Just came in from my weekly (or at least as close to that as I can possibly manage) visit to the local pub quiz with some friends, to find another blog on my feed refering to an article in the Perth Press and Journal. It tells of a Church of Scotland minister who has convinced Inveralmond Brewery to produce a special ale to commemorate the decision of his church, St. Matthew's in Perth to hold a carol service in a local pub. I suppose it is going back to the monastic origins of much of the brewing in North Western Europe, a tradition carried on in the breweries of Belgium, but I'm not to sure that it will catch on here in Northern Ireland! And despite the fact that a certain Methodist Minister appreciates real ale, I particularly don't think it will be Irish Methodism which enters into the first similar agreement with a local brewing company.
A short responsive psalm for us as a call to worship on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, and given that it was pouring with rain as I headed into church this morning the first line is an important remembrance that the rain we moan about is an important component of the fruitfulness of the land we live in: You tend the land and water it And the earth produces its abundance. You crown each year with your bounty, and our storehouses overflow with your goodness. The mountain meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are filled with corn; Your people celebrate your boundless grace They shout for joy and sing. from Psalm 65
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