Missing Thanksgiving Day

I use my iPod to listen to various broadcasts from the States. I download
them the day after they are broadcasted in the US. Yesterday I was lis-
tening to prerecorded programs aired on Thanksgiving Day. Last Mon-
day different programs started talking about Thanksgiving plans and
friends emailed me with plans of what would be happening at their home
on Turkey Day. So, on Thursday I did feel a bit bummed. The day is so
uniquely American. The Canadians have their own Thanksgiving Day,
but the British people do not have anything like a national day of giv-
ing thanks. The Brits are a thankful people, but there is not the sense
of a national day to give thanks.

There was always a large number of American students and their families
at the University of St. Andrews, where I lived for over four years. The
Americans at the Divinity School would always gather together to plan a
big potluck dinner with some family doing a turkey with all the trimmings.
We would also invite friends from other countries to share time together.
But this year I am out of contact with the community, so I was on my
own.

But on Thursday I took time to give thanks to the Lord for all the bless-
ings that have been bestowed on me over all these years. I have so many
great memories of Thanksgiving Days at home in Longview, and then with
Mom in Kelso, of my nearly eighteen years of ministry in Boston, of spe-
cial Thanksgiving Days with American missionaries in Costa Rica. I real-
ly had a lot of fun remembering. I especially remembered Thanksgiv-
ings in Boston with my dear friend Janie, the people at Roxbury Presby-
terian Church, the staff of the Emmanuel Gospel Center, and with mem-
bers of the Montebello Community. When I was at the Fellowship-Eman-
uel Bookstore, the day after Turkey Day was always one of our busiest
days as people began their Christmas shopping. The Thanksgiving meal
was always the calm before the storm for me.

Most of all, I am thankful for the Lord's protection, provision, and guid-
ance over all these years. It has been very challenging, but I have al-
ways been brought back to the Lord's loving kindness and faithful-
ness. That is my prayer for you all.

Blessings to you and yours,

Free Fall

I feel like I am in a free fall. It is as if all my support lines have been cut
and I am falling fast with nothing to stop me. The past twelve months at
Cupar Old Parish Church were wonderful. I had a steady income, some-
thing I had not experienced since 2003, and a supportive Christian com-
munity around me. For once I had stability after moving eight times in
the two years before I moved to Cupar. I enjoyed the past year here in
the small town of Cupar in the Kingdom of Fife on the east coast of Scot-
land.

My time at Cupar Old ended November 1st, and I've been grieving leav-
ing that congregation where I served as assistant minister. But it was
planned that I would be there one year and then go on to a new congre-
gation someplace in Scotland. I have been through this time of transition
several other times in my life, but I always knew where I was going. One
time I headed to Boston to join the staff of the Emmanuel Gospel Center
and another time it was back to Kelso to be with my mom. Then it was to
Philip and Interior, South Dakota, to minister at two churches before go-
ing to St Andrews for university studies. Each time I had a place to go,
but now I don't. I do not yet have a place to go to.

I am being reminded again about yielding my life to the Lord and trust-
ing in God to lead me to where God wants me. They are lessons that I
have to keep learning over and over. There are six ministry positions
here in Scotland that attract my attention. Currently there are over 180
vacancies in the Church of Scotland, but I am especially attracted to the
six. I can imagine myself finding a wonderful place of ministry in each
of those six. It has been hard for me to narrow them down to two or
three top ones. They are all over Scotland: two are in urban settings,
two are in rural parishes, and two are in small towns. After praying
about this for several days, I requested further information about one
of the vacancies at an urban parish in Glasgow. I had the strongest
sense about that one, and I will pursue it until doors close.

Although this time of my life is as challenging as any other time in my life,
I see it as a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth. So, if you remem-
ber me in your prayers, pray that I would continue to focus on Jesus and
not lose heart as I face a new set of challenges.

Blessings to you and yours,

A Door Closed

Last Tuesday morning I received a phone call from a church
that I had applied to fill a vacancy in September. The Vacan-
cy Committee had decided not to carry on with my application.
It is always difficult for me to receive news like that. I felt dis-
appointment and some discouragement. It was an end of a re-
lationship that I had enjoyed. But it's not meant to be.

The larger of the two churches involved was especially look-
ing for more a minister with more experience and leadership
skills than I have. Even though I had sensed that I was not
quite what they were looking for, I still had my hopes up. If
I had gone there I believe that I would have felt considerable
stress to perform in a way that was not me. I believe that the
Committee had been sensitive to God in their deliberations and
their final decision. I trust them in their discernment process.

So, the door has closed on that possibility. A good friend con-
soled me by sharing that when when God closes one door, God
always opens another one. I have been richly blessed by the
love and support of friends here in Cupar and St. Andrews. I
really have been blessed by them.

I have been eagerly looking at other vacancies that I believe
I would be a good candidate. I am seeking to be sensitive to a
door opening before me. It is actually exciting for me to be do-
ing that. If you pray for me, I would ask that you pray that I
would be patient in waiting, attentive to the Lord's leading, and
obedient to walk through the door God opens.

Blessings to you and yours,

Scottish Ministerial Courtship Practices

Two Sundays ago was my last day at Cupar Old Parish Church,
where I had been assistant minister for the past year. At a recep-
tion for me after the morning service I announced that I had ob-
tained my Certificate of Eligibility. I found out later that several
people were wondering if it meant I was an eligible bachelor now,
and thus looking for a wife. Well,...I might be or I might not.

The Certificate does mean that I am now a Church of Scotland
minister and that a congregation can call me to be their minis-
ter. Since September I have been interested in a linked charge
(two churches) in the north of Scotland. In early September I
went up to visit them and decided to continue the process with
them. Several members of the Vacancy Committee are coming
to Cupar Old to hear me conduct a full service this Sunday, 15
November.

I see this whole process to be like a courtship ritual between con-
gregations and ministers. It has been fun for me to go this far
through the process. It is all rather exciting to me.

If you do remember me in prayer, I hope you will lift up this
courtship process I'm in and this Sunday's service I'm con-
ducting.

Blessings to you and yours,

We Will Remember Them

It has been just over 90 years since the end of World War I, but
the tragic national wounds of the Great War are still felt deeply
by the British people. Today I experienced my seventh Remem-
brance Sunday, the Sunday closest to November 11, Remembrance
Day, when the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Nations re-
member the sacrifices of so many men so long ago in the trenches
of France and Belgium.

It seems that in every little village and town in England, Scotland,
and Wales there are monuments to the dead of two World Wars
and the long lists of sons killed in combat. The lists of names of the
war dead from the First World War are always much longer than
those of the Second World War. Hundreds of thousands of men
who served in the First War were slaughtered in the tenches and
in No Man's Land during the War to End All Wars. The British peo-
ple have vowed to never forget the sacrifices of men and women in
that Great War and in the other wars the United Kingdom has en-
gaged in. Even now they remember every time a fallen British sol-
dier is repatriated to Britain.

And so this morning the people of Cupar joined with large and small
communities throughout Britain and its former colonies to remem-
ber the fallen of World War I and all the wars Britain has fought. Here
in the small town of Cupar, a large crowd gathered at 10:40 at the
Memorial Monument in the center of town for a Service of Remem-
brance. I joined with them for the second year in a row. I attended
five similar remembrance services during my time in St. Andrews.

Three bagpipers in kilts led units of military cadets, active military
personnel, and veterans of other conflicts to the Monument. The
different military units all marched in with the uniquely smart British
fast march step. Four ministers from town churches read Scripture
passages and led in prayer. A large number of memorial wreathes
were laid at the base of the monument by family, friends, and civic
organizations to remember the fallen. Then we all sang God Save
the Queen. I always find it touching and I get tears in my eyes.

Many in the crowd then went to Remembrance Sunday services in
town churches. Since my time at Cupar Old Parish Church had ended
I went to the other Church of Scotland church in town. The guest min-
ister shared his concerns about the Remembrance Day services in a
very polite and respectable way. In line with the policy of the Church
of Scotland he rejects all war and nuclear arms and seeks every oppor-
tunity to promote peace and conflict resolution. He expressed his con-
cern about the Church sanctifying military action in foreign conflicts.
He reflected the dominant positions on antiwar protest and peace-
making positions held by by the Church of Scotland.

I, too, seek an end to war and the outbreak of peace. Although I con-
sider those who hold such views to be fine and good people, I also reck-
on them to be tragically naive and wrong. I expect that next year at
this time I will have to participate in such a service in a town or village
someplace in Scotland. I will do so as an American Christian minister.
But that is a topic for another posting.

I was very touched by the earlier service this morning. With sadness
I do remember the fallen.

Blessings to you and yours,

Sir Ziggy, the Tender Hearted

Sir Ziggy, the Tender Hearted, is the 4-year old male cat in
whose domain I have rented a room this past year in Cupar,
Scotland. He is the most gentle cat I have ever met. Ziggy
has a very mild-mannered disposition. When it comes to fight-
ing other cats, Ziggy is a pacifist. When aggressive cats ad-
vance on him, he slowly backs away into a protective place. I
have never witnessed Ziggy take offensive action against any
cat.

Nor have I seen Ziggy pounce on a mouse, although he did try
to sneak a dead one past me into the house some time ago. I
think the mouse might have died of fright because Ziggy likes
to play with mice, but he never takes any action to harm them.
Unfortunately I don't think the poor mouse experienced it that
way. It probably died of fright having this big scary creature
hounding it any time it moved. I have watched Ziggy play with
a mouse and then go off in search of other fun things to do, allow-
ing the mouse to flee if it wasn't paralyzed with fear. But Ziggy is
so tender hearted that it probably never entered his cat mind
that he was frightening the mice he played with.

Since the beginning of summer I have noticed that Ziggy is in a
serious conflictive relationship with another cat. The other cat
is a scrawny male Siamese cat who exhibits a bad attitude. He
takes every opportunity to bully tender hearted Ziggy. I have
seen Ziggy seemingly as paralyzed with fear as the mice he
plays with. I mean this Siamese cat is lean and mean, the epi-
tome of an ornery bully cat. I don't like him at all. I have tried to
exhort Sir Ziggy to stand up to the mean cat, but what do I
know? It seems Ziggy is pretty frightened and there is nothing
I can do about it.

I think, though, that Ziggy has come up with a plan. He no-
tices that the mean cat has a curfew, and can't be out past
6 PM. Furthermore, the other cat's human doesn't let him
out of the house until 8 AM. Thus Ziggy has identified a win-
dow of opportunity when he can roam to his heart's content
and not have to contend with that mean old cat. He usually
has his tea (dinner) around 5:30, waits until 6, and then
makes it known he wants to go out. Ziggy camps out at the
back door, meows, and waits for a human to open the door
to let him out. He either meows at the kitchen window to be
let in at 10 or 11, or stays out all night until the early morning.
I tend to get up before 6:15 and find him waiting for me at
the kitchen window to let him in.

Ziggy has studied me since I moved in a year ago, and cor-
rectly recognized that I am a softie and that I am a sucker
for a sweet meow, even at 5:15 AM. Down the hall Margar-
et, Ziggy's primary human and my landlady, is smart and
thus is able to sleep through anything, especially when she
has her hearing aids out. So he comes down to my bedroom
door, meows, and paws at the closed door. Ziggy knows that
I will respond, softie that I am, regardless of the time. Some-
times he will rustle around in my dark room for a while or
take a little catnap, but most of the time Ziggy wants to go
outside for a couple of hours while the mean ol' Siamese cat
is in confinement.

During the day while the mean Siamese cat is at play, Sir Zig-
gy stays indoors and sleeps. He sleeps on Margaret's bed. He
sleeps on the sofa in the living room. He likes to perch on the
inside ledge of the living room picture window with its com-
manding field of vision of the crossroads nearby. From there
he can safely monitor the movement of all cats in the neigh-
borhood. Ziggy also sleeps on my bed or in the leather chair
of my desk. He had mistakenly thought that all he had to do
to keep me from throwing him out was to sleep and look cute.
But he has been cured of that idea. I am happy to report that
I have regained my proper place as lord of my bedroom and
that Ziggy has assumed his place as a guest in my room. I am
not as tender hearted as Sir Ziggy, the Tender Hearted Cat.

Saying My Goodbyes Once Again

Yesterday, Sunday, was my last day as assistant minister of
Cupar Old Parish Church, in Cupar, Scotland. I have now com-
pleted a twelve month familiarization placement at the church.
During the past year I've attended probationary conferences.
studied Church Law, surveyed Scottish Church History, and
attended day-long conferences on a variety of topics. I have
just received my Certificate of Eligibility and am now consid-
ered a Church of Scotland minister. I am waiting to be called to
a specific charge someplace in Scotland. I have sensed God's
leading the past six years I've been here in Scotland, and ex-
pect God's continued leading in the years ahead.

Last November it felt great to get back into congregational pas-
toral ministry after being away for over five years. I enjoyed
getting back into preaching, leading worship, doing communion
services, conducting funerals, and making pastoral visits in
homes or hospitals. But most of all, I enjoyed entering into the
lives of the people of the church and they into mine. I grew very
fond of many, and I sensed the fondness of many for me. It has
been a wonderful year for me in Cupar and at the church. I grew
more in love of God, more aware of myself, and more involved
in the lives of people of the congregation.

And so when I closed my final prayers of the service on Sunday
I almost lost it. It really hit me hard that I was leaving people
who had become very dear to me. It wasn't any easier when the
congregation honored me at the end of the service and at a re-
ception after the service. My time here in Cupar has been a
very special year for me, and I am so grateful to God for the
time He gave me here.

But as I see one door closing behind me I see another one open-
ing before me. I leave with the blessing of the people I've been
with for this past year, and I realize that a new adventure is open-
ing up in front of me. I don't know where God is leading me, but
I do know that He is leading me into a new situation. I am start-
ing to realize that all of this is quite exciting. If you feel so in-
clined, I ask for your prayers as I receive my new orders.

Blessings to you and yours,

It's Been a 'Dreich' Sort of Day

Dreich is an Old Scots word that sounds as bad as the weather
it describes. The word is used by Scottish people to describe the
weather. A day is dreich if its weather is characterized by at
least four of the following adjectives: overcast, drizzily, dull, cold,
misty, and miserable. So a day that is a dreich day must have at
least four of those as descriptive of the day's weather. When a
Scottish person says dreich to describe the weather, I know that
it is horrible weather.

Well, today was 100% dreich! It was overcast, drizzily, dull, cold,
misty, and miserable, and all of that again. It was a super uchy
type of day. It started early in the morning and is still going
strong late into the night. My skin is starting to rust and my
feet are developing webbing between the toes. I keep singing
'Rain Drops keep falling on my head." But no longer is it sung
to keep Californians out of Washington State, but to keep the
English from moving up into Scotland.

But the day keeps being pure dreich.

Blessings to you and yours,