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Today Alison and I attended the Scottish Jubilee Thanksgiving Service at Glasgow Cathedral. Sharp eyes will see Bishop Gregor in the background of the photo. It was good to be there and to be able to contribute.

There is much to think about in these moments. I always think about how far we have travelled ecumenically. We still live far too much in our denominational compartments – but at least at moments like this it is seen an normal, natural and only to be expected that church leaders should be visibly together. It’s natural to reflect on the changing nature of Scotland and the place of the monarchy within that. Very subtle .. much more subtle than in Ireland. Wider reflections are for another day because of the huge personal respect and admiration which there is for the Queen. I watched her today and marvelled at what it takes to exercise that sense of duty and service every day. Well you might say that vocation as a concept should not be entirely strange to me. But vocation for me, while it has an unconditional and sacrifical content, is fulfilled by doing a great many different things, being in many different roles, saying what I think, encouraging, persuading ….. The Queen simply is what she represents. It’s a particularly silent and self-giving service. Thank God for it.

This picture of the courtyard at Holyrood House this afternoon would make it appear that Alison and I had an intimate cup of afternoon tea with the Queen this afternoon. The Polo made its usual ecological statement. But the reality is that there were 7998 other people just round the corner.

For the second time recently, I attended a royal event and failed to catch a glimpse of the Queen. Still – tomorrow is another day.

A guest appearance for my friend, Cardinal Keith O’Brien. The state of the ecumenical movement in Scotland is strange indeed. Those of us who find ourselves in leadership – I have to be careful about claiming that for myself of course – have many things about which we disagree. ACTS Scotland has many problems. Yet we have warm personal relationships.

The Cardinal invited me to join him at the Opening Mass of the New Dawn Conference at Madras College, St Andrews. It’s Scottish Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

So what did I learn? Well I was particularly glad to have the chance to meet a group of Catholic clergy. That doesn’t often come my way. And I was fascinated by the welcome I received. It was clear that the people there regarded inter-church contact as important. So I took a deep breath and told them that the movement of the Spirit had a way of dealing with institutions and of overcoming difference …

You may have seen the article which I provided for the Church Times following the decision of our General Synod not to adopt the Anglican Covenant.

Just in case you missed it, here it is

This is Thought for the Day for BBC Scotland on Thursday morning. Since I grew up in Enniskillen where the Jubilee Thanksgiving Service took place, I took the opportunity of writing about the Queen’s visit and that handshake

I also recently wrote four pre-recorded scripts for BBC Northern Ireland – three of them were about the fifty volumes of my late Uncle Artie’s diary to which I hope to address myself when I retire. You won’t be surprised to hear that he was extraordinary – here he is on his 84th birthday in the Mill House, his favourite Dublin pub. He worked as a sub-editor on the Sports Pages of the Irish Independent in Dublin. He was a sometime Lay Reader in the Church of Ireland – when he hadn’t fallen out with the church. He was thoughtful and spiritual – a Guinness drinker and raconteur – who became a Roman Catholic in his latter years. And a marathon runner into his 70’s. Unfortunately his diary is written in a microscopic script!

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

This is the meeting between Alexander McCall Smith and Alison at Glenalmond Commemoration Day today. They discussed their mutual love of cats.

As they used to say in Portadown, ‘We got the week in rightly’. One day of meeting with the Roman Catholic Bishops – including a tour of the renovated Glasgow Cathedral. Another day with the Provincial Standing Committee in Edinburgh. And then two days with the College of Bishops.

I’m grateful to the Diocese of Edinburgh for this picture from Bishop John’s consecration – it appears on the cover of ‘The Edge’ magazine.

Interesting that the Lutherans have in some cases let go of the crozier, as it were. Bishop Agnes wasn’t handed one. Presumably they see it primarily as a symbol of authority and are uneasy with that.

So they miss the drama of this moment. This part of the action of the liturgy has lots of symbolism – bible, episcopal ring, pectoral cross, mitre, pastoral staff. There aren’t enough words to go with the symbols – but I have tried as on this occasion to hand over the crozier with the words ‘bring all together in love’

Dear Bishop Agnes,

You were a bit busy at your consecration today facing up to that question – awesome whether posed in English or Icelandic – ‘Do you feel that you are truly called to the office and work of a bishop in the church of God.’. It’s vocational discernment of course and not just your own. One responds with a proper mixture of humility and obedience. But also a slight sense of discomfort that there may be as they say ‘more going on’ in the greyer corners of your heart and mind.

Anyway I had a bit of time for thinking. So here is what one of the ‘silent witnesses’ was thinking and praying about as the service unfolded. I was honoured to read and take part in the Laying on of Hands.

First, you are blessed in your predecessors and that is a blessing to savour. Bishop Karl has been friend and mentor to all of us in the group of church leaders of the Porvoo Communion. If you stand on his shoulders, you won’t go far wrong.

Next I want to share with you a sadness. I still feel the loss of not being a parish priest any more – even though I wouldn’t want to go back to it. I watched some people coming to receive the sacrament from you today, Probably your parishioners. You could feel warmth of their love for you. You will miss that – as I do. You’ll find that almost all your relationships with the people of the church are now ‘second hand’ or indirect. They may be warm and trusting – but people are always somebody else’s people. And you can’t do that thing which all good priests and pastors do – massaging relationships in the long term; keeping them open even when there is disagreement; making progress where you can; allowing the pastoral round of baptisms, weddings and funerals to stitch you into people’s personal and family story. Now they will come to see the bishop and expect you to have an answer in an hour. Don’t be tempted. Probably men are more tempted then women to want to ‘fix’ everything. But be careful.

Now for something really positive. Most of us love our work. It’s the chance of offering leadership and of building hope and confidence. If it’s in you to do that, just go right ahead. Because most of the many problems which you will face will become easier to fix – that word again – if people have hope and confidence. People in Scotland know that I like to encourage the church to express ‘death defying joy’. It’s part of our baptism that we should do that.

People will tell you that this is a lonely ministry. Strange that many bishops will tell you that they have never been happier in ministry – and perhaps never so much changed by the ministry which they exercise. I do believe in the grace of ordination – and in the power of the daily prayers which are said for you. They somehow help to shape the context and to take the sharpness off people’s responses so that you can work with it. Of course there are solitary moments in the exercise of authority. There are times when you have to do things to protect and safeguard the church and do those at cost to people about whom you care greatly. Sometimes you will feel, as I allowed myself to say recently, that you have your finger in the dyke holding back a tide of ecclesiastical chaos. But sometimes God gets room to work right in the middle of that deluge. You don’t need to worry.

I read the Rule of St Benedict a lot. He said that the Abbot should strive to be loved rather than feared. Difficult when some of the things you have to do can really stretch people’s understanding and goodwill.

And finally, I looked at the number of clergy you have and I know that the ‘state church’ model and the finance which goes with it is under pressure. It’s hard to be a leader when there is a sense of loss – a feeling that things got more difficult on your watch. In Scotland, we make do with very little. We sometimes think that we do ‘loaves and fishes’. There is a mad and faithful joy in that. It can be liberating.

God bless you

+David

I’m in Iceland for the consecration of Bishop Agnes as Bishop of Iceland – that’s her sitting on the right of the picture at the rehearsal this afternoon

It is of course remarkable – even for people like us who are used to long, long daylight. My flight arrived about 2330 last night in broad daylight. By the time that I had registered the fact that my bag was in Heathrow while I was in Reykjavik and got into Town, it was 2 am. Still broad daylight and people walking around as if it was mid-afternoon

This is of course Porvoo Communion business – in case you don’t know about that, it’s the linkage through which the Anglican Churches of the British Isles are in full communion with the Lutheran Churches of Scandinavia and the Baltic Republics. We did a bit of tourism this morning – geothermal springs and the remarkable falls in the picture

Meanwhile the underlying stories of the personal pain caused by economic meltdown are just below the surface. In that sense, it’s very like Ireland.

Tomorrow will be fascinating. I’m doing one of the readings and taking part in the Laying on of Hands. And then Bishop Agnes will be left with the prayers and good wishes of all of us as she sets out on her new ministry

The first thing is the crowd waiting outside the Usher Hall. Because we are all waiting for the Dalai Lama, it seems to be all right for everybody to chat. So it becomes more like waiting for an Irish rural bus service than Lothian Road. So I had a chat to a girl who was struggling to be a full time community artist and we talked about the community art which has broken out in Kinross and Cumbernauld. Then somebody told me about their motor-neurone disease … and so it went on. And some seemed to think that for me to be there involved some great sacrifice of principle.

The event itself was extraordinary. You might ask about what hunger for faith – or maybe for authenticity and integrity and a bit of joy – fills the Usher Hall but not the churches. The Dalai Lama has a gift for communication. He’s a little frail, sharp and funny. He put on a scarf in the Scottish peace tartan and instantly I thought of Mandela with the Springboks. At times you wonder what is happening and yet it is strangely moving as well. I think that’s because of the amount of hope which people invest in him.

And then we went up to the Scottish Parliament and sat round the table with him in a gathering of faith leaders – about 20 of us. And it was different – he talked about spirituality, silence and Thomas Merton. Remarkable really.