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THE MOD'S BLOG
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The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from May 2009 to May 2010 is the Right Rev William Hewitt.
Here he writes about some of the visits and his reflections during the year. |
Living our faith
| As Moira and I begin this year of exceptional privilege we have already encountered many exciting and encouraging things happening around the country. |
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I commented early on this year that after the General Assembly the diary looked fairly light. How wrong I was. On the Saturday after the Assembly I joined the other three hundred walkers taking part in the Christian Aid Erskine Bridge walk and who says the sun never shines in Greenock.
 Crossing the Erskine Bridge | After the Assembly I went to Ireland to their Assembly, came home in the middle to preach at the commemoration service at the Scottish National War Memorial and then returned to be taken on a fascinating tour of the troubles areas of Belfast by an American Minister working jointly with PC(USA) and PCI. |
He took us to the Irish school of ecumenics where we received a most warm welcome and learned a little of the work they were doing in the area of reconciliation. I brought home their study material “Living Faith in the Public Place” and hope some time to be able to read it.
The two themes of reconciliation and living our faith in the public place seem to have been foremost these first few weeks. I was delighted to be able to attend Dr Andrew McLellan's final report as HM Inspector of Prisons. Andrew has always considered his work as ministry in the public place and has worked hard to raise awareness of the many issues for long term prisoners and for those on remand as well as those who are victims of crime. We wish him well in his retirement and congratulate him on the honour recently received.
I was also delighted to be able to celebrate with the Lodging House Mission in Glasgow as they reached a milestone of 100 years of service to the poor and homeless. The Mission has adapted over the years to meet the needs of those who rely on it and not only provides two meals a day but runs a whole host of educational and health groups to help people back towards employment and fullness of life. There was a lovely warm feeling of love in action among the staff and the many volunteers and supporters and visitors who joined in the thanksgiving service led by Anne Lyall, the chaplain.
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 At Salen in Mull |
A trip over the sea to Mull allowed me to share in the opening of a new Church centre at Salen in Mull: a tremendous example of what can be achieved by a small congregation with vision and drive and faith.
Their new Church centre will be used by all ages and different groups in the community and it is a joy to see the Church rising to the challenge and reaching out to meets the needs of today.
A group from Malawi came to visit on their way home after spending two weeks in the Presbytery of Orkney. We shared conversation about their dreams for our resources and our dreams for their growth and commitment. It is to be hoped that through similar Presbytery twinning and local to local congregational twinnings these visions can become reality.
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 Meeting friends from Malawi |
It is a privilege to be able to share in these wide experiences and to see God working through the lives of ordinary men and women who putting their faith in God discover that He can do great things through them.
22 June 2009
You can read more about the role
of the Moderator
here and find out about the events and visits he
will be attending in the Moderator's
Diary.
If you have any comments, please email
the webteam.
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