Category: congregation

dinosaur plays catch up

wonderfulexchange7 Comments

I have just put Holy Trinity on the map. Literally.

Why did I not know that I could add our churches to Google Maps??

I had a quick look for other Piskie churches, and it seems we are lamentably slow as a group. Glasgow Cathedral is up to date (with a nice plug for Frikki’s CD). The Glasgow diocese generally seems to be ahead of the game, though St Ninian’s is flagged and named for the rectory instead of the church.

So, calling all church-geeks. Go see if your church (or convent)  is there. If not, it’s easy to fix. Go to Google Maps, click on ‘Add or Edit your business’ and fill in the blanks. You can add a photo too.

I recently saw the Durham diocesan map, where they have every church marked. I thought they must have clever computer people and a huge budget. But clearly, neither is necessary.

(now off to do St Paul’s)

p.s. — if you go looking for Holy Trinity on the map, you won’t find it yet. It takes a few weeks to update.

orande laborande

wonderfulexchange4 Comments

I learned to preach at Rugby School. My first ever sermonette was at my interview. After that I cut my teeth on morning chapel with 780 restless teenagers and 50 or so equally restless staff. Add to that the parents and important visitors on Sundays, the riot of stained glass and coloured brick (Butterfield in brogues), and you will get the idea.

My time at Rugby was short-lived, and I was not at home there. But more than I realised it left its mark. And that mark is most evident when you give me a packed church to play with.

The first time it happened was at a funeral in Pollokshields. The woman who died was young and the church was full. People were deeply upset, and the atmosphere was a bit wild. When I opened my mouth to speak, out came ‘Rugby school voice’. I didn’t even know I had such a thing, but there it was: measured and precise and ever so slightly exaggerated. It’s not the same as ‘school teacher voice’, with which my congregations are altogether more familiar. No, this is preaching voice. Trust me preaching voice. Listen to me preaching voice. Don’t mess with me preaching voice.

And it comes in handy.

Tonight in Rothesay, we had 85 for evensong.

Just in case you missed that, let me say it again.

Tonight in Rothesay, we had 85 for evensong.
Isn’t ecumenism wonderful?
And I was preaching on Anglican ways.
On Evensong, in fact. Or more generally on daily prayer.

And as I preached, I realised that my Rugby roots were showing. ‘Where did that vowel come from?’ I wondered. ‘Just how loud was that closing ‘t’?’ And all the while I was preaching, there was another voice inside my head, noticing that I’d changed modes, that I was doing things differently, that I was playing to the crowd. And it was as natural as breathing.

I still find it curious that such things are possible.

Some of you will remember the days when I could not read a lesson without clutching at eagle’s wings and concentrating fully to keep the shaking in my hands, and not let it drop down to my knees.

So how did it happen, this internalization of Rugby Voice? At what point did it become so much a part of me that it comes unbidden if given half a chance? I am glad that Rugby Voice did not become a permanent feature of my preaching life. But it’s a useful tool in the box, and handy to have a chance to polish it now and again.

daily prayer

wonderfulexchange1 Comment

While working on a service for Sunday evening in Rothesay, I came across a clever feed for the daily office from the Church of England. I have added Daily Prayer links in the side bar that will take you to morning or evening prayer each day.

These links are on British time, though if you are reading from elsewhere the main ‘Daily Prayer’ link in the copyright information will tell you what you need to do.

You will find similar links on the websites for St Paul’s and Holy Trinity.

Happy praying.

Addendum:  Molly has just discovered the ribbons on my new Daily Prayer book.  At last she sees the point of the daily office.  But she is horrified at the thought that such fun could be lost on line.