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GadgetVicar
Edinburgh
My name is David McCarthy. I serve as the pastor of St Thomas' Church, Corstorphine, Edinburgh.
Interests: music, movies, reading, gadgets, walking, cycling (in good weather).
Recent Activity
If I had the time, I'd have done the same, Kennedy. Well done to you! What disturbs me is these people playing on vulnerable people and fear.
Don't Be Fooled By Fake "Microsoft" Calls
"Microsoft" called our home first thing this morning and a nice gentlemen who claimed to be based in the UK informed me that our computers were full of nasty viruses and that they could help. I knew this man was telling porkies and tried to tell him so, but he was most insistent. If "Microsoft" ...
Result - I got tickets, so GV's Bro and I will be there!
Embrace - Refugees
After seven years, Embrace are back with a new album and a Scottish tour, including Glasgow on the 12th February. Scottish audiences love them and they love the Scottish crowds too. I hope I can get a ticket.
Beat, Don't think Google has upgraded their side of things to do this, but best google it to find out?
Microsoft Office 365 Saves My Embarrassment
A few months ago I bought Microsoft's Office 365. It's sold on a subscription basis at £79.99 per year. For that one gets Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, Access, Excel, and Publisher. It can be installed on five devices, including Macs and some mobile devices. In addition, there's 20gb of cloud stora...
Not sure what happened there, Jim, but thanks for pointing it out!
The Gala
The day of the Gibson Street Gala just has to be my favourite day of ministry of the year. That's for all sorts of reasons - the amazing team that makes it happen, both in the community and from St Silas; the wonderful variety of people we get to meet, serve and pray with; the family-friendly na...
Yes, it seems that is my calling......
A Breath Of Fresh Air - St Silas' Church @ The Gibson Street Gala, 12th June 2011 from 12pm
They did 'All I ever wanted' as their first song, and they also did 'Goodbye Horses'!
The Airborne Toxic Event @ The Queen Margaret Union Tonight
I hope they play this new one!
Oh, I thought I was allowed a day off? My mistake!
Sorry to disappoint you by not doing some eisegesis on the Ruth/Naomi story........
Romantic
I saw two movies on Friday, both of which are essentially love stories. In the first, Monsters, a photographer is commanded by his publisher boss to get his daughter safely home from a Mexico infested with giant octopus-like aliens. The creatures got there when a space probe crash-landed six yea...
Cassock alb, red stole and pointy boots!
He'll always be "a vicarage".......
Soon-to-be Rev. Nick
There's no evening service at St Silas' tonight because a whole lot of us are off to Ayr to support Nick and Karen Cox as he is ordained deacon.
Yes.
Soon-to-be Rev. Nick
There's no evening service at St Silas' tonight because a whole lot of us are off to Ayr to support Nick and Karen Cox as he is ordained deacon.
Thanks for the counsel and prayers, Susan.
Just so as you know...I'm only being treated for cellulitis, not cancer, but had been posting blogs for my friend Alan Ervine, who is being treated for cancer of the oesophagus. Sorry for the confusion.
The Worst Patient In The World
Let's see, who would the win 'The worst patient in the world' award? That'll be me, then. Why? Here's the check list. Taking medicine in the quantities and at the times prescribed. I do try to.... Following the recommended regime of care. I tried to sit with my feet up, but I got bored after a f...
All the time!
A Day of Things Going Wrong
It's been a 'catalogue of things going wrong' kind-of-day. The phone rang at 8am. It was the hall builders, saying that power was off and they didn't have keys to the church. They wanted in to check the fuse box. I insisted that they must have keys, but agreed to go and let them in. I got in the...
I really liked it. An action movie that you need to think about. A lot of folk watching it were very confused.
Tears
Toy Story 3 has been inducing tears in middle-aged men. I confess to being a bit of a weeper at the movies, usually trying to cover it up by rubbing my eyes and saying, 'Phew, that was a long film!'. Do you cry at films and, if so, which ones have made you cry the most?
David,
Your prayers are treasured.
Heal Mail
Alan Ervine is unable to post on his own site, so I thought St Silasites and others given to prayer might be interested in this. It went out in a 'Heal Mail' tonight. Went to bed last night feeling relatively comfortable. Watched "Who wants to be a millionaire" followed by the News at Ten. The ...
Cathy, I'm exercised about this because it's real world stuff and real people who are crossing my path. Not projects in any way. Clearly, it's impossible to do anything on an organised basis because of the necessary restrictions placed on such offenders and the care with which we'd need to approach the needs of everyone in the church. In many ways it's not something I'd want to get involved in, yet I'm wondering if it's something we might be called to do, if only for one person? And oh yes, there may well be unconvicted sex offenders around that we know nothing about. I've had people come and tell me about past crimes for which they've done time, and even one who denied their guilt(only to hear from their victim about his crimes). If we know about it, we have to put protection in place and restrict individual's involvement. We are very careful and clear about that.
I know that this whole area is a minefield.....and I certainly would not want anyone to be hurt by our involvement.
Welcome?
I've had several encounters this week which have caused me to ask, 'Just how welcoming are we?'. I've been much exercised recently by how the Church might minister to sex offenders once they leave prison. Their crime is viewed as the worst possible (more than murder?), even by fellow prisoners, ...
Yes.
You are, by virtue of your involvement with us, an 'evangementalist', self-described or not! Or maybe you only half-subscribe to that title?
Glasgow Subway Prayer Crawl
From here: On Thursday, June 24th, the Scripture Union GO (Glasgow Outreach) Project is planning a Prayer Crawl! What is this, you may ask?! Well, its a little like a pub crawl only we're planning on praying at each stop! Join us as we follow the Glasgow subway system, getting off at each stop ...
It's what we are!
Behave!
Glasgow Subway Prayer Crawl
From here: On Thursday, June 24th, the Scripture Union GO (Glasgow Outreach) Project is planning a Prayer Crawl! What is this, you may ask?! Well, its a little like a pub crawl only we're planning on praying at each stop! Join us as we follow the Glasgow subway system, getting off at each stop ...
Thanks for your concern, Ryan.
Woke up this am with the rectory reeking of gas. Called the emergency number and an engineer quickly arrived. The gas in the basement drove his sensor crazy, so it seems to have been a bit of a narrow escape. Gas is now off, and workers should arrive tomorrow to dig up the garden, replace the pipe and reconnect the system. There's a small internal leak too but that can't get fixed until the supply is repaired. No hot water for now, but we've a microwave for cooking!
More On The Gala
Thanks to Alan Bowie, who made this video of the Gibson Street Gala. There's a real flavour of what the event is all about.
Your kind words bring encouragement. I think it's a combination of having my specs off, water, sunlight and quite possibly Photoshop!
Sponge The Vicar
Thanks to Isabel Ross and Graham Lynch for these images.
It could be a lot worse - they could be throwing sponges at me while I preach. Er....that's not happening, is it?
Relaxing.........
An action-packed weekend: Enger-land vs Algeria tonight (I'm hosting again. Not watching on ITV HD this time). 21st Century Disciples Conference tomorrow + drinks with the soon-to-be-leaving Coxes in the evening. Two services + the Gibson Street Gala on Sunday (the latter includes a little perso...
Ouch!
Still, acceptably Anglican though, at least in these parts.
Synod & The Presiding Bishop
At 5pm, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be welcomed by the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church. She will address the Synod on 'Mission'. I will be leaving the meeting at that point, as I am concerned about the signal this visit is giving o...
'The Conservative Evangelical churches in England are the last places anyone would discover any kind of traditional Christian liturgy'.
I'm not so sure of this. I think there are many other churches whose experience will mirror ours: A few years ago, we reintroduced a 1662 morning prayer service at 9am, in part because we recognise the value and depth of traditional liturgy. Up to thirty people attend this, (a decent congregation for the SEC). We believe such liturgies still have a place, though not as our main service - people grow into it and we are able to offer a range of liturgical styles.
Synod & The Presiding Bishop
At 5pm, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be welcomed by the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church. She will address the Synod on 'Mission'. I will be leaving the meeting at that point, as I am concerned about the signal this visit is giving o...
'Taking a pop at the bishops' - I really don't think so, Ryan. The Primus at the time thanked me for being polite and not taking a pop. Firm, but gracious as ever....
Synod & The Presiding Bishop
At 5pm, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be welcomed by the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church. She will address the Synod on 'Mission'. I will be leaving the meeting at that point, as I am concerned about the signal this visit is giving o...
You might not like it, Fr Mark, but there are many evangelical Anglicans all over the world who don't use vestments at every service. I hope you'll be kind enough to include us in the fold as a wonderful part of Anglican diversity.
I know that I don't spend all my time attacking others. Could you be over-reacting?
Synod & The Presiding Bishop
At 5pm, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be welcomed by the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church. She will address the Synod on 'Mission'. I will be leaving the meeting at that point, as I am concerned about the signal this visit is giving o...
I wouldn't expect to have won a vote on whether to invite the PB to speak. It would have provided an opportunity to voice disagreement with the leadership's decision. It certainly would have started Synod with a bad taste. We are a polite bunch and we really don't want to cause embarrassment or trouble. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to stand up. This was one of those occasions. We choose when and where to fight, sometimes knowing we can't win in the short term, but believing that it's important to resist.
You, Ryan, are in the majority, so enjoy your dominance of poor little dinosaurs like me!
Synod & The Presiding Bishop
At 5pm, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be welcomed by the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church. She will address the Synod on 'Mission'. I will be leaving the meeting at that point, as I am concerned about the signal this visit is giving o...
Rob,
Strong representations were made before the visit to the Primus and Standing Committee of the SEC stating that this visit was inappropriate. Polite replies were received: the PB is in the country, she was in our Primus' group at Lambeth and we need to be fair to all sides in the debates. We'll wait to see which GAFCON primate is asked to address next year's Synod. The powers-that-be were well aware that this visit would be ill-received by some, but they went ahead regardless. Perhaps a sign of the trajectory the SEC is now on, and a moment for us to 'wake up, and smell the coffee'?
We missed a trick on the first day of Synod when members were asked if it was ok for the PB to speak. Several said 'No', but were not heard above the noise. If we'd realised that was coming, we would have been better prepared.
It's largely politics at work now, and TEC is lining itself up for realignment. The PB seems to have gotten into the habit of making it clear when she introduces herself abroad, that she has some responsibility for various national churches outside of the continental United States. I wonder why? To give the impression that the beginnings of a new communion are already in place?
Synod & The Presiding Bishop
At 5pm, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be welcomed by the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church. She will address the Synod on 'Mission'. I will be leaving the meeting at that point, as I am concerned about the signal this visit is giving o...
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