What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • The Anglican Covenant and Communion Motions

    The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church will debate and decide on the Anglican Covenant next week on Friday 8 June 2012 during a session that is timed to last from 0915 until 1045.

    The General Synod will debate two motions.

    Anglican Covenant

    Motion 26: That this Synod agree in principle to adopt the Anglican Covenant and instruct the Faith and Order Board to arrange to bring forward appropriate canonical provision for consideration for first reading at General Synod 2013.

    Anglican Communion
    Motion 27: That this Synod

    • Give thanks for the part played by the Scottish Episcopal Church in the early stages of the evolution of the Anglican Communion through the consecration of Samuel Seabury in Aberdeen;
    • Affirm its desire to continue to be part of the Anglican Communion as it seeks closer union while celebrating its diversity;
    • Call on the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Primates’ Meeting, the Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Consultative Council to encourage the development of bonds of shared mission, respect and mutual support through which the Anglican Communion can help spread the love of Christ across the world;
    • Affirm the work of the Anglican Communion Networks, bodies and initiatives through which those bonds can be nurtured.

    The notes from last year’s General Synod ‘indaba’ process are available.

    There is also a paper from the Faith and Order Board.

3 responses to “Power needs to be baptised by love”

  1. Robin Avatar
    Robin

    A very good and thought-provoking sermon. I’ve always thought of the Ethiopian eunuch as a man of great power and authority, and of great learning and devotion too, which points me to your third interpretation. But what startles me about the story – partly because of my thinking of the eunuch as someone of great power and authority compared to Philip, and partly because of a tendency on my part to be dogma-bound – is the sheer simplicity of how Philip welcomes him into the Church.

    There is no complicated initiation process. There are no doctrinal tests. The eunuch sees water, and asks Philip in a businesslike way if there’s any reason why he shouldn’t be baptised. Philip’s answer couldn’t be more direct and straightforward: “If you believe with all your heart, you may be baptised.” And the eunuch’s response couldn’t be more direct and straightforward either: no lengthy creed, no question and answer interrogation, but simply, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

    No doubt the eunuch continued his studies after his baptism, being that sort of man. But in a complicated world and (sometimes) a complicated Church I often turn to this passage for reassurance that it needn’t always be so.

    Reply
    1. Father Ron Smith Avatar
      Father Ron Smith

      Thank you, Father Kelvin. What a lovely and refreshing new insight into the identity and provenance of the ethiopian Eunuch! Philip’s acceptance and Baptism of the Eunuch reflects the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 19:122, where he speaks of 3 types of eunuch; made so by others (the Ethiopian, castrati); those who become so for the sake of the Kingdom (monks, nuns, celibate clergy);
      and then, of course; those so ‘from their mother’s womb’ (intrinsic Gays).

      Reply
  2. Aleks Avatar
    Aleks

    Really profound. You’ve given me a lot to think about.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

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

Previous Posts

  • Working for an Inclusive Church

    I'm impressed with the o­n-line petition that has been set up o­n www.inclusivechurch.net, in response to the events in the Church of England this summer. I've signed it and would recommend that anyone who wants an open and inclusive church does so. The fundamentalist parts of the church seem to want to dictate who is…

  • Sunday Sermon – 24/8/03 Fighting the Good Fight

    The Whole Armour”How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts.”So said the psalmist in the psalm we read together this morning (Psalm 84).One of the things which I tend to do when I am o­n holiday is to make for the dwelling places of the Lord of hosts ? or at least make…

  • Buying a TV

    I've just bought a television. I've lived for about 5 years without o­ne, but have decided that the time had come to try having it in the house again. I'm going to be off work this week following a minor operation I'm having o­n my mouth o­n Tuesday. The TV is supposed to help. I wonder…

  • Thurible Spotting

    I visited two different priests of the Scottish Episcopal Church yesterday in their homes and each had the most extraordinary thurible hanging in their houses. [A thurible is what you use to waft incense around a church]. It turned out that each had been the thurible of the Catholic Apostolic Church, that glorious denomination dedicated to…