The big event

Today was the induction service for our new pastor, Don. It's a big step for a church which has never had a pastor, and a very exciting time. After getting two phone calls during the day I ended up as 'official' photographer, so it was hard to find a blip, given I took many, many shots. I decided that this shot best summed it up, as it shows the order of service and you can just about see Don (on stage in light jacket) and his wife Kirstin (on stage in red jacket) in the background. This was taken during the response from church members (left hand page). View large to read the text. It was a great service, and great to see so many people, some from churches where Don has worked in the past, church leaders from other local churches, and church members both present and past.

It was a lovely day, after a bad start. I slept very little because of the horrible noise the window in my room makes in certain strengths and directions of wind. It sounds a bit like a pneumatic drill, which is rather scary when it's a metre and a half from my head. After a towsy crossing (far better than I expected as I could hardly stand upright while waiting for the bus) we arrived in Ardrossan only a wee bit late, so I made it to Glasgow and had coffee and catch up with uni friends, before going window camera shopping with one of them (not for me, much as I may covet a 600D with tilting screen and autofocus in liveview, and let's not get onto the 60D, my budget certainly does not allow for one!). Always fun to talk cameras, especially on someone else's bank account :) I then headed home, dumped my stuff, did a little unpacking, then set off for church. Once there I filled some meringues with cream, greeted people on the door and took hundreds of photographs, as well as chatted to lots of people. I also got to wind up one of the younger folk who doesn't like having his photo taken - to be fair, I was acting on his mother's instructions! We're lovely people at my church!

I do thank God for my church, it's the most welcoming place I've ever been, after arriving 17 years ago (pretty much exactly), I've never left and can't envisage doing so. It's really exciting to see where God will take us in this new period of our history, and what He will do in and through us.