Some statistics are shocking and disturbing. Briefly today I want to share one stat I found recently. Regular readers will have noticed a series of posts I did on the American Indians and their struggle with life under colonial power and how a disproportionate number of them deal with their pain through drink and drugs. This stat has a similar feel to it.

It comes from a report drawn by the Director of Public Health in nor...

Magnus being martyred

We had some visitors in our Sunday morning church meeting this week – which is big news in itself, really, but there’s more to it than that. To my shame I didn’t catch their names or where they currently live, but they have connections on the Orkneys and used to live there. For a small congregation like ours getting visitors can be quite scary. And of course, visitors can enhance a worship meeting...

Last week I gave an update on some changes in our village following (hopefully!) my praying into a sense that a blanket of poverty was holding people down here. We’ve seen the post office re-fitted and the pub is in a similar process at the moment and I also noticed this week that the snooker hall has also had some work done on it (new windows, door etc) and though not a business it does give a feeling that the village is getti...

One of the greatest privileges of being a church leader is to be invited to conduct a funeral service for those who have died and to give testimony to their life of faith and witness. Yesterday I conducted the funeral of a dear friend and a passionate Christian. Edith Walker had moved from Denton, north-west of England, to Anglesey some ten years ago with Martin, her husband. They joined Emmanuel, the church I he...

They don’t want anything too spiritual (!) so I asked what I should speak about. ‘What about the time ...