Author: wonderfulexchange

Kimberly Bohan is a priest in the Diocese of Lincoln, less surprised by angels than by being so far south.

a glossary for atheists

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A non-churchy friend drew my attention to a certain amount of piskie jargon on the blog that needed attention. He had several other interesting things to say too, but he refuses to comment lest his atheist input spoils the sanctity of a church blog.

So, a basic glossary:

Piskie (n) — (1) a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church. (2) a small fairy.

Piskie (adj) — a particularly Scottish diminutive of Episcopalian (e.g. ‘The Piskie Church’). Used inclusively.

Canon 35 (n) — a bit of church law designed to inhibit over zealous or ill planned redecoration of churches. One of God’s great gifts to the church.

Canon 35 (n) — a camera suitable for use in churches that have heeded canon law.

TEC (n) — The Episcopal Church. The new name of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA). Changed to avoid implying that all diocese were in the States (e.g., the diocese of Haiti). Now implying ‘this is what it means to be episcopalian’.

SEC (n).– The Scottish Episcopal Church. The Mother Church of TEC. Not a daughter church of the Church of England (whatever the Windsor Report claims).

Windsor Report (n) — as good reason as any for choosing to remain an atheist.

as it should be

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Today saw the first of our ‘training days’ for those involved with leading worship in Rothesay (those who read, lead prayers, and officiate at Mattins). I take it for granted that it is always worthwhile to reflect on what we are doing, talk about what works and what doesn’t, and see if we can learn to do things better. But I realise that for some, any talk of ‘training’ is problematic — they either interpret it as a vote of no confidence in what is already happening, or it reminds them of school.

But today there was a wonderful reminder of why it is so important. The readers gathered — or rather, a few of the readers gathered — only for me to discover that one member of the congregation had skills in voice training and public speaking far beyond anything I had imagined.

It is such a joy to gather a congregation for training and reflection only to find that I learned far more than I taught.

what do you see?

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I was reading a story last night about a primary school teacher in Alaska, who one day turned to the vast expanse of snow outside the window and asked her class, ‘what colour is it?’ The class — of mostly 10 year olds– said rather smugly, ‘it’s white, Miss.’ But she would have none of it. She looked at the snow, and said, ‘what colour is it?’. And it took a long time before someone realised that it was in fact blue (and purple, and grey, and black…).

The original, better told story is below the fold.

Then this morning a good friend emailed me after reading the blog for the first time. This friend has known me since I was twelve. She’s been a part of a lot of key transitions in my life. And yet, she read the blog and saw things that surprised her. It wasn’t the ‘me’ she was used to.

And it made me wonder — how often do we miss what’s right in front of our eyes with the people we care about? How often do we get used to thinking that the snow is white, so that we never notice if the light changes and it becomes blue or purple or grey?

And how often do we encourage the idea that the snow is white, because it’s easier than explaining how the shades of blue came about, or learning how to see each other again when the light has shifted.

There’s an odd dynamic to long standing friendship — the people who’ve known us the longest, but who aren’t always around enough to see who we have become. When I think about my closest friends, my oldest friends, I have no doubt that they know me. They can see to the heart of things quickly, understand mood and nuance, and strip away any mask that appears. Maybe it’s that cutting to the core of things that makes the appreciation of changing hues difficult.

And in the end, I wonder which is more true:
is the snow white or blue?

The original story is below.

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