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+Richard on the new atheists
Don’t miss Richard Holloway’s book review on The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas. Here’s the full link. And here is a highlight: That said, this book is fun, especially if you read it as a prospectus for a complex and varied religious position. The comedians in it – and there are too many of them –…
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Decorating the Church
Now, just in case there is anyone reading this who comes to St Mary’s who hasn’t been around in previous years at Christmas – there’s a job to be done tomorrow that you might not know about and your help would be most appreciated. As a liturgical church we are vigilant about keeping Advent, a time of…
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The Antiphons
The Advent antiphons begin at this time. They are mystical phrases that are inserted into the liturgy of evening prayer before and after the Magnificat in the days leading up to Christmas. They each have their own plainsong – ethereal music that comes to us from somewhere deep inside the mystery of advent. In St…
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Christmas 2.0
Forgive me posting a video two days running. (I’m still quite snuffly, though am hoping to be capable of thought soon). This video is too good not to repost though. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZrf0PbAGSk Thinking of a way of conveying the message that is just too good not to pass on. That’s the central challenge of Christian mission,…
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Acrobats in church
I suspect that we don’t have enough acrobats in church these days. Take a look at this video from the Vatican showing us the way forward. I think that you’ll find that there is something for everyone in this video.
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Cabin Fever
Am getting cabin fever, I think. First it was the snow and then I got a horrible snuffly head cold which has kept me grounded for a couple of days. Have not been able to accomplish terribly much over the last couple of days except to take once again to various lotions and potions. Did…
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Halal Turkey
One of the things that I like about living round here is the diversity – lots of different people living cheek by jowl and by and large, getting on pretty well. Glasgow isn’t a particularly mixed city in comparison to many in the UK, but the square mile that I live in (along with a…
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Sermon preached on 12 December 2010
here's what I said this morning.
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To the theatre in the cinema
Went to the theatre the other night, in the cinema. You know, one of these live relays of theatre in a cinema. It was Hamlet from the Royal National Theatre in London being relayed live, I think, to cinemas in 16 countries. The play was excellent. Very good indeed. What interested me though was how…
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The cross-dressing bearded nun story
Forgive me, but I can’t help but be interested in the cross-dressing bearded nun story which was in the Herald today. The short version of the story is that a minister removed a picture of himself dressed as a nun from facebook, where it was his profile pic, following a complaint from someone belonging to…