What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Sunday Trading and the Churches

    Dear the Churches of England

    If you campaign against Sunday trading you are going to seem to the People of England to be as bad as you are. Campaign instead for the rights of shop workers of all religions who work at all times and the People of England might be more convinced. If you take on the Sunday trading thing you are going to lose anyway.

    Here in Scotland things have been much more liberal for a long time. We did have quite strict liquor laws which meant you couldn’t buy booze on a Sunday morning anywhere. This meant you couldn’t buy an emergency bottle of wine for communion on a Sunday morning in case it led to drunkenness, which always seemed to me to be a little odd. Even this law has been relaxed now.

    Seriously – the fight against Sunday trading isn’t one that churches can win and look sensible or fair. Please don’t make the rest of us look foolish.

    Remember the Sabbath day and what it was about and keep what it was about holy. It was about making sure workers got rest. It was about making sure there was time for leisure. It was about making sure that there were opportunities for worship. Churches should campaign for all those things. In multicultural Britain these things do not coalesce any more in the idea of one shared day off a week which is inevitably on a Sunday.

    Dear churches of England and the Church of England in particular – pick your battles wisely.

    Thank you for your attention.
    KELVIN

3 responses to “Egypt”

  1. Tony Coxon Avatar
    Tony Coxon

    I, too, find what you say disturbing. Keep up your comments

    Reply
  2. Hermano David | Brother Dah•veed Avatar
    Hermano David | Brother Dah•veed

    Pope Shenoudah appeared on Egyptian TV early this week asking the protesters to stop. He wanted them to accept the word of Mubarak that he would not run for reelection and all go home.

    One has to think that he is afraid of what could become of the Copts, and the Anglicans and others for that matter, if Mubarak’s henchmen are not in place to hold off the advance of radical Islam.

    Forced to choose the lesser of two evils.

    Reply
  3. pax58 Avatar
    pax58

    David,
    I have a Coptic friend at work, she reminded me that 10% of the Epyptian population is Coptic and has lived in a delicate balance with the Muslim majority for centuries. When one looks at what happened to the churches in Iraq after the strong hand of a dictator was lifted it does make sense for the Coptic folks to worry about the future. However, Egypt may not be Iraq and we could see a governent which may be a mix of secular/Islamic which does provide protection for religious minorities. Only time will tell.

    Reply

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