Love is all around: Wet Wet Wet star and Kirk Moderator create Christmas song
Festive message in video and song is there’s always ‘room at the table’ - ‘and sometimes, we just have to make it’
A former Kirk Moderator has teamed up with a rock band guitarist to release a new song to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.
Very Rev Albert Bogle and his musical partner Iain Jamieson, who perform and record as The Bogle Band, joined forces with Graeme Duffin of Wet Wet Wet to produce “Room at the Table”.
An accompanying video reinforces the song’s uplifting message of embracing greater compassion and tolerance in a divided world.
“We wanted to create a Christmas song that acknowledges the challenges people face but ultimately offers a beacon of hope and inclusion,” said Mr Bogle, who was Moderator of the General Assembly 2012-13.
“The message is simple - there is always ‘room at the table’ and sometimes, we just have to make it.”
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For Mr Bogle writing songs is another way of expressing his faith, one that can sometimes make a greater impact than preaching a sermon.
“Nobody listens to a sermon over and over again, but they will with a song,” said the minister, who is also the founder of international Christian charity the Vine Trust.
“I have been writing and recording Christmas songs for quite a while now.
Message of sharing
“This year, I was thinking about the increase in populism and the change in public attitude towards people who are homeless or refugees and asylum seekers and the politicians who are promoting the idea that there is only one pie and there is not enough for everyone.
“In Christian theology and even in the Old Testament, it talks about a God of abundance who creates enough for everyone.
“That is part of our understanding of what it means to be human, that we share what we have and if we were able to share properly, then there would be enough to go round. ‘Room At The table’ is really about that.”
The music video was partly shot on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow outside one of the cafés operated by homelessness charity Social Bite, which is itself an example of the message of the song.
Mr Bogle said: “The point is that we are trying to get out is that there is room at the table, not to preach at people, but just say let’s be a bit more generous, and Social Bite is beautiful for that because it is about the idea of passing it on.
“You can go in and buy a sandwich and put in in some money to feed someone who is homeless."
On the other side of the camera, the minister was also able to call on the technical expertise of ecumenical online worshipping community Sanctuary First, which originated with the Church of Scotland.
“We can pull together a lot of creatives within and outside the Church of Scotland and the quality of what they produce is remarked on by people worldwide,” Mr Bogle said.
Watch the video for "Room At The Table" here: https://www.sanctuaryfirst.org.uk/.../room-at-the-table...
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