Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a British Christmas custom that has interested me ever
since I first came to Scotland in 2003. I was first exposed to Boxing
Day in 1998 when I was studying in Vancouver, Canada. The Brits
have developed a rich tradition of Boxing Day. It is usually celebrated
on 26 December, the day after Christmas. But if the day after Christ-
mas falls on the weekend, it can be observed on the following Monday.
This year, however, it was observed on Saturday, the day after Christ-
mas.

In Britain Boxing Day is a public holiday, just like Christmas. Therefore
it is considered another day off from work. But in recent times Boxing
Day has been a time for stores to offer clearance sales. I heard about
people lining up several hours before store doors opened in order to be
the first people to take advantage of Boxing Day sales. When the doors
were opened people made a mad rush to get to the items on sale.

But Boxing Day has also been a special time for families to do fun things
together. They watch sports, play board games, go on walks in the coun-
try, and eat leftovers from the Christmas dinner. It is also customary for
business owners to give Christmas bonuses to their workers and home-
owners to give tips to the people who deliver the paper or mow the lawn.
It is also a day to find ways to help the poor. In Britain Boxing Day is a
very special day.

Meanwhile Fife, the region in which I live, continues to be Britain's scene
of an Arctic deep freeze. There were snow flurries again today and more
are expected before New Year's Day. The last time I saw so much snow
and experienced so much cold was a wonderful time in South Dakota in
2002 and 2003. But that seems a whole world away.

New Year's Blessings to you and yours,

Christmas Greetings!

I do not have any Christmas service responsibilities for Christmas, 2009;
nor do I have any friends from the recent years around any more. I do
not have family or close friends here in Scotland, so for me it has been a
calm week before Christmas. Everybody around me seems to be in a tiz-
zy. I have enjoyed restful times to reflect on Jesus as the reason for the
season. But I am already looking forward to celebrating Jesus next year
as minister of a church or churches someplace here in Scotland. I wonder
where the Lord will send me?

For nearly a week now there have been several inches of snow on the
ground all up and down Britain. I have seen snow here in the area be-
fore, but it has always melted within an hour or two of falling. This time,
however, it has not melted. Every day there seems to be just a little bit
more snow that has fallen. The snow has made this Christmas time spe-
cial.

There are special services in the five churches here in Cupar tonight,
Christmas Eve, and tomorrow, Christmas. A dear friend of mine, the
minister of the central Church of Scotland congregation in St. Andrews,
has invited me over for Christmas with him and his family. I look for-
ward to that. I spent last Christmas with them and had a delightful
time.

What is most important to me is Jesus, the reason for the season. I can
easily forget about him in my usual routines. But Advent, Christmas,
Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday, and Easter are very special
times for me. As the year runs its course I am refreshed by remember-
ing and reflecting on all that Jesus has done for us.

I have really been nourished by this Advent and Christmas season. May
you truly experience that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Christmas blessings to you and yours,

A Christmas Treat!

Ever since I arrived here in Cupar in late October, 2008, I have
heard about the Lochiehead Nativity Play. So many people I talked
to said it was something I had to experience. Last year's six perfor-
mances over three days came and went before I could arrange to get
a ticket to attend a performance. I hoped this year would be differ-
ent, but it looked like this year I would not have the opportunity to
see the play.


For the past twelve or so years there has been a Nativity play put
on at the Lochiehead Farm, about 8 miles from Cupar. Thirty to
forty volunteers from all over the area start practicing in mid-
November in preparation for the six showings the weekend just be-
fore Christmas. They are all ages, ranging from the baby who 'plays'
the baby Jesus, to the 70-year old who plays Simeon, and all ages
in between. Of course the baby and the infant's mother as Mary are
different each year. The baby's father is offered the opportunity to
play Joseph, but often the father declines and another man plays the
part. Some of the babies who have been Baby Jesus in earlier years
are now old enough to have parts in the play as shepherd boys. One
Mary of several years back has another part in this year's Nativity
play. Some volunteers have been involved for many years, but for
many others this is their first year in the play.

I wanted to see the play, but I couldn't find anyone with whom I
could get a ride to the farm. It is really difficult for me to get to the
play because I do not have a car. But on the day of the first show-
ings a good friend invited me to go to the evening showing. It real-
ly made my Christmas season! That night I was at the Lochiehead
Nativity Play and treated to a wonderful time. It is really quite a
production.


There were two or three inches of fresh snow when the whole cast
processed to an area just in front of the gathered crowd out in the
open air. Torches provided light and there was an excellent sound
system. Thus began the Christmas Story played out before us. We
watched as Joseph guided a pregnant Mary on a donkey to find a
place to stay the night. Finally Joseph was offered a place in a barn,
and there Jesus was born. We watched as shepherds tending sheep
in a nearby field heard an angel announce to them the birth of Jesus,
their Messiah. Then we proceeded past mooing cattle to the barn
where Mary, Joseph, and the new born baby Jesus were. I think
the baby slept the whole time of the performance! We watched the
shepherds come in to check out the angel's announcement. Then
Wise Men in stunning costumes rode up to the barn on horses and
entered the barn to worship the new born King. Simeon, Anna, and
Herod all made appearances in one way or another. I was really
caught up in the Story! It truly was a Christmas treat that I will
long remember!

Christmas blessings to you and yours,

A Week in the Life of Jeff

Even though I am no longer the assistant minister of Cupar Old Parish
Church, I still find that my days are jammed full of things I have to do.
Every day except Sunday I work on my thesis rewrite and search for
pastoral vacancies, hoping that for one of them I might be just the can-
didate they are looking for. Last week I enquired about two vacancies
that I was keen on. Unfortunately I was informed that both congrega-
tions were on the verge of calling a new minister. I was a bit disap-
pointed, but I have continued to search for the congregation(s) that
God has planned for me.

This past week was also filled with social events and get togethers with
friends. One night was the Guild Christmas dinner. Most Church of Scot-
land congregations have a social group for the women of the congregation.
Ken, the minister of the church, and I were invited, but Ken had another
meeting scheduled. So I was the only male among thirty or so women. It
was nice. I savored the salmon I ordered, received one of my favorite
Christmas gifts, chocolate, and enjoyed delightful conversation with Mar-
garet, a table companion to my right. She shared about her experiences
as a nurse during the London Blitz in World War II; her service as a Brit-
ish Army nurse in North Africa, Italy, Belgium, and Germany; being
courted by her future husband in all of those theaters of operation; and
being shocked by all the devastation when the Allies began the occupa-
tion of defeated Germany. I was fascinated by her adventures as a
young woman.

One day last week I went into St. Andrews, just a 20-minute bus ride
away, to meet some friends. Rory is the minister of the town-center
Church of Scotland congregation in St. Andrews. He has been very en-
couraging of my transfer from the Presbyterian Church (USA) to the
Church of Scotland. I will be spending Christmas Day with Rory and his
family, something I really look forward to. Then I met with Bruce, a fel-
low Presbyterian minister, who flew in from Seattle to do research and
writing on his thesis. He became a dear friend the past two years when
he and his family lived in St. Andrews. We shared an office together and
I was often invited over to their house for meals and get togethers. To-
day he flew back to Seattle.

Over the past few months I have become involved with an ecumenical
healing prayer ministry here in Cupar. A group of us have been meeting
together weekly to pray about the ministry going public in mid-January.
Today a small group of us met together to receive further training about
the healing prayer ministry. I hope to be here long enough to see it start
up in Cupar. It is something I'd like to see established in the church I am
called to, hopefully soon.

As they say here in Scotland, 'That's me!' I continue to ask for your pray-
ers as I discern where the Lord wants me to serve Him and His Kingdom
here in Scotland.

Blessings to you and yours,

A Weekend in the Highlands

I had a wonderful adventure in the Highlands of Scotland this past week-
end, one that I am still savoring. Stewart, a friend, invited me to travel
to two ordinations and inductions of two mutul friends. Stewart is a tad
younger than I am who sensed the Lord calling him to leave a success-
ful professional career as an engineer to enter the ministry in the Church
of Scotland. This past year as I was doing my familiarization Placement
at Cupar Old Parish Church, I attended four conferences where Stewart
was also present as part of his minsterial training.

I appreciated that Stewart invited me go with him to the services for
two colleagues who had also been at the four conferences. Stewart trav-
elled north from his home near Edinburgh, to where I live, to Cupar, in
the Kingdom of Fife, in the eastern part of Scotland. Then we went west
through the southern portion of the Highlands. I enjoyed the beauty of
the Highlands, often with summits obscured by low clouds and a few
higher peaks already crowned with snow.

Our first destination was the small village of Taynuilt in Argyll, just elev-
en miles east of Oban, a a significant ferry port on the western shore of
the Scottish mainland. We were given Scottish hospitality by Evelyn,
Stewart's eighty-something aunt. We enjoyed soup and filled rolls be
fore we went to the ordination and induction service, and the induction
social after that. Our friend Robert was ordained into the Church of Scot-
land, and inducted to ministry to three small congregations in the area.
Robert is single, in his early 40s, and a former chef and mail carrier. He
has the amazing ability to laugh easily and heartily and is quick to hug.
Robert brings considerable love and energy to the three congregations in
his charge. He has a lot to offer them and will be quite a blessing to them.
Then the large crowd crammed into the small community hall for the in-
duction social gathering. I was treated to a wonderful spread of finger
food, Scottish songs and music, and short speeches. It was quite an after-
noon.

Evelyn prepared a chicken dinner for us afterwards. Evelyn and her late
husband had lived in the house since 1964 and raised their family there.
The house had a nice homey feel to it and gave evidence of Evelyn's hus-
band's handiwork. She was quite a gracious hostess and we had long talks
over meals, washing dishes, and resting in the sitting room. Many fami-
lies I have met in Scotland have sons and daughters or other relatives
who have emigrated to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, or the USA. Eve-
lyn has two daughters and their families down under in Australia. She
has been there ten times to be with them.

After a good sleep, Evelyn, Stewart, and I went to the 11:30 service at
the church in Taynuilt, just a short walk away from Evelyn's home. It
is sometimes the custom that a friend of a newly ordained minister
preach on the first Sunday in the charge of a new minister. Robert
asked his recent ministry supervisor to 'preach him in.' Robert's friend
preached him in at the other service at 10:00 and then they rushed to
Taynuilt for the 11:30 service. The church was packed with friends and
others wishing Robert well, but the size of the congregation will proba-
bly be substantially smaller next Sunday.

After church and a hearty lunch Stewart and I went to another friend's
ordination and induction as an assistant minister at a large church near
Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. On the way we stopped off at the
shore of Loch Lomond to view the wind-tossed waves. The ordination
and induction was quite an affair. The large congregation could really
sing out and it was amazing to listen to the singing. Various ministers
were decked out in all their finest clergy garb. All I can say is that I hope
I won't have to dress up like that.

Then it was back home to Cupar, arriving after 10pm. I enjoyed talking
and sharing with Stewart. He's a fine pastor. It was nice to explore other
parts of Scotland with someone who knew where they were going. It was
also good to see different expressions of the life and mistry of the Church
of Scotland.

Blessings to you and yours,

Thesis Update

Well, I'm still working on my thesis and enjoying the challenge of devel-

oping it further. To make a long story short, the University has granted

me another year to work on my thesis. I have until November 2, 2010,

to resubmit. The issue was that I had done significant rewriting with-

out having received written notification of three issues my two readers

wanted me to address in the rewrite. I had done considerable rewrit-

ing of my thesis without the guidance of of the notification. University

policy is clear that issues identified by the readers must be addressed

in a rewrite.

I had not addressed the three issues identified by my two readers be-
cause I had not received the letter that had been sent to me. My read-
ers, however, quickly realized this and on my behalf asked the Uni-

versity to grant me another year to address the issues they had iden-

tified. I am grateful for that because the issues they wanted me to ad-

dress are excellent issues. It was important to me to get their feed-

back on my work at that stage. That's the value of a doctoral program.

So, I have my work cut out for me. Fortunately I have considerable free
time to work on my thesis at this time. I no longer have responsibilities
at Cupar Old Parish Church and I am in the process of looking into vacan-
cies where I can serve. I have had opportunities to do plenty of reading
and reflecting. I would like to get the thesis resubmitted before I take
another church here in Scotland. With the insight of my two readers,
I am delving into areas I never thought of when I was doing my re-
search for the thesis earlier. I am grateful to them and to the Lord for
the extra time and the excellent feedback of my two readers.

The continued work on the thesis is challenging to me. It is now six years
since I first arrived in Scotland. When I arrived in 2003 I expected that

I would be back in the USA by this time. But here I am still working on

my thesis and looking for a pastoral ministry opportunity with the

Church of Scotland. During 2007 and 2008 I moved around a lot, partic-

ularly during the summer of 2008 when I was in St. Andrews, Holy Is-

land, and Wales. During that summer letters about my thesis work and

my immigration status were sent to me, but were not delivered. Last

January I received the immigration letter and last month I saw a copy

of the letter that I was supposed to have received with the issues that

they expected me to address. Fortunately the Lord has given me the

grace and mercy to face those those two challenges and others.

So if you do pray for me, I would welcome your prayers on my be-
half regarding my continued thesis rewrite.

Blessings to you and yours,