• Scotland says “I do!”

    News is just getting to me regarding the news that the Scottish Government has said that it will indeed legislate for gay couples to get hitched.

    I can’t help but feel immensely proud of all those who have come on board and made this the most positive campaign that I’ve ever been a part of.

    Scotland’s head can be proudly held up high.

    Several years ago, I took the decision that campaigning  on these issues within the church was not a terribly productive pursuit. Generally speaking most of my work in this area in recent years has been looking towards a change in the law. Quite a few of my friends thought I was mad. Many people thought it would come but not in my lifetime. I always believed this was possible within the lifetime of this Scottish parliament.

    The focus will turn to the churches soon. They will each have their own decision making process to follow. The key thing for me is that no-one in the Scottish Episcopal Church should be forced to act against their conscience – one way or the other. We’ve lived with different views on the marriage of divorcees for long enough now to know pretty well how we might proceed peaceably.

    There’s a lot more that I will say about all this later but for now, a great well done to all concerned.

    (oh, and by the way, Vacancy: Husband. All reasonable offers considered).

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?

  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!

  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?

  4. Allan Avatar
    Allan

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

    1. kelvin Avatar

      It takes one to know one.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Previous Posts

  • Old Gold

    One aspect of the Gene Robinson story really interested me. It was the news that people around his diocese had been contributing gold jewellery to be melted down to make a pectoral cross – ie the cross which most Western bishops wear near their heart. Some divorcees had contributed wedding rings and there were some…

  • Enhanced Communion

    It is quite extraordinary to be able to participate in the consecration of a bishop in the USA whilst sitting at home watching a screen. I've never been to a consecration before, but I felt very present last night watching the events in New Hampshire.A blessing o­n you, Gene Robinson from Bridge of Allan -…

  • All Souls

    I’ve never kept All Souls on a Sunday before – in the past we have keep it as an evening service during the week. For some of you, this will be the first time that you have been here for this service, though we have had as many as 40 folk out to keep it…

  • Park of Keir

    I'm delighted to hear the news that the Park of Keir Greenbelt land issue which I have been campaigning o­n locally is to have a full Public Enquiry. Quite right too. Many of the local campaigners went down to the Scottish Parliament o­n Wednesday to lobby their MSPs. Together we managed to get all the…