• I nominate these guys

    baptismal candidates

    Can you change the world by pouring water over someone?

    Well, we had a go yesterday in St Mary’s with two lovely baptisms in a great service yesterday morning.

    In the course of the service, we were reminded of Moses being scooped from the water of the River Nile and going on to set a whole people free from slavery. Then we heard a bit of St Paul which reminded us that transformation of the heart was connected with accepting that we all have gifts that differ. (What a fabulous reading for a baptism). Then we had a reading from the gospels which told us that in trying to work out who Jesus was, Peter the apostle actually found himself named and commissioned for service.

    What will these children do in their lives?

    There is so much trouble in the world at the moment that it is important to be reminded of the hope and the joy that isn’t just part of what happens when new life comes into a family with the birth of a child but also the new life  and hope which is intrinsic to our faith.

    Yesterday morning was a little Easter for us at St Mary’s. And a packed church was buzzing with the ideas that new life, hope and love are real and for sharing.

    I don’t know who is going to sort the world out and allow the kingdom of love to be seen for real. But I nominate these guys, freshly baptized, and all like them who are entering the world anew. May they be a generation that brings faith, hope and love to bear on a world that needs to be baptised with every drop of goodness it can get.

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.

  2. Robert Kirk Avatar
    Robert Kirk

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

  3. […] 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: […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Previous Posts

  • Being an Inclusive Church

    One of the main themes emerging from this year’s Scottish General Synod was the issue of inclusion. I’ve mentioned before the phenomena of getting just about any group of Scottish Episcopalians together and asking them what our church is about. The answers are always the same – good worship and being an inclusive church. (Interestingly,…

  • West End Festival

    I hasted to Kelvingrove (bonnie lassie-o) yesterday afternoon for the big event of the West End Festival. The park was looking lovely in the sun. Actually, I hasted to Kelvingrove (bonnie lassie-o) twice. I went down once in my dog collar to smile and nod my way through the crowd and speak to people on…

  • New Primus Elected

    The Rt Rev David Chillingworth who blogs at http://www.bishopdavid.net/ has been elected as Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. I think he probably becomes the first blogger to become a primate in the Anglican Communion. Congratulations to Bishop David and best wishes for the next part of his journey

  • Three Minutes to Synod on What is Mission for Scottish Episcopal Church

    I was given 3 minutes to speak at Synod on the Misison of the SEC. This is what I said. We need two strands of missionary activity – firstly building local congregations where people who would never expect to discover God can find that they are already welcome and are already loved and secondly, the…