What is in Kelvin's Head?

Blog

  • The Antisemitism Notice

    Someone asked me to share the note that we put in our service sheets in St Mary’s about antisemitism. This has evolved over the last few years but the statement below is what it looks like at the moment. We’ve also changed the pattern of readings we use at St Mary’s. In particular, we no…

  • “God swipes right” – a sermon for Lent 4, 2026

    In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. From time to time, every couple of years or so, someone decides that it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good cathedral, must be in want of a man. Now, I am…

  • Assisted Dying – Why I’ve changed my mind

    The time has come to admit it. I’ve changed my mind about assisted dying. As a priest, the presumption is generally made that I’m against it for religious reasons. Recent aggressive campaigning by those in favour of allowing doctors to help people to end their lives has been relentlessly dismissive of religious reasons for being…

  • Predictions 2026

    A rocky road to the enthronement of the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Further turmoil and scandal in the Anglican Episcopates of the United Kingdom. No progress for those hoping for Equal Marriage in the Church of England. More talk about the Quiet Revival which will continue not to show up in denominational statistics. Success for…

  • How did I do with last year’s predictions?

    Here’s a run down of how I did at last year’s predictions. Good results for Nigel Farage following the English local elections in May. Terrible results for Conservative Party. Exactly what happened. YES No progress towards the marriage of same-sex couples in the Church of England Exactly what happened. Indeed, I think things may have…

  • AI Ethics Questions for Preachers

    The first time that I encountered ChatGPT was three years ago when I was staying in a seminary in the USA. It was a place dedicated to teaching theology and particularly to training Episcopal clergy. The ChatGPT preview release was let loose on the world on 30 November 2022, so I must have discovered it…

  • We are not stewards

    A long time ago, back in the mists of nearly twenty years ago, I started to think that it was important that there was a liturgical celebration of creation. I thought long and hard about it and decided that instead of celebrating that modern invention the Harvest Festival, we would celebrate Creation instead, rolling a…

  • Listening to the Quiet Revival

    This Quiet Revival thing is real you know. At least, it feels real around here. For a number of years, I’ve been aware that young adults now seem to have different attitudes to religion to young adults of perhaps 20 years ago. Specifically, young adults of today do not seem as negative towards religion, and…

  • Sermon preached on 17 August 2025. (But should it have a content warning?)

    I wonder whether you have heard of a place called Edinburgh. It is a place about 50 miles away from here. And it is a wonderful diverse, international city…for at least three weeks a year. Now the East of Scotland and the West of Scotland are different one from another. Amongst other things, religion is…

  • “Issues” is no more

    Earlier today, the General Synod of the Church of England took a hugely significant step. It removed a document called “Issues in Human Sexuality” from the discernment process for people being assessed for clerical vocations in the Church of England. Oh, I can hear you yawning from here. But it really is important and this…