Dear Everybody,

Ah... summer... And some of us would add - “AT LAST!”
There's no doubt that with the longer days and the greening of the trees, and maybe even a bit of extra warmth and sun, we start to feel better and go about with smiles on our faces.

Summer is also, of course, associated with a variety of sports, when the winter's practice and training come to fruition for so many folk, and they can start a new season, whether it's the gentle enjoyment of outdoor bowls... the split-second timing of a game of tennis... or the excitement of a team game. Footie fans have the World Cup to look forward to [NB to Ivar, our editor: even I knew that much!], and there's Wimbledon and Andy Murray, or the thwack of leather on willow that means cricket.

All these and dozens more ways of feeling exhausted – and that's just with watching!

In all competitive sports there's always a winner, who's awarded with a cup or silver plate or whatever to remind them of their achievement. Nothing wrong with that – sport is surely a healthy way of engaging with our human trait of competing with one another, and it surely beats knocking seven bells out of the next person.

But if there's a winner or a winning team, then that means there's got to be a loser too, or lots of them. Losers have to congratulate the winner, as often as not, and go away to regroup, retrain, and possibly come back and try again. All very character-building stuff... for some. For others – soul-destroying.

Jesus came to turn the world upside down, and this was one of the areas he confronted. In his society at the time, there were the 'in crowd' – or winners, and the 'also rans'. There were also the 'beyond the pale' people too, regarded as mere riff-raff or sort of 'non people'.

Jesus would have none of that – he reached out, again and again, to the lowest of the low, to reassure them that, in God's eyes, there were no losers, ever. Whatever society thought of them, whatever they thought of themselves, in God's eyes they were loved and valued beyond imagining.

So, as you watch sport over the summer, just remember – you've got yourself a gold medal. It's from God, with love.

Can I add on one more special and Really Important Thing? This is the last magazine which Ivar (Struthers - “Our Ivar”) will be editing, after a spell which goes back so many years even he can't remember how long! Ivar – for your skills on the computer, your wise editing, your quiet, firm commitment and your patience (esp. with this minister who almost always gets in late...) - THANK YOU.

As they say in these parts – Boy Done Good!
Enjoy the well-earned rest – and the World Cup.

Ivar's place is being taken by Jim Cowan, who brings with him several years of editing experience from the last church he and his wife Margaret belonged to. Thank-you to you, Jim, for saying “yes”. We know you've got lots of ideas, and look forward to seeing them develop. Welcome aboard!

Wishing you all a good, and peaceful, summer,

God bless,
Catriona

© Cumbernauld Old Parish Church of Scotland; Registered Scottish Charity SC000877