What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Sermon preached for Lent 1, 2013

    Here’s the video.


    And here is the text:

    One of my favourite stories about St Mary’s is one that I’ve heard several versions of. It concerns one of my predecessors as Provost here.

    He had been here for a couple of months and thought that things were going OK. And then suddenly a letter appeared from a member of the congregation. (It may be that person is still here and just about to write to me in similar terms, so I’m taking a risk in telling this story).

    The gist of the letter was that its author listed the many ways in which the worship of the congregation had changed in those three months.

    See here, the letter writer wrote – see all the changes that you’ve made.

    And in the letter there was a list. In the version of the story I like the best there were 90 points listed but I don’t know whether we should allow a little bit of exaggeration in the telling.

    And the Provost in question had to confess (more…)

16 responses to “General Convention Press Briefing”

  1. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    People who run cathedrals in the Scottish Episcopal Church are called Provosts, in England and in the US and in much of the rest of the Anglican world they are called Deans.

    For a while, old cathedrals in England had Deans and new cathedrals had Provosts. They made them all deans a few years ago.

    In Scotland we also use the word Provost for the civic leader who would be called a Mayor in a lot of other places.

    Deans in Anglican Dioceses in Scotland are similar to Archdeacons in England or Canons to the Ordinary in the states.

    Reply
  2. susan s. Avatar
    susan s.

    Thanks… So is calling you a dean a forgivable sin? Is it a step up or down for a provost to become a dean?

    Reply
  3. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    Calling me a dean is an understadable mistake. If hierarchy matters, I rank behind the bishop and the dean at diocesan functions. I rank behind the bishop alone at cathedral functions.

    Usually I find that such hierarchical niceties have been worked out as a result of disputes of rather a long time ago.

    Reply
  4. susan s. Avatar
    susan s.

    Thanks, again. I enjoy reading your blog.

    Reply
  5. brad evans Avatar
    brad evans

    “Evangelical Faith, Apostolic Orders(?)-Increasingly Irrelevant Organization”

    Reply
  6. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    Bless you, Brad.

    Reply

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