What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Scottish Episcopal Church News for January 2015

    Scottish Episcopal Church News

    The following post contains news from around and within the Scottish Episcopal Church for January 2015.

    George Square Tragedy in Glasgow

    The Rt Rev Gregor Duncan, the Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway was in George Square just after the recent tragedy involving a bin lorry. The accident took place just yards from the Glasgow and Galloway Diocesan Office.

    Speaking after the tragedy, Bishop Gregor said:

    We give thanks for the response of our emergency services.

    The disaster occurred very near to the Diocesan office and I saw with my own eyes the awful aftermath. I shall not forget what I saw.

    Bishop Gregor also engaged in a public dialogue about how Christians can respond to such events on 28 December 2014, the Feast of the Holy Innocents in St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow. This can be seen here:

    Dialogue between Kelvin Holdsworth and Gregor Duncan in Glasgow on 28 December 2014 from Kelvin Holdsworth on Vimeo.

     

    Video Message from the Primus

    The Primus, the Most Rev David Chillingworth released a Christmas Message in video format this year.

    The message, which some have noted doesn’t mention God or Jesus, can be seen here:

    Changes to Marriage Law

    The College of Bishops has issued guidelines relating to recent changes in marriage law. These have not been universally welcomed, with 50 clergy and lay readers writing a letter to the bishops in response with the Herald newspaper reporting: “Church leaders are facing an unprecedented insurrection amongst their own ministry over their gay marriage ban, with signals some clergy will not carry out any weddings until the matter is resolved.”

    More information:

    The Guidelines

    The letter from 50 clergy and lay readers.

    There is extensive coverage of other reaction on Changing Attitude Scotland’s website.

    The Guidelines do not yet appear on the Scottish Episcopal Church website.

    People

    The Buzz

     Sabbatical Funding – The Alastair Haggart Bursary Fund

    In memory of Bishop Alastair Haggart a bursary fund was established by his family.
    The fund exists to help the financing of sabbaticals or other similar leave of absence for clergy and full-time ministers of the Scottish Episcopal Church.
    A committee will convene in January 2015 to make th e next award. Awards totalling up to £4,156 will be made. Individual circumstances, financial resources, and the nature of the sabbatical and its usefulness to the wider church, are taken into consideration when making the award.
    Closing date: 6 January 2015

    Vacancies

    • Grangemouth and Bo’ness – advertised on the Edinburgh Diocesan website on 26 November 2014. No closing date listed. See profile for more details.
    • Secretary and Administrator, General Synod Office – still advertised on the SEC website but closing date is passed.

    Roof Repair Fund

    A new fund is available to help with urgent repairs to Listed Places of Worship. More details on their website: http://www.lpowroof.org.uk/ Note that the closing date is coming up in early January.

    ACTS Trustee Needed

    The Faith and Order Board of the Scottish Episcopal Church is seeking for someone to be the SEC’s nominated Trustee of ACTS – Action for Christians Together in Scotland. “A strong interest in ecumenism is essential, previous experience as a charity trustee would be helpful.” More details from churchrelations@scotland.anglican.org.uk

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5 responses to ““Issues” is no more”

  1. Cedric Avatar
    Cedric

    Oh I well remember the day ‘Issues’ landed with a loud thud through the letter box. I had been ordained for over 10 years by then. And I reeled in reading it.
    Before then the general culture of conversation about sexuality in the Church was ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’. And most bishops acknowledged that among their most able and effective clergy many were gay men, some in relationships, and often deployable in parishes where others would not contemplate living and working.
    But remember the context. This was also a period when AIDS was an international emergency and in Britain the Thatcher government sought to outlaw the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality through section 28 of the Local Government Act. And for sure, ‘Issues’ was a direct consequence of the passing of the amended Tony Higton General Synod private members’ motion declaring all ‘homosexual acts’ as sinful. The consequent noise of the shutting of closet doors was deafening.
    In my diocese the bishop asked one of the archdeacons to convene regular confidential meetings with a few gay clergy to offer them an opportunity to talk about the effects of all this on their lives and ministry. Some would not trust the Church to participate in such enterprises. Understandably. And huge numbers of vocations were thwarted and lost. And are to this day, as the toxic debates continue in the C of E in a social context which has changed beyond imagining.
    So thank you Kelvin, as ever, for your insightful questions.

    Reply
    1. Beth Avatar
      Beth

      Cedric, I recall you speaking to the LGBT Network at the Cathedral about Issues and that it was reaffirmed by the C of E around about that time too. I wasn’t so aware of it when it was published (being about eight years old at the time and also a Roman Catholic), but I remember so clearly from what you said how devastating it had obviously been and still was. I remember thinking at the time of that reaffirmation, “oh, I can never go home”. It became so clear to me that the Church of England wasn’t somewhere I could feel welcome as long as it was allowed to stand.

      Reply
  2. Ian Paul Avatar
    Ian Paul

    Kelvin, I can understand why you are glad that the offensive language of Issues has gone. Ironically, it was actually a statement written by liberals of the day; the main author was Richard Harries.

    And conforming to Issues was never the real question. The real question is conforming to Canons B30 and C26, so that the pattern of life of clergy should reflect the doctrine of the Church ‘according to the teaching of Jesus’. All Issues did was make that clear and unambiguous (though in an unhelpful and obsessive way) with regard to sexual intimacy. Ironically, it was the liberal ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy which cemented Issues in place as a response.

    And of course, with Issues gone, the Canons remain in place, and the demand is the same. The good thing about GPCC is that it sets this one issue in the context of many others, which is much healthier.

    But on the question in hand—nothing has changed. You seem to have missed that.

    Reply
    1. Kelvin Avatar
      Kelvin

      No Ian. It isn’t that I’ve missed that. It is that I don’t believe that.

      Issues was a massively offensive document that coloured absolutely everything the Church of England had to say about sexuality. Changes to Canons will look significantly different in the light of its removal.

      A great deal is changed by its removal.

      Reply
  3. Mike Burnett Avatar
    Mike Burnett

    Jesus preached love, but he also forgave sins with the instruction ‘to sin no more’.
    Deciding not to sin when the sin in question is something that we enjoy so much that life may feel miserable without it, is a real sacrifice. It really is ‘bearing your cross’ to follow him. But that is what Christians are called to do.
    We may wish to question our translation of the Bible, or quibble over the exact meaning of a phrase we find challenging, but Christianity is not a ‘pick and mix’ faith where we just have to accept the bits we like and can ignore, or condemn, the bits we don’t like. We do not get to negotiate – we must take it or leave it.

    Reply

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