Just posting a few mildly interesting (to me at least) things as my brain continues to recover from the stress that was finals. Hopefully I’ll manage to pull out a good post between now and camp…

GO!

There’s still loadsa spaces on this year’s GO teams – including 5 in Faughan. Here’s a quote from a forthcoming edition of the Messenger (to celebrate 50 years of Campaigns & GO teams) to encourage anyone who’s free to think about applying:

God describes the church as His darling bride, the apple of His eye. If God has such a high view of the church where then do you think he wants us to focus our energies? … Why sign up for a GO Team? Why be involved in the life and ministry of your church? Because if you don’t you’re saying to God, ‘I don’t really care about your church’. You’re putting God’s most treasured possession on a par with your summer job in Tescos, or your two week vacation in Italy. Nothing wrong with these things in themselves, but if they overshadow your commitment to Christ be prepared to become lukewarm. You cannot and will not grow as a Christian sitting on a deck chair developing your tan (much better to develop it through door-to-door). Service to Christ is the practical outworking of saving faith.

(John George)

PHSI

I was given a free year’s membership of the Presbyterian Hysterical Society a while ago, due to being young. I think they’re hoping that I’ll go round promoting it, which I’m not really planning to, although here are a few interesting things they have:

First up is the world’s smallest psalter!

Beside my phone for size-comparison

They also have a big collection of communion tokens, if you’re into that sort of thing, including Faughan, Airdrie and some lesser congregations.

Faughan – has ‘RS’ on the back, possibly for ‘Reformed Society’

Airdrie

RP standard issue (still in use in some congregations apparently…)

Quote!

In commemoration of Daniel’s retirement from blogging, here’s a quote I came across recently. It’s from Joseph Boyse, a Presbyterian minister in Dublin who although theologically orthodox, was a non-subscriber (and wrote hymns!) so not exactly on the extreme right-wing of the denomination. It was written in 1694 in a pamphlet he wrote in response to one by William King, Bishop of Derry. Here, the Presbyterians are being reproached by a Bishop of all people for sitting during public prayer. Boyse replies:

As to this account, I shall only briefly subjoin that I am truly sorry there are so many that by sitting in public prayer have given some occasion for this censure of the Bishop’s. For thought I doubt not real infirmity is a just excuse for not standing; yet it is too probable that too many under that notion too far consult their ease; for standing is generally used by Dissenters in England, even in those places where many of the people go as far to their meetings. And for that passage alleged, 2 Sam. vii. 8, I do truly think there is some weight in what the Bishop has offered to render it probable that the word should be translated, David stayed or abode. And certainly so many plainer and more numerous examples of kneeling or standing are to be rather imitated by us, than this doubtful one if sitting. So that for such as use this slothful posture without real necessity, to indulge their east, I cannot excuse them from irreverence in it, and hope they will not persist in a practice so offensive to their brethren elsewhere, and disliked by their pastors. And methinks they should be sensible of the indecency of it, if they consider that they themselves universally kneel or stand in closet and family prayer, and it is unaccountable why they should not as universally do it in public prayer, where their bodily strength will permit. But then I must add, as to his Lordship, that as he has no reason to reproach the Dissenters in general with the unseemly practice, so, since the ministers in the North have so faithfully declared to their people their dislike of it, they can no more justly be upbraided with it, than the conforming clergy with all that toying and trifling, and that more open irreverence, that is too common in many parish churches, and much more in the cathedrals.

Works (London, 1728), ii, pp 98-99.

Messenger

Right you don’t even need to read this bit, but seeing someone took it on themselves to edit my Messenger article I feel the need to post what I actually wrote just in case some people from the historical committee come after me. The part about how long we’ve been vacant should read ‘our longest gap without a minister for 204 years’. The way they have it in the magazine makes it look like (i) It’s our longest gap without a minister ever. That record is still standing, and at 10 years hopefully it’ll never be broken. (ii) We’ve only been about for a mere 204 years like some crowd of upstarts :-P
It’s a very minor point of course but as (nearly) history graduate I can’t be letting such misquotes go!