- It is on Thursday 19 June 2014 this year.
- It is always on a Thursday.
- It is one of the most extravagent and lovely religious festivals that human beings have devised.
- Thomas Aquinas is said to have invented it to bring the focus back to Jesus Christ in churches which were rather keen on his mother.
- It is about gazing in wonder – and we don’t do that nearly enough.
- Our Lord himself comes and wanders amongst his people – just like in real life!
- Abraham (as Bishop Kevin was always wont to say) would have understood this feast
- We scatter flower petals hither and yon to make a suitable pathway for God to come amongst us
- It smells. Lovely.
- The service takes place at 7.30 pm in St Mary’s on Thursday evening – please bring flower petals to the sacristy by 7 pm if you can
8 responses to “Deck the hair…”
-
Out of interest, is there a proper churchy rule or convention on the right time for Christmas trees to go up? Don’t know if the grumpiness in your post is personal or praepostorial
-
A properly churchy time for the Christmas tree to go up is at Chrismas. i.e. after the fourth Sunday of Advent and in time for the Midnight Mass.
Grumpiness about Christmas in October is natural and appropriate, surely.
-
On a sliding scale of grumpiness which is worse, harumph or bah humbug?[PS M and S had hot cross buns in their bakery today]
-
Ah, Kelvin…….. I wonder, is there a link between the demoralising ‘Facebook’ notices bewailed in your last post and your enticing sentiments expressed in this ?
Perhaps you need to create a little sunshine to tempt them – a little progressive development of the fly-fishing technique, the swish and flick of the wrist, the fleeting glimpse of temptation just enough in sight to, er, arouse interest……
Maybe your own bedecked seasonal tree (call it an ‘Advent Tree’ to thwart the Christmas Tree Traditionalists – thereby launching yourself as a trend-setter) – such tree selected and styled with eagerness in longing anticipation of future festivities……..
(You could call it ‘forward planning par excellence’, even, to gain bonus brownie points and thwart critics)…..
Then, perchance, the ‘Facebook Fanatics’ may clamour to, er, beat a path to your door ?
(Tho……. more to the point……. would you honestly be wanting them to ?……….is that really where Everyman finds his bosom buddies ?)
PS. Put your dazzling Advent Tree prominently in your window and WE’ll all come round so’s you’re not lonely – how’s that for a Gloom-Buster to tweak the morale, eh ?
-
I think that facebook is just another meeting place and similar patterns of community seem to play out there though sometimes at a faster rate than in face to face communication. Certainly, the flirting, fighting and flummery as well as thoughtful the slow conversation that I recognise from off-line communication, is all present there too.
Would I want to entice those who would be enticed by early Christmas trees, albeit dressed up in another name.
I’d rather not.
[BTW Anne – three Harumphs certainly trump a single Bah Humbug]
-
I think it is just attention seeking.
-
Your new hair looks lovely incidently. Am sure you’re turning heads at that clergy conference.
-
Ryan, your faith in my hair is almost unbearably touching. At this clergy conference, however, it was trumped by the hair of the Rector of St Margaret’s, Newlands.
He came to the conference whilst his hair did not, his having been shaved completely bald the day before.
Previous Posts
-
Spirituality of the everyday
Fiona asked me some good questions on my previous post about Morning Prayer. She asked me about how to use the material that I’d provided. Note firstly, by the way that I’ve already updated the pdf file with version 2 as I had made some mistakes in the earlier one. I’d left too many antiphons…
-
The Advent Conspiracy
[youtube:http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU] Bet you see this one on more than one website. It is from the Advent Conspiracy.
-
The Jury is Out
Now, the question is this: if you were accused in court of doing some nefarious deed, would you want to see me on the jury bench? Well, that is not quite the question. The question is really whether or not you think that clergy should have an automatic right to be exempt from jury service…
-
West End meets Maryhill Road
Don’t miss Layclerk’s story about what happened to him on the way to a choir party over the weekend. An excellent account of what happens when the West End meets Maryhill Road. Layclerk lives in what I think is called the Outer West End of the city. Once you’ve read his tale, head on over…

Leave a Reply