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Caryl's induction
Although it may seem a wee while ago now, I would like to convey a sincere thank you to all who participated in the organisation of this special service and also to all who attended. I'm sure the memories of the service, the ceremony, the occasion, the fellowship, the singing and the exceptional attendance will stay with us all our days.
When I looked around before the service began and realised that Gordon and myself were occupying the last two spare seats downstairs in the Church, it was clear to see that this was going to be a special evening in the history of this Church and that of our sister Church at Wrangholm. A quick glance upstairs indicated there was a substantial number there as well.
When the voices of all present were raised in the first item of praise, who could fail to be moved and who could fail to feel the tangible presence of the Lord all around us? This was equally true for each item in the order of service and each item of praise that followed.
It was also a privilege for Gordon and I to be asked to read from scripture on behalf of the members of both congregations.
Some colleagues from my work were in attendance to experience this unique event I had been harping on about in the office for the past number of weeks. Although they do not normally attend Church, they related to me how moved they had been particularly during the 'laying on of hands' and when Caryl was given the 'right hand of fellowship'. Having spoken to others from our own congregation and that of Wrangholm, I was able to assure my friends that in the feelings they experienced, they were definitely not alone. There were more than a few moist eyes at these particular parts of the service and I cannot even begin to imagine how Caryl must have felt at the time.
It was also great to see Bill Jenkins and David Shaw participating in the presentation of the elements along with Mary and Kim from Wrangholm.
I'm sure we were all delighted to welcome lain Goring back among us however briefly and I'm also sure everyone appreciated the appropriateness of lain presenting Caryl with her robes. When speaking with lain later, he thanked us for asking him to participate in the service and also mentioned that although he had attended many services of induction, this one was particularly meaningful, satisfying and special for him.
David Young was also delighted to be in attendance and to be able to say hello again to all the people he had come to know in his time with us. Regrettably, Colin Sutherland was unable to be with us due to illness.
Derek Hughes has grown close to this charge as well in his time as Moderator of Presbytery, Chair of the Interim Ministry monitoring group and in his relatively short period of time as Interim Moderator. He had to shout to make himself heard at the beginning of the social part of the evening and he stayed right to the very end and I doubt if I saw anyone else all night sporting a bigger smile.
During the course of the evening, many of the folks from Viewpark came up to say hello and every single one went out of their way to tell me what a great minister we were getting. I would convey our thanks to everyone at Viewpark and especially Michael Lyall and David Alexander. David has been extremely supportive during our period of vacancy and offered invaluable guidance and encouragement especially in the early stages of our vacancy.
I would also think a special word of thanks is due to a few folks closer to home:
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