the best days of my life..

Being in at the Primary School for the bulk of the morning made the day seem somewhat short!

But I've been glad again of the chance to be in at the school and the time with the children is always great! I love it.

I was in at the P1-3 Assembly first of all. A case of simply being there, with the chance for casual conversation with just one or two before the thing began. But it's good to be there and see the children at that age so eager and ready to learn.

Like sponges they are. How altogether vital, then, to saturate their minds and hearts with all that's good and true. I don't mind this investment of my time at all.

From there it was on to the P7 pupils to speak about the 'saints'. Well, Scottish ones at any rate. They figured I was an expert (the teachers did), though where they got that notion from I really couldn't tell!

I started by asking the children's thoughts when told they'd be studying saints. Boring was the essence of their varied replies. Predictable, I guess.

So I started off by stressing that these guys, the so-called 'saints' - the last thing that you'd say about these guys was that they were boring!

I told them the story of Columba. Mainly because I'm a fan of the man. I think I'd have liked the guy.

I got quite worked up, which is no bad thing. And I think they sort of sensed that too. I could see them start when I said that the first ever mention of the Loch Ness monster was in the Life of Columba! All of a sudden they were all ears.

Same when I told them Columba had been at Bannockburn when the Scots under Bruce defied the odds and sent proud Edward's army homeward to think again.

Columba at Bannockburn?!? Well, his relics were, or some of them, preserved in the famous brecbennoch. I explained that to them, too.

And I think they began to see the sort of influence a man like this could have. I hope so.

I told them about the way he lived his life, the way he served his Lord, the way he sought to bring to people everywhere a better life by far than that they'd known before. I get fired up even thinking about it now!

Then after the break it was on to Primary 5. Week 3 with them, so I'm getting to know them well. What a lovely crowd they are. And what a chance to teach them what it's all about.

Today it was some 'key concepts' I was to teach them. Now I don't choose these, these are what the syllabus requires. But given that the four 'key concepts' I was asked to teach were gospel, miracle, parable and sacrament, you can see I was hardly about to object!

Talk about an open door!

And every time I walk through one such open door, it seems that other doors appear. Over coffee the P4 teachers came up and asked if I would come in to their classes, too, and tell them what I did. They were finding out what ministers did. So why not check the whole thing out with the genuine article.

Well, I was more than happy to agree to this - though I did make it clear I was hardly your average minister. I mean there are ministers and ministers. And I'm not that sure I'm actually any of them!

So that's next week. I told the Head I thought I'd better bring my own mug in and thereby sort of take up formal residence, I'm in the school that much!