What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • 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 moments where the world looks on with horror at something utterly terrible.

    I find myself struggling to know how to pray in circumstances like this but prayer must be found somehow. How to form a prayer for Flight MH17? Something prompts me to think of St Adamnan of Iona – one of those saints whom more people should know about. He is most famous for writing a biography of St Columba but should be far better known for his Law of the Innocents. It was one of the first attempts to lessen the savagery of warfare by getting those fighting to commit to leave the innocent untouched by conflict. Adamnan’s witness shines like a beacon from the Celtic lands. A product of what we now know are Ireland and Scotland, his influence is with us today and his message is entwined with modern diplomacy, concepts of human rights and the work of all who strive for peace.

    So Adamnan of Iona, prompt our prayers….

    Eternal God
    for all those killed this day,
    for those killed in warfare,
    for those who work for peace,
    for those killed on flight MH17,
    for those who work for justice,
    for those who are innocent who are killed in the conflicts of others,
    for diplomats, peacemakers, politicians and opinion formers in all places of danger.
    Lord in your mercy,
    Hear our prayer.

    , ,

9 responses to “The Syrian Lesbian Blogger Story”

  1. Eddie Green Avatar
    Eddie Green

    You are real?!

    I am very tempted to produce a spoof blog post ‘outing’ various Christian bloggers. I suspect at least one of them actually is a Syrian lesbian …

    Reply
  2. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    Oddly enough I was talking to somebody last week who struggled to believe it. I kind-of basked in your reflected glory.

    Reply
  3. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    Amusingly, The Times claimed that the sapphic poetry was, in restrospect, something of a giveaway! I’ve never deliberately read a lot of lesbian poetry, but the dude’s attempts seemed plausible to me (in contrast to his using Scottishisms like “wee small hours”)

    Reply
  4. Blair Robertson Avatar
    Blair Robertson

    Kelvin! You’re an out gay priest …. you never said!

    Reply
    1. kelvin Avatar
      kelvin

      Ain’t no further out to go, Blair.

      Reply
  5. Beth Avatar
    Beth

    And yet the press insist on telling us, every time they write about you, that you have come out. As if it’s a shocking new development.

    Reply
    1. kelvin Avatar
      kelvin

      I know. It must be because nothing else much is happening in the world, Beth.

      Reply
  6. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    Michael Stipe went through a period of being outed by the UK press every two years or so for over a decade; you are, at least, in good company 😉

    Reply
  7. Scottish Roundup

    […] politics were on Kevin Holdsworth’s mind too after a spate of news stories suggested that Queen Victoria was right when she stated that […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply

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

Previous Posts

  • Sermon

    Here is last Sunday's sermon, which one or two people have been asking for. The Gospel reading that I have just read contains within it something of a conundrum. There is a hidden puzzle in it. An embedded surprise. We are reading just at the start of Mark’s gospel – the first of the gospels…

  • Flyposting for Jesus

    To the University of Glasgow yesterday for a seminar in the theology department. One of the questions we were looking at was, “Who owns clergy bodies?” (Answers on a postcard, please). The other one was about whether churches attitudes to same-sex couples inhibits people’s human rights. In in dealing with these questions, I was quite…

  • Primates Meeting Communique

    The Primates of the Anglican Communion have been meeting this week in Egypt. Their communique can be read here. I see also that they have been hobnobbing with Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Church. Just before being ordained, I spent some time in Egypt, including a very memorable and enjoyable evening at one of…

  • 2009-02-01 Kelvin Holdsworth

    Here is the sermon from this morning. (Note that I've been having technical problems for the last week or two and getting the sermons off one of the two video cameras has not been succesful). I want, this morning, simply to say a couple of things about the feast day which we are celebrating this…