The 69th School in Theology began with the life of Alexander Moody Stuart by the Rev John W Keddie. It was a resounding and thrilling commencement to the School. It is important to note that this is not a conference but a school, meaning the papers are given by those who regularly attend as opposed to recruiting conference speakers. This has the benefit of enabling ministers to study a particular subject which ordinarily they may not do. Because of this the quality of the papers exceeds those delivered at conference level.

Home Mission Worker Donald J Morrison filled the missionary slot with an update on his work across Scotland enabling us to hear at first hand the real state of the nation – gospel ignorance abounds and scripture knowledge is, in many places, nonexistent.

On such a day, where feathery Christians abound and gadding about has become endemic, the Rev Davide Ratti (Dores) spoke on Biblical Necessity and Responsibilities of Church Membership.

Grappling with Ezekiel chapter 1 was ably tackled by the Rev James Gracie (Edinburgh), showing how the structure enables us to understand the meaning and significance of this extraordinary book.

What it means to be a child of God was presented by Rev Harry Woods who gave a comprehensive description of adoption.

No School would be complete without book reviews, which occurred on Wednesday, followed by Themes in Jude by Rev Craig Dennison who was present on behalf of TBS.

After a welcome break, we were treated to an examination of John 1:1 by the Rev Greg MacDonald (Ness).

The School ended with a paper on ‘Scoffers in 2 Peter 3:3’. Rev Thomas Buchanan, Brora, demonstrated the importance and relevance of what Peter is teaching for our day and the ideologies we face.

It was good to see an increase in the number of those attending.  Each day began and ended with worship.

Audio/video recordings of the papers are available on Partick FC(C) SermonAudio and YouTube sites.

The programme for the next school has been drawn up with an equally stimulating range of topics in Exegesis, Church History, Old and New Testaments, and Pastoral topics.

Next year the School will gather 4th-7th September DV.