest of the day kicking yourself that you didn’t put your clocks forward.

Changing the clocks may be a bit of a nuisance but….

Dear Friends,

On Monday morning Dorothy and I visited the Van Gogh museum. We had been there before when living in the Netherlands, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience as it was almost impossible to see any of the paintings because of the crowds of people. There’s no doubt that living so close to the Museumplein has its benefits, because this time we were able to be in ahead of the crowds – an altogether much more pleasant experience….