• Sermon preached for Lent 1, 2013

    Here’s the video.


    And here is the text:

    One of my favourite stories about St Mary’s is one that I’ve heard several versions of. It concerns one of my predecessors as Provost here.

    He had been here for a couple of months and thought that things were going OK. And then suddenly a letter appeared from a member of the congregation. (It may be that person is still here and just about to write to me in similar terms, so I’m taking a risk in telling this story).

    The gist of the letter was that its author listed the many ways in which the worship of the congregation had changed in those three months.

    See here, the letter writer wrote – see all the changes that you’ve made.

    And in the letter there was a list. In the version of the story I like the best there were 90 points listed but I don’t know whether we should allow a little bit of exaggeration in the telling.

    And the Provost in question had to confess (more…)

9 responses to “Jane Russell RIP”

  1. fr dougal Avatar
    fr dougal

    She had politics?

  2. Kelvin Holdsworth Avatar

    I believe she described herself as “a teetotal, mean-spirited, right-wing, narrow-minded, conservative Christian bigot.”

    Any more questions, John?

    (Apart from where one might find flesh coloured swimming trunks?)

  3. fr dougal Avatar
    fr dougal

    Well, at least she was honest – and by now she knows she was wrong!

  4. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    Not just the flesh colour but the little dark band on them which is – quite distracting.

  5. kelvin Avatar

    I wondered whether the little dark band was sewn on in order to show, for the avoidance of doubt, that they were in fact wearing something.

  6. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    I think we have to admit the little band does rather more than draw attention to their being to some degree dressed.

  7. kelvin Avatar

    I think its a curious visual paradox. It makes them appear dressed on the one hand and quite undressed on the other.

  8. RevRuth Avatar

    Oh I see!This wasn’t really about Jane Rusell at all…

  9. Kelvin Avatar

    Pay attention, Mother. Pay attention.

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