Today’s correspondents discuss the Church of Scotland’s community work, wildlife webcams, the new green ‘religion’, and spending on the Gaelic language.
Church intervenes where there is need Sir,-I refer to the letter, Charity Must Start at Home, a wide ranging critical letter of our modern society. I reply to the implied attack of complacency by the Church of Scotland in the housing areas of Dundee and the accusation of being middle class, and thus out of touch.
In the churches I know in Dundee and Fife, I have only met dedicated people who are trying to live faithful lives and serve others. Class is not an issue, as all congregations reflect the parish where the buildings are.
I serve in the congregations of Craigiebank linked with Douglas and Mid Craigie in Dundee. We have a team ministry of four — minister, deacon, youth and young adult worker — all full-time, with myself as part-time pastoral assistant. We also have the full-time services of a healthy-eating project worker. We are supported by active, caring and generous church members. The congregations are assisted by the Church of Scotland, charity funding and the Presbytery of Dundee to meet some of the financial costs.
We do support Christian Aid and, by implication, Israel/Palestine and have also given to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal and will support the new Pakistan flood relief appeal.
We serve the people and try to minister to their needs as we find them and that includes despairing youths.
(Rev) Charles McMillan.11 Troon Terrace,The Orchard,Ardler,Dundee.
In defence of nature viewers
Sir,-I must respond to what Jim Crumley (August 10) refers to as “wildlife celebrities.” He takes a one-sided view of the phenomenon of wildlife webcams.
The biggest error he makes is in suggesting that watching these webcams and going into the wild to see nature are mutually exclusive activities.
This technology adds to our understanding of the natural world. No matter how many hours one spends watching wildlife, one would never get the intimate views which a webcam delivers.
My main concern, however, is the way in which he vilified the SWT team of at Loch of the Lowes. This team are totally dedicated to the protection and observation of the ospreys.
I enjoy reading Jim Crumley’s articles but I was disappointed by his obvious misunderstanding of the motives of the viewers of wildlife webcams in general, and of those who watch the Loch of the Lowes site in particular.
Carolyn Taylor.16 Gagiebank,Wellbank,Dundee.
Green is new religion
Sir,-Theologians have long warned that the belief in man-made global warming has all the characteristics of a fundamentalist, green religion.
Now the Methodist Church is to adopt the IPCC report as holy writ proclaiming that “climate change affirms the Triune God as creator and redeemer of the universe”.
Inspired by that fine Old Testament prophet Al Gore, it reels off all the familiar apocalyptic warnings of the catastrophes sinful mankind is bringing on the planet.
“What is required of God’s people,” it intones, “is repentance. We must confess our complicity in the sinful structures which have caused this problem”.
To avert all these disasters, the Methodist faithful will be required to create a “low-carbon economy” — presumably leaving God to smite the coal-burning Chinese.
(Dr) John Cameron.10 Howard Place,St Andrews.
SNP trapped in tartan time warp
Sir,-In these difficult economic times, the majority of Scots would question the wisdom of the Holyrood administration’s obsession with all things Gaelic.
Setting up a quango and providing funding (our money) of over £5 million to promote the language beggars belief. Scotland’s population of marginally over five million has fewer than 100,000 Gaelic speakers and does not warrant this spending.
It is understandable in the Western Isles, where Gaelic, as well as English, is widely spoken, to have dual signposting on public buildings and streets but to extend this to the mainland is a nonsense.
With Scotland competing in world markets, young Scots would find having Gaelic speaking on their CV of little benefit, as opposed to a good knowledge of English.
Robert Burns did not, as far as I am aware, have Gaelic. But he did have the wonderful mother tongue of the lowland Scot and, of course, a grasp of the classics from his early education.
If the SNP wants to be cocooned in their Brig o’ Doon world they should pay for it out of their own pockets.
R. H. L. Mulheron.28 Cowgate,Tayport.
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