Getting a religious ad “banned” by a company that doesn’t show religious advertisements is evidence not of religious persecution but of the idiocy of the Church of England’s press office.
We should be thanking God that religious (and political) ads are banned in cinemas.
As I read that lament on Sunday, I was singing inside my head the wonderful Tomkins’ setting of the lament. As an alto, I could be accused of bias – the suspensions between the two alto parts are hair-raising in their beauty – but to me nothing can match it. You can hear it here
Oh dear me, yes. Let’s all wear pink and have a celebration.
Your video camera however does not let one get anything like the quality of the voice in space experience of last Sunday. And I write as one not musical.
I think, too, it always would work best for a single male voice, because it is so heavily tied to a single male figure. It is superb writing, superbly put to music.
I don’t want to ‘dis’ your only-too-correct comments on the space between our understanding and that of the Iron age. But I think that two things may offer a little light on how and why we read the succession narrative.
The first is that it is an outstanding piece of writing by any standards at all. The terrible attempt by the lectionary to cut it on Sunday just pointed that up (not the first time I’ve wondered what the editors of it thought they were doing). Good story has its own power.
Secondly, one has to ask who commissioned this account and why. I think the answer has to be Solomon’s court, as ’twere – thus not only does one have to explain why Solomon succeeded one also has to paint a very flawed but still in some ways great David. A man one might be glad to have as a father, and a man who it would be possible to offer a better alternative to. The last King, if a relative, should neither be too good or too bad. QED.
Oh my word! Why have I never heard this before? It is glorious and I am in love with it. There is absolutely nothing like a good lament. Dido’s Lament had better look out.
Off to the Memorial Chapel of the University of Glasgow yesterday afternoon for the ordination of a third new deacon for the diocese – this time someone from St Mary’s congregation, now the Rev Kevin Francis. The chapel was packed and there was an interesting mix of people from church and folk from the University.…
I’ve been in church for so very many hours this weekend that I’ve got no words left. However, you might enjoy listening to me speaking unto the nation on the wireless this morning. This link should take you to the BBC iPlayer. I wasn’t awake when this went out at 6.30 am. Either it was…
This part of Scotland is a lucky place at the moment – we’ve just made someone else a deacon. With another one tomorrow, that’s three new deacons in the space of 10 days or so. That’s a lot of sacramental service suddenly on offer. Today is was the turn of Liz O’Ryan from St John’s…
The world does seem to be sharply divided sometimes between people who enjoy change and people who are frightened by it. It is possible that things are not so black and white when you drill down into individual attitudes. Some of us may embrace change sometimes and be threatened by it at others. However, at…
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