Well – never let it be said that ordained ministry doesn’t have its interesting moments.
It’s been the usual sort of weekend – the kind of things one does while other people are doing whatever they do with their weekends. Our Diocesan Synod demonstrated that we have some truly remarkable people on board and that I am gradually being relegated to a ‘smiling and waving’ posture. It was, I thought, a bit ‘on message’ so we’ll need to arrange to make it a bit more unruly and spontaneous next year.
In case you were interested, I offered a Homily at the Eucharist and a Presidential Address. Today I joined in the Eucharist which marked the end of a Cursillo Weekend – in Dunblane Cathedral on the 15th Anniversary of the Dunblane Tragedy. This is the Homily.
And this morning, I found myself on BBC ‘The Big Questions’ – discussing earthquakes, pornography and the [suggested] link between faith schools and sectarianism in Scotland. In my world, discussion of pornography would normally involve something rather – forgive me – pedestrian with a group like the Mothers Union. But this was good telly so they had two real live porn stars. Fortunately it was not a very revealing discussion – as we struggled to talk about whether making pornographic films is degrading or just another way of making a living – but it was a presenter’s dream – ‘And now bishop …. ‘ I’d love to have had a cup of coffee with them afterwards to find out … well maybe not. If you want to have a look, you’ll find it here.
Always one to go for the trivial – what’s the difference between a homily and a sermon? Am I showing my age?
Glad you asked that question. Maybe porn stars take better to homilies – sermons might be a bit much?
What a frustrating experience that must have been! Just watching that show was driving me insane without actually being there. The two porn stars in particular just cut across everyone else and were allowed to for the most part. And I think it’s a great pity you were cut off mid sentence addressing the ‘how can a loving God let this happen’ issue leaving us with some fairly extreme religious viewpoints that for the vast majority will be simply not credible.
Well it’s always the same with these things. You have to decide whether there is just about enough in it – yes the SEC still exists, etc – to justify engaging with a bit of trivialisation and more than a little anti-religious hysteria. I thought it just about got over the line. WWJD?