Category: Thoughts

The story goes that in Ancient China the worst thing you could wish on anyone was that they would live in ‘interesting times’ – times of uncertainty and instability. There is a feeling in the air these days that, here in the West, such ‘interesting times’ are now upon us.

In my twenty years of ministry here at Liberton, I can think of no time when there has been greater uncertainty about the future. Referendums, presidential elections across the pond, up and coming elections in key European states, and the rise of China and its impact on the global economy, all point us to the reality that in the months to come we will be facing a ‘perfect storm’ of change.

To those of us who lived through the upheavals of the last century, such times are not a new experience. The First World War, the rise and fall of fascism, and the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall were all significant events that changed the world. To those who have lived most of their lives since then, however, change on the scale we are currently facing can be an unsettling thing.

Living in ‘interesting times’, however, can also have its positive side. It forces us to face up to the fact that being in full control of our lives, our community, and the future of our nation is actually an illusion. It forces us to take a step back and rethink our own values and priorities. It make us take a hard look at all the things we do, and ask if they are really as necessary as we think they are.

Traditionally, Advent is the season when we prepare our hearts and lives for the coming of Jesus, and, whatever happens in the coming year, this is one reality that will not have changed. So, here’s a thought for Advent. Think of it as a God-given time for thinking and praying about the things in your life that really matter, and then let these priorities influence all you say and do – not just over the Christmas season, but in the ‘interesting times’ to come.

Much love

John

Here at Liberton we have just come to the end of our season of looking ‘inward’ where we’ve been asking the question “What sort of a church do we want to be?” Our next season will be looking ‘outward’ and we are going to spend the summer months in preparation for this.

One of the first things we have to face up to is the reality that for most of us ‘outreach’ is a scary thing. For years our church culture has supported the notion that faith is a ‘private’ thing, and so any suggestion that we share it is met with uncertainty and reluctance.

To say our faith is a ‘private’ thing, however, is to confuse ‘private’ with ‘personal’. It was John Wesley who once said “Your faith may be a personal affair, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be a private one.” To be an outward-looking church is to be a church without walls – i.e. to be a community of Christians who are willing to be visible to the world.

But how do we do outreach? This is the question we are hoping to answer over the summer, and to this end we are inviting you to come back to school. In our Sunday morning service we will be learning from Jesus own teaching on outreach in Luke 10, and in our Sunday evening worship we will be running our first ‘Summer School of Mission’.

The Summer School of Mission will have two distinctive features:

• It will be collaborative. For the two months of July and August we will be joining with our neighbouring congregation of Liberton Northfield; meeting at their church in July, and at Liberton Kirk in August.
• It will be ‘hands-on’. We plan to spend as much time outside as we do inside; meeting together each week to plan and prepare, going out to do, and then coming back to share and review.

Our means of outreach will simply be to think of ways of blessing an area of our parish. This summer we have chosen to target the new houses at Liberton Grange, (while Liberton Northfield will be targeting homes in the Inch). We will be knocking on doors to offer a welcome, some home baking, some useful information about the Kirk Halls and an invitation to a ‘meet the neighbours’ afternoon in the Kirkgate Café.

So, whether you are able to join us, or to supply some home baking, or to remember us in your prayers, your participation would be very welcome.

Much love

John