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.
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.
This week the college community has committed to pray continuously, 24-7, using our prayer room. A rota has been drawn up so that at least one person is praying in a one hour slot 24 hours a day till next Thursday. This morning it was my turn, and I went to the prayer room intending to do one thing but found myself doing something quite different.
It’s the middle of December and Glasgow’s Winterfest is in full flow in George Square. This, now traditional, event seems to get bigger and brighter every year with carnival rides, stalls selling food and gifts, staging for music and other entertainment, and an ice rink. Every night George Square is packed full of people enjoying all that Winterfest has to offer.
A couple of Saturday’s ago I was in the city centre of Glasgow doing a bit of Christmas shopping. The streets and shops were packed with people jostling their way through shelf upon shelf of ‘ideal’ Christmas gifts.
During a session at the college fellowship day back in February we were asked to reflect on the last time we had a significant 'spiritual experience.' On the way out of the session a colleague asked whether I had been thinking of the same event as he was – it didn’t take place in a church, but in a concert hall.
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.
This week the college community has committed to pray continuously, 24-7, using our prayer room. A rota has been drawn up so that at least one person is praying in a one hour slot 24 hours a day till next Thursday. This morning it was my turn, and I went to the prayer room intending to do one thing but found myself doing something quite different.