• On the List

    front

    I got back to Glasgow last night just as the Pink List was being published by the Independent on Sunday and was thrilled to see my name there again – I’ve been listed for the last couple of years.

    Even better is that I’m not the only cleric on it this year – Jeffrey John and Richard Coles are also there.

    I am, as before, amazed by the company that I keep on the list – this time more diverse and a better gender-balance. The place of LGBT people in the world is changing. Too slowly for me, but it is changing with each passing year.

    There are plenty of people who wish I’d shut up about LGBT issues and that is not limited to those who disagree with me. The Pink List is a rare moment of affirmation and I’m hugely moved, as in previous years, to find myself upon it.

One response to “For the Bible Tells Me So”

  1. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    Personally, I’ve never had a problem with churches – my last church knew my son as a person and if anybody did have reservations they were not going to voice them about one of their own to one of their own – most members of the congregation were totally OK as one would expect.

    What I have occasionally had problems with: the occasional Christian saying something which made me yearn for a pick axe, like ‘but one day we will cure homosexuals’ (over my dead body do you cure my son of being himself. Take this literally for the good of your own health.)
    ‘Most of this congregation are wholly accepting of gay Christians. Of course I can see it is more difficult if it is your own child’. (Only different in so far as it is better, sonny)

    It should not be an issue. Except perhaps outside the church. I clean for a lovely elderly couple. Mrs is eagerly awaiting further news of my outfit for son’s civil union in the summer – she lives in terror of Mr saying something crashingly tactless. I wish I could say something to reassure her that I know Mr is just about as tactful as I am, and he is forgiven beforehand. No offence meant and none taken as ’twere.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Previous Posts

  • What am I listening to?

    What is the Provost of the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin listening to? Oh, thank you for asking – it has been a while since you enquired. Communards – Don’t Leave Me This Way Zelenka – Lamentations of Jeremiah Scissor Sisters – I don’t feel like dancin’ Ella Fitzgerald (with Paul Smith at…

  • Sermon 11 February 2007 – Blessings and Woes

    One of the most interesting characters that I have met in my ministry was a Jewish professor in one of the universities that I have worked in. He was often in the chapel and used to proclaim that he was fascinated with Jesus, but could never be a Christian because of what we had made…

  • Liturgy Classes

    I remember only two things from my liturgy classes from my training. I learned a lot more from our liturgical formation as ordinands, and I think that is generally what was intended at the time. However, the two things that I remember from the classes were both things that Fr Ian P said. Firstly, he…

  • Amnesty International

    The local Amnesty International group meets in St Mary’s every Thursday evening. Last night was the first chance that I have had to pop in and say hello since I arrived in St Mary’s last year. It was good to see the group alive and well. Letter writing campaigns were in full swing and several…