Howe of Fife Parish Church

 

Church of Scotland

Registered Scottish Charity

SC 005381

Anyone needing the services of a minister please telephone

Angus Shaw 01334 655565

Interim Moderator Rev Peter Neilson   07818418608  email:  peter@linnebheag.co.uk

Howe Manse,

83 Church St.,

Ladybank

 

The time has come for Jess and I to take our leave of you. My last Sunday with you will be Palm Sunday. For 21 months we will have journeyed with you on a topsy turvy road that still has a few twists and turns to take yet. My hope and prayer is that I have journeyed with you far enough along the road to be able to part at the junction knowing that you have a fair idea of the path you need to follow now.

 

Only together as one congregation can you make that journey, and I urge you to do so. You may well still need to have discussions that will not see you all or always agree. That is not unhealthy, unless you ignore the guidance of the Good Book and do not “Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.” [Ephesians 4:3]

 

Our next port of call is to the south west of Scotland to Caerlaverock linked with Dumfries St. Mary’s Greyfriars, the latter ‘half’ of the linkage being a union of two congregations that were united in January 2004. They have been waiting for an Interim Minister since May of last year. So I leave you with a sense of great need elsewhere, and that is the nature of my Ministry, a very biblical ministry as you will see if you care to turn to Paul’s farewell speech to the Elders of Ephesus at Miletus – Acts 20:17-24.

 

I take my leave of you, of course, as Easter approaches, and so may I finally re-emphasise what I said in the news media towards the end of last year in relation to the potential loss of much loved buildings: “the Christian message remains one of hope and new life in the face of seeming adversity.”

 

It is Christ who is the cornerstone of our faith, and as long as you keep your “eyes fixed upon Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end,” [Hebrews 12:2] a glorious new future awaits you.

 

Fare well then, dear friends. It has been a privilege to live among you and minister alongside you in this beautiful part of the Kingdom, if only for a time.

 

Gordon

Rev. Dr. Gordon A McCracken