• 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 the Anglican Communion such as the Lambeth Conference which gathers all the bishops of the communion together every 10 years, there is sure to be this one item on the agenda.

    Reports are written.

    Debates are had.

    Motions are passed.

    Decisions are made.

    All in relation to this topic which has seemed to dominate absolutely everything we do.

    People (by which I mean me) are bored to the back teeth of hearing about it and yet still we go over and over it all again at every meeting.

    Bishops and archbishops make statements about it. And our concern is matched by similar conversations in other denominations.

    Who would like to hazard a guess at what that topic is?

    Is it wonga?

    Is it assisted dying that Lord Carey has been highlighting rather unhelpfully this weekend?

    Is it sex in general and homosexuality in particular?

    Well, (more…)

5 responses to “Predictions for 2020”

  1. Meg Rosenfeld Avatar
    Meg Rosenfeld

    As an American of the Democratic persuasion, I hope you’re right about the upcoming presidential election . . . and fear that you’re right about the division of the country. Having gay friends who are devout Roman Catholics, I desperately hope you’re right about the Roman church becoming more supportive of LGBT folks. And I guess we can only keep praying about Equal Marriage in the Church of England. Probably it’s just a good idea to keep praying, eh?!

  2. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    I think 6 is a certainty. I hope 8 isn’t. I think Starmer is the better choice.

  3. Robert McLean Avatar
    Robert McLean

    Re No. 5, what is COP?

    1. Kelvin Avatar

      COP is the Conference of the Parties which will be held in Glasgow this year. It is the largest international conference on Climate Change at which governments and many other organisations are present.

  4. Chris Avatar

    I find myself wondering which reason will lie behind 1 – because a referendum won’t be called, or because people will still, for some reason, think it’s a good idea to hang on to Westminster rule. And I agree with 6 and with Rosemary about Starmer – who would seem to have emerged as the front runner.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • Sunday Worship – Radio 4

    You can here this morning’s Sunday worship on Radio 4 by following this link to the BBC iPlayer. Some feedback from those who live in other countries would be welcome. We know that those overseas can hear BBC Radio 4 streamed live but we are uncertain whether the iPlayer works for radio when you are…

  • More Morning Prayer

    There you go. I’ve added some more Daily Prayer bookies to the Daily Prayer Page. You now have Week B (which starts tomorrow) and Week C. Hurrah!

  • Signing the Petition

    Earlier this week when it was fresh and new, I signed the petition which is being presented to the Scottish Parliament which urges the Scottish Government to amend the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 to allow two persons of the same sex to register a civil marriage and a religious marriage if the relevant religious body…

  • Taking Children to Church

    I’m on holiday at the moment, and will be until Friday. This last weekend, I was in Englandshire staying close to one of the places I lived when I was in secondary school. I had a whole new experience of church. I got to do something I’ve never done before – I got to take…