The melting pot..

I was just thinking today about the multicultural experiences which are so much a part of my life these days. Somebody mentioned on Saturday that he couldn't understand how I could have multicultural contacts in such a monocultural society as Scotland. However, I've found Scotland not to be nearly as simple as some may think. I suppose it would still be easy for someone living here in Kirkintilloch to avoid any non-European contacts as it is indeed true that most of the local population is purely British.

However, there are rich pockets of varying cultures across this country, especially in the cities, and even amongst the Scottish people there really are vast differences. I was reminded of this yesterday. We had a Ugandan friend speak to us in the evening and a missionary in the morning who spoke to us about his work in Rwanda. We also had visitors from Australia, a lovely family with two teenage daughters, one of whom wore a hat in church that looked like an upside down flower pot. It looked right on her because she was Australian and Australian girls wear such things, but I couldn't help but to think how ironic it was that if a Scottish girl wore the same hat people would think it really WAS a flower pot and begin to pray for her sanity.

But anyhow, I digress. I also have spent time lately with friends from Pakistan, Iran, Tanzania, America, and various other faraway lands who all live here within 15 miles of me. I know a man in the town of Linlithgow who is a Pakistani Muslim, owns and runs an Indian restaurant, and was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. If one looks, there is a rich tapestry of culture surrounding us in Scotland which can serve to enrich us all as we learn from one another and share our perspectives and experiences together. However, another thing that has really impressed me is the rich variety even within Scottish culture itself. In some areas of the north, you still have people who speak Gaellic, as well as remnants of other local languages such as the Doric language in Aberdeen. There is such a vast difference in the accents and dialects of Glasgow and Edinburgh that people from Edinburgh often fail even to understand the ones from Glasgow, even though they are only separated by 42 miles.

In Glasgow itself, there are many who are embroiled in the continuing rivalry between Catholics and Protestants, and they often identify themselves by the football team they support. Then there are the others who refuse to participate in that battle but in doing so forge for themselves yet another distinct culture. There are the wealthier areas, of course, and there are also ghettos such as Easterhouse that most locals avoid for fear that if they go in they might not get out. There are Christians, Muslims, agnostics, witches, Hare Krishnas and people of all kinds of religious beliefs and practices. There are communities forged by asylum seekers which are primarily middle eastern, and there are communities which are characterized by pubs and thick Glasgwegian accents.

Even in smaller towns such as the one in which I live there are many cultures. For example, on Wednesday, I'm planning to meet with a man who until very recently has been a major heroine dealer and whose name still strikes fear in the hearts of the crime world. His is, perhaps, an extreme example which reminds us that every culture has an underbelly that many try to ignore, but it also serves as a reminder that even in places of shared language and environment, there are many different lifestyles and personal backgrounds. One of our challenges here in the work of the church is to recognize that not everybody shares our cultural values or ways of thinking and to find ways to reach across the cultural divides that may separate us even from our next door neighbors so that we can reach them and love them with God's love.

This is the challenge that we are embracing here at Riverside in Kirkintilloch as we seek to move out into the community in the months to come. On Saturday, I'll be presenting a plan to the people of the church for reaching out to the community in a way that will hopefully have the effect of impacting the area with Christ's love. The goal is not to force our own culture upon the community but to build a bridge into the cultures in which the people live so that they might experience God's love for them in a tangible way. These are exciting times at Riverside!

A lot of great things have been happening in people's lives as they seem to be getting more and more hungry for God's presence in their lives and excited about their part in a shared mission in the community. I look forward to seeing what kind of adventure lies ahead as we move forward here together!

A great loss..

Tim killed himself the other day.

It was the last thing we expected. We remember that he struggled with depression, but so do a lot of other people we know. We never saw the signs.Tim was recently a student here at the Bible college. Right now, a lot of people seem to just be walking around the college like zombies, unable to even comprehend what it is that they are feeling. Suicide is always a difficult thing to deal with.

There is a sense of great loss and also a sense of despair, and perhaps even fear as people examine themselves and ask themselves again: "Can I really trust myself to never take that route?" I think that many times Christians make the terrible mistake of ignoring depression. It's like one of those things many communities just don't talk about. Why is that? Is it because a lot of Christians think that everyone is supposed to always be happy and that being depressed is some kind of sin? We have to face up to the fact that depression is something a lot of people deal with, and if we are truly to be a Christian community we need to come around those who are struggling and support them.

When people are really depressed, sometimes they completely lose their ability to reason. Even if they wouldn't normally take such drastic action as taking their lives, some have moments when their depression takes over and it is possible that they might do something that they would normally regret. How much more likely is that if we make them feel guilty about being depressed? As a Christian community, we have an obligation to make sure that those who are struggling with depression and similar problems are made aware that we understand their problem and do not look down on them for it. In spite of what some well meaning but misinformed people might think, depression is not always a sign of some deep sin in people's lives.

There are many causes of depression, including physical causes in some cases which can be treated medically. Depressed people need to be made aware that they have people in their lives that they can turn to in their moments of despair, and sometimes they need to be reminded often that they are truly loved.Did we fail in Tim's case? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that we need to make a concentrated effort to BE the loving community that we are called to be and to make sure that we genuinely support the suffering people around us.

Here at the Bible college, we are rallying together and seeking ways to make sure that when we leave the college we maintain a support group amongst ourselves to keep in contact with each other and to provide some kind of genuine support as our fellows make the transition from college life to wherever they might be going next. Is that enough? Is that just a knee-jerk response inspired by some kind of guilt?Whatever the initial motives, there remains the fact that there are a great many of us who truly love each other and are more determined than ever to make sure that we make the effort to continually be there for each other.

If we had made more of an effort before, we are not kidding ourselves by saying we are sure Tim would still be here, and we are also not naive enough to insist that we know any efforts we make are enough. However, that's not the point. We know we need to make that effort to be there for one another because that's what love is all about.As for other things around here lately, things have been going well. A lady made a commitment to Christ over the weekend, we are working with some new people from the community who need our love and support, and on Thursday we started a new Bible study that seemed to really start off well. We are also in the process of launching a two-year plan for the church which will be focused on connecting with the community and helping the people around us who need our help.

These really are exciting times at the church, and I'm also having a great time of learning at the college. A shadow hangs over us as we remember one of our company who is no longer with us, but we are also keenly aware that life must go on and we must concentrate ourselves all the more on being there for those who are.