In the name of the Father and of the Son and the liberating, loving, life-enhancing Holy Spirit. Amen.
Many of you will be aware that I’ve recently been on holiday and that this is my first Sunday back following several away relaxing by the Mediterranean. I enjoyed reading and chilling-out by the pool. In all my prayers and devotions each evening, I prayed that the Good Lord would transpose the sublime sunshine from the Med up here to Glasgow.
And lo! See the power of prayer. (more…)
Seems to me “well-meaning but homophobic” in these days and times implies vincible ignorance and is no longer useful as an excuse for homophobic language. The leaders of the C of E seem paralyzed, unable to articulate policies to move forward on equality for LGTB persons that are other than laughable. Think “deer in the headlights”.
I suppose @RevArun might say that women are welcome for the same reason, eh?
Exactly what I thought.
I’ve removed a previous comment. I’d prefer to retain the focus on the institutional elements of this rather than speculating about an individual.
As society changes many people are not sure of the new, and therefore condemn it, without thought. I am safe, with the Devil l know. It’s a way of life, not dealing with changes. If we think about how much has changed; homosexuality was illegal until 1969 in England; Scotland caught up in 1983; women have a right to equal pay; the only job that is still excluded from them is working down a mine:
There are men who are prepared to wait to see a male doctor, especially if it is the genitals.
Racism is not tolerated by most, but it is still used by people who want a reaction. There was, when the world and I were young, a shoe polish, called nigger brown. This wasn’t considered at the time as being wrong.
I take your point, and I don’t disagree. If we look at another person and only see the gay part as ‘broken’, then that’s homophobic, no matter how well intentioned. Plus I always find something disturbingly patronising when people say ‘We’re all broken’, as if the speaker doesn’t quite believe it of him/herself, while seeing it very clearly in the other.
However, there’s another way of looking at it. The very fact that we are human means that we are broken. If being gay is part of that humanity, then it’s part also of that brokenness. It’s all part of the messy mixture that we struggle with, and build our rickety lives with, but for which we also should praise and thank God.
‘Thinking Anglicans’ has a post up about Vicky Beeching’s coming out but does not link to the discussion here. I asked why but they did not reply let alone publish my question.
Tilly (the Cat) has hairball trouble. Well, I have trouble with it, she doesn't seem to care. We have been given Hairball Mixture which comes in a tube. The packaging suggests that you offer it to the cat on a spoon. Well, madam enjoyed that little charade. The alternative suggested is that you rub the…
I've started to prepare the Christmas services. Every year prior to this one, I have been caught out and ended up getting everything sorted out far too late. This year it will be different. I have a hunch that the choir are going to want to sing the Shepherd's Pipe Carol at Midnight Mass and…
I'm racing to get through From the Holy Mountain before the book club meets tonight. I last read it when I was going off to Egypt in 1997, just before I was ordained deacon and I had forgotten how rich a read it was.Part of yesterday was spent doing open heart surgery to a computer to…
I've been listening to the most amazing Armenian Chant on the web – beautiful, measured, holy. What a long way we are in the UK from the liturgical form which we need. Chant has never, ever been more popular and yet all that most people get fed in church in Scotland is the Victorian Dirge…
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