Quite often, Jesus talks about things that I don’t know much about. A man may have gone out to sow – but I know precious little about agriculture. A father may have said goodbye to a prodigal son but I know nothing about having a jealous brother. A young man may have been told not to look back from the plough – but my soft hands, have clearly never touched a plough in their life.
However in the Gospel today, Jesus does stray into an area where I know a thing or two.
He is talking about (more…)
What was the character of the debate? If one believes that the admission of women to the threefold ministry of the Church was an extension of an existing doctrine, not a doctrinal change, and that the dropping of the ‘filioque’ clause from the Creed wasn’t a doctrinal change either (nobody is compelled to deny that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son), the change to the doctrine of initiation was the most important doctrinal change made by the Scottish Episcopal Church not just in my lifetime but perhaps even in the SEC’s history. It amazes me that it seems to have been so uncontroversial.
(I don’t say I necessarily disapprove of the change. I’m quite happy not only for the unconfirmed but also for the unbaptised to be admitted to Holy Communion and would turn away no-one – except perhaps ++Judas Williams, and even then probably not – from the altar. But I can’t understand how a Church can teach two contradictory things at once.)
To a certain extent, saying two contradictory things at once is part of the consequence of having old liturgical formularies alongside modern ones, I think.
(If you are not going to say something new, what’s the point in producing something new after all).
The modern descriptions of marriage in the 2007 marriage rite don’t seem to me to be entirely consistent with the marriage rite of 1929, for example.
It is the way we live now.
Well, as I said, there were several of us who spoke against the change, for one reason or another but it was passed by a fairly high majority, I think.
It seems to me that there is just about every view about initiation into the Christian church that has ever been held is currently also held and practised in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Indeed, there are varieties of practice and procedure within congregations and even within families.
The veil question which has been raised in the media this week is a strange one for me to consider as someone who often finds himself wearing a form of religious dress in Great Western Road and elsewhere. It seems to me that people should be able to wear what they like in public. Mind…
Rather at the last minute, a decision has been made to celebrate the anniversary of the consecration of St Mary’s (ie the consecration of the building), this weekend. According to the records kept at the time, the Hallelujah Chorus by Beethoven was sung at the consecration. Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to find that one, but…
To the Diocesan Council for the first time this morning. The average age was a little alarming, however, some of the debate was lively. Has Mission 21 been a success or a failure? That was one of the issues we started to talk about. Lots of local successes I think. Rather like the curate’s egg…
At the once a year gathering of the SEC Organisational Review Committee today. This is the one which makes recommendations about How the General Synod Works. You have to be a synod nerd to really enjoy this kind of thing and such people are fortunately rather thin on the ground. I tend to wave my…
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