Have Bible Will Travel

From the beginning of lockdown in 2020, the online newsletter of Cupar Old Parish Church became a focus for the church’s life. I offered to join the small team who prepared weekly Reflections for it in support of our minister Rev Jeff Martin. Jeff followed a study guide, We Take the Road by Walking by Brian McLaren in many of his weekly sermons during the first year of restrictions. I followed his lead with digressions to respond to what was happening at the time; for some Saints’ Days, and to consider some Bible passages from the Common Lectionary.

I have never been much of an original thinker, preferring to recycle other people’s insights. I always kept a large notebook of snippets and ideas for sermons and have dipped liberally into it in preparing these articles. Unfortunately, I didn’t always note where I had found these bits and pieces and apologise if I have failed to attribute any of my quotes to their authors.

Above all, my prayer is that we might all find renewed joy and hope as we walk the road of Christian faith together following this time of acute pandemic.

Peter Meager grew up in Shotts, Lanarkshire. He came to personal Christian faith aged 8 and knew he wanted to be a minister from then on. In his sixth year at school, his headmaster told him that going to university would be a waste of time. He ignored this advice and was accepted by Edinburgh. Just before his course began, he met Christine and they married between his Arts and Divinity degrees.

On ordination into the Church of Scotland, he joined the Army as a Chaplain. Sixteen years later, they moved to parishes in Fife’s East Neuk. While there, he developed Laryngeal Dystonia, which forced him to retire in 1999. Peter is renowned for his bad jokes and has often been told, “You should be on the telly – and then we could switch you off!”

Since then, they have lived in Cupar. He had subsequent careers as a Psychiatric Hospital Chaplain, Presbytery Clerk and Manager for the Dystonia Society. He still volunteers as a Patient Partner with St Andrews University Medical School.

They have two children, a daughter-in-law and five grown up grandchildren. Peter now looks after Christine, who has dementia, but they still enjoy trips away in their campervan. He has always been a keen photographer and he took most of the photos in the book.