From the Manse

Dear Friends,

Anyone who has email communication will surely receive some that just make you stop and think.

I received one such email recently which had a link to a YouTube film clip – and if you are able perhaps you’d like to watch it too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU

In case you can’t, this short film illustrates the power of words to radically change your message and your effect upon the world. It was made by an online marketing company, but through the power of YouTube, it has received over seven and a half million hits. (more…)

Dear Friends,

Life as a Minister can be challenging, rewarding, exhausting, and exciting – and that is often all in one day! But occasionally, there are times when I am encouraged to step back, ponder, and re-invigorate myself, away from the telephone and the emails.

One such occasion was very recently at the North Western Synod Minister’s Winter School. Entitled, ‘Lost for Words?, Evangelism through Welcome’, it was led by Francis Brienen, (the URC Secretary for Mission), Lawrence Moore, (URC Moderator Elect, and Director of the Windermere Centre), and Rev Stephen Collinson (NW Synod Training Officer). (more…)

Dear Friends, Life as a Minister can often be as confusing as it is rewarding. Let me explain…. At the moment there doesn’t seem to be a day goes by without some new initiative or mission opportunity dropping into my post-box or clogging up my ‘inbox’ – all of which Read more…

Dear Friends, When you read this, I will hopefully be enjoying the bracing landscape and seascape of the North of Scotland – specifically Thurso and the surrounding area – a place the Higgin-Botham’s have not ventured to before! Colin has great plans to resurrect his passion for fishing – though Read more…

Dear Friends, It’s been an interesting few weeks! As you read this I will just have had two weeks of holiday interspersed with a Minister’s Retreat on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne – and as I reflect on my experiences, I realise how fortunate I have been in coming into Read more…

Dear Friends, The start of Advent this year, not only sees most of us frantically preparing for the festive season, but also heralds in the second stage of the ‘Vision4Life’ programme. The new church year will focus on a ‘Year of Prayer’ and like the ‘Year of the Bible’ that Read more…

Dear Friends, Recently I was invited to take part in something called ‘Time and Space’, which is an accompanied reflection for Ministers, organised by the United Reformed Church. Great, I thought, another thing to add to the list of ‘things to do’!! The invitation came in early July, at about Read more…

Dear Friends, “What can I write for my pastoral letter”, I asked my husband and daughter the other evening. “How about ‘Keeping your faith in the political and economical climate’”, came back the reply! (Serves me right for asking!) I was about to dismiss it, when I thought actually this Read more…

Dear Friends, As you [may] know, since September 2008 our son Daniel has been serving as a Medic out in Afghanistan, firstly in Kandahar then latterly at Camp Bastion. Just recently he was back in the UK for two weeks R&R and it was lovely to see him safe and Read more…

Dear Friends, ‘Out with the old – in with the new’………. I know this is usually something we say at the turn of the year, but there has been a lot of it going on at the Manse lately! You know the sort of thing that happens – you start Read more…