• Pilgrimage Days – Who on Earth Are You?

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    I’m looking forward to hosting two Diocesan Pilgrimage Days at St Mary’s on 20 and 27 February 2016 exploring the theme “Who on earth are you?”

    It is difficult to think of a better week for exploring our identity as Episcopalians but it isn’t going to be all about the Columba Declaration. We’ll be focussing on the things that we enjoy about our faith and the things that make us cherish the Scottish Episcopal Church as our place to live out a Christian identity.

    The day will include conversation amongst the pilgrims about where they have come from and things that inspire them. There will be a forum conversation with me about why I am an Episcopalian and how I came to value belonging to this church. In the afternoon there will be an Any Questions panel. Throughout the day there will be gentle worship and a chance to enjoy being together in the cathedral.

    If anyone wants to join it, all they need to do is bring a packed lunch – tea and coffee will be provided.

    The days begin at 10.00 and will end by 16.00.

    If you are coming, it would be helpful for you to let us know – please fill in the form on the cathedral website – www.thecathedral.org.uk

     

8 responses to “The End of Civilization As We Know It”

  1. Kimberly Avatar

    This is disaster. What will I do on my day off??

    I may have to consider returning to America after all.

  2. marion Avatar
    marion

    I worked for Border Books for 10 months Kelvin. Helped clean and stock those now empty shelves. To see the store like that is awful. I love the feel and smell of a new book, and the idea of using an electronic book fills me with horror. To browse slowly, and then to make my choice of reading material is so much better and satisfying than ordering on line, and quicker.

  3. kelvin Avatar

    I suspect we must cherish our public libraries far more than we have done hitherto if we wish to retain the browsing experience.

  4. kimberly Avatar

    I have tried to cherish my public library, but it is so full of computers, and the only place to read/write/ think is a round table by the door, so I had to retreat to the Beanscene instead.

    For those of us who don’t live near the Mitchell, where are the good ‘local’ libraries?

  5. Kelvin Avatar
    Kelvin

    Well, I know I am spoilt by having the largest public reference library in Europe on my doorstep.

    What I meant by cherishing local libraries was probably that we need to tell those who fund them what we want from them.

    There is a consultation going on in England about it, and Rachel Cooke writes about it in a recent Observer.

  6. Justin Avatar

    The closure of the Glasgow branch is sad news indeed. The Fort Kinnaird branch in Edinburgh has been declining for a while, but even a year or so ago Borders in Glasgow was a great bookstore.

    Apparently Borders has been starved of funds over the past few years, forced to promote potboilers to make up for lack of investment. There’s some hope for good high street book stores if you look at Blackwells in Edinburgh, which I think has got even better in the last couple of years. And, further afield, Foyles in London: they refurbished recently and it’s just fantastic. Models for the future, hopefully.

  7. kelvin Avatar

    I agree that Foyles’s refurbishment is a triumph. Howevrer, I still think that the idea of the big bookshop is probably going to be so rare that it will be like Wembley Stadium or Edinburgh Zoo. Of national note rather than local significance.

  8. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    The noise level in my local library is such that I cannot think at all – and I’m used to a noisy family around me. In Borders today – incredibly depressing. It was so so much better than Waterstones. But Waterstones is better than nothing. But then again, I use Glasgow University Library more than anything else.

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