What is in Kelvin's Head?

A Preface for Ash Wednesday

13/02/2021

The following preface was written to mark the beginning of Lent and reflects the language and character of the Lenten material in the Scottish Liturgy 1982 and Daily Prayer of the Scottish Episcopal Church

Dear Friends in Christ, it is the custom of Christian people to prepare to mark the time of Christ’s passion and resurrection by a season of penitence and fasting.

The church calls each of us during these forty days to repent of all that causes harm to ourselves, harm to our earthly dwelling place and harm to our relationship with God.

By carefully keeping these days, Christians take to heart the call to repentance and the assurance of forgiveness proclaimed in the gospel, and so grow in faith and devotion. In turning our hearts towards God, we discover anew the boundless grace of God.

For God will help us to create beauty even within the turmoil of this chaotic world and will help us to gather a harvest of joy and gladness from lives of sorrow and care. Today and every day, God calls the wandering exile home.

We are invited therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy word.

9 responses to “David's Lamentation – Sermon for 9 August 2009”

Muriel

09/08/2009

Thank you very much for your very moving rendition of David’s Lamentation this morning in between the two readings. You were in excellent voice. I am surprised there are (as yet) no more comments but I am glad that the video held in there until your song was ended.
I will be putting in on my new IPod once I have bought it and,more importantly, got to grips with it.
A haunting and memorable moment……

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susan s.

10/08/2009

Thank you for posting this Lamentation. As Muriel says, haunting and memorable. If ever I get to Glasgow again I can come to church and hear you in person.

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RosemaryHannah

10/08/2009

It not only moved me to tears (not that hard) – it raised the hairs on the back of my arms – which is just about vanishingly rare. Stunning does not do justice to it. Just how profoundly the congregation were affected was heard in the quality of the silence which fell afterwards.

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Sarah SSM

11/08/2009

Thank you very much for this sermon and for the music accompanying it.

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Jimmy

12/08/2009

Considering the machinations of our leaders over the last few years, the accounts of David’s life are quite up to date.
In our hearts and in our political and social structures we are no better than the people then and we have not moved on.
Hypocricy at home and exploitation abroad is not my idea of an improved mankind or world.
There is not one person in this world who does not need to get on their knees with psalm 51 in front of them.

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kelvin

12/08/2009

Yes, someone said to me on Sunday that they did not think we had moved on at all. However, I think we have.

Clearly the whole world hasn’t moved on at the same pace or to the same place. However, I’d rather live in the UK with all its faults and failings than live in Burma or Zimbabwe or Afghanistan.

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Grandmère Mimi

12/08/2009

The lamentation is beautifully done, Kelvin.

I’m with your parishioner who said that we have not come so very far from the times of David.

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Aghaveagh

12/08/2009

Simply wonderful.

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Maureen (McK)

16/08/2009

I loved the lamentation, Kelvin, having never heard it before. The sermon was very good, too. Thanks

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