What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • My own response to the government

    Phew, just finished writing my own response to the current round of consultation on changes to marriage law in Scotland.

    This one is not about the principle of introducing marriage for same-sex couples but about how such proposals will be implemented.

    It is more complex than you think because marriage law is more complex than you think!

    Anyway, here is my response, if anyone is interested:

    Consultation response Kelvin Holdsworth – March 2013

    To save you time wading through it, here’s the most interesting thing I’ve said:

    I believe that if someone is authorised to conduct a straight couple’s marriage then they should automatically be authorised to conduct marriages of same-sex couples. The law should apply equally to people and what has been proposed is not equality. For these reasons, I do not support the current proposals for determining who can and who can not conduct the marriage of a same-sex couple.

    If churches wish to limit the ability of a celebrant to conduct a marriage then they should continue to be able to do that through their own internal disciplinary procedure.

    I look forward to being able to celebrate marriages for same-sex couples one day in my congregation (St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow). I note with interest that once the state licenses marriages for same-sex couples, my own denomination (The Scottish Episcopal Church) will automatically have an authorised liturgy for blessing such couples – the service of Benediction, which is explicitly authorised in Canon Law for use with couples whose marriage is legal but which has not been performed according to the rites of the church.

    The consultation closes on Wednesday. More details here:
    https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/family-law/marriagebill

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5 responses to “Review: Leaving Alexandria: A Memoir of Faith and Doubt – Richard Holloway”

  1. Tony Whatmough Avatar
    Tony Whatmough

    Like you, I found Richard’s book greatly moving. It reduced me to tears on many occasions. But one thing I’ve found interesting over the years, is the effect on so many priests of the Kelham training. I’ve met many over the years, with different styles of preaching, but there is something distinctive about them all. Not all of them regarded Kelham with approval: one described it as a theological Borstal, but whatever, it made an impression on them, and like Richard, it has been life long. I wonder how many other theological colleges have done that?

    Reply
  2. John MacBrayne Avatar
    John MacBrayne

    Am reading it now. Not quite sure what to make of it to be honest, although thus far I have detected the age old problem of an individual confined by the strictures of an organisation….and a desire to move beyond that and back to a simpler life…not finished yet though!

    Reply
  3. Elizabeth Avatar
    Elizabeth

    ‘It is a book that must come top of the list of recent books which someone seeking to understand the modern Scottish Episcopal Church needs to read.’
    What a teaser! What other titles would you place on this list?

    Reply
  4. Allan Avatar
    Allan

    ‘Consummate attention seeker’, eh? Well, well……
    And it’s ‘He who’ not ‘whom’. Just saying.

    Reply
    1. kelvin Avatar
      kelvin

      It takes one to know one.

      Reply

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