What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • 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…)

2 responses to “E and B”

  1. Martin Ritchie Avatar
    Martin Ritchie

    One of the interesting things about choral evensong is that in some places it can seem like a living tradition that can speak to anyone, whereas in others it can appear to be dry as dust, pompous and irrelevant. What do you think the “method” is that produces a living choral evensong as opposed to an antiquarian one?

    Reply
  2. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    That’s a good question, Martin and I agree, it can be miserable.

    I think that worship tends to take off when those planning it and organising and leading it care more about what we are doing when we worship than in the form in which we worship.

    I suspect that Choral Evensong is not best led by liturgical, musical or prayer book fundamentalists or by those who happen to find this a way of encountering the holy.

    A culture of offering the best we can be to God helps. Good relationships between musicians and clergy help. As usual, clear liturgical books in the hands of the faithful help. And whoever is leading needs not to be frightened of a bit of silence now and then amidst the music.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Previous Posts

  • Ash W 2

    Today has been an excellent Ash Wednesday. A world record turn-out (for Bridge of Allan) of penitents. The Freddie Mercury number during the penitential liturgy went down a storm. An early problem with ash that was too clean was solved by cutting it with charcoal from the thurible. I gave one of the servers the…

  • Dictionary Definition: Collaborative

    1. To work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort. 2. To cooperate treasonably, as with an enemy occupation force in one’s country. ho hum

  • Ash Wednesday

    Teach us to care and not to careTeach us to sit still.

  • Pancakes

    www.anglicansonline.org has quite a funny essay o­n Pancakes written by Brian Reid. It includes this: The two styles of pancakes could be called thick and thin, leavened and unleavened, cakelike or cr?pelike. In England and Ireland and the antipodes, a pancake is as thin as you can make it, and usually rolled up for serving.…