Scottish Inclusive Language

The Scottish Episcopal Church’s College of Bishops has approved inclusive language prayers, authorising optional changes that remove “Lord”, “He”, “his”, “him”, and “us men” from its 1982 Eucharistic Liturgy.

On Aug 2, the SEC published a list of seven permitted changes. Spokesman Lorna Finley said the changes were offered by the College of Bishops as an “interim measure” as the General Synod Liturgy Committee prepares new Eucharist rites.

The permitted changes include altering “God is love and we are his children” in the Confession and Absolution to “God is love and we are God’s children.”

In the Gloria the phrase “and peace to his people on earth” becomes “and peace to God’s people on earth;” the Nicene Creed is revised with the phrase “for us men and our salvation” making way “for us and for our salvation;” while the opening responses in the Eucharist Prayer change “it is right to give him thanks and praise” to “it is right to give God thanks and praise.”

The Christological Prayer in Eucharistic Prayer IV changes from “He renewed the promise of his presence” to “Your son, Jesus Christ, renewed the promise of his presence.” Eucharistic Prayer V allows revisions to the phrase “Give thanks to the Lord for he is gracious, And his mercy endures forever,” with “Give thanks to our gracious God, whose mercy endures forever;” and substitution of the phrase “which is your will for all mankind” with “which is your will for all the world.”

Ms. Finley said the revisions incorporate changes suggested by the clergy after a questionnaire was distributed in 2007. “The use of inclusive language was one of the key comments arising from this questionnaire,” she noted, adding the permitted changes prepared by the Liturgy Committee in consultation with the Faith & Order Board of General Synod and the College of Bishops “help bring our common texts in to line with the English Language Liturgical Consultation recommendations.”

However, the Rev. Stuart Hall of the Scottish Prayer Book Society on Aug 5 urged the Primus and College of Bishops to rethink the revisions as “some of the tinkering” to the liturgy “are going to do some incidental damage.”

Dr. Hall, Professor Emeritus of Ecclesiastical History at Kings’s College London and Honorary Professor of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews stated he believed there were problems of doctrine and aesthetics with the new liturgy.

The revisions “disturbed” the liturgy’s musical settings and upset the rhythm of the verses. The “compilers and revisers of the 1982 [Liturgy] have from the start been culpably indifferent to music,” he observed.

“The absurd thing is that the whole difficulty, if such there be, could be avoided with reference to all the ancient originals from which the Eucharistic dialogue was translated,” Dr. Hall said.

The Latin Dignum et iustum est or Greek axion kai dikaion is translated in the Book of Common Prayer as “It is meet and right so to do,” he said, asking “Why could our translators not have avoided the whole issue of God’s sex and stuck with ‘It is proper and right,’ or preserving the rhythms of the original Greek and Latin, ‘Proper it is, and right’.”

Changing the words of the Nicene Creed was problematic, he said. “On principle, liturgy-writers should not tamper with the text of ecumenical creeds,” and omitting ‘men’ has doctrinal consequences, he said.

The Greek words tous anthropous in the creed uses ‘men’ in the sense of all humanity. “If you leave it out, the reference might be taken to mean us Christians, or even us Episcopalians,” Dr. Hall said, adding that Hooker had to defend the phrase ‘that it may please thee to have mercy upon all men’ in the Litany “against dissenting critics who thought we should pray only for the Elect, not for everybody.”

In the original Creeds, the same word anthropos is applied to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, who is not just enfleshed, ‘incarnate of the Virgin Mary’, but puts on total thinking humanity, enenthropesen, ‘made man’, Dr. Hall explained. “So there is a balance: for us humans … he became human. And his fleshly humanity is entirely derived from the Virgin Mary: her manhood becomes his. If ‘men’ applied to ‘us’ excludes women, then Christ is said not to have become human, but to have become male.”

Prudence Dailey of the Church of England’s Prayer Book Society told CEN she was “sorry” the SEC “felt the need to be squeamish” about gender specific language in relation to God.

“I would hope that the authorised liturgies of the Church of England will never go that far down that particular path. The Prayer Book Society would not wish worshipers to be encouraged to feel uncomfortable with the traditional usage of masculine pronouns, as found in the Book of Common Prayer of 1662,” she said.

A near miss

SCOTLAND: Election to decide if Britain will have first female Anglican bishop

By Trevor Grundy,
Episcopal News Service
January 14, 2010

Britain might soon have its first female Anglican bishop, serving the 38,000-member Scottish Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Alison Peden, aged 57, is one of three candidates for the post of bishop of Glasgow and Galloway. The election is scheduled for Jan. 16.

Observers say that if Peden is elected it is likely to increase pressure on the neighboring Church of England to allow the appointment of women bishops.

"This news is a real boost as it comes at a time when the Church of England is in the process of preparing its own legislation for women bishops," Christina Rees, chairperson of WATCH (Women and the Church) and a campaigner for female bishops, was quoted as saying by The Times newspaper.

Peden, the rector of Holy Trinity Church in Stirling and canon of St. Ninian's Cathedral in Perth, is facing two male rivals for the post of bishop in the Scottish diocese.

They are the Rev. John Applegate, an academic at Manchester University, and the Rev. Gregor Duncan, rector of St. Ninian's Church, Pollokshields, and dean of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway.

The candidates were chosen by clergy and lay church members. Under church rules they are not allowed to give media interviews before the election.

Peden is the first woman to be shortlisted in Britain as an Anglican bishop. The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church voted in 2003 to allow women bishops.

The Scottish election comes a year after the small Lutheran Church in Great Britain consecrated its first woman bishop, the Rev. Jana Jeruma-Grinberga.

WATCH's Rees said she believed that legislation allowing women bishops in the Church of England would probably be presented to its General Synod in July 2010, and that final approval would be given in 2012.

"My great hope in 2010 is that we will finally see good, robust and fair legislation for women bishops coming forward," she told Ecumenical News International.

Church decides against first woman bishop

Published Date: 17 January 2010

By Alastair Dalton

THE Scottish Episcopal Church stepped back

from making

religious history yesterday

when former academic

Dr Alison

Peden failed

in her attempt

to become

Britain's first

female bishop.

The Rev Canon Peden, 57, was defeated for the

post of Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway by the

more experienced dean of the diocese, Dr Gregor Duncan.

An electoral

synod comprising

115 clergy and lay church members voted by a majority

to elect Duncan

(59) who is also

rector of St

Ninian's Church in Pollokshields, Glasgow.

Whither Scotland?

• A referendum on Scotland's place in the UK is now seriously on the cards, at some stage after next spring's general election. What Salmond is announcing in Edinburgh is not a fantasy agenda. And it could have a direct relevance for every citizen, every taxpayer and every political party in the rest of the United Kingdom. Whether St Andrew's Day 2009 feels like a moment to celebrate depends on your taste in politics. The result? I, for one, feel a little queasy.

  jackie.ashley@guardian.co.uk

Macintosh Glasgow

Separate hop on, hop off bus this morning to various Macintosh buildings, and some on foot in city centre. Afternoon out by bus to Pollock Park and Burrell Collection.

St Andrews Graduation

Bus to St Andrews for graduation of grand daughter - M.A. 1st class honours psychology.

Hop on, Hop off

Hotel is near to St Georges Square enabling us to board the city tour bus there which, with an all day ticket, enables us to hop on and hop off at more than 20 different significant parts of the city.

Glasgow

Today we travel by train to Glasgow. We have been to Edinburgh many times so thought it was time to see what Glasgow has to offer. We stayed at Ramada Jarvis City Central Hotel, Ingram Street.

Iona

It is more than 25 years now since Cynthia and I made a one day pilgrimage to Iona from our silver wedding base in Oban.

Today is the feast day of St Columba who founded the monastic missionary community there and who is buried in the abbey church.

Columba did not come to these shores out of choice. As a matter of fact he ended up here due to one of the first copyright disputes ever.

Columba was a monk at the monastery of Moville in Ireland. The Abbot there was named Finnian and he had been to Rome and returned with a copy of the four Gospels. At that time religious manuscripts were very rare because they were all written by hand.

Columba asked Finnian if he could make a copy of the manuscript but Finnian refused. Columba, however, was a prince of the O’Neills and thus was a proud and independent minded man so, undeterred by Finnian’s warning, he got up in the middle of the night and copied a small piece of the manuscript. He repeated this act every night, copying a small piece of the manuscript each time. On the last night Finnian walked in on Columba and flew into a rage. He demanded the copy from Columba who refused and retreated to the country of his tribe.

Finnian appealed to the High King of Ireland who summoned both to appear before him on a set date for the judgement. When they appeared the King’s judgement was "To the cow her calf." Finnian had won but Columba was not to be deterred.

Once again he ran home to his tribe and raised an army and marched south. The High King, angry that his judgement had been defied, raised his army and marched north. There was a huge battle. Columba won but 2000 men were killed and he was seized with remorse. He went to see his Father Confessor who told him that he must leave Ireland and win as many souls for Christ as had been lost at the battle. This was a terrible sentence known as white martyrdom.
Columba took some men with him and sailed for Scotland. He reached the island now off Southend on the Mull of Kintyre but he found that when he climbed to the top of the hill he could still see Ireland. As a result he sailed on to Iona and formed the monastery that is now so famous.

This was the year 563 and Columba, blessed with powerful oratory skill, succeeded in reviving Christianity in the Scots and even managed to penetrate into Pictland. It is thought that this was more of a diplomatic visit than a missionary one.

Columba made return visits to Ireland. At one such visit he attended a summit of all the kings of Ireland and managed to persuade them to exempt women from military duties.

By his death in 597 Columba had succeeded in making Iona the centre of a church that was increasing in size very quickly. It is interesting to note that this church was not episcopal in organisation even though it recognised the Pope as head of the church on earth. He had also managed to strengthen the position of Dal Riata in relation to her neighbour Pictland because of the now cordial relations between Dal Riata and Ireland.

The Iona Community was founded in Glasgow and Iona in 1938 by George MacLeod, minister, visionary and prophetic witness for peace, in the context of the poverty and despair of the Depression. From a dockland parish in Govan, Glasgow, he took unemployed skilled craftsmen and young trainee clergy to Iona to rebuild both the monastic quarters of the mediaeval abbey and the common life by working and living together, sharing skills and effort as well as joys and achievement. That original task became a sign of hopeful rebuilding of community in Scotland and beyond. The experience shaped – and continues to shape – the practice and principles of the Iona Community.

Iona is a tiny and beautiful Hebridean island off the west coast of Scotland, cradle of Christianity in Scotland, where in 563AD the Irish monk Columba (Columkille) established a monastic settlement that evangelised large parts of Scotland and the north of England and became an important centre of European Christianity. In the Middle Ages it became the site of a Benedictine abbey, and over the centuries it has attracted many thousands of people on their own pilgrim journeys.

Iona remains a centre for pilgrimage and tourism; the daily services of the Iona Community in the Abbey church and worship elsewhere on the island are open to all; many visitors come again and again. There is a year-round population of over 100; long-established island families as well as more recent arrivals, including those who work for the Iona Community in its centres as staff or volunteers. The abbey is now managed by Historic Scotland; the Iona Community remains in residence as a living, worshipping presence. The islanders, the Iona Community and Historic Scotland work together to maintain Iona as a place of welcome.

Fishers of Men

"By the sea of Galilee the Lord saw two brothers, Peter and Andrew. He called them: Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men".

Saint life grand

IT MAY not be the great public holiday many had hoped for, but just because most of us will still have to work this St Andrew's Day does not mean we can't mark the occasion in style.
From Boston to Beijing, expats and Scotophiles the world over will be celebrating this Friday, and at home the day is set to be observed more widely than ever before - from conventional balls and dinners to some rather more unorthodox, not to say eccentric, events such as an attempt at the world's largest Dashing White Sergeant and "aqua ceilidhs" in swimming pools.
Despite the attempts by the Falkirk West Independent MSP Dennis Canavan to have the saint's day declared a full public holiday, last year the Scottish Parliament ultimately voted for a "voluntary public holiday", though employers and employees may have interestingly differing views as to exactly what that means.

So while Parliament - though failing to guarantee the rest of us the same privilege - is taking the day off (as is Angus Council), it remains unclear just how many firms or employees will be following their example on this holiday of non-obligation. According to the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, the answer is not a lot.

So, if you are one of those who have been denied the day off on Friday, you can at least take comfort in the fact you are not alone. Indeed for a fair few of us, work will actually revolve around the events taking place.

Actors, politicians, and musicians are just some of those who'll be working on St Andrew's Day, and here we've spoken to a few of them about what the occasion holds in store for them.
But even those of us who'll be working, there should still be time for most of us to have some fun either before or after work.

The least you can do is make sure you try some traditional Scots' fare. You could follow the example of some of the colleges which will be serving a "Porridge Breakfast" on Friday morning to international students. And while many a haggis will be consumed on the night, why not sink a right guid willy waught of cholesterol for the sake of auld Sanct Andra in the form of a pie? For Friday will also see the results of the World Scotch Pie Championships announced.

But there's a whole host of other events taking place, too. The Scottish Government has been busy encouraging celebrations, and earlier this year the First Minister, Alex Salmond, unveiled a programme of St Andrew's Day events across Scotland and a subsequent "Winter Festival", which will run from Friday, through Hogmanay, until that next great Caledonian fling, Burns Night, on 25 January.


National Day greetings for Scots

ON the occasion of St Andrew's Day, the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, congratulated the Scots on behalf of his government.

"I am delighted to extend my warmest wishes to you on St Andrew's Day," he said.

"This is a day for celebrating all that is great about Scotland. We are proud of our heritage, and this is a tremendous opportunity to say that. But we are just as positive about Scotland's future, and the changes for the better that are happening in Scotland. Not just in terms of a new government but also in cultural renewal.

"This new Scotland is one which is bold, confident, demanding and ambitious.
"In Scotland we live in a country with enormous assets - chief among them our people. We have a history and a present reality of innovation, of educational excellence, and of individuals and companies succeeding in a competitive global market.

"When I have travelled to different countries I am always encouraged by the boundless energy, passion and commitment that people across the globe have towards Scotland.

"I am delighted that so many of you are celebrating Scotland's National Day - as we are too though events across Scotland.

"On behalf of the people of Scotland I send you best wishes for a wonderful National Day."

Saint Andrew is the Patron Saint of Scotland and St Andrew's Day is celebrated by Scots around the world on November 30.

Haggis for supper

Well, no it will be kedgeree for me. And I know that perhaps on this final day of the Unity Octave I should be concentrating on "the conversion of St Paul" but somehow it has to be "Burns Night" instead.

Little did tutor John Murdoch know that the young pupil who "made rapid progress in reading and was just tolerable at writing" would grow up to become Scotland's national Bard.

Born in Alloway, Ayrshire, in 1759 to William Burness, a poor tenant farmer, and Agnes Broun, Robert Burns was the eldest of seven. He spent his youth working his father's farm, but in spite of his poverty he was extremely well read - at the insistence of his father, who employed a tutor for Robert and younger brother Gilbert. At 15 Robert was the principal worker on the farm and this prompted him to start writing in an attempt to find "some kind of counterpoise for his circumstances." It was at this tender age that Burns penned his first verse, "My Handsome Nell", which was an ode to the other subjects that dominated his life, namely scotch and women.
When his father died in 1784, Robert and his brother became partners in the farm. However, Robert was more interested in the romantic nature of poetry than the arduous graft of ploughing and, having had some misadventures with the ladies (resulting in several illegitimate children, including twins to the woman who would become his wife, Jean Armour), he planned to escape to the safer, sunnier climes of the West Indies.
However, at the point of abandoning farming, his first collection "Poems- Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect - Kilmarnock Edition" (a set of poems essentially based on a broken love affair), was published and received much critical acclaim. This, together with pride of parenthood, made him stay in Scotland. He moved around the country, eventually arriving in Edinburgh, where he mingled in the illustrious circles of the artists and writers who were agog at the "Ploughman Poet."
In a matter of weeks he was transformed from local hero to a national celebrity, fussed over by the Edinburgh literati of the day, and Jean Armour's father allowed her to marry him, now that he was no longer a lowly wordsmith. Alas, the trappings of fame did not bring fortune and he took up a job as an exciseman to supplement the meagre income. Whilst collecting taxes he continued to write, contributing songs to the likes of James Johnston's "Scot's Musical Museum" and George Thomson's "Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs." In all, more than 400 of Burns' songs are still in existence.
The last years of Burns' life were devoted to penning great poetic masterpieces such as The Lea Rig, Tam O'Shanter and a Red, Red Rose. He died aged 37 of heart disease exacerbated by the hard manual work he undertook when he was young. His death occurred on the same day as his wife Jean gave birth to his last son, Maxwell.
On the day of his burial more than 10,000 people came to watch and pay their respects. However, his popularity then was nothing compared to the heights it has reached since.
On the anniversary of his birth, Scots both at home and abroad celebrate Robert Burns with a supper, where they address the haggis, the ladies and whisky. A celebration which would undoubtedly make him proud.

The Burns Night supper traditionally consists of haggis, with mashed turnips and whisky is mandatory. Someone proposes "the immortal memory with a speech about Burns, taking in democracy, romance, politics and history. There is usually an "address to the lassies" lurching from the sentimental to the vulgar with a female response. At some suppers there is Scottish country dancing whilst others may have readings of Burns poems, recitals of songs and jokes.

Here in Scarborough our largest pub "The Lord Rosebery's" has a "Burns Night Special" consisting of "haggis, neeps and tatties" at only £3.99 coupled with "Selected Scottish drinks offer!".

Let's have one of his best known poems to end with - read it or sing as you will as you raise your glass to your "wee lass":

O, My Luve is Like a Red Red Rose.

O, my luve is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my luve is like a melodie,
That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I,
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi the sun!
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel, a while!
And I will come again, my luve,
Tho it were ten thousand mile!

-

Proud to be British

The winners of the Morgan Stanley Great Britons Awards were announced last night at a ceremony at London's Guildhall. The entrants were nominated by the British public. There were 11 judges.

Category winners were:
THE ARTS - Dame Helen Mirren, DBE
BUSINESS - Stuart Rose
CAMPAIGNING - Laurie Pycroft
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES - Sir David Attenborough, KBE
PUBLIC LIFE - David Robinson, OBE
SCIENCE & INNOVATION - Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, KBE
SPORTS - Zara Phillips, MBE
SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT AWARD - Sir Nicholas Stern, KBE

Overall Great Briton 2006:
Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, KBE
The 57 year old professor pioneered a DNA based method of biological identification, an invaluable means of identifying criminals, errant fathers and victims of crimes and disasters. It is also crucial in the development of cloning. The techniques form the basis of the National DNA Database. A single hair is enough to provide a DNA profile.

The judges felt it would be hard to find a British scientist who has had so much impact on human life.

All the winners make one proud to be British. Information about category winners can be found in the pages of today's Telegraph.

In a week when we are commemorating the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union, without diminishing one's sense of being a Yorkshireman and an Englishman, one hopes to be able to identify oneself as British - and,without being in favour of European Union, in being European.
Without insincerity also a world citizen, a unique human being part of the family of man.

Act of Union 1707

The Acts of Union were a pair of Acts of Parliament passed in 1706 and 1707 (taking effect on 1 May 1707) by, respectively, the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The acts were the implementation of the Treaty of Union negotiated between the two kingdoms. The Acts created a new state, the Kingdom of Great Britain, by merging the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland together. The two countries had shared a monarch since 1603, but had retained sovereign parliaments. The Acts of Union dissolved both Parliaments and replaced them with a new Parliament of Great Britain, based at Westminster, the former home of the English Parliament.

In 1999, after almost three centuries, a Scottish Parliament was opened after a referendum in Scotland. The new parliament does not have the same powers as the old parliament, as Scotland remains a constituent member country of the United Kingdom.

A commemorative two-pound coin will be issued to mark the 300th anniversary of the Union, which occurs 2 days before the Scottish Parliament's election.

Today, the anniversary of Scotland agreeing to the Union, David Cameron mounts a staunch defense of the union. This follows a similar appeal from Gordon Brown at the weekend. The union has been endangered by the devolution of power back to Scottish and Welsh parliaments in recent years creating demands for an English parliament too. If the Scottish Nationalists take overall control in Scotland in May they are proposing a referendum in Scotland on the issue of Scottish independence. Writing in the Telegraph today Bill Cash MP argues for a nationwide referendum on the issue, plus a similar referendum in Wales and one on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union saying "These are all interconnected". "The 300th anniversary of the Act of Union and the 50th anniversary of the European Union provide an appropriate constitutional opportunity to reaffirm by democratic consent in a UK referendum the underlying principle of the constitution of the United Kingdom".

As we approach another Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity perhaps we could coin the slogan "A United Church for a United Kingdom".

Pilgrim Badge of St Andrew

In a dream the monk Regulus was told by an angel to take the remains of St Andrew to "the ends of the earth" for their safe keeping. He and his precious cargo were shipwrecked off the east coast of Scotland, and Regulus is said to have come ashore at the place which later became St Andrews.

Our granddaughter is a second year student at the university there and we went up to explore the place in the summer. We were very impressed and thoroughly enjoyed our visit - lovely location, historic town, good shops and walks and culture, interesting churches.

We came away with a couple of small mementos - a photo in front of a stone sculpture of St Andrew on his cross copied from the Vatican which stands at the entrance to the Botanical gardens and a picture of a pilgrim badge of St Andrew now positioned in the living room where we see it every day.

Thousands of pilgrims from all over Europe flocked to St Andrews in medieval times. They sought merit, absolution of crimes, cures and even miracles by making a pilgrimage to the holy shrine where the bones of St Andrew were preserved in a reliquary. The pilgrims wore special badges showing the crucifixion of St Andrew on a X shaped cross, both on their way to St Andrews and on their return journey. This was to gain the protection of the saint as they travelled and as a proof of their pilgrimage. The badges had four stitching holes so that they could be sewn to hats or clothing. They were cheap to make and buy, being cast in an alloy of tin and lead. One found at North Berwick is on display in the Museum of Scotland. Others have been found in digs, and by metal detectors at important river crossings and landing places where they may have been thrown over board as a thank offering for a safe journey home. One in the British Museum predates the Reformation. Recently seven came together for an exhibition at St Andrews itself. There are similar badges associated with other places of pilgrimage.