• Go! England and Wales! Go! Go! Go!

    It is a big day for those working towards more equal marriage law in the UK today. The second reading of the Bill which would allow gay couples to wed in England and Wales.

    I’ve been in touch with Ann McKechin my local MP to check she is supporting it and am delighted to report she is.

    And this isn’t a simple West Lothian question either – I’m one of her constituents. If I wanted to marry someone from Englandshire I might well want to get married there.

    Indeed, I might want to get married in a parish church there.

    But we will come to that later.

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?

  2. kelvin Avatar

    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.

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