Today's PAYG was based on a portion of Romans 14, with the speaker suggesting an overarching theme of interconnectedness, that whatever happens in the world is somehow directly relevant to us as individuals.  Well yes, but grounding that is not so easy - it's all too big, too complex and I am totally unaware of 99.9% (at least) of what happens on planet earth.

Yesterday's announcements about dockyard closures were reported in a way that was the opposite of this, setting England against Scotland, finding 'angry of Portsmouth' to spout vitriol towards those north of Hadrian's wall (and 'Moderate of Govan' to give a far more gracious comment).  It's fine and dandy to assert theologically that we are interconnected but working that out in day-to-day life is very tricky.

Media protrayal both sides of Hadrians' wall is biased, people of both nations are being 'misled' as to how people of the other one think and feel.  Daily Wail views arise even from those who would self-define as Torygraph, Grauniad or any other perspective thinkers .  It gets heated - I get heated, defending each nation to the other, and getting increasingly annoyed with the media.

So if we are interconnected, if in microcosm this is how the world works, what does that mean?

PAYG ended with the reminder that interconnected or not, we will each have to account for our own choices.  I like to imagine judgement not as 'innocent or guilty' but more in the 'sheep dog trials' (Susan Howatch quoting a real sermon) idea of scoring based on performance.  That gives me pause for thought, as I ponder the score I would award myself!

Anyway, I feel I have to apologise to my Scottish readers for the xenophobic vitriol spouted on the BBC news yesterday AND to express to my defence industry readers my concern for them as the implications of the decisions are worked out, bringing hardship to many.  Maybe interconnectedness is partly recognising that it is 'both/and' not 'either/or'?