10th July 2022: Letter from the Locum Minister Rev Marion Paton

Dear friends,
Many years ago, when I first thought about offering for the ministry, the thought of standing up in a pulpit and preaching to the people scared me rigid! I had watched and sometimes listened to my father doing it on countless occasions and I knew just how much thought, prayer and sheer hard work went into every sermon. And in any case, who was I to preach to other people? But then the day came when God called, and I knew I had to answer, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The very first time I stood in a pulpit to preach, it had taken me a month to prepare what I wanted to say, and my knees knocked all the way through the service! Some thirty-five years later they sometimes still do! The responsibility of opening the scriptures to a gathering of faithful people is a heavy one and making the result relevant to the one who left school at thirteen and was almost illiterate and to the professor of theology in the same congregation as I once had to do every week, weighed very heavily. But a wise old minister gave me very good advice. He said ‘What you are preparing for is the most important job in the world, and you must never say anything you don’t believe’.
Preparation of course, is a discipline of study and prayer, and there are times when I face a blank screen and wonder what on earth I will say. But the Holy Spirit has never let me down yet. Then there are other times when the train of thought gets disturbed by the pinging of the computer, the ringing of the phone or the doorbell, or even the barking of the dog. However, I once read a book where amongst many other wise things, the author said ‘I used to be irritated by the interruptions to my work, until I realised that the interruptions are my work!’
It is an exciting and challenging thing to be given the opportunity to open the scriptures for the people every week, the more so now that I do it online, and in print as well as in person. But it is also a great privilege to be allowed to share Christ, and I thank you for it.
Next Sunday in Holy Trinity I shall be sharing the service with Rev Alastair Symington.
With love and blessings,
Marion