- Following recent revelations, this will be the year that former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey finally shuts up. Expect no silly press releases on the eve of Church of England Synod. (From Carey anyway).
- The Columba Declaration recently leaked to the press will not in fact be adopted unamended by both the Church of Scotland General Assembly in May and by the Church of England General Synod in February.
- Solid vote in favour of first reading of legislation for removal of definition of marriage from the canons of the Scottish Episcopal Church opening the way towards a final vote in 2017.
- The Anglican Communion will move back towards being a fellowship of autonomous churches following the Primates’ Conference in January. Justin Welby will do the right thing for the wrong reasons. (ie he will accept the inevitable loosening of ties that stems from the global domination fantasies of his predecessors but not speak up for LGBT friendly churches).
- The SNP will win a landslide in the Holyrood Election. There will be UKIP representation in Holyrood for the first time.
- The SNP will continue to work for their preferred outcome in the European Union referendum – an overall majority in the UK in favour of staying in, a massive majority in Scotland for staying in and a majority in England for leaving the EU.
- The Democrats will retain the White House.
- Jeremy Corbyn will still be Labour Party leader by the end of 2016 and become a little more popular within the Labour Party the longer he is there. The Labour Party will still seem unelectable at the end of the year. No major defections along the way. (There’s nowhere to go).
- A successful cyber terrorist attack on a major Western financial institution. (It is only a matter of time).
- Amateur drone crash causing loss of life.
- 3D printed food experiments in restaurants.
- More major news outlets closing down the comments sections on their websites as open comments become unmanagable.
20 responses to “But when is Harvest? Please, please, when is it?”
-
Knitted food patterns…
http://www.knitfish.com/12/ -
I really appreciated the Lammastide sermon and service. But I’m not sure if I said so at the time – probably not!
I’m reminded how important it is to share appreciation as well as (more than!) criticism. Perhaps a new year’s resolution in the making.
-
Harvest.
Autumn is here
and there is no harvest
The trees have leaves but no fruit
The wheat has ears but no grain
and if you should return
I wouldn’t know
how to begin to explainI would offer you a gift
but of all the things I own
all I have is my sin
all I have that’s mine aloneSpare me – I pray
another year or two
if you will extend your hand
I will fill a harvest basket for youI have laboured in these fields
among this bracken, broom and whin
and a lifetime to understand
all you wanted was my sin. -
Ah, the Grauniad! No – I only see that when I’m in a primary school staff-room, and never had the time to open it.
But cute pattern – might be the next addition to the Choir dog collection. -
Over here in the U.S. we have our national Thanksgiving Day (when very few actually go to church) designated to celebrate the harvest, peace and an end to civil strife, and general thanksgiving. Perhaps the UK needs to take a page from the U.S. and Canada and just make it an official government holiday!
-
But what I was taught in school was that the first Thanksgiving was held in imitation of the traditional Harvest celebrations back home in England. Perhaps these were not actual church services? Anyhow I’m now confused!
-
Incidentally, from a sample of 13 comments made on my photo of a harvest display in church, I deduce people’s expectations include:
a) it’s long-life products, tinned or pasta, that one brings
b) giving them to old dears who don’t really need them
c) it’s something relegated to childhood memoriesUp to you where you draw the churchy/non-churchy line amongst that lot. Maybe it means there’s a *lot* of scope for a message of mission (to folks who normally exist outside the door) and ethics?
Previous Posts
-
A tale of two meetings
I had two meeting scheduled today. One in Edinburgh at General Synod Office this afternoon and one in Glasgow in my office this evening. Both were threatened by the great storm that has hit Scotland today. (Forgive me for delighting in the fact that the online commentariate have dubbed the storm Hurricane Bawbag). The first…
-
Three Best Ways to Support Equal Marriage
Make your own response to the Scottish Government’s Consultation. (Using the Equality Network’s website it takes 5 mins) Get your friends and family to do the same. (Tell them it is urgent – the consultation closes on 9 December) Support clergy and congregations who have stood up for Marriage Equality.
-
Same-Sex Marriage Consultation Responses
The Vestry met on Monday evening and in the course of its business discussed how to respond to the Scottish Government Consultation on Civil Partnerships and Same-Sex Marriage. The full response is available here. This is the way in which the first question on Religious Civil Partnerships was answered: Question: Do you agree that legislation…
-
All the Livelong Day
Very commonly, people find it hard to get a handle on how St Mary’s hangs together and I suspect it is because of days like today. No-one gets to see everything that is going on. The organisation of it all is a series of interlocking systems which, by some miracle, mostly work well together. I…
Leave a Reply