bye bye Kriecks

A few of us had gathered round at the Wilson's this past Sunday to say goodbye to Chris, Sarah and Ryan. It was there last day in Inverness after having lived here for two years. It was a great afternoon. As you can see from the photo the weather was great. The floods started though as we said goodbye at the end of the afternoon. It was a very emotional farewell.

I'm sure all of us would like to say what a pleasure it was getting to know the Kreicks and that we wish them all the best for the future.

We'll miss them.

CW

A Missionary Church - Please Pray

South Korea has confirmed that a second hostage has been killed by the Taleban in central Afghanistan. He was one of 23 Korean Christian aid workers seized on 19th July. All of them came from Saemmul Presbyterian Church.

Korean evangelical groups have dispatched about 17, 000 people to 173 countries, from the Middle East and Africa through to Central and East Asia, and South Korea is the second largest source of Christian missionaries after the US.

Please pray for the remaining hostages that they will be released unharmed.

DM

Engaged

Congratulations to Stewart Mackay who has just got engaged to Maggie Yang. Stewart has just completed his final placement in his training course to become a Church of Scotland minister and is now about to begin a 15 month probationary period at Loanhead Parish Church near Edinburgh. Maggie comes from Guangxi [Southern China] and a visit to meet her family and friends in the near future is being organised. They plan to marry in Aberdeen. We wish them well and look forward to seeing that together at Hilton Church in the near future.
DM

Holiday Books

The summer holidays are a good time for reading a few novels. Someone told me yesterday that they had read 8 in the first week of their holiday. If you like reading novels with a historical flavour to them, I can recommend Falling Angels by Tracey Chevalier (author of Girl with the Pearl Earring). The story centres on the lives of two middle class families in the years following the death of Queen Victoria. The book is a stark reminder of how much has changed within 1 century in the UK - much of it for the better. Imperium by Robert Harris is also worth a read. It tells the story of Cicero's rise to supreme power within the state of Rome. The Romans were obviously very dominant in the biblical world of 1st century AD (Jesus was born during the time of a Roman cencus) so a novel which sheds some light on this era in such a readable way is very worthwhile.

For those who are soon to depart these shores for Peru, I heartily recommend Inca Cola by Matthew Parris, a former conservative MP and one of the best observors and writers around these days. The book charts his account of a visit to Peru during a time of great instability in the late 1980's. Don't panic - Peru is a very different place today! Parris, who has been to Peru many times, has a great feel for the people and the country and he tells his story in a way which will bring a smile to your face, not to mention a few laughs.
DM

The Sun

A beautiful poem from Living Wittily this morning, which mirrors some of Doda's reflections on a memorable trip to Skye for Jessie and Scott's wedding.

The Sun
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
_
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats towards the horizon
_
and into the cloud or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone---
and how it slides again
_
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
_
streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance---
and have you ever felt for anything
_
such wild love---
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
_
that fills you
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
_
as you stand there
empty-handed---
or have you too
turned from the world---
_
or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?

Mary Oliver, New and Selected Poems, Vol. 1, pages 50-51.
Duncan

Warning from Gadget Vicar

Got my fingers (and bank account) burned recently because of a stupid mistake.
I put up a post a month ago, and someone sent me an image they thought would work with it. This image was not watermarked (despite the NUJ recommendation to their members that this is best practice for professionals), nor was there any information in its properties to suggest its provenance. So I figured that, as it came from a trustworthy source, it was alright to use it. Wrong! The copyright owner found the image in use on my blog and quickly threatened to sue, contacted the General Synod office demanding my head on a platter and left a message on the church answering machine indicating my culpability. Having verified the origin of the image, and having had a weekend of harassment and threats, what was a poor vicar to do? Stump up is what, especially after a little research on the internet revealed that this particular copyright owner is very adept at suing people for this kind of thing, having done so many times before.
I did a quick check of some of my blogs I read and a few could well be in the wrong as I was.

So, what lessons have I learned?
1. Either only use photographs that you have taken yourself (which is my usual practice), are absolutely sure have no copyright issues, or have paid for.
2. Be aware that some people with intellectual property concerns will be using software like PicScout to keep track of whether their material is appearing on the web without their authorisation. Some image companies like Getty and Corbis seem to have teams of people scouring the internet for illegal use of their material. See here for a forum of people receiving bills from these companies.
3. Realise that some individuals with legitimate concerns could be using this method to increase their income. They are quite within their rights of course and will prosecute to the full extent of the law. You will wind up in big trouble.

Here are 12 basic tips from Daily Blog Tips to help keep us right.
Finally, if you publish your own photographs on your blog and are concerned about other people using them without authorisation, you should watermark the images, or at least embed your details in the properties of the file. That way, anyone using your material will really have no excuse for using your material.

Our God is indeed a creative God

Everybody who attended Jessie and Scott 's wedding in Portree a week last Saturday were truly blessed. It was a privileged to have been part of such a splendid occasion. The wedding ceremony and the reception were wonderful. However, I could hardly pull myself away from the front lawn of the Cullin Hills Hotel.It was a beautiful evening, the sun setting over the water, the boats anchored in the bay and the majestic Cullins in the background reminded me of God's creative power. It was certainly spiritually uplifting and I couldn't get enough of it. The opening chapters of the Bible took on a new meaning for me on Saturday:
"God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array."
Doda

A Prayer for Today

Click here to read a prayer with an interesting context which remains very true for the goverments of our country and the wider world today.
Basil

Green Fingers

Volunteers are invited to carry out some gardening works to the church and old manse gardens this evening from 7pm to 9pm. Please bring your own tolls/equipment. Any queries please contact Alan Brown (ph. 715 720).

Alan