St Serf's News and Events

Rector’s Letter - August

Dear Friends,
In June we begin to wind down for the summer holidays but this year I had the privilege of hosting a three day visit from the Bishop of Calcutta, Ashoke Biswas and his chaplain Nigel Pope. It was a busy three days with visits around the Diocese to Perth, the Angus Glens and Stirling/Bridge of Allan, as well as meeting people locally. The purpose of the Bishop’s visit was to pursue the possibility of a partnership link between our two Dioceses and it very much looks as if we will go ahead and establish the link. This is exciting because we will be linking with a Diocese in the Church of North India, a united church so that there will be possibilities for ecumenical developments here in Scotland. There are already a great many historical Scottish links with Kolkata, the city’s current name though the Diocese retains the old name. Forty years ago several denominations, including the Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist churches in North India came together to form one church, retaining elements of each in their governance and their practice of worship.
In November I will return the visit together with Dominic Ind, Rector of St Saviour’s, Bridge of Allan. Dominic is our resource person for interfaith dialogue as well as, like me having previous experience of India. Then in the spring of next year our own Bishop David will go to Kolkata to deal with the formal linkage business. For the future this will mean sharing prayer support, possibilities for mutual service by exchange of volunteers, youth and school exchanges, and training opportunities for clergy and laity. Kolkata is home to the prestigious Bishop’s Theological College and the Diocese of Calcutta has both primary and secondary schools for which it is responsible as well as a range of outreach projects caring for the poor and for AIDS sufferers. I look forward to sharing more about the link after November and I hope we will be able to bring some of our Indian visitors to West Fife in the coming months and years.
Yours in Christ
Val Nellist