What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • What’s on your church website right now?

    Just a gentle reminder that people are looking for church services and Christmas events to go to right now. (Yes, right this minute. Today. Really.) It is worth asking what they will find if they go to your church website.

    One of the things that astonished me last Christmas was hearing people at St Mary’s saying that they had come to us because their local churches were not having any Christmas events or services.

    “Oh yes they are!” I replied in true panto style.

    “Oh no they’re not!” they replied, “we’ve looked, there’s nothing on their websites”.

    The time in the year when people are most eager to try out a new church and most welcome invitations to church seems to be around Christmas. Can I suggest that everyone reading this take a look at their own local church website and if they don’t find the details of the Christmas services prominently displayed, get hold of whoever does their website and very gently and lovingly and with every ounce of Christian compassion you can muster, bend their ear.

    That includes those responsible for diocesan websites which give a page to each of their churches. Remember, if those pages are there, google may well find them first. If people find webpages which list churches where the latest news is any older than last month (never mind last year) and where the words “No events at present” are shown in the week before Christmas, it might be said that you can’t really blame them for not turning up.

    Times of Christmas services at St Mary’s can be found here. Note that they don’t follow the same pattern as last year. We’re living on the edge, we are. 

    Right on the edge.

    ,

7 responses to “Pollokshields – These are our neighbours”

  1. Marjorie Wilson Avatar
    Marjorie Wilson

    Local people foiled yesterday’s attempt by immigration enforcers; next time they will come at night in an unmarked van. We have no chance of improving the immigration system in what you call “this country”, meaning the UK. When Scotland becomes independent, we will be able to have our own immigration policy, which will be fair, just and compassionate, in line with Christian values, and with the views of most Scottish people. Don’t you agree?

    Reply
    1. Kelvin Avatar
      Kelvin

      No, I don’t agree. I think that the current policy is unjust and unfair and is just as unjust if it is applied in Carlisle as in Glasgow. The whole country needs a better system, not just Scotland.

      I find the idea of a country set up on “Christian” values quite chilling.

      If we do have a new country, it needs to have a secular constitution not a Christian one.

      Reply
      1. Revd Kenny Macaulay Avatar
        Revd Kenny Macaulay

        However, the people south of Carlisle have already indicated what sort of government they want and it is very different to what the majority of Scottish people consistently vote for. The only way we will get a fairer system is in an independent Scotland with your secular constitution.

        Reply
        1. Kelvin Avatar
          Kelvin

          We have no idea what the immigration policy of a Tory government would be in an independent Scotland.

          Reply
        2. Keith Barber Avatar
          Keith Barber

          On the contrary, us folk south of Carlisle have been saddled with a government the majority of us don’t like by the defects of our electoral system and the machinations of a far-right anti-EU obsessive so-called politician.

          Reply
  2. Sue Matthew Avatar
    Sue Matthew

    thank you Kelvin for your comments. The scenes were heartening, that a community valued the men and were determined that they should be treated fairly and heard from. Gave me a little glimmer of hope, but then thats Scotland, here in Blue heaven, may not go that way, I am 84 now and have never felt so despondent, maybe the lockdown, I am not confident so a real ray of light from Pollockshields

    Reply
  3. Catherine Avatar
    Catherine

    Hurrah for Pollokshields. We need more of that sort of thing- all over the UK.

    Reply

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