This beautiful image of a rose (Lady of Shalott) landed in my inbox yesterday.  It was taken by one of my brothers and is the first bloom on the rosebush he bought to remember my Mum who died a year ago today (albeit in the evening - this is posted in the morning).

Both of my parents loved roses.  If memory serves, they met in the rose garden of Kensington Gardens (Hyde Park) London in 1961.  When we were children there were always roses in the garden... 'Golden Showers', 'Blue Moon', 'Uncle Walter', 'Peace' are among the names that come to mind.

I also love roses, even if they aren't my absolute favourite flowers, and this beautiful bloom evokes many precious memories.  Good call, CIBG, I hope you enjoy your rose bush and the memories it holds for you.

Today it has been annoucned that my placement supervisor from my first year of training back on 1999/2000 is to be appointed Bishop of Shewsbury... way to go, +Sarah Bullock

Next Sunday I am planning to preach on Revelation 2 and 3, the letters to the seven churches. I last did such a thing fifteen years ago (almost to the date it turns out when I eventually found the file buried deep in my computer) and in repsonse to something that had been said at the Baptist Assembly of that year.  Hmm.

But the bigger 'hmm moment' was when I realised that I had made a late change from my planned theme 'a glimpse of heaven' and a focus on Revelation 7.  This having been long since forgotten about, it was a real 'hmm moment' because that was the title I used on Sunday just past when we focussed on Revelation 7, 21 and 22.

Much 'hmm-ing'!!

It being a Bank Holiday today, and my house guests having wanted to get away early, I was up, fed and out just after 8 a.m. this morning.  Having waved off the guests on their train, I set off on one of my favourite walks along the Clyde, to Glasgow Green, back through the city centre, into Kelvingrove Park, thence the Botanics and finally home cutting through the Gartnavel hospital campus. 

For a number of months, I've been aware of the wonderful mural of cats at play in Sauchiehall Street and kept thining I ought to photograph it whilst I can. So today I did, and here is part of it. 

Nothing hugely spiritual, but a reminder to myself of the importance of play as recreation, or re-creation... which sort of links to yesterday's sermons about heaven, and being made new or being renewed.

Hello faithful reader(s) - sorry I haven't posted anything this week, it's been pretty full-on one way or another.

Last Sunday we had the absolute delight of an infant blessing, during which we made our promises to support a child and their family 'come what may'. Part of what I love about such services is that they say, in effect, 'we are here, and we will still be here long into the future.'

Sometimes we can get so bogged down in the necessary practical stuff that we may just lose sight of what really matters - that we are still here.

This week, among other things I've been to meetings about buildings and meetings about ecumenism, I've led prayers in the university chapel and I've prayed a rosary in a care home, I've written up notes and I've read books, I've bumped into people I know and I've had planned meetings with people... and I'm still here, and, more to the point, we are still here!  Many of these meetings relate to 'being here' physically and maybe even missionally, others are about being present with others, which is also a form of being here.

When the child we blessed is the age I am now, I will be long gone and forgotten, but I hope - and I trust - the church community is still here, passing on the stories and living out its faith to another generation.