• Tales of the City – February 2020

    On the way home from the opera I step into a shop to get out of the rain, and buy something to eat against the cold – a late-night post-operatic chittery-bite.

    In front of me are two young men dressed in much less than I am. They are the worse for wear and arguing.

    Drunk Young Man #1: Well we’ll ask someone else then.

    Drunk Young Man #2:
    Yes! Someone neutral.

    They turn to me.

    DYM#1: Here man. Settle an arugment for us will you. Is coronavirus real or is it propoganda

    Self: I think it is real.

    DYM#2: Aye man. Told you. It *is* real. He said so. Here, I bet you do a very responsible job

    DYM#1:
    Aye very responsible. What are you man?

    I hesitate a moment and consider how to answer.

    DYM#2: I bet he’s a Supply Chain Manager. Are you a Supply Chain Manager, man?

    I smile a smile that I hope will look like the smile of a cold wet Supply Chain Manager.

    DYM#2: I knew it.

    DYM#1: Hey, do you have a lighter?

    I shake my head.

    We are all forlorn that I do not have a lighter.

One response to “Sermon – 23 Jan 05”

  1.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Re: Sermon – 23 Jan 05
    Many thanks to a member of the congregation who sent me this poem today…

    But at the end of all, He did not say
    “Come to a solitary place apart”
    [Such as we’d chose, for silence and to pray]
    He thrust us back into life’s busy heart,
    Into the stress and strain, the rush and roar;
    Into the market place; the busy shop;
    Into the haste of commerce, stink of war;
    Into the wail of sirens; blare of ‘pop’;
    Back into the drop-out’s pad; the addict’s den;
    Back to the shanty-town; the B & B.
    He did not say, “I will equip you then
    To overcome all evil” rather He
    Said, “I am with you till the world shall end
    And everywhere you go, men shall find Me.”

    Sister Madeline

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Previous Posts

  • Prayers on converting a Civil Partnership into a Marriage

    In a few weeks time, here in Scotland, it will be possible for those couples who have entered into a Civil Partnership to convert that into a marriage. It is clearly a significant moment though interestingly, legally they will be regarded as having been married from the time they entered into the Civil Partnership rather…

  • We love you, American Episcopalians!

    Two hundred and twenty five years ago today, something special happened in Aberdeen. Two hundred and twenty five years ago today, Anglicanism in the USA was set ablaze with the consecration of the Rt Rev Samuel Seabury, their first bishop. The fact that the consecration took place in Aberdeen is one of those quirks of…

  • Prayers for Remembrance

    Last Sunday evening we had an extraordinary Choral Evensong. The idea was simple – to mark the start of the First World War by singing some of the music that the cathedral choir was singing 100 years ago. The idea came from Pam Barrowman, one of the members of the choir whose historical research includes…

  • Jericho, Berlin and what wall next?

    I remember going on a school trip to Germany when I was a young teenager. I don’t remember that much about the visit to be honest, but I do remember the wall. We were not in Berlin but we were staying near enough to the border between East Germany and West Germany to warrant a…