• Congratulations

    Craig and Calum

    Congratulations to Craig and Calum, two members of St Mary’s congregation whose Nuptial Mass I conducted yesterday afternoon.

    Very often, the struggle towards equality seems to some people to take on the air of a pitched battle with people shouting their positions over the heads of others. The truth is, it really is an unbottling exercise – opening up a situation to let God’s Spirit make merry with those around.

    Yesterday’s celebrations were like that. People from Anglican, Roman Catholic and Conservative Evangelical (and no doubt other) backgrounds gathered around a fine young couple because they love them and together we saw them make promises to one another that have at their essence all that is holy and all that it is true.

    It was a genuinely joyful day and a wonderful privilege to share it with them.

5 responses to “Silly headline”

  1. Zebadee Avatar
    Zebadee

    The BBC and certain ‘academics’ are only about three hundred years behind the times. Of course the tune IS still being used today to sing this wonderful carol. We only wish that we could be in St Marys on Christmas Day to sing it with you.

  2. Elizabeth Avatar
    Elizabeth

    I remember being very confused the first time I heard the carol sung to a tune that wasn’t On Ilkla’ Moor, and thinking that they did things rather oddly on this charming island.

  3. Tim Avatar

    Well, congratulations to them for actually having had the balls to talk to an academic, if not the brains to make much of the story. That’s half a step up from the bulk of modern journalism.

    Form the article: He said carols – many of which have folk roots –

    Actually, *all* carols have to be a mediaeval (round) dance tune, otherwise they’re merely Christmas hymns (cf Away in a Manger only dating from around 1885). Natch.

  4. chris Avatar

    The Ilkla’ Moor tune has also been sung in the Cathedral of The Isles, in recent years.

  5. kelvin Avatar

    of course it has – and in many a place of good taste.

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