Blogs

Yesterday I went to see an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Peter Howson associated with his commission by the Archdiocese of Glasgow for a painting of the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie who was hung, drawn and quartered at Glasgow Cross in 1615.

Regardless of what you think about the Roman Catholic practice of canonisation the stories of the lives, and the deaths, of Christians in the past, I think, can speak very powerfully to us today.

One of the things that regularly trouble me, as someone who still refers to himself as a youth worker, is the amount of bad publicity that young people get these days. At the beginning of April I was privileged to be part of a team that went with Tearfund Scotland to visit Uganda and while I was there found a truly inspirational story of the way in which young people can make a difference if we would only believe in them and trust them.

I have read many books which have influenced my life, too many to choose one, and one day I would like to be on The Book Programme or Desert Island Discs so that I would have to organise myself.

Eric Lomax grew up with a passion for steam trains, and in one of life’s cruel ironies, when he is taken prisoner at the fall of Singapore in 1942 is sent to work on the Burma-Siam railway.

His autobiography The Railway Man is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read, describing the physical pain of torture, and the psychological trauma that lived with him long after the events.

A book from recent years that has made an impression on me is The Shack by William Young.

It is the story of Mack, church-going father of four, and the journey he unwillingly finds himself on when his youngest daughter, Missy, is abducted and brutally murdered. The “Great Sadness”, which becomes Mack’s daily companion, is a shroud of grief and pain that many people live with constantly.

So many of the books that I loved and read throughout my teens started slowly. I would start reading looking forward to the plot but plots were usually slow to emerge. Not so this one. It grabbed me from the very first sentence and never let me go.

A book that changed my view of the world and of Christianity was Chasing the Dragon by Jackie Pullinger.

I didn’t grow up in a Christian home and it was in my late teens that I made a commitment to the church. I first read this not long afterwards, while I was trying to make sense of what my decision actually meant.

As a teenager I did not enjoy reading, particularly reading fictional books. In Secondary School English class we were presented with a book that I just thought was bizarre – a strange story about talking animals taking over the farm. As I returned to the class a week or so later wondering what the teacher would say about this 'silly' book (or so I thought), I was caught by surprise.

If you were one of the magi that Matthew wrote about how would you have prepared for the journey to see the new born King of the Jews? When family members asked why you were going what would you have said? Would you expect to stand in a line with well wishers and offer a blessing on behalf of your religious community?

I saw some time ago that some of my esteemed colleagues had created staff blogs and was interested to read them to try work out what a blog was. I may be better informed on the European Union and on Worship through music and art etc., but I’m still not sure what a blog is - possibly a short comment on a particular issue or maybe a slightly rambling discussion? Perhaps it depends on whose blog you read!