They made a loud clonking sound
The Times' commentator Matthew Paris once said that sometimes a small detail reveals a bigger picture. He went on to say that the moment he saw Margaret Thatcher arranging her dress like the Queen, he knew she was finished.
In a similar way during my visit to the Free Church of Scotland Offices a certain small detail struck me.
I had worked there almost 30 years ago when the Church first hit a major financial crisis and decided to introduce cost cutting measures; and, in a move I don't think they ever repeated, employed us students to do paintwork. As Milton was photocopying, I sat in the new staff room and examined the paintwork. Then my eye caught the electric fire. It was one I remembered from childhood, with big metal switches on the side that made a clonking sound, three bars that would sizzle into a red glow and an unrealistic, pretend-coal cover. It was dull grey and had an old brown flex. The last time I had seem one of these was at a heritage museum.
Bankrupt would not be the right word for the Church, but pretty broke might be a fair description. To add to my sense that things aren't quite as you would like them to be, that morning I was interviewed by three representatives of the Missions Board. They are some of the best examples of humanity, but the sum of our ages was over 250 years.
Thankfully redeeming hope is always somewhere near at hand. On Sunday morning I preached at Coatbridge and found the small congregation buzzing away and acting as host to a dozen Peruvian teenagers and two staff from Colegio San Andrés.
Today I leave for St Andrews for a conference on Hebrews, and Olwen´s mum is staying with us just now.
Colegio San Andrés students at Coatbridge Free Church
In a similar way during my visit to the Free Church of Scotland Offices a certain small detail struck me.
I had worked there almost 30 years ago when the Church first hit a major financial crisis and decided to introduce cost cutting measures; and, in a move I don't think they ever repeated, employed us students to do paintwork. As Milton was photocopying, I sat in the new staff room and examined the paintwork. Then my eye caught the electric fire. It was one I remembered from childhood, with big metal switches on the side that made a clonking sound, three bars that would sizzle into a red glow and an unrealistic, pretend-coal cover. It was dull grey and had an old brown flex. The last time I had seem one of these was at a heritage museum.
Bankrupt would not be the right word for the Church, but pretty broke might be a fair description. To add to my sense that things aren't quite as you would like them to be, that morning I was interviewed by three representatives of the Missions Board. They are some of the best examples of humanity, but the sum of our ages was over 250 years.
Thankfully redeeming hope is always somewhere near at hand. On Sunday morning I preached at Coatbridge and found the small congregation buzzing away and acting as host to a dozen Peruvian teenagers and two staff from Colegio San Andrés.Today I leave for St Andrews for a conference on Hebrews, and Olwen´s mum is staying with us just now.
Colegio San Andrés students at Coatbridge Free Church
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