Can I suggest you head over to Akma’s blog to read his post about the death of Aaron Swartz. It is moving and thoughtful and expresses more eloquently than I can how I feel about this death.
Most people won’t know Aaron’s name. However we all get the benefit of his work.
As Akma says, “the churches have an intrinsic interest in communication, free communication, profligate communication.”
Hear, hear.
Almost everybody I meet on a regular basis, except my family and one educated friend, were voting out. and that in Scotland. I am shattered but unsurprised. My partner reports that, in her office, those with a degree and under 35 all intended to vote remain, and those without and over 35 to leave.
Some people I know didn’t vote at all because they were annoyed that their ‘first ever in their fairly long lives’ voting experience (Independence) didn’t go the correct way. Strangely two friends who spend half the year living in Europe (and benefit from the reciprocal healthcare arrangements) voted leave and I’m bewildered by a dear friend of 60 years who unexpectedly climbed angrily aboard the anti immigration juggernaut. I’d dared to hope (and ignore the signs online) because everyone else I knew seemed to be voting remain…
I fear ultimately that Brexit won in part because the EU became a rather soulless bureaucracy to which people could not emotionally attach. Financial benefit does not always secure attachment on a large-scale and if enough people start to perceive themselves to suffer and not participate in those benefits then the inevitable happens.
I fear the UK is going the same way but for different reasons. Since the 80s there has been a tendency amongst those seeking power to focus on groups and not the country as a whole; remember election night and the swingometer and the presenter saying things like “such and such an area has gone red but in order to win the Conservatives just need to win over Essex man and Worcester woman….”? Of course Labour did something similar in 1997 and in later elections.
So any uniting sentiments have been undermined which means that the problem is no longer just with politicians but with the electorates also.
I liked what Kelvin said in his referendum sermon, and more than ever the churches need to discover their ministry of reconciliation and think about what it means to try to offer everyone a spiritual home. It would be ironic if the church became the main place that differences could be dropped. but I have to confess I’m rather gloomy about even that looking at the way other controversial issues within the church have been dealt with.
The Shoe Exhibition just has to be seen. We've given up pews for the first week in Lent and installed 104 pairs of women's shoes in the nave instead. Each pair of shoes represents a woman killed in an incident of domestic violence. 104 women are killed this way each year.More details on the church…
I remember a long time ago hearing of a Church of Scotland minister who had a service to mark the death of Elvis, complete with suitable music. At the time, I thought that was tacky. However, when I was in my ordination training, I did use recorded music in our worship quite a lot. One…
Given the genesis of the Church of England in Henry VIII’s complicated love life, I have to confess that I find the squeamishness over re-marrying those who have been divorced to be incomprehensible. I am pleased that the Archbishop of Canterbury is getting involved. However it seems to me that if he can bless a…
Today has been an excellent Ash Wednesday. A world record turn-out (for Bridge of Allan) of penitents. The Freddie Mercury number during the penitential liturgy went down a storm. An early problem with ash that was too clean was solved by cutting it with charcoal from the thurible. I gave one of the servers the…
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