If you were one of those fortunate (and fit) enough to have walked across the Queensferry Crossing last week, you might be able to identify this as a small part of one of the two modular expansion joints on the bridge deck. Among the largest joints of this type ever manufactured, these allow a total of 4m of movement as the bridge expands and contracts in response to wind, traffic loading and temperature.

The joint reminds us that:

• making an effective bridge depends of lots of things coming together correctly;
• any structure needs flexibility to survive in a real-world environment;
• we need to be innovative, and use today’s solutions, not yesterday’s.

These comments apply equally to our task as Christians of making a bridge between church and community in Rosyth, working together in a way that is fit for purpose in 2017 …