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Unpopular things I think and say #2
I think that people who are going to be ordained should have a degree in theology. (Not a one year Masters, either. I mean the equivalent of a Scottish BD). This week, there are a lot of people in the US who are sitting an examination. Its the week of the year when the General…
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Unpopular things I think and say #1
The trouble is, I sometimes think things that other people don’t think. Then when I say them out loud there is trouble. One obvious example is the inner grumpetiness that I feel when I hear the Kings College Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve. I’ve already alluded to that once and Chris has kindly…
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Grateful thanks
Grateful thanks to all who turned up this morning for the decommissioning of the Christmas trees, (yes, we had two!) and for the taking down of the lights and clearing of the windowsills. No video this time, but it is worth reporting that the video of the decorations going up has received the second highest…
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Predictions for 2010
Tricky things, predictions, but here goes: The General Election will result in a hung parliament which Westminster politicians will hate, but which might be what the country wants and needs. There will be several new bishops who happen to be gay in the Anglican Communion by the end of the year. The Anglican Communion will…
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Happy New Year
Just back from a lovely service which celebrated both the new year and also today’s feast day. Today is the Feast of the Holy Name, which is what used to be called the Feast of the Circumcision. Sure enough, eight days on from Christmas, Jesus had to be named and we gathered together today for…
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What am I listening to?
Oh, thank you for asking. I’ve been listening to a lot of choral music as I bought a nice boxed set before Christmas and have been working through it. Its the Harmonia Mundi Sacred Music set which has some lovely recordings in it. (The Rene Jacobs recording of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio is a Christmas Cracker…
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China
Woke myself up at 2.30 am this morning to say some prayers for Akmal Shaikh, the British man who was executed at that time in China. The whole story about this case is horrible. Few people will want to have much sympathy for anyone caught carrying heroin. However no-one commenting on this case seems to…
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Boxing Day
Today began with a trip to church to celebrate St Stephen with a Eucharist. People sometimes ask me what I do over Christmas. The answer is always, go to church a lot and take a lot of services. They sometimes look downcast as though I’m missing out on something. The truth is I can’t imagine…
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Christmas Day Sermon 2009
You learn new things about Christmas with every one that passes you by. I learn new things about how to keep these festivals each year. One Christmas builds on another. Perhaps we learn more about the God who came into the world each year that we live in it. About a month ago, we started…
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Midnight Mass Sermon
God comes to us at night. Midnight is that magical hour, when one day turns into another. Midnight mass, which we keep right now is that magical time when the world is changed, changed completely from one world into another. God comes to us at night. The shepherds were doing their tough job out on…