-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Evening Prayer booklets for Christmas
There are now evening prayer booklets for the Christmas Season available here and on the Daily Prayer page. If there are any mistakes, do let me know.
-
Decorating the Cathedral
My very grateful thanks to everyone who joined in decorating the Cathedral after the morning service yesterday in time for the Carol Service. Its always quite a fun time. The austerity of Advent gives way to the glory of Christmas. To all who participated – flower arrangers, bauble hangers, light festooners, Christmas tree fairies, lighting…
-
Sol Invictus
As I sit here in Glasgow in front of the lightbox, it seems hard to understand why everyone does not celebrate the solstice. For those wanting to jig about in celebration at the precise moment, I think that the warmth and light begin their majestic return to Glasgow at 17:47 today. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utg9inWsSlI
-
Last Sunday's Sermon
I’ve had a huge amount of bother posting videos recently. My usual video host hipcast seems no longer to be working. So, I’m trying out a new host, vimeo. If it works, it may well be time to shift to vimeo and pay up for a premium account. Anyway, there is now video of Akma…
-
Swedish Advent Hymn
I feel the need of something Swedish to get me through Advent. So here is a hymn. Its usually sung in stately and grand fashion in Sweden on Advent 1, which is rather more of a thing there than it is here. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmwcm38rE8w] The words are, if I remember my liturgical Swedish correctly, Hosanna, blessed…
-
Silly headline
You don’t get sillier that the shock revelation on the BBC Website this morning: Popular carols ‘have folks roots’ Its not exactly a Man Bites Dog news story, is it? The shocker revelation is that the carol While Shepherd’s Watched was once sung to the tune [Cranbrook] that people know as On Ilkla’ Moor. Hardly…
-
Evensong for Advent Three
After a busy morning (two Eucharists and wedding) it was lovely to be able to take a backseat and just be at Choral Evensong without taking any leading role. Jesus Christ the Apple Tree made me cry without quite knowing why. I remembered blogging about it last year at about this time and have just…