What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Deaconings and Priestings

    I’m sadly unable to be in St Mary’s this weekend for one of the most significant moments in the year – five people are being ordained at a special service on Saturday afternoon.

    These are moments that people remember for the whole of their lives.

    My exuberant good wishes to all those being ordained. Some I don’t know terribly well and some I have known at key points on their journey. For all, pray.

    For those being made deacon – may you be blessed in God’s service and you serve others.

    For those being made priests – remember you were made a deacon first. It remains your foundational ministry. To it, are these blessings added – to bring God to people and people to God in ways sacramental and mysterious.

    Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire
    And lighten with celestial fire
    All those being ordained today
    In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
    Amen

    ,

4 responses to “D.I.V.O.R.C.E.”

  1. David Kenvyn Avatar
    David Kenvyn

    I am a little worried about this concept of “African Marriage”. It seems to assume that Africa as a continent is culturally homogenous. This is not something that we would ever say about Europe or Asia, and it is simply not true. Morocco has very little cultural similarity to Mozambique. In South Africa, Xhosa-speaking men are circumcised at about 16 years old. Zulu-speaking men are not circumcised. They live in neighbouring provinces and inter-mingle in the cities. I think we have to be very careful when we describe practices that are common in Nigeria or Tanzania or Namibia as African, as they may not apply across the whole continent. It would be like calling bullfighting or reindeer racing European cultural norms, when we know that they are specific to particular countries.

    Reply
  2. Seph Avatar
    Seph

    I think what Christians and others need to bear in mind is that it is possible to be accepting of divorce as a fact of life while still valuing commitment and regarding marriage as ideally being a lifelong covenant. In truth, if a couple is considering divorce then there is already brokenness (or sin—although in this context the word has some uncomfortable connotations) in their relationship, and trying to maintain it purely because the Church (or, heaven forfend, God) Says No doesn’t seem to me to be in any way a holy or virtuous thing to do.

    ‘D.I.V.O.R.C.E.’ is a lot less effective an obfuscation in writing than when Dolly sang it.

    Reply
  3. David Kenvyn Avatar
    David Kenvyn

    Jacob Zuma has five wives, Desmond Tutu has one wife, Nelson Mandela had three wives and divorced two of them. What does this tell us about the concept of “African Marriage”?

    Reply
    1. Kelvin Holdsworth Avatar
      Kelvin Holdsworth

      I was quoting an African priest. And I agree with you.

      Reply

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