Summer is fast approaching, although you’d never know it from the cold weather today!

With volcanic ash and potential strike action on the cards it makes more sense than ever to holiday at home and take in the new Solas Festival on 25-27 June at Wiston Lodge near Biggar.

There are some fantastic speakers including Douglas Alexander MP, Gerry Hassan, John Swinton, Kathy Galloway, Chris Harvie MSP, Shaun Burnie, Dan Glass, Doug Gay, Cole Moreton, Alastair McIntosh, Vérène Nicolas, Eugenie Harvey, Richard Holloway, Kathryn Heyman, Osama Saeed and Stuart Blythe.

Musical highlights  feature The Russian Choir, SuplexTheKid, Kitty the Lion, Yvonne Lyon, Jo Mango, Calamateur, Rory Butler, Brian McGlynn, Monica Queen & thrum, Mr McFall’s Chamber, Esther O’Connor, Peatbog Faeries, McIntosh Ross, Juliet Turner, Iain Morrison, Fair Witness and We See Lights.

There is also a great programme for children and young people, a performing and visual arts programme and a huge range of worship.

You can now download the latest solas leaflet for may.

Today I was at a meeting.  This was the view.  I sat with my back to this all day.

It’s Loch Lomond from Ross Priory.

Sunday morning was the only time that the group would separate and experience something different.  We had decided to split into three groups and worship with the three churches we have spent time with here in Havana.

Rob, Alison ad Katie would go back to Guanabacoa with Dyana.  Matthew and Shona would stay at Luyano and Avril, Jen, Eilidh, Erik and I would return to First Havana with Anaitza.

Luis took us and dropped us off before taking the others out to Guanabacoa.  We arrived to find the congregation gathering, all in yellow t-shirts.

We ended up sitting at the back on extra chairs as the church was completely full.  The children from the holiday club were all there, swelling the congregation, but we were told that the church is often full.  It was great to sit at the back… that’s where the fans were!

Worship was full of music; an amazing tenor sang the introit followed by a quartet, and octet, all 90 children and a group from the Korean Presbyterian church in Miami all sang.

The preacher was from the Korean-American group and Frank (conducting the children’s choir in the photo) came and translated the sermon for us.  There was a funny moment when he and Jen (who speaks excellent Spanish) looked at each other… then Frank said ‘No, I don’t understand him either!’.

After worship we got a yellow taxi back to Luyano to find the rest of the group talking about their morning.  Matthew had sung at Luyano, Rob, Katie and Alison had a fantastic rockin’ time at Guanabacoa and we had been treated to some brilliant music.  All in all a great morning at church.

The rest of the day was free.  It was our first real chance to sit down and just relax and I’m glad we had the space.

We decided that after dinner we would gather on our own as a group to share in some worship which I would lead.

I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘revolution’ recently and this seemed the perfect topic for Cuba.  We began with ‘The Call To Prayer’, the Muslim-style call from Karl Jenkin’s The Armed Man (A Mass for Peace), a strange way to start a Christian worship.  We talked about Mark’s revolutionary Gospel and how it presents a different way, a revolution of peace and love and justice and grace.  We shared a communion of coke and pringles, a strange way to celebrate a sacrifice.  And we listened to revolutionary songs.  Martyn Joseph’s ‘Strange Way’ and Tracy Chapman’s ‘Talkin’ About A Revolution’.

I think tonight was probably my favourite moment.  It seemed real and right and good in all its strangeness.  A group of people sharing God and finding him in  the ordinary and the strange.

Yesterday thePROJECT became a reality, a meeting In The Flesh.  It was a great day with some brilliant speakers, inspiring worship and superb music.

ThePROJECT has grown from conversations between those who travel south from Scotland to Greenbelt Festival each year.  I’ve been to Greenbelt fairly often over the years, although not for a while, but it has always struck me how many people I know when I get there.  The same thought struck others and they got together and decided that Scotland could have it’s own event, inspired by Greenbelt, but not copying it.

Yesterday was a step in that direction.  A city based event in a church, a pub and a theatre.

So… thePROJECT3… the next step… Why not come along for the ride?

The other day I blogged about the lack of participation in the political process.  Last night those fears were confirmed as the Labour vote in the European elections collapsed to just 15%.  The map of British politics was changed last night with the Euro-sceptic UKIP coming second behind the Tories and the BNP winning two seats, the far right party’s first ever in a national election.

The BNP’s share of the vote didn’t go up, but the lack of support for Labour allowed them to win two seats in the north of England.

So it seems silence IS consent.  The problem is you don’t always know what you are consenting to.

As an aside, we were talking about the circumstances in which Scotland might vote for independence.  A Tory government and England winning the world cup were the perfect storm but I wonder how Wales voting Tory and England electing racists will play in the Scottish political arena?

This morning the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland heard the report of the Church and Society Committee.

First up was the ‘Growing Up in Scotland‘ report.  I was on the group which wrote the report so I was glad to see some good deliverences (motions) coming from the report.  I’ll pick out the highlights for me…

Child Friendly Churches

3. Instruct the Church and Society Council to work with other Councils to introduce a Child Friendly Church initiative based on the United Reform Church’s model.

This was amended to welcome the work the Mission and Discipleship council has already done on preparing a Child Friendly Church initiative, based on the United Reformed Church model.

Hearing Children

4. Urge Scottish and UK Governments to evidence as a matter of course how young people’s voices are heard in the development of legislation and policy.
5. Instruct the Church and Society Council, together with Presbyteries and other Councils of the Church, to bring to the General Assembly of 2010 a report on the ways in which each is enabling the voices of young people to be heard in their decision-making processes.

Great to see an emphasis on listening to children in decision making.  I wonder how congregations and the Assembly will make that happen?

8. Instruct the Church and Society Council to work with representatives of the National Youth Assembly to develop awareness of models of support in congregations on the issues involved in mental illness among young people.

This issue is one that has become ever more important to me.  My wife is a soon to qualify mental health nurse and her training has confirmed my belief that the church can and should play a role in supporting people with mental ill-health.  Like the other deliverence, the question will be how?

10. Urge Scottish and UK Governments to strengthen their commitment to end child poverty by 2020 and ensure that policies and adequate resources are in place to achieve that aim.
11. Urge the Scottish Government to ensure that resources, including partnerships with Churches and others, are in place to deliver the ambitions of the Early Years Framework.
12. Demand that HM Government uphold, respect and protect the rights of children who are asylum seekers or who are trafficked into our country.

For me these show that the church is where it should be, campaigning on behalf of the poor and those who’s rights are overlooked.

Engaging with Technology, Science and the Environment
Climate Change
16. Instruct Presbyteries, in association with the Church and Society Council, to produce a plan for each congregation in their bounds, setting out how they will measure energy consumption in their church
buildings, ascertain their carbon footprint and achieve a year-on-year reduction of 5% of their carbon
footprint using the Eco-Congregation Scotland carbon footprint module; and instruct the Church and Society Council, in consultation with the General Trustees, to report to the General Assembly of 2010 on the implementation of this instruction.
17. Welcome the proposed incorporation of Eco-Congregation Scotland as a Charitable Company and continue to support the work of eco-congregations.
18. Affirm the current commitment of the Church and Society Council to the ‘Responding to Climate Change Project’ and instruct the Church and Society Council, in partnership with other Councils, to complete the review of this project with a view to its development.

The climate change debate threw up some interesting discussion around how ambitious the church should be about targets, with 5% perhaps not being nearly enough of a reduction.

This raised the question again about the suitability of buildings for me.  Is the reduction of carbon footprints the catalyst needed to get rid of unsuitable buildings once and for all?  Can the church really claim to be good stewards while pouring money into drafty and expensive to heat buildings?  And the church’s central offices in Edinburgh won’t escape the carbon audit…

The growing online community of people interested in all things (or perhaps just some things) emerging/emergent Church over at Emerging Scotland are busy beavering away being creative, innovative and generally moving their communities of faith forward.  The network is growing and people are sharing their stories and resources online, but that’s not the same as meeting up and talking it through…

So, if you want to grab a coffee and a chat with some emerging/missional types then get yourself virtually to Emerging Scotland and join up and in the real world come to Starbucks in Borders, Buchanan Street, Glasgow on Thursday 28th May at 7pm.  It would be great to see you there.

If you’re not in or around Glasgow then why not plan your own Meet Up where you are.  Just join one of the meet up groups at Emerging Scotland.