The Sabbath

I was phoned by a journalist wanting to know what I thought of car salesman Peter Vardy closing his showrooms on a Sunday to let his staff spend time with their families. Now I was surprised not so much by the journalist’s question but by Peter Vardy’s decision. After all, he’s a businessman. He believes that what he may gain in sales through Sunday opening, his staff lose out when it comes to family. He’s right.

I’ve often spoken about poverty. But there is another kind of poverty, the lack of time spent with friends, family, and others you could be with. A couple of months ago I was in Germany and one Sunday I visited a town where not a single shop was open. People were out and about with their families. That is a value on Sunday that is above money.

Busyness or fruitfulness – that is the question. Is your life full of meaningful accomplishments or just busy activities? The truth is busyness does not guarantee fruitfulness. It is the quality of what our lives produce that determines whether or not we are truly fruitful. It’s time to be with those we care about and reclaim the Sabbath for what it is.

Credits
Photograph by JackofallTrades.

The cost of free meals

I was shocked to read recently that almost 14% of Scottish children live in homes where no-one is earning a wage. In Glasgow that figure rose to 24.5% (that’s almost one child in four). This is only to get worse as the credit crunch continues. So at a time of great need, why is the Scottish Government proposing to dump the deal to provide free school meals to every 5 -7 year old?

Food in the stomachs of young children through free school meals removes stigma, improves health and there is plenty of evidence that links healthy balanced meals with educational achievement. Food for our children’s minds and bodies is surely what we’d want to spend our money on.

We need to know the truth

The Church of Scotland has been banging on about the Chinook helicopter crash on the Mull of Kintyre which has been blamed on the pilots since it happened in 1994. Only this year The Moderator Bill Hewitt wrote to the Prime Minister and asked for a review of the case. He got a reply that included this paragraph

“Although the Ministry of Defence remains open to representations and evidence on this issue, unless compelling new evidence is presented of some actual, (rather than hypothetical), failure of the airframe, avionics or engines, it is unlikely that the official position [to not reconsider the judgement] will change.”

The evidence presented this week by the BBC and others would seem to more than meet the criteria set by MOD themselves for a new inquiry. We need to know the truth and the Church will not rest until we get it.

The Price of a Drink

I like a drink as much as the next person. I like the fact that Scotland has its own distinctive drinks that are part of our story as a nation. What I don’t like is our drinks culture which is literally killing some our fellow citizens. It is that dark side of our alcohol culture that needs to be changed. But this is not about someone else changing. It’s about all of us.

The Church and Society Council is offering its contribution by supporting the use of “price mechanisms” which is a fancy phrase for putting up the price of some drinks to help reduce the damage alcohol makes to our society. We want every congregation to write to those who make the stuff to encourage them to agree to this change.

It might look odd for people to write to producers to get them to put up the price but it's the right thing to do. Perhaps we will have to pay a wee bit more for our favourite tipple but if that helps reduce the pain brought about by alcohol abuse, it's  a small price to pay.

P45 for Banking Fraternity

I continue to remain shocked by the astonishing attitude of the banking fraternity over bonuses. To those who say “we'll resign if we don’t get our bonuses” I would say ok, here’s your P45, we don’t need your greed here. The Church of Scotland has been a strong supporter of the living wage campaign which argues that, in Scotland, the absolute minimum required for survival is £7 per hour. Achieving that for the poorest of workers in our country is far more important than protecting million pound bonuses for those who just don’t get what’s happening here on planet earth.

The Nativity Play

If ever there was evidence that some folk didn't get it it's the news
that parents are paying up to £150 for their child's nativity outfit.
The nativity story is about poverty, exclusion, struggle and hope and nothing to do with wealth, status and self importance. If these
parents want their children to grow up feeling good about themselves they should teach them the importance of loving their enemy not their outfits.

Credits
Nativity Play picture by Matt Adams.

A Manifesto for Mike Russell?

I see that Fiona Hyslop has been given her P45 as Education Secretary
I have no axe to grind about Ms Hyslop. In fact she often sounded like she knew about the issues of education. Her problem was delivery. If I was Mike Russell (the new Education secretary), I’d be focusing on three things:

• Getting jobs for the thousands of already qualified and trainee teachers out there who are champing at the bit to get into classrooms
• Getting real cash into schools to make sure teachers can get the time and training to deliver Curriculum for Excellence
• Promising to find the cash for new buildings

And I’d resist the temptation of bringing about even more change when what is needed is stability for children and those who teach them.