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Sermon preached on Radio 4 for Feast of St Mungo
He quite took me by surprise as I walked down the high street. A friend of mine. Wearing a beanie hat and a beard. A sweatshirt and a casual jacket. But holding out his hand, on which was perched a robin. I was absolutely sure it was someone I know. He looked just like…
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Predictions for 2019
The UK will begin leaving the EU on 29 March 2019. It will take 10 years to leave, 10 years for it to be evident to the whole country how stupid it was and 10 years to get back in, with none of our current special measures. (Hope this prediction doesn’t come to pass but…
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Review of Predictions for 2018
On 1 January I made predictions for the coming year. Time to see how I got on. 1 – General Election in the second half of the year. Well, no we didn’t and the government linger on. Not right 2 – “…and as the polls close, our exit poll predicts that the Conservative Party is…
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10 Correct Opinions About Christmas Carols
Public service announcement. The following opinions are all correct. The first carol on Christmas Day should always be Christians Awake Salute the Happy Morn. It should be sung lustily and with the last line repeated. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night may be sung to almost any tune. It must not, however, be sung…
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Always the Inkeeper – a sermon for Christmas Day 2018
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. I, was always the innkeeper. I’m not sure how many times I was in a nativity. Nor am I sure how it happened. But somehow, I was always the innkeeper. And the innkeeper doesn’t get the best of lines. “I’m sorry, there is no…
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Love means love – a sermon for Midnight Mass 2018
It was the middle of the night. It was dark – the night black as pitch beyond the cold bright lights which shone in our faces. And it was surprisingly cold. Crossing the border should have been easy. But they made us all get off the train and queue up to have our passports stamped.…
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Here comes the Sun
The solstice is past. Here comes the sun.
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Sermon preached on 9 December 2018 – People Look East!
[Apologies for the poor audio in the video this week] “People Look East!” the prophet Baruch commanded in our first reading. And he wasn’t talking about Edinburgh. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look towards the east” says…
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Whither Mission?
It is the long-standing tradition of the Scottish Episcopal Church to dedicate its prayer on St Andrew’s Day to one particular thing. As it happens, it isn’t praying for Scotland though no doubt people have done that on this day for quite a while too. I know this will come as a bit of a…
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Dedication Sunday Sermon – Responding to Antisemitism
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Religion changes over time. How to run a congregation changes over time. The things that you need to do change over time. As I flicked through the readings for this morning, I found myself thinking first about Jacob dreaming…