• Public Opinion and Same-Sex Marriage – John Curtice

    A while ago we had a real treat at St Mary’s. Prof John Curtice gave a talk about public opinion and same-sex marriage. It was one of those forums which was very special for those who were there. There simply isn’t anyone who knows how to read and interpret public opinion as John can and it was great to see him in action.

    It was also one of the first forum meetings which I videoed. Unfortunately, the talk that John gave was fantastic but the audio on the video was terrible. Lots of people tried to listen but some were quite disappointed. For that reason, I was delighted that John agreed to give a similar, though slightly updated, talk to the diocesan synod that we held here in the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway on 1 March 2014. Once again, John was gracious enough to allow it to be videoed and this time the audio is tip-top, thanks to Kennedy Fraser’s work on the sound-desk.

    This can be posted freely. I suspect that it may help far more people in the church get their heads around where public opinion lies on this question than were at the synod the other week. Do share and use on other blogs and diocesan websites. And take a look – it is well worth putting aside half an hour to watch.

    Now the question for the day, is – in what ways does public opinion matter when the churches make their minds up about same-sex marriage?

3 responses to “5 things about exams that matter more than results”

  1. Matthew Pemble Avatar
    Matthew Pemble

    The important thing isn’t the results themselves, but whether you can carry on and do what you wanted to do, whether or not you need to take a little detour on the road. I was lucky and didn’t. Many people aren’t as fortunate.

    My heart goes out to all those older kids / young adults who are looking at their SMS or results sheet and think their life is in ruins. Really, it isn’t.

    1. Beth Routledge Avatar

      In the end, that little detour on the road is sometimes the thing that makes the journey better and prettier and more fun.

      I’ve been where those kids are today. It’s not the end of the world. It feels like it, but it’s really not.

  2. Imogen Vibert Avatar
    Imogen Vibert

    Lovely words of wisdom! As a school chaplain I’ll be in for A level & GCSE results days in England soon…think I might just print a few copies of this off to take with me. 🙂

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