A Reflection on Three Months in Stranraer

Bob and Rita Lyon have recently returned home to Kansas after being with us for three months (February to April). Below are some of Bob’s reflections on their time here. We hope it will be useful for others considering doing something similar, and also provide a window into congregational life.

When we arrived in Stranraer, Scotland, we came with no specific expectations—only a desire to settle in, become part of the congregation, and help wherever we could. Our intention was simple: to quietly support the church by bolstering its numbers, contributing where needed, offering encouragement, and not to be a burden.

From the very beginning, we were warmly welcomed, accepted, and loved by the congregation. It was a joy to find how easily relationships formed with so many individuals. The church felt like home far quicker than we imagined. In joining the daily rhythms of this faithful body, we quickly saw the depth of commitment and effort poured in by the two elder families, the Steeles and the Frasers. Their leadership carries the full weight of responsibility for the congregation, and their dedication is tireless, though it often stretches them thin. If in any small way we were able to ease that burden—through helping with child care, offering friendship, or simply being present—we are deeply thankful for the opportunity.

The church is made up of a mix of individuals, many of whom are single and elderly. It was clear that visits, invitations, and personal attention meant a great deal to them. Small gestures of care seemed to go a long way, and we were blessed in return with rich conversations and shared moments of faith.

Throughout our time there, we were entrusted with a variety of responsibilities. We led adult Bible studies and children’s Sabbath School classes, participated in Bible distributions, visited schools, and assisted with infrastructure projects. We helped with congregational meals, and intentionally built relationships within the community—whether with local shopkeepers or individuals who had once been connected to the church. In these simple tasks, we saw the Lord open doors to extend the visibility and reach of the church within Stranraer.

We also had the privilege of coordinating two others who joined us for a 10-day short-term trip. With their help, we completed a number of physical projects on the church building and parsonage—an encouraging example of how even short visits can leave a lasting impact when guided by a shared vision.

Though we came to serve, we were the ones who were blessed—again and again. We had no particular gifts or expertise to offer, only a willingness to be present and available. And yet, God multiplied those small efforts. The experience deepened our walk with the Lord and taught us much about the beauty of quiet faithfulness, perseverance, and love lived out in community.

Spending three months in Stranraer felt like a good amount of time to truly integrate into the life of the church and to develop meaningful relationships. It was a joy and a privilege to work alongside the Steeles and Frasers, to share in their labor, and to witness the fruit of their long-term commitment.

We are deeply grateful for the time we were able to spend with the church in Stranraer. It was a wonderful season—one marked by service, growth, and genuine fellowship. We leave thankful, encouraged, and hopeful for the ongoing ministry in that part of Scotland.

Milestone Birthdays Celebrated!

Members and friends of the Reformed Presbyterian Church recently celebrated three significant birthdays: a 70th, 80th and 90th! A lunch was held at the Bay House on Saturday 5th April to celebrate these significant milestones reached by Bob Lyon, Robert Dabner, and Margaret Clark. Bob, from Kansas, but in Stranraer for three months along with his wife Rita, reached the age of ‘threescore and ten’ in March. Robert completed his eighth decade in January, and Margaret, turned 90 at the end of December. The congregation’s minister, Rev. Stephen Steele, spoke of his gratitude for each of them. The memorable lunch ended with the cutting of a cake and the viewing of some old pictures that Robert had digitised for the occasion.

Published in the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 17 April 2025

Kansas Mission Team

From 28th February to 10th March we hosted a ‘Kansas Mission Team’. Bob and Rita, already with us for 3 months, were joined by a man from each of the two Kansas congregations Stephen where Stephen had spoken during the summer: Jim (Winchester) and Paul (Shawnee).

On their first Saturday with us, the team helped organise an American style men’s breakfast, before starting into painting around the church building, which would form the bulk of their work for the week.

The team participated in the various aspects of church life during the week: the monthly church lunch on the Lord’s Day, the Monday evening Bible Study and our Wednesday Bible Study and Drop In.

On the Tuesday evening, they got to experience a Stranraer FC match with some of the congregation.

On the Thursday, they helped us with our World Book Day outreach - giving out free Bibles and gospels in the town centre. 48 Bibles and around 20 gospels were given out, and some good conversations were had.

On their second Saturday, we took the team to see Covenanter martyr sites at Wigtown and Glentrool.

On each of their two Lord’s Day evenings with us, a team member shared their testimony over supper after evening worship.

We are grateful for their work and their partnership in the gospel!

Why are Atheists Deconstructing?

Glasgow-born historian Niall Ferguson is perhaps the most influential historian – and certainly one of the most influential public intellectuals – in the world. In 2004, Time magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Ferguson recently spoke publicly for the first time about his rejection of atheism in favour of Christianity. He now describes himself as a ‘lapsed atheist’. Fellow-historian Sarah Irving-Stonebraker similarly appropriates language usually reserved for those leaving the faith to describe how she ‘deconstructed’ her atheism. An Australian from a completely secular background, she came to the UK to get a PhD at Cambridge, before moving on to post-doctoral work at Oxford – where her atheism was shattered.  

What led to them losing faith in the atheism of their childhood? For Ferguson it was firstly historical – for Irving-Stonebreaker, primarily ethical. Ferguson says that he came to realise that ‘no society had been successfully organised on the basis of atheism. All attempts to do that have been catastrophic’. The next step on his journey was the realisation that ‘no individual can be fully formed or ethically secure without religious faith’.

Irving-Stonebreaker’s faith in atheism was shattered when she attended some guest lectures at Oxford by fellow Australian – and fellow atheist – Peter Singer. She describes feeling like the carpet had been pulled from under her feet when Singer made it clear that atheism provides no basis for believing in the inherent or equal value of human life. As she went back and read his philosophical work, her atheism continued to unravel. She came to see that her deepest moral intuitions, the things she thought were most important about human life (its dignity and value), couldn’t be sustained by atheism. It didn’t make her a Christian – but it raised questions. Still reluctant to pick up a Bible, she found herself working in the theology section of the library one winter in Oxford, and began to read a book of sermons. A sermon on Psalm 139, gave her a completely different perspective on human existence, with its teaching that we are each formed by God himself. She found it utterly compelling. Upon taking up a job in the United States, a fellow faculty member gave her a copy of ‘Mere Christianity’ by C. S. Lewis, who himself had made the journey from atheism to Christianity. It spoke to her like nothing ever had, and led her to go to church for the first time. She realised she had been living a life of self-fulfillment – and yet it had left her ‘empty’. She describes herself as walking into church that day with not only an intellectual, but a spiritual yearning. As she observed those present taking the Lord’s Supper, she realised that she had been running from God her whole life. She came to see the Bible’s story of sin as profoundly true – as well as what God had done through the cross to draw people back to himself. A few months later she gave her life to Christ.

Niall Ferguson’s wife, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, has a similarly dramatic story. In the early 2000s, she was one of the most prominent ‘New Atheists’, alongside Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens. Brought up as a Muslim, she became a prominent critic of Islam, opposing forced marriage, honour killing, child marriage and female genital mutilation. In a recent interview, she said ‘the god I grew up with was a horror show’.  But she came to see that not all religions are the same. Her therapist once asked her what she thought that God should be like if he existed; the answer she came up with was a description of Jesus Christ. Ali says that she once hated God – but the ‘god’ she hated was not like Jesus.

Such stories are increasingly common. What is behind this ‘vibe shift’?

Barney Zwartz explains: ‘Christianity in the West has been in decline for long enough for people to see what the post-Christian world looks like, and it’s not pretty. Today’s rising secular orthodoxy can be just as judgmental and censorious as the worst of the 1950s churches, but without the compassion, the community, the forgiveness, the self-deprecation, or the humour’.

Neither can it give us what we truly crave: ‘Many who had been tempted to believe Dawkins’ claim that “the universe has no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference”, find that it conflicts with their human yearning for lives that have meaning and purpose’. Instead, they are finding that desire met by the one who said: ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10).

Published in the Stranraer & Wigtownshire Free Press, 3rd April 2025

John G. Paton in Stranraer

Well-known YouTuber (and adjunct professor at the RP Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh) Matthew Everhard recently posted a short biography of John G. Paton. Born just outside Dumfries, Paton was an RP missionary to the New Hebrides. His autobiography is one of the most inspiring missionary biographies ever written. Paton began his mission work as a city missionary in Glasgow, working alongside Rev. William Symington, who had moved to Glasgow from Stranraer.

In 1863, Paton came to our church in Stranraer to give and update on his work. The following report appeared in the Ayrshire Express on 7 November 1863:

“MISSIONARY MEETING.—On Wednesday last, the Rev John G. Paton, missionary from Tanna, one of the New Hebrides or South Sea Islands, in connection with the Reformed Presbyterian Church, addressed two meetings here, in the Rev. Thomas Easton's (R. P. Church), the one at half-past five and the other at half-past seven o'clock, on both occasions giving most interesting details of the mission work on these Islands. The afternoon meeting was principally composed of sabbath-school children, the lower part of church being completely filled by them. By interesting anecdotes of the difficulties and dangers of the missionary work, and the blessings which the introduction of christianity had conferred on many of the little heathen children attending his classes, Mr Paton succeeded in gaining the attention of the children, and at the close he earnestly appealed to them for assistance in raising funds to maintain the missionary ship. and also in filling a missionary box with clothing for the poor naked boys and girls of Tana. In the evening, notwithstanding the unfavourable state of the weather, the church was crowded in every part with a most attentive audience. Mr Paton spoke for about two hours, giving a detailed account of the mission to these islands from the day on which John Williams touched at Erromanga to the latest news just received of the landing of the Rev. John Inglis at Aneityum, with the New Testament translated into the native language. The New Hebrides is a group of thirty beautiful islands, having a population in all of about 150,000, and except some 3500 on Aneityum who have become christians, they are all savage cannibals—the consistent christian conduct, home comforts, and advanced state of civilization in Aneityum contrasting most strongly with the ignorance, misery, degradation and barbarism prevalent in Tanna, the scene of his own labours.”

Incidentally, Rev. John Inglis, mentioned in the above report, was born in Moniaive (the house still stands) and retired to Lincuan Cottage, Kirkcowan.