What's in Kelvin's Head

Its a funny thing, Choral Evensong. A few years ago, I would have said it was purely of antiquarian interest. However, I was wrong.

Last night was a good example. Glorious music. Quite a diverse aged congregation. A diverse aged choir too. Górecki’s Totus tuus utterly beguiling us all in its simplicity and sparse beauty. It was such a pleasure to be in the midst of it all and seeing and feeling the ancient patterns of prayer come to life in the known holiness of the building once again.

Last week I made it to Choral Evensong in London in one of the churches that I used to go to when I worked down there. It too was stunning. It helps having one of the most striking Norman interiors in the world and it always helps having a choir who know just exactly what to do with the psalms. The psalm singing is one of the regular joys of St Mary’s, but the one I went to down south was special too. Just five singers in the choir, singing Anglican chant impeccably.

However the strongest thing that I’ll take away from that particular service was Benediction. It was simply stunning. The organist knew exactly how to bring the whole thing to a climax (and I do mean climax) when the Blessed Sacrament was revealed in the monstrance and the congregation was blessed. Organ at one end of the building, bell ringing servers at the other. It felt as thought he whole building was vibrating with faith and joy. (At first I thought that they had installed a zimbelstern, but it was just the servers doing their thing).

“O Saving Victim, opening wide. The gate of heaven to us below…” is one of the things that gets Sung at Evensong. Though I’ve enjoyed many a Benediction in the past, that service in London on that one particular night made those words seem more true, more astonishingly, palpably true than any service I’ve experienced before, either in that church of any other. It will stay with me for a long time.

I’ve no plans on introducing Benediction to Sunday evening worship in St Mary’s. I like what we do and I think it works well. However, it did make me think about other possible opportunities.

Here's Bishop David's sermon for Lent 4.

It was good to have Bishop David here this morning – he came as he is currently our diocesan bishop. (And we won't be able to say that for long).

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Check out Gwyneth Leech’s new blog: http://gwynethsfullbrew.blogspot.com/

She has some lovely cups on her blog right now.

For those who have not met her, Gwyneth is the artist who designed the glorious murals in St Mary’s

Here is what I said for Lent 2 last Sunday. The video camera holder seems to have taken the dropsy somehow so I look at little as though I am preaching from the Leaning Tower of Glasgow.

Abram’s Line, or Jesus’s Brood ?

This morning, the reading from Genesis which we had takes us back to the head of a rather large family tree. For the family of religious people who include the Jewish people, the Muslims and all the Christians look back at Abraham and place him fairly and squarely at the top of the tree.

Abraham (or Abram as he is still called in this week’s passage) comes at the top of the tree and gets called things like “the father of faith” or the “patriarch of patriarchs”.

There is quite a lot of effort being put into seeing Abraham as a figure who will unite people of faith. Its common when politicians face trouble between Christians and Muslims and Jewish people to appeal to Abraham as someone from whom we are all descended. “We are all children of Abraham,” they say, “don’t we all have more in common than we have that which divides us?”

I’m a little suspicious of this as I’m not sure I have that much in common with Abraham myself. Read more »

It seems that the process for electing a new Bishop of Argyll and The Isles is taking a little longer than it might have done. It seems it has not so far been possible for the Preparatory Committee to produce a list of names from which the diocese might elect a new bishop. The post is to be readvertised.

I don’t know why that’s not been possible, but I know it can’t be good news for those involved. Those involved include:

• members of the diocese (who are without a bishop)
• anyone who has already applied (because they are left in limbo even longer)
• the Primus (who faces more travelling for the process itself and a longer time helping to administer a diocese that is geographically challenging at the best of times)

It would be remiss of me though, not to point out that this is all happening almost a year since the College of Bishops decreed that some of the clergy should not be considered for election. No-one should be surprised if it is now the case (as seems likely) that it is difficult to find enough good candidates for the Episcopacy to fill a shortlist of three.

You see, last year’s decree (which I still maintain is a change to the way we elect bishops and thus an extra-canonical interference in the Canon 4 process) does not just affect gay people. There are all kinds of people who would be put off applying because of the moratorium declarations.

Gay people in relationships who are truthful about them are directly targetted by the bishops. However, they are not the only ones affected. Gay people who are not in a relationship might well be put off applying simply because of the prurient interest likely to be generated, should they be candid. Anyone with a gay family member might well be put off by the peculiarly nasty and uniquely Scottish moratorium on bishops even attending a Civil Partnership ceremony. I think it is not unreasonable to suggest that many straight people might be put off by the fact that the moratoria make, not only the sex lives of bishops public property, but also the hitherto private lives of family members. Others might be put off by the politicisation of the Episcopate along these lines which is a direct result of the moratoria – who wants to be part of this and represent such a view to the world?

The post of Bishop of Argyll and The Isles is probably never going to be an easy job. However, we are supposed to believe that the Holy Spirit works though our processes when they are applied properly and that someone, somewhere, is feeling called to this job in a way in which the diocese itself can affirm. When those processes are interferred with and manipulated by others on the basis of prejudice and discrimination, it is much harder to maintain such a lofty sense of what such a vocation means.

It is time for the damage that the moratoria have done to be undone.

Any diocese deserves to be able to consider from amongst the best people available who are prepared to undergo the rigorous interviews, vetting, public comment and terrifying Electoral Synods that make up the process. Right now, Argyll and The Isles, like any other diocese that may become vacant, cannot know that it is being offered such a choice.

With regards to the College of Bishops, j’accuse. I can do no other.

With regards to the Diocese of Argyll and The Isles, our prayers are with you.

I did a wordle of the most recent issue of inspires, the Scottish Episcopal Church’s magazine to compare what we are talking about in the magazine with what we are talking about in synod.

Quite interesting, no?

Well, here is a wordle made up from last year’s Synod Minutes. (Well, the draft copy, anyway). It is entirely unscientific, but it is interesting to look at how the words relate.

Word size implies frequency of use. Now, what does this tell us about our church?

In addition to the extra Lent Devotions tonight (Eucharist at 6.30 pm followed by meditation and then Compline), there is also an extra Choral Evensong tomorrow (Saturday) in St Mary’s. There is a Royal School of Church Music singing day for Scottish Voices, which our own Frikki Walker directs. It will be splendid and as usual, all are welcome.

Evensong is at 4 pm on Saturday 20 February 2010.

Services at St Mary’s at:
0930 – Morning Prayer
1230 – Eucharist with Ashes
1930 – Eucharist with Ashes, Byrd’s Four Part Mass and Allegri’s Miserere

Prayers to do at home during the week – here

Lentan Devotions, every Friday evening at 6.30 pm