What is in Kelvin's Head?

Statement on the fire at Notre Dame

15/04/2019

The fire at Notre Dame Cathedral is a tragedy not only for Paris and the people of France but for the world.

Those who know the building will be unable to see the pictures of the fire without feeling heartbroken.

So many different things that make up the building are priceless – the medieval roof, the woodwork, the organ, the stained glass, the relics. But this tragedy is more than the loss of them all. It is the loss of the heart of Paris, the loss of a place of pilgrimage and the loss of a place of romance.

Every day this week, Christians will be reflecting on the heartbreak of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, to whom Notre Dame was dedicated. Every day as we do so, we will be praying for the Paris its people as they face their own heartbreak.

Notre Dame means Our Lady. Notre Dame doesn’t just belong to Paris, it belongs to us all.

This was a building that is utterly associated with Paris. But it was an utterly priceless treasure for the world.

It was truly ours, and this tragedy is our tragedy.

Our Lady of Paris, pray for us and for all affected locally.

Our Lady of Paris, we pray for you.

8 responses to “We love you, American Episcopalians!”

June Butler

14/11/2014

The dear Scottish bishops who consecrated Samuel Seabury have my gratitude forever, and our Prayer Book is greatly enriched by the inclusion of the Epiclesis from the Scottish Rite.

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Bro David

14/11/2014

And the heritage was passed on as my home church, the la Iglasia Anglicana de Mexico, being a daughter of TEC basically uses the Spanish language TEC prayerbook (with epiclesis), apropriately modified, as our church’s liturgy.

I think that the US church was not trying to be THE Episcopal Church, but, the generic Episcopal Church in the short name, as opposed to the Protestant Episocopal Church of the United States of America, which is the legal title. And TEC was trying to represent the church’s full constituency, which is not as a national Anglican church, as is the Anglican Church of Canada, or a regional Anglican church, as is la Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America, but a multinational church with dioceses in many countries. I’m sure that you would squirm a bit to be called the Scotland-based Episcopal Church. It’s not cool or comfortable to say.

Are there Scottish Episcopal churches that aren’t technically part of Scotland geo-politically?

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1. Kelvin
  
  14/11/2014
  
  There are no Scottish Episcopal Churches that are not in Scotland. (Though I’d dearly love to invade a well known local provincial neighbour).
  
  It may be a bit squirmy to refer to it as the US-based Episcopal Church but it is quite hard to simply use The Episcopal Church on a blog read in Scotland. That name just doesn’t make any sense here as it is what many people here would call the Scottish Episcopal Church.
  
  Unfortunately, the Protestant Episcopal Church’s renaming of itself which was for good reason to avoid being seen as US-centric and imperial reads rather badly over here.
  
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  1. Bro David
    
    14/11/2014
    
    Since I don’t much understand the relationship of all the tiny islands around Great Britain and Ireland I wasn’t sure.
    
    Too bad we aren’t in the day when it was just the Church.
    
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Father Ron Smith

14/11/2014

Thank you, Father Kelvin, for this reminder of an historic event of some special note. In the present climate of unrest in the Anglican world, it is good to note that Scotland and the U.S.A. have a precious link through their shared episcopal provenance that is not directly originated (by their own default) by the mother Church of England. This spirit of independence emphasizes the infinite variety of our shared Anglican reformed catholicity. A Unity in Diversity!

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AnnaMarie Hoos

15/11/2014

Thank you, Kelvin, for remembering us. May the bonds of affection always flow both ways.

Those reading this thread might enjoy seeing the full de Rosen mural from which Kelvin took the detail above, which is on the north wall of the Nave in Grace Cathedral, San Francisco:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brycewgarner/8964371666/

Y’all come visit.

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Ann Fontaine

15/11/2014

Thank you Thank you. That point in the Eucharist is the most important for me as a priest – I feel like I am standing in the center of time — all before and all after flowing through those of us gathered at that moment.

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Eamonn

15/11/2014

The Scottish Episcopal Church did not invent the epiclesis, but adopted it from various ancient Eastern rites. So both the Scottish and American Churches could be said to be more in touch with the liturgical roots of eucharistic worship than those churches who use variants of the Reformation prayer-books.

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