What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Sunday Trading and the Churches

    Dear the Churches of England

    If you campaign against Sunday trading you are going to seem to the People of England to be as bad as you are. Campaign instead for the rights of shop workers of all religions who work at all times and the People of England might be more convinced. If you take on the Sunday trading thing you are going to lose anyway.

    Here in Scotland things have been much more liberal for a long time. We did have quite strict liquor laws which meant you couldn’t buy booze on a Sunday morning anywhere. This meant you couldn’t buy an emergency bottle of wine for communion on a Sunday morning in case it led to drunkenness, which always seemed to me to be a little odd. Even this law has been relaxed now.

    Seriously – the fight against Sunday trading isn’t one that churches can win and look sensible or fair. Please don’t make the rest of us look foolish.

    Remember the Sabbath day and what it was about and keep what it was about holy. It was about making sure workers got rest. It was about making sure there was time for leisure. It was about making sure that there were opportunities for worship. Churches should campaign for all those things. In multicultural Britain these things do not coalesce any more in the idea of one shared day off a week which is inevitably on a Sunday.

    Dear churches of England and the Church of England in particular – pick your battles wisely.

    Thank you for your attention.
    KELVIN

3 responses to “Church and Civil Partnerships”

  1. Margaret of the Sea of Galilee Avatar
    Margaret of the Sea of Galilee

    Watching, watching – exclusive language in hymn and liturgy so far…not encouraging. Although the Moderator’s purple spectacles are a hopeful sign.

    Reply
  2. Robert Kirk Avatar
    Robert Kirk

    to give items of undergarments equal status – should one not also use ‘underpants’?

    Reply
  3. Scottish Bishops on Marriage and Civil Partnership | Law & Religion UK

    […] As observed in the Thinking Anglicans’ post, the substance of the Scottish guidance is very similar to that of the Church of England House of Bishops which was issued in February this year: it is more prescriptive than the CofE Declaration and appears to take a stronger line on blessings after marriage and civil partnerships, an area on which the CofE’s position has been less than clear; although some issues of detail are different[4], both take a very similar approach to clergy entering into same-sex marriage and to the position on ordinands.  Likewise, both have a relaxed approach to clergy within civil partnerships, although in May 2013 Kelvin Holdsworth noted: […]

    Reply

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