• A Welcome Forest of Deans

    Last weekend an open letter emerged from within the Church of England which asked the two archbishops in England to take a message to the Primates’ Conference acknowledging that the Church has failed in its duty of care to LGBTI members of the Body of Christ worldwide and calling for repentance.

    The whole letter is here: https://lettertoarchbishops.wordpress.com/

    Others were asked to sign it to show their support and my name was one of the first to be added on Sunday morning when I heard about it. (It was addressed to Our Archbishops which was a bit problematic but sometimes you just have to go with the spirit rather than the letter of the law).

    I was particularly encouraged to see that this letter originated from a couple of people from within the Evangelical tradition in the church.

    I was also encouraged to see how many Deans of Cathedrals in England had signed the letter.

    Here’s a map showing in green those deans who have signed.

    There may be errors to correct or amendments to make – please let me know in the comments below. Nothing should be presumed about the red dots other than that there doesn’t seem to be a record of a dean there who has signed. Some cathedrals may be looking for a dean and some deans may be out of contact and not have heard about it. Some names may yet be added.

    I believe that Durham has no dean in post at present so have marked that in a different colour. I’ll change any others that are like that if anyone lets me know in the comments below.

    There are two cathedrals in London which seem to be on top of one another on the map – both of them are marked in green.

    Rather encouraging to see the green shoots of inclusion springing up, I think and to see leadership coming from England’s cathedrals.

    [google_maps id=”14812″]

    UPDATES
    Worcester added (missed off in original list)
    Wells and Durham marked as vacant.
    Southwell marked as vacant.
    Rochester marked as vacant.

4 responses to “Politics of Pilgrimage”

  1.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Living in Ireland – at one time not too far from Knock – it always astonished me when driving through the village how those who had just visited the shrine seemed to think that it had made them invincible! They’d wander into the middle of the road and totally ignore the traffic streaming around them!

    A bottle of Knock holy water in the shape of Our Lady sits behind me as I type – next to a similar one from Lourdes and a knitted Orangeman bedecked with a collarette proclaiming him a member of LOL 1, Portadown! The juxtaposition is deliberate! (I wonder if + David has one on his shelves from the "support Drumcree" shop?!)

    Which leads to the question "How do holy water taps work?" – theologically, that is! What is blessed to make it holy? Is it the reservoir (but that is constantly replenished and so eventually, after being diluted for a long time, the water becomes "unholy". Is it the tap itself and the water is sanctified by passing through it?

    Discuss!

  2.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Holy Water Taps
    Perhaps the water becomes holy when it is applied by the believer to the cat.

  3. Joan Avatar
    Joan

    Holy water and questions about pilgrimage

    Hmmm, yes I can see the dilemma…I guess the female ordaindees (not a word really, apologies for my attack on the English language) are excluded – though would it be possible to construct a small al fresco altar and hold a ceremony of your own?  Pilgrimage places become so because people believe something, not just the ecclesiastical hierarchy, I think?  If we don’t go then it is like saying ‘ok, you have that site of devotion then’.  (Yikes I sound so serious, which I am, but I really do mean my statements to come out as questions…not commands.)

    As to the cat, holy water, and the believer – maybe  all the water is holy and we just think we play a role in making it so?  Alternatively, maybe the cat is the believer and the water is transformed through a great mysterious purr.

  4.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    The Cat in Question
    As for the cat in question, she is not a believer as such. Rather, she thinks that she is the only proper object of veneration.

Leave a Reply

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

Previous Posts

  • Thought for the Day

    It isn’t every year that the St Mary’s Carol Service (7.30 pm on Thursday, don’t be late it gets busy) gets a mention on prime time Radio Scotland, but we did this year. This morning’s Thought for the Day was being done by Dr Amanullah De Sondy who is going to be giving a reading…

  • Carol Service

    The cathedral has now been decorated for Christmas and is looking lovely. The first of the Christmas services is the Nine Lessons and Carol Service which takes place on Thursday evening at 7.30 pm. It is always something that I look forward to. The choir take centre stage for that service, though there is much…

  • Sermon preached on 18 December 2011

    Here's what I had to say in the pulpit this morning. I wish I had a pound for everyone who says to me, “It must be a busy time of year”. I’ve heard that from quite a few people this week. Well, there’s no time in my year that isn’t busy. And I enjoy this…

  • A Response to the Prime Minister

    Dear Dave I thought that some kind of response was needed to your recent speech about the King James Bible. As you’ve chosen to speak to the church with the media listening in, I hope you won’t mind me responding in this way on my blog. Firstly, there’s some positive things that I want to…