Message from Rev. Peter Donald, Our Interim Moderator
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www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk Kiltarlity and Wardlaw Churches Message from Rev. Peter Donald, our Interim Moderator. Dear friends, Seeing news that Luis Palau is back in Inverness shortly, it reminded me of how he held up a particular verse to guide the huge mission events he fronted. It is in fact a verse which matters to us all, for it speaks in one sentence of what Jesus holds out to us in faith. “I came”, Jesus said, “that they may have life, and have it abundantly (or ‘in its fullness’)” (John 10.10). God gives of Himself to us, committing love, assuring us of mercy and forgiveness, pointing for us the way to go, because it matters how we live. It is God’s gift that we might live abundantly, knowing full measures of joy and peace and purpose. And this, so wonderfully, is God’s gift to all sorts of people. It does not depend on our background or intellectual ability, nor is it only for those who can afford it. Jesus’ passion to point people to himself was rooted in him being well aware that so many alternatives grasped at by the likes of you and me do not in the same way open up joy and peace and meaning. He offered himself as the one for us to keep close to on the good path, walking in the light. He offers himself still. What do you believe in ? Believe in Jesus who came to lead us into life ! And see the church therefore existing primarily to sustain folk in that faith; to help people to discover faith; to help people to deepen faith. Why do you believe in the church ? Believe in it because it is absolutely committed to Jesus’ leading. Here we are now moving towards the end of summer. Schools are back. Though you may still have holidays to look forward to, we are most of us back in life in ordinary. I write this to encourage you to be very clear what we are about in Kirkhill and Kiltarlity Churches. We are not about keeping buildings open, that is not our primary task. We are not about doing things as they have always been done, that probably is not very clever. We are not about hanging in there until there is no-one else, though pessimists try to point us that way. We have been excited by faith. We are a people of hope. We are those who know we are called to love as we have been loved by God, and though we are well aware therefore of our constant failings, we are impelled to go towards the ever greater freedom of being children of God; where we have let ourselves be trapped or tempted or just plain caught up in ourselves, that is not where we want to stay ! Believe in Jesus. Believe in the church. And help others to do just the same. Let good news come out of what you say and how you live ! Every blessing! Peter The Parishioner Newsletter Issue 79 – September 2014 Page 1 of 24 www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk What would the UK be called without Scotland ? The UK crops up on postcards, passports, in the United Nations and the Eurovision song contest. Would its name change if Scotland says "Yes" to independence ? In reality the country could, and probably would, continue to be known as the UK. It's difficult to imagine a Westminster government advocating anything else. But the suggestion that "UK" might need replacing if Scotland becomes independent after the referendum on 18th September has already led to some alternative shorthands being bandied about. "The rest of the UK" is the handle used most commonly - it appears 293 times in the Scottish Government's white paper on independence - but leaves England, Wales and Northern Ireland in danger of sounding like Scotland's cast-offs. It's also a bit of a mouthful. Its abbreviation, rUK, is already used by Scottish universities to differentiate between students from Scotland and those from the rest of the UK in relation to tuition fees. It regularly appears in Scottish newspapers such as the Herald and Scotsman. Meanwhile, several Scotland analysis papers published by Whitehall favour the onward plodding of "continuing UK." "Future UK" has been floated as an idea by John Lanchester in the London Review of Books and "Former UK" by the Spectator columnist Charles Moore. Snappier perhaps, but as both writers have pointed out, the abbreviation - fUK - is somewhat unfortunate. The UK has had its fair share of makeovers in the past and the different names used are often loaded, Prof Linda Colley of Princeton University points out in her book Acts of Union and Disunion. Jonathan Swift wrote in 1738: "Pox on the modern phrase Great Britain," unhappy that it excluded his native Ireland. For a time Scotland was sometimes referred to as "North Britain" - a term coined in the 17th century by unionists which would now be considered highly derogatory by most Scots. Perhaps England, Wales and Northern Ireland should take comfort in observing that Scotland is not immune from the rebranding question. Newspaper readers north of the border are by now used to seeing references to an independent Scotland as "iScotland." ‘Our Daily Bread’ books are produced quarterly and contain a daily scripture reading and a Christian story. The book can be used for personal devotions, or to share with the whole family. The new quarter’s book is now available on the table at the back of the Wardlaw Church sanctuary. You are most welcome to take one away to use at home. Thanks to Flora Morrison The Parishioner Newsletter Issue 79 – September 2014 Page 2 of 24 www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk The Scot who hunted Jack the Ripper A memorial has been unveiled in Thurso in honour of a teacher- turned-police officer who investigated the murders of Jack the Ripper. Donald Swanson was born at Geise, near Thurso, and went on to become one of Britain's best Victorian detectives. Donald Swanson was born at Geise Distillery, about two miles from Thurso, on 12th August 1848. He was the youngest child of brewer John Swanson and his wife Mary. The distillery is now long gone and ruined buildings now mark the spot. Mr Swanson was still a boy when his family left Geise and moved to a home in Thurso's Durness Street. He attended Robert Meikle's Parish School in Thurso's Market Place, before going to the Miller Institution. After leaving school, Mr Swanson was a teacher for a time at the Miller Institution, which is today a public library. In 1867, Mr Swanson left on a horse-drawn stagecoach with the aim of getting himself to London. In 1868, the young man joined the Metropolitan Police. Mr Swanson rose through the ranks and earned promotions to sergeant, detective inspector and detective chief inspector in 1888 - the year of Jack the Ripper's murder of five women in the Whitechapel area. In 1896 he was made superintendent of the force's criminal investigation department. During his long career in the police, Mr Swanson handled investigations into some of the worst crimes of the Victorian age. He was involved in the arrest of murderer Percy Lefroy Mapleton in 1881. Mapleton planned a robbery on a train from London to Brighton. He targeted a former stockbroker, killing the man by throwing him out of a carriage after unsuccessfully shooting at him with a revolver. Mr Swanson was involved in two other major investigations that same year. One led to the recovery of jewellery worth £250,000 stolen from a Lady Alice Bective. Later, Mr Swanson found himself back in Scotland tasked with hunting down a gang of grave robbers who stole the body of the Earl of Crawford and demanded a ransom for its return. Jack the Ripper murdered five women in the Whitechapel area of London. Mr Swanson and his superior, Robert Anderson, suspected that Polish-born Aaron Kosminski was the killer. Mr Kosminski, a hairdresser who arrived in England in 1882, had a history of mental illness, was declared insane and committed to an asylum where he died shortly afterwards. He, Mr Swanson, and Mr Anderson believe no more women were killed by the Ripper after this date. In 1903, the Scottish detective, who frequently returned to Thurso for holidays, retired on a pension of £280-a-year. He died in Surrey on 24th November 1924 and was buried at Kingston cemetery. Mr Swanson's police rattle was brought to the unveiling ceremony in Thurso by his family. His 83-year-old granddaughter Mary Berkin unveiled the new memorial outside Thurso Police Station on 12th August 2014 with the policeman's great grandson Neville Swanson. The Parishioner Newsletter Issue 79 – September 2014 Page 3 of 24 www.kiltarlityandkirkhill.org.uk Church of Scotland to hold ambitious referendum event in September The Church of Scotland is to hold an innovative referendum debate involving key figures from both sides of the campaign in a follow up to its successful demonstration of respectful dialogue at this year's General Assembly. The dialogue in Glasgow will be streamed live online to 10 satellite events around the country, who will each incorporate it into their own discussions. Finance Secretary John Swinney MSP and the Advocate General for Scotland, Rt Hon Lord Wallace of Tankerness QC ( Jim Wallace ), will participate in a dialogue chaired by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Rt Rev John Chalmers on September 3rd at The St George's Tron Church in Glasgow, starting at 7:00 p.m.