• Christmas in St Mary’s (with a twist at the end)

    Christmas is a time of joy and celebration, and there is perhaps no better place to experience the magic of the season than at St Mary’s Cathedral in the Scottish Episcopal Church. With its stunning architecture and rich history, this beautiful space offers a truly special and meaningful way to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

    One of the highlights of a Christmas service at St Mary’s Cathedral is the music. The cathedral’s choir is known for their beautiful voices and their ability to bring the festive carols to life. The church also features a grand organ, which adds a sense of grandeur and majesty to the service. Whether you’re a fan of traditional carols or more modern hymns, you’re sure to be moved by the beautiful music at St Mary’s Cathedral.

    Another highlight of a Christmas service at St Mary’s Cathedral is the sense of history and tradition. The cathedral dates back to the 19th century and is known for its stunning Gothic architecture. The service itself is filled with rich traditions, such as the lighting of the Advent wreath and the reading of the Christmas story from the Bible. These traditions help to create a sense of awe and wonder that is so fitting for the holiday season.

    But perhaps the most special aspect of a Christmas service at St Mary’s Cathedral is the sense of community and togetherness. As people from all walks of life come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus, there is a feeling of unity and love that is truly special. Whether you’re a lifelong member of the cathedral or a newcomer to the community, you’ll feel welcome and included in the celebration.

    In short, Christmas services at St Mary’s Cathedral in the Scottish Episcopal Church are a truly special and meaningful way to celebrate the holiday season. With their beautiful music, rich traditions, and sense of community, these services offer a chance to experience the magic and wonder of Christmas in a truly special and meaningful way.

    If you’ve made it through this blog post this far and you have a slight sense that there’s something odd about it the you’d be correct. The post above, not in italics wasn’t written by me. It was written by a machine – specifically the ChatGPT bot that has recently been released to the world. You tell  it what you want it to write and it does it.

    This one was generated by the prompt, “Write a blog post about how wonderful Christmas services are at St Mary’s Cathedral in the Scottish Episcopal Church”.

    Now, it doesn’t sound quite like me and it isn’t the most exciting writing there is. Perhaps it is even slightly stilted. But it is a fairly convincing attempt at the problem I gave it to do.

    This technology is going to make all things new. Academia in particular is going to have to change very quickly in the way it assesses students.

    This is disruptive technology. It can be used to do funny things – I could just have easily got it to write the above post in the voice of Donald Trump.

    Thus: “Let me tell you, folks, this place is amazing. The music is absolutely incredible, with the choir singing all of your favorite carols in the most beautiful way. And the organ! Wow, what a sound. It’s truly something to behold…”

    But this isn’t just entertainment. It is something completely and utterly new. Nothing you ever read again comes with a guarantee that it was written by a human being.

    The world is changed. As someone once sent with a telegraph key, “What hath God wrought”?

10 responses to “Sermon for 18 October 2009 – The Whirlwind”

  1. fr dougal Avatar
    fr dougal

    This good thanks.

  2. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    Even among habitually good sermons this one shone.

  3. Stewart Avatar

    Great sermon – sorry I missed it, but surprised you were not celebrating the feast of St Luke.

    1. kelvin Avatar

      The feast of St Luke is today, Monday.

  4. Stewart Avatar

    I am really getting puzzled at to the observence of Saints Days. Following a small straw poll, St Mary’s was the only Anglican Church (checking various friends and websites in Scotland and Englandshire) that transfered St Luke from the recognised date of 18 October to the following day (19 October). the SEC church I attended on Sunday morning was observing St Luke.

    The appearance of various Saints Day during the sundays – after Trinity / after Pentecost / in Ordinary Time (select your prefered term) – has in the past seemed to given us a means every few years to consider these Saints in detail. However the wholesale translation away from the Sunday to my mind means we are losing the richness and inspiration that these days has and can provide.

  5. Stewart Avatar

    Wikipedia entry on Luke the Evangelist.

  6. kelvin Avatar

    We celebrated St Luke with a Eucharist in St Mary’s on the day on which the Scottish Episcopal Church commemorates him. This was 19 October this year. Normally it is 18 October.

    There is no confusion in the Calendar and Lectionary of the SEC. Churches with any particular devotion to the Blessed Doctor can celebrate on the Sunday according to local custom. There is no local custom here to warrant that and no whim of the Provost to do so.

  7. Stewart Avatar

    Then it is a loss to the SEC.

    None of the churches I checked were dedicated or had a particluar devotion to St Luke (including the SEC one I attended).

    What was the reason behind moving this and all other saints days away from the relevant sunday in ordinary time when they fell on a sunday?

  8. kelvin Avatar

    Sunday is more important.

    The rules have not changed since we went through this all before, Stewart. If you kept every saints day on the day, you would barely get Sundays at all.

    Neither the SEC nor St Mary’s can be said to be losing out as we kept both the normal Sunday and St Luke’s day.

  9. RevRuth Avatar

    Great sermon, thanks.

    It is good to know that our cathedrals are keeping the great Feasts on the proper days.

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