What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Sermon preached for Lent 1, 2013

    Here’s the video.


    And here is the text:

    One of my favourite stories about St Mary’s is one that I’ve heard several versions of. It concerns one of my predecessors as Provost here.

    He had been here for a couple of months and thought that things were going OK. And then suddenly a letter appeared from a member of the congregation. (It may be that person is still here and just about to write to me in similar terms, so I’m taking a risk in telling this story).

    The gist of the letter was that its author listed the many ways in which the worship of the congregation had changed in those three months.

    See here, the letter writer wrote – see all the changes that you’ve made.

    And in the letter there was a list. In the version of the story I like the best there were 90 points listed but I don’t know whether we should allow a little bit of exaggeration in the telling.

    And the Provost in question had to confess (more…)

3 responses to “Another day, another new ministry now begins”

  1. Eamonn Avatar
    Eamonn

    Thanks be to God. I have family in New Westminster, and have been visiting there for the last 13 years. So I am acutely aware of how difficult and painful things have been in some parishes.

    Reply
  2. Eamonn Avatar
    Eamonn

    Interestingly, though +Michael Ingham has taken a great deal of flak over the blessing of civil partnerships, the pressure to provide a service of blessing came initially from the laity, about 20 years ago.

    Reply
  3. Father Ron Smith Avatar
    Father Ron Smith

    Thanks for this, Kelvin,

    I’m taking the liberty of putting this on my ‘kiwianglo’ web-site in New Zealand.
    We are always interested in your comments on the Anglican Communion around the world, and appreciate this titbit from your visit to New Westminster. Enjoy your sabbatical. God bless you and renew you for your return to Bonny Scotia.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Previous Posts

  • What theologian are you?

    You scored as Paul Tillich. Paul Tillich sought to express Christian truth in an existentialist way. Our primary problem is alienation from the ground of our being, so that our life is meaningless. Great for psychotherapy, but no longer very influential.Paul Tillich67%J?rgen Moltmann60%Friedrich Schleiermacher53%John Calvin40%Martin Luther27%Jonathan Edwards27%Charles Finney27%Augustine20%Anselm13%Karl Barth7%Which theologian are you?created with QuizFarm.com No…

  • Sermon – 19 June 2005

    The gospel reading that we have just had represents a collection of proverbs and remembered sayings of Jesus Christ. You can almost imagine people sitting round and each tossing in a memory of what Jesus had once said which made them think. As such, it is not a terribly easy thing to preach on and…

  • New Archbishop of York

    A cautious welcome to the appointment of the new Archbishop of York, the Rt Rev John Sentamu. He became the Area Bishop in East London where I worked for a while. Margeret, to whom Bishop John is married, was the Selection Secretary on the Selection Conference which I attended when applying to have my vocation…