Every day, the straight heterosexist hegemony manages to find new ways to assert its dominance over all who do not share its presumptions.
Today, hangers on the back of an hotel room door.
Every day something different.
5 responses to “The Primus’s Radio Interview about the Columba Declaration”
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I’m not sure Chillingworth gave a clear answer to Beattie’s question of what is wrong with the declaration beyond its discourtesy and rudeness. What does he mean when he says it is putting at risk the leadership of Christian faith communities at a critical moment in the ‘story of Scotland’?
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I can’t speak for Bishop David but my view is that this debacle (the discourtesy and rudeness and the rest) has had a serious knock on effect on the ecumenical life of Scotland. To put it bluntly, trusts and friendships that have been built up over years have been very sorely tested. I think that this risks poisoning ecumenical life in Scotland for a generation and I’d say that does seriously compromise the way in which church communities and leaders will be able to speak to Scotland.
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It also speaks volumes for the contempt with which the Church of Englandshire holds for the Scottish Episcopal Church.
You struggle to see the shining truth through his words because his words lack honesty and integrity. Not that anyone in Englandshire really cares- most probably haven’t even heard of the Scottish Episcopal Church and if they have, it will be as an unknown backwater entity. To sweep aside the Scottish Episcopal Church must have taken breathtaking arrogance.
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I can totally understand the SEC concern about the CofE barging into territory that isn’t theirs. However, there are perhaps a few things to bear in mind about why a relationship between the CofS and CofE is important where that isn’t really relevant.
The first is that the CofS has a presence in England. Having spent a few years in a CofE congregation in Denmark I witnessed first hand how important the Porvoo agreement was in that context for enabling local worship and mission and similarly it could be hugely beneficial for the CofS congregations in England to be able to develop more formal relationships with their local Anglican partners.
Secondly, there are a number of areas where the CofS and CofE are already working together and developing closer relationship such as on training and fresh expressions. These are areas where the relationships have developed naturally due to the two churches dealing with similar areas of concern and where there should again be no encroaching on SEC ground.
Thirdly, the CofS and CofE work closely together in ecumenical circles through both CTBI and the WCC where both are significant players. It does seem strange that these two churches don’t recognise each other when their place in the wider ecumenical scene is so closely linked. That is not to deny the SEC’s ecumenical importance.
Obviously no one is denying that the way this became public has been badly handled but I struggle to see what more can be down than the very sincere apologies and frank criticisms of what happened which have been offered. In terms of what real issues there are, I have yet to see anyone pin down specific parts of the Columba agreement which are concerning to the SEC, with all the comments either much more vague or else being fears about issues (such as interchangeability of ministry) which are not actually part of the agreement. In my experience (through ACTS, WCC etc.) the relationship between the CofS and SEC is one of the strongest ecumenical relationships and it would be very sad if this was jeopardised because of miscommunication rather than substance.
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It’s not just Scotland. A lot of people are struggling to see truth in the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury these days.
Previous Posts
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Magna Carta
I found myself at Euston yesterday, with a spare hour to kill, so I popped into the British Library, like you do, to have a look at the Codex Sinaiticus. A couple of months ago there was the following exchange at St Mary’s LGBT group, which had made me want to go and gaze in…
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Vocational Preaching
Many blessings upon the Rev Cedric Blakey, the Cathedral’s Vice Provost whom I still think of as my new colleague, even though he has been here since the start of December. It is Cedric’s anniversary of priesting today, St Peter’s Day. Many congratuations to him on the anniversary. He was preaching about it on Sunday…
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Orchestral Evensong
Well, the Cathedral musicians certainly ended the summer term with a bang and not a whimper this time. Just when you didn’t think it could get more outrageously better, you find yourself in the middle of the most extraordinary Orchestral Evensong. 86 singers and a 50+ orchestra somehow managed to squeeze themselves into the crossing…
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More Corpus Christi Comment
Just before the last fluttering rose petal hits the floor and we move on to new glories, make sure you don’t miss Beth’s comments about Corpus Christi and indeed her experience of St Mary’s both in this festival time and through the year. You’ll find what she has to say over on a post called…
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