• Church of Scotland rejects biblicist position on sex and marriage

    It is going to be important not to underestimate the significance of the votes in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland today. A last ditch attempt was made to get that church to commit to the idea that sex belongs only between a married heterosexual couple. That idea was comprehensively rejected.

    People with widely differing opinions never thought we would see this day. Though the legislation that the Church of Scotland is now consulting on accepting is a dreadful mess, and a long way from equality for LGBT people, today was a huge and historic boost for those who reject the ideas of those who claim the Christian tradition to be by definition narrow and anti-gay in character.

    It seemed to me, as I watched the debate, as though those seeking to promote an anti-gay view had made a huge strategic mistake by going for an all or nothing approach and trying to get the Assembly to affirm only their view.

    Generosity won the day in Edinburgh today. Generosity that has divine fingerprints all over it.

5 responses to “Yesterday”

  1. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    I do like ‘try to wind everyone as far up the candlestick of joy as I dare’. St Mary’s does have natural advantages, which let it succeed as it does. However, I really do not think other churchs need to make so much of their natural disadvantages…

  2. jaye richards-hill Avatar

    …And don’t forget Evensong, which for me (as you’d expect) was even more glorious. I even felt moved to blog about it in the first of a ‘Guilty Pleasures’ series! http://mimanifesto.wordpress.com/2013/03/11/guilty-pleasures-1/

    It was particularly wonderful for the Boston choir to be singing Frikki’s great setting of Newman’s poem/hymn ‘Lead Kindly Light’

    A fabulous end to a remarkable day in the Cathedral. Truly uplifting.

  3. Marion Avatar
    Marion

    Sounds as if everybody had great time. On occasions, such as this, I wish you could record the whole service, as you do with the Sermon, for people to watch on line.

  4. Pam Avatar
    Pam

    The prayer at the end – pretty good.
    Our congregation recently decided to introduce an Evensong service once a month so I’m looking forward to that.

  5. Bro David Avatar
    Bro David

    I went looking and I found the evidence. Who is that there listening intently in the bottom right corner?

    http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iH_gvqP-uik/UT2JPcJ0PKI/AAAAAAAABB0/OuXAMY9KbBA/s1600/IMG_8332.JPG

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