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Prayer for Flight MH17
It would appear from news report that are still breaking that there is a very strong likelihood that the Malaysian plane which has crashed in the Ukraine has been brought down deliberately by someone as yet unknown but connected with the conflict that rages in that part of the world. It is one of those…
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Pride Meeting Point – A Correction
This coming Saturday there will be a Pride march in Glasgow. There will be a gathering of Scottish Episcopalians (and friends) marching together in glad array. Last week I announced that we would meet at the southern end of the Wiggly Bridge (which is the Tradeston Pedestrian Bridge), which is not the Squinty Bridge (which…
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Mixed feelings about the Church of England vote on bishops
I’ve very mixed feelings about the vote that has just taken place in the Church of England Synod regarding the question of whether that church should allow women to be able to made bishops. On the one hand, I know some of the women who are likely to be made bishops and I know the…
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Sermon – the parable of the sower
The church is completely obsessed with one topic. Whenever you go to church meetings there is one thing that dominates everything and has done so for at least the last 15 or 20 years. We talk about it endlessly. Whether it is local regional chapters, diocesan synod, General Synod or even the meetings of…
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Lord Carey is wrong (and not for the first time)
The ability of Lord Carey to dominate the headlines during the synod of the Church of England is something that is a wonder of modern ecclesiastical communications. If I were working in the communications machine of the C of E, I’d despair of the former archbishop’s ability to step into the limelight just when one…
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Where to get started with the Bible
Reading the Bible isn’t optional for Christians – it is part of what makes us who we are. However, there’s no doubt that some people find it daunting and don’t know where to start. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend starting at the beginning and working through to the end. It starts OK with some interesting and…
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In praise of Easyjet staff on a very bad flight home
I know it isn’t often that you read something in praise of an airline after a particularly difficult journey. However, yesterday I thought that Easyjet did pretty well with a horribly fraught journey from Alicante to Glasgow. I was travelling back from a retreat at a Jesuit retreat house in Spain which I try to…
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Fireworks for the Feast of St John
Today is the Feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist. (We only celebrate three birthdays in the church calendar – John the B, his cousin Jesus and Mary, Mother of Our Lord and Aunty of John the B). I’ve been on retreat for the last week – something I last did 2 years…
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Peter Tatchell coming to St Mary’s
I’m delighted to announce that Peter Tatchell is coming to St Mary’s next month to give a human rights lecture and also to be a forum speaker in conversation with me. Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell will be visiting St Mary’s in July. He will give a lecture on Human Rights and the Commonwealth the…
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10 Things to Remember about Corpus Christi
It is on Thursday 19 June 2014 this year. It is always on a Thursday. It is one of the most extravagent and lovely religious festivals that human beings have devised. Thomas Aquinas is said to have invented it to bring the focus back to Jesus Christ in churches which were rather keen on his…