Monday, January 09, 2006
Flying off, and academic involvement
I'm flying off to Nice this afternoon with a bunch of colleagues for a sales and marketing meeting, which should be very interesting - it was last time - and worthwhile (ditto). However, it does mean being away from Jo and Moo, which is less happy. I'll phone them a couple of times a day, at least, which is something.When Dad was over with us for the weekend, we talked a bit about the House of Bishops' pastoral statement on Civil Partnerships. As a chancellor of a couple of dioceses, he has a legal interest - mine is more general. All-in-all, I have to say that I find not only this statement, but the whole position that it reflects, deeply unsatisfactory, and I'd love to find a way to engage in the theological discussion that's going on. We so need strong a strong academic theological discussion on Christianity and sexuality - particularly homosexuality - to help us to ground the broader ecclesiastical discussions that are taking place. As a fairly "safe" voice (I'm in a happy heterosexual marriage, I'm not a bishop, and I'm not strongly aligned with any of the more forthright parties), there are lots of things I'd like to say, and I think that I might have some interesting perspectives, particularly given my multi-disciplinary background. There are two major dangers, however: the first is finding the time, what with family commitments and the amount of training and work I'm committed to, and the second is that I'm in a difficult position, in that I'm not yet ordained. Not to say that things are necessarily any easier for those who _are_ ordained, but I'd put myself in a dodgy position to start publishing on this topic at the moment, I think.
I'm really not sure how to proceed on this one. There are a number of ways forward, I think, none of which is particularly satisfactory in and of itself. These include:
- publishing online - not safe
- publishing anonymously - how sensible is this? Would it be accepted? I guess not.
- joining a working group - is this still dangerous?
- talking to my DDO - I know his view: keep quiet for now
- talking to ERMC staff - this might be useful, as they have academic links
- talking to my bishop directly - not sure that bypassing the DDO is the done thing!
- engaging more with one of the groups working on this ecclesiastically - this doesn't deal with my academic interest
- engaging with one or more of the groups working on this academically - this still has dangers
Music today
- X Grass - Bluegrass 2001 (Bluegrass 2001)
- Scene - Modest Mussorgsky (Boris Godunov - CD 1 of 3)
- I've Commited Murder - Gray, Macy (On How Life Is)
- Flesh For Fantasy - Billy Idol (Idol Songs - 11 Of The Best)
- Must Be Luff - Michelle Shocked (Captain Swing)
- Brilliiant (Yesterday) - The Fast Show (The Fast Show 3)
- All Mine (with Divine Comedy) - Tom Jones (Reload)
- Farewell To England - Coope Boyes & Simpson (Falling Slowley)
- In The Car - Barenaked Ladies (Stunt)
- Out Of The Sinking - Paul Weller (Into Tomorrow (single))
- Maybe That's Something - Sheryl Crow (The Globe Sessions)
- A Whiter Shade of Pale - Annie Lennox (Medusa)
- That's Amazing (Jack Off) - The Fast Show (The Fast Show 3)
- This Woman's Work - Kate Bush (The Sensual World)
- VIII. Dieu est simple - les trois sont un - Olivier Messiaen (M#ditations sur le myst#re de la sainte trinit#)
- The Fatherless and the Widow - Sixpence None The Richer (The Fatherless and the Widow)
- Sand In My Shoes - Dido (Life for rent)
- Angelitos Negros - Eartha Kitt (Legendary Eartha Kitt)
- Suzie Q - Creedence Clearwater Revival (Creedence Gold)
- Ego sum resurrectio et vita (Funeral Antiphon) - Choir of King's College Cambridge (Ikos)
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