St Augustine's, Dumbarton - Scottish Episcopal Church

This month we will read much more in the Scottish press about the issue of gay clergy. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will meet and a decision will be made on whether or not to ratify the appointment of a gay man, living with a partner in a lifelong union, to a parish in the city of Aberdeen.

Already the discussions are taking place, and minds are being made up, one way or the other. Entrenched 

positions are being consolidated, and there is a real risk that the Church of Scotland will experience schism over the issue, with ministers threatening to walk out of Assembly and resign from their charges if this appointment is allowed to go through.

Of course we, in the Anglican Communion, have been having this debate for a long while now, and we have a married gay bishop in Gene Robinson in charge of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the United States. As most of you know, he has become a focal point for those in our own Communion with entrenched positions, one way or another.

It could be argued that the Anglican Communion is already in bits, with several African Bishops joining others of the evangelical right, forming a coalition of their own which tells us all that they alone are the guardians of biblical truth, while the liberal minded are selling the Gospel short by allowing gay clergy to operate at all, far less if they are in a relationship with a member of the same sex.

It’s all very sad, and the Anglican Communion is being held together by a very thin thread at this moment. We have a moratorium, which some have simply ignored, on ordaining openly gay clergy to the Episcopate, as well as preventing us all from making provision for same-sex unions. This moratorium, in 

my understanding, would also prevent us ordaining gay men and women to Holy Orders if they were in a 

same-sex relationship.

Whether you agree with this or not, that is where we are, in the hope that, as time goes by, solutions will be found to bring us all together again so that we can live together happily ever after. I doubt if this will happen.

I don’t think we should have any say whatsoever on what the Church of Scotland decides to do about this 

issue, and really, we have our own problem here. The difference is that now the issue will hit the Scot-

tish press in a big way, and we’ll find that we are drawn into discussion on the street and in our pubs 

and clubs!

At the moment, what is being highlighted here is the broken-ness of the Body of Christ. In our division, in 

the differing stances that are being taken, we should be finding the Christ wounded and bleeding in the 

midst of it all, crying out for resurrection and healing and wholeness.

“The living bread is broken for the life of the world - Lord unite us in this sign!” These are words from our 

1982 Liturgy and they should be reverberating through our parishes and churches as we go through 

this experience of broken-ness.

Unless St Augustine’s is different from every other parish, there will be division on this issue within our 

church family as there is everywhere else. There will be different opinions on what is acceptable and what 

is not. There will be different levels of experience and different levels of theological and biblical knowledge. 

However, we mustn’t let the whole debate divide us as a congregation. We have to respect the opinion 

and stance of others even if it is not our own, and learn to live with this broken-ness within the Body of 

Christ. We look to healing, we look for wholeness.

The discussion will go on, and on and on, until at the end, Synods and Bishops and Provincial Boards and 

Committees will make recommendations, after seeking our opinions and listening to the debate from 

every angle. We simply have to trust that Our Lord will guide the Church into all truth.

Theological and biblical stances can be compared with each camp making their own sandcastles on the 

beach. Churches of different denominations can be compared in a similar fashion. We like and admire 

our own sandcastles, and think them to be just the job. “If only the rest of the people on the beach had 

sandcastles like ours, then the beach would be a better place to be!”, say some. Others wonder at the di-

versity of the sandcastles and say, “Isn’t it wonderful that we are not all the same, and that differing opin-

ions on how a sandcastle should look make this beach such a wonderful place to be!”

Such is the Body of Christ, and we all have our own castles in the sand.

One day the tide will come in and wash all our castles away, and there will be left only one thing – a big 

man with outstretched arms and bleeding palms, crying out for resurrection.

Ready for the JCB on Monday!

Just a couple of wee pics to share with you from Christmas Morning. One with me in full flow, the other with well kent faces!

We’ve been holding back this photo for maximum effect! Seen at a recent party, warming up for the Christmas Season!

We had fun in St Aug’s this morning! After the solemn remembrance befitting Remembrance Sunday, we had a “Gambian Day” with fr Jimmy and Matilda Cole spending Sunday with us. Sheila, a young lass from Fr Jimmy’s parish in The Gambia came along. She’s studying in Glasgow just now, but as the leader of the Praise and Adoration Group in Serrekunda, she gave us a taster of how they worship in Christchurch. Photos will appear in Multimedia tomorrow.

We had a good day today, discussing the Leading Your Church Into Growth material! We finished with a Eucharist, led by Revd Kirsten Freeman, who had guided us through the day.

We lit candles for ourselves, for those who are on the fringes of our congregation, and for those we may invite to social events, or to our church services. We nearly set the altar on fire!

The encouraging thing was that we already do many of the things the course encourages us to begin, but our problem is that we sometimes lack confidence! Perhaps there was enough affirmation around today to enable us go forward and feel positive about our mission and outreach.

Funerals are never easy, but today I had two within the space of three hours. I know some English colleagues will laugh, but that’s the first time I’ve done two funerals in the one day in 30 years of ministry. Not to be recommended. Two days of preparation and visits, publishing personalised Orders of Service Books, and the weather, dull and showery, just made the whole two-funeral thing make me feel numbed by death and grief.

It’s not that I’m without faith in life eternal and our glorious hope through the resurrection of Jesus. It’s just the grief of the people you love and care for, and the inability to take away their pain and loss. Sometimes ministry is shitty.

Added to that, someone, not a member of the congregation, has written to the Dean and made outlandish accusations about me and how I have handled the plans to build our new Church Hall. The allegations are totally unfounded and would be laughable if I hadn’t now had to dig out old pewsheets, magazines, minutes, and drawings, get in touch with the architect and Town Planning to justify the actions of myself and the Vestry, (PCC), here in St Aug’s.

This man obviously has something against me, I know not what, but he’s created a burden which I could do without. He has also raised considerable anger among the members of the congregation who have heard of the allegations.

Nope! Sorry! But I’ve handled everything in accordance with Canon Law, and with the complete support of the Vestry and congregation. It’s sad, in our small community, that someone could cause so much pain and hurt, and cause so much trouble by telling downright lies and smearing my name and the way I handle congregational affairs. He’s not even a Communicant Member, and never has been! I forsee a lawyers letter winging its way to him soon.

So…. the anti-depressants are kind of crucial today. I know the Blog Community will uphold us all in their prayers.

Abundant, grainy and not overly expensive. Think of it as Red River Cereal for the soul. We know already that incense is an appropriate symbol of the soul’s ascent and a means of hallowing or ‘pointing to’ significant places or actions – something which enjoys both clear Biblical warrant and obvious analogues in other religious traditions.

But is it good for you? From the reaction of certain folks it might appear not:

Now Fr Major has, I suspect, never been accused of understating a case. Nonetheless there is much unhappiness on the part of some people when the new rector begins to slowly and carefully introduce the practise on selected Sunday mornings. Not all of it has to do with the physical effects of the stuff.

This just in: It is now being suggested that the components of frankincense act to reduce anxiety and depression – at least among mice.

Those short unhappy lives, marked by high heartrates and quick dashes between corners of the kitchen looking for crumbs and dodging the cat and the householder’s broom. If such lives can be made tolerable with the addition of a little frankincense think of what it can do for you.