What is in Kelvin's Head?

How did I do with last year’s predictions?

31/12/2025
Here’s a run down of how I did at last year’s predictions.
- Good results for Nigel Farage following the English local elections in May. Terrible results for Conservative Party.
Exactly what happened. YES
- No progress towards the marriage of same-sex couples in the Church of England
Exactly what happened. Indeed, I think things may have gone into reverse. YES
- Turbulent year for WordPress, which powers about half of the internet.
The year began with Automattic dramatically cutting its contribution to development leading to stagnation in development and much acrimony. Subsequently restored. Deep divisions remain about Gutenberg. I’m claiming this as a YES.
- 2025 will be the hottest year on record.
Final figures yet to be calibrated but all reports indicate that this, unfortunately is a YES.
- No trade deal for UK with US. Increasing talk of re-aligning economy closer to EU.
Well, there was a trade deal in May called the Economic Prosperity Deal but it doesn’t seem to much and some of the basics have already been reversed. I suppose I have to be honest and say I didn’t get this quite right so it is a NO. But…
- Ceasefire in Russia-Ukraine war but no long term solution.
Hard to assess this one. No long term solution, certainly. There have been a series of ceasefires proposed but none seems really to have been fully implemented. Partial YES.
- “Assisted Dying” aka doctor assisted suicide becomes legal in at least one of the jurisdictions of the British Isles.
I have to put this down as a NO as it completed its parliamentary journey in the Isle of Man but hasn’t received Royal Assent yet, so not technically legal.
- Turbulent year for economy but stock market higher at end of year than beginning. (FTSE currently at 8,173)
Stock market at 9,931 today and there was quite a lot of volatility in the first part of the year. So this one is a YES.
- There will be fewer Commonwealth Realms (ie countries which share the monarchy) by the end of 2025 than there are now.
This one is a NO though there has been significant progress in that direction in Jamaica and moves that way in Grenada.
- Philip Mountstephen.
Well, I was pushing Philip Mounstephen’s name as he appeared to be the only senior bishop in the C of E who actually believed the [absurd] position of the C of E bishops on same-sex relationships. But it is a NO – nothing significant to report.

So – five and a half out of ten this year. Not as good as some years. A couple of near misses.
new year, predictions. 2025

11 responses to “The Columba Declaration – where are we now?”

Ben

25/05/2016

Has any of this been caused by the 2011 census where it might have been the first time that the CofE realised they have quite a big constituency in Scotland, and a lot more people in Scotland claiming an affiliation with the Church of England than the SEC. It says here that 67,000 people said they were C of E, compared to just 8,000 Scottish Episcopal Church? (though probably need to add the 20k who answered as generic ‘episcopalians’):

http://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/censusresults/release2a/rel2A_Religion_detailed_Scotland.pdf

I.E. apart from the rudeness and cack-handedness, are there any legitimate arguments for them to do ‘brand management’ in another jurisdiction if there are so many of their affiliates here? Like, if the aim was to enable some of those 67k to feel they have more options is that a good possible outcome from this?

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1. Ben
  
  25/05/2016
  
  I didn’t mean good possible outcome, I meant good possible intention if it had been handled better.
  
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2. Kelvin
  
  25/05/2016
  
  Actually, I don’t think the C of E is trying to establish itself in Scotland and I’d be surprised if the census was a factor in any way.
  
  There are big issues from the census for Scottish Episcopalians to think about – the C of E is probably more concerned with the large drops in allegiance south of the border than any stated Church of England members north of it.
  
  I wrote a bit about the census here:
  http://thurible.net/2013/09/30/i-d/
  
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Fr Terry Taggart

25/05/2016

Thank you for this update Kelvin. I’ve been struggling to get anything of substance regarding who said what to whom and when it was said !! A committee!!! Well that should sort it 🤔

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Hugh Foy

25/05/2016

We have been Offended throughout our history at people referring to us as the ‘English Church’ in Scotland in complete ignorance of our history. This sad sttempt at faux ecclesial imperialism does nothing to help us consolidate our Scottish identity in public space in post referendum Scotland. Kelvin is absolutely correct in identifying the issue is Jurisdictional and the pain and insult emerges from this. However at a political level it’s simply a pathetic attempt at establishment power consolidation but it addresses no significant issues in our divergent Eucharistic Theology and Theology of Ministry. In a time of Church decline it allows the Church establishment to speak with one voice to the political establishment. A delusional codependent alliance that allows clerical gatekeepers to believe they still matter in a post post Christendom society to the State. I find out acquiescence here both disturbing and saddening.

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Father Ron Smith

25/05/2016

This high-handed treatment of the Episcopal Church of Scotland – with an attempt to achieve ecclesial unity on its own provincial ground between the Church of England and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, without local consultation with SEC – must indeed seem, not only a snub but also a deliberate sidelining of our Anglican partner Church in Scotland – the Church whose episcopate was instrumental in providing the basis for an episcopal (Anglican) presence in North America – when the Church of England had refused to provide such a provenance.

A very good reason, one might suspect, for SEC to join TEC in a new brand of Anglican presence in the world – in common with those provinces of the Communion who wish to go forward on the matter of Same-Sex Unions and the banning of sexism & homophobia

Father Ron Smith, Christchurch, new Zealand

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John Neal

26/05/2016

Our Church of England community in Tours, France uses the protestant Temple. As such, the Reuilly Declaration between the Eglise reformée and the Church of England (2001) has particular significance for us. The second of the acknowledgements is this:

“We acknowledge that in all our churches the word of God is authentically preached, and the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist are duly administered.”

I am just not sure about this. Naturally, the pasteure has not been episcopally ordained. I think there must be many similarities with the Church of Scotland, indeed, in the 1920s the local pasteur had studied at a Scottish University. He offered BCP Communion services in English and had to be warned off using the absolution and prayer of consecration by the C of E bishop.

Hmmm!

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1. Kelvin
  
  26/05/2016
  
  Yes, the Columba Declaration has much copied over word for word from the Ruilley Declaration. That’s always left me to say that this means the C of E isn’t taking the C of S that seriously, something that C of S people don’t understand. Columba is made up of Ruilley not Porvoo.
  
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Whit

27/05/2016

“We don’t do Archbishops generally. We don’t have one of our own and woe betide any Primus that doesn’t understand that from the get go.”

That’s interesting. Our Presiding Bishop has, over the course of the last two decades become an archbishop in all but name. Indeed, I no longer bother correcting English people who call the PB an archbishop.

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1. Robin
  
  27/05/2016
  
  The last Scottish Episcopalian Archbishop was Archbishop Paterson of Glasgow, who died in 1708. The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church is neither an Archbishop nor a Primate nor a Metropolitan. He/she is, as the name ‘Primus’ implies, merely first among equal Bishops.
  
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Richard Barnes

28/05/2016

You’ve been very restrained in not naming anyone over the past 5 months, but since Abp Welby specifically mentioned him, it seems to me it’s the Bp of Chester who should have apologized. According to Chester Diocese he studied and trained in Edinburgh, so I’d’ve thought he would have known the hurt the Columba Declaration would cause to the SEC…
With Welby trying to be all things to all men, I’m surprised his costume department didn’t find some Geneva bands for him to show how Calvinist he is.
40 years ago in St Andrews, we had ecumenical Communion Services in the University Chapel led one week by the CofS Chaplain, another week by the “Anglican” Chaplain, and sometimes by a transAtlantic, woman Presbyterian minister; all equal in integrity, consecration and worth for my spiritual health, and no Declarations or Committees, just local ecumenism working.
I look forward to our House of Bishops working out how to welcome married gay CofS ministers to work in England while persecuting their own.
Not a proud week to be CofE.

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