What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • International Day Against Homophobia

    Today is the International Day Against Homophobia.

    I’m not going to say much about it except to point towards a youtube video – one of the most articulate speeches of recent years about the topic.

    It is an unlikely person speaking in an unlikely location – a drag queen called Panti Bliss speaking at the end of of a production in the Abbey Theatre in Ireland.

    Lots of people will have seen it. If you haven’t, take a look.

    The next time you hear a straight church leader speaking about how it is not actually homophobic to take actions which work to the detriment of gay and lesbian people remember this speech. And ask who is best placed to decide what is homophobic and what isn’t.

20 responses to “Lambeth Conference – Some are Welcome in this Place”

  1. asphodeline Avatar
    asphodeline

    Aargh, horrible decision. My first “gut” reaction was no, make a point of not going and make it clear why not. Then I read the responses here and they’ve got a point too.

    I hope you make the right decision for yourself that you feel comfortable with. Interesting point too about the Catholic bit. I don’t consider myself Protestant as such, more a Catholic who is exlcuded from many things Catholic by the Catholic church. I’ve always been a bit confused though!

    Good luck x

    Reply
  2. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    I’m interested that all voices responding so far are female.

    Reply
  3. chris Avatar
    chris

    Does the excess of female voices not simply represent the majority of congregations? Not, of course, of clergy – yet. :=(

    Reply
  4. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    I’ve no idea what other congregations are like – St Mary’s is pretty gender balanced, as was my previous congregation.

    Are there really congregations that are mostly female? How very odd.

    Reply
  5. Elizabeth Avatar
    Elizabeth

    A convent maybe? Do you have convents in the SEC?

    Reply
  6. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    There are convents, but not terribly large ones.

    Reply
  7. Eamonn Avatar
    Eamonn

    Not only are all the comments so far from women (so let me make a modest effort to redress the balance), but there are far fewer voices than one might have expected, given the seriousness of this exclusion, which in the long run could affect all Episcopalians and Anglicans worldwide. The notion that one has to ‘qualify’ to attend Lambeth by criteria other than lawful episcopal consecration is a new and disquieting departure. Why are more people not protesting?

    Reply
  8. vicky Avatar
    vicky

    Thought this might be of interest.

    Reply
  9. chris Avatar
    chris

    I’ve only ever belonged to my current congretation. There are men, but old, unwired ones for the most part.
    I’ve had another thought, though. Maybe women comment because women have been sidelined in the church for 2000 years. Coming out in sympathy, perhaps?

    Reply
  10. kelvin Avatar
    kelvin

    “unwired men” – what a helpful description.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • Which psalms to sing (Andrew's Question from earlier)

    I’m indebted to Andrew for making this comment on another post. I’ve moved it here because I think it is worth discussing in its own right, rather than in the comments for something only tangentially related. Andrew says: Would it be possible to have a channel on which to write comments not specifically connected with…

  • Sermon – 100th Anniversary of St Mary's being made a Cathedral

    Here is the this morning’s sermon. Audio and visuals are on the preaching page as usual. A couple of days ago, I was away from home overnight. I was away on church business, staying in a retreat centre. I have to admit that I’d generally rather not stay in Christian premises if I can help…

  • Magnificat

    I suggested in this morning’s sermon that a spiritual practise to try this week is to take Mary’s song (the Magnificat) and to pray it through each day when eveing comes. Here is the text which can be found in the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices…

  • Concert – Saturday Night

    Just a quick reminder that there is a concert on Saturday evening at St Mary’s featuring music by the choir (both adults and trebles) and friends. We are getting Vivaldi’s Gloria, the Icelandic Carol in honour of our Lady and other choral favourites. The Gloria will be the first half, and will be sung with…