New Kid on the Blog

And here's a second short video about thinking theologically - none of this is definitive, nor do I claim to have a handle on it all, and as you may have seen in the first video, I sometimes stumble and need to backtrack (3 legged Stool vs Lambeth Quadrilateral, anyone?) Anyway, again, likes and comments and reflections and discussions very much welcome.

It's been a very long time since I've used this blog, but now seems like a good time to return. I've missed writing things to throw out into the ether, and the interactions and relationships which came from them and I've certainly missed the wisdom which has been shared in response to what I post. I think I should say something of why things have been so quiet here. It's partly because this was an outlet, a way of expressing the quirky world of Clergy life in rural England - where collegial relationships were limited and a (somewhat overworked) Vicar needed to have a place to think out loud. That changed when I came here to Canada, way back in July 2013, as I found myself on a team of lay and ordained ministers who gave each other space to think, to muse, to discuss, to learn. It was, and is, a liberation - and though that team has changed composition over this past six years it continues to be a creative, supportive partnership, Another reason for les...

It's incomplete, and I made the deliberate choice not to stuff it with references and quotes. This one comes from the heart: To Marriage Commission of the General Synod Anglican Church of Canada From: The Rev’d Alastair McCollum Rector, St John the Divine Anglican Church 1611 Quadra Street, Victoria BC V8W 2L5 My response to the questions posited by the Marriage Commission are below. How do you interpret what scripture says about marriage? What Scripture says about marriage is much more fluid and less easily pinned down than those who advocate for ‘Biblical Marriage’ often proclaim.  We see throughout the Biblical texts multiple models for relationships: monogamous and multiple partner marriage, concubinage, co-habitation, and much more are all endorsed, or simply understood as present as the scriptural texts reflect the cultural norms from which they arise. What I understand from Scripture is that there is a significantly nuanced understand...

A few weeks ago I asked the congregation if they would like me to spend some of the sermon time this week on talking about 'Church governance'.  This is because this Sunday was 'Vestry Sunday' - our annual meeting for receiving reports of all that has happened in the previous year, saying thank you to the Wardens and Parish Council who work so hard for the benefit of the church community, and considering the financial situation of the Parish.  There was an overwhelming 'yes' to that offer. Each Church has it's own form of Governance, there is a need for some kind of order and accountability in any group.  I think in the Anglican tradition we often make assumptions that people know what is going on without ever explaining these things - as if our structures and regulations might be passed on by some form of osmosis.  This Sermon is a very broad attempt to give a picture of how we run our Churches and why we have the structures we do. Epiphany 7 (2...