Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 10 November 2024. ‘We are … remembering those whose devotion to duty cost them their lives – maybe not always willingly offered. But they still went forth anyway.’
All Saints: A life for the here and now
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 3 November 2024. ‘There are many burdens that we carry in this world. The fear of sin and death need not be among them’
Commentary: A majesty that draws us into itself
‘Our preparations for All Saints, Remembrance and Christ the King all have a relevance far beyond the here and now. All of them look beyond. But then as we know, All Saints is a thin place where the barriers between here and there are indeed known to shimmer.’
Trinity 22: Lord have mercy
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 27 October 2024. ‘Jesus would not be coming this way again, and this was Bartimaeus’ last chance…’
Trinity 21: Stay with God – or leave?
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 20 October 2024. ‘These are realities for every generation in every land. Their form and circumstances may change but the central issues do not.’
‘No prospect’ of my resigning, writes Bishop Dyer after pressure is applied
The Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Anne Dyer, said on Friday that some of her episcopal colleagues had chosen to “threaten” her in an “unprofessional and un-Christian manner” by asking her to resign. “For the avoidance of doubt, there is no prospect that I will allow them to pressure me into quitting…
Four Scottish bishops urge Dyer to consider her position
Four of the six diocesan bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church, including the Primus, have urged the Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Anne Dyer, to consider whether she is the right person to lead the diocese, in light of the response to her reinstatement. On Thursday afternoon, the Primus, the Most Revd…
Trinity 20: The High Priest already in the heavens and praying for us
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 13 October 2024. ‘In the Holy Spirit, He comes to us with His personal life and experience, His own wisdom and His ability to see and perceive. To discern and give counsel.’
Angry parishioners cut Scottish Episcopal Church from their wills after bullying claims against its first female bishop are dropped
Members of the Scottish Episcopal Church are threatening to leave while others have vowed to remove it from their wills after bullying complaints against its first female bishop were dropped. Some claimed the decision by its independent procurator that it was not in the public interest to pursue a tribunal has made a ‘mockery’ of the…
Disciplinary proceedings against Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney dropped
Disciplinary proceedings against the Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Anne Dyer, have been dropped, even though the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Procurator said that there had been a “realistic prospect of conviction”. In a “note of reasons”, published on Tuesday evening, the Procurator, Paul Reid KC, wrote that proceeding with the prosecution was not…
Canon 54 process concludes after review by independent Procurator
During the Canon 54 process enacted following complaints made against the Rt Rev Anne Dyer, Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, the independent Procurator to the Scottish Episcopal Church has kept under continuous review his decision of May this year to take charges to the Clergy Disciplinary Tribunal. Having maintained that review throughout discussions with involved…
Harvest: Honouring Him in our relationships and transactions
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 6 October 2024. ‘When our priorities start with the Kingdom then our other needs fall into place.’
Commentary: What kind of discipleship?
I have written before about Jesus’ total commitment to those who are His followers and disciples, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. This commitment is expressed in all four gospels, and in Matthew, Mark and Luke it is in the same account of how His natural family wanted to see Him and He pointed out that His…
Trinity 18: A good story
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 29 September 2024. ‘Perhaps our three lessons are linked by a commitment: the devotion and self-giving of Esther; the place of prayer shown by Esther and James; the importance of prayer and unity of faith as we continue to serve the Lord in our own time and place.’
Trinity 17: Jesus’ challenge
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 22 September 2024. ‘Leadership did not grow out of public relations and a good personal story. It did not come out of aggressive self-promotion and noisy assertions. It was to be seen in serving others and putting them before oneself.’
Mandate for episcopal election and summons for Electoral Synod issued
The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev Mark Strange, yesterday issued a mandate for the election of the next Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway. The Rt Rev Andrew Swift, acting bishop during the vacancy following the retiral of Rt Rev Kevin Pearson, has also issued summons to the eligible members of the…
Trinity 16: Wisdom offers to instruct the simple
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 15 September 2024. ‘It is not a matter of great book-learning, debating skills or point-scoring. It is more a question of starting with God and letting Him be the rule and guide of life.’
Trinity 15: Who is in need and how do we recognize it?
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 8 September 2024. ‘All are called to being merciful in our daily encounters, and understanding that need has many faces and speaks with many accents’
Trinity 14: We may know peace and forgiveness …
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 1 September 2024. ‘What matters is that Jesus should increase in us and that our self-importance should decrease. That is how we will find ourselves – and that is also how the Lord wishes to be found in us.’
Commentary: Law and its effectiveness
The national trauma of the last few weeks during which riots overwhelmed several cities of England but spreading beyond, has left us bewildered, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. They tell of whole sectors of the community who are alienated and antagonized to the point of violence, in the pretext of immigration and multicultural issues but in…
Trinity 13: Equipped with God’s armour
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 25 August 2024. ‘The starting point is to stand firm on the ground already won by Jesus in His death and resurrection.’
Trinity 12: What something looks and feels like
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 18 August 2024. ‘May we … live by every word that comes from the mouth of God and not from our own emotions.’
Trinity 11: One area of faith that must be challenged
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 11 August 2024. ‘I do not believe that Jesus came in order to found a church or even the church. Emphatically not.’
Trinity 10: The ‘I AM’ of Jesus
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 4 August 2024. ‘This is life far beyond existing, breathing, eating and procreating. This is life lived and known in the light of God. It is life that celebrates and rejoices in the things of God and where God is the foundation of all else that is.’
Trinity 9: God waits to be gracious to us
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 27 July 2024. ‘We do not have to be defined or limited by our sins, failures or disappointments. Not when the glory of the fulness of Jesus Christ is just waiting to be poured over and into us.’
Scotland’s Christians feel excluded, survey finds
A recent poll of Christians in Scotland has identified a “palpable feeling of exclusion” from public life. In the survey of over 1,000 Scots, more than 70 per cent of those identifying as Christian felt that the Scottish government does not support them, the Herald newspaper reports. Three quarters of Christian respondents said they were concerned about…
Discipline Tribunal hearing to be rescheduled
The Clergy Discipline Tribunal hearing into allegations against Bishop Anne Dyer, scheduled for September 2024, has been postponed following an application on behalf of the Bishop for further preparation time. The request was granted by the Tribunal. The hearing was scheduled to begin on 10 September 2024 in Edinburgh, and work is now underway to…
Last call for views on ‘assisted dying’
There are three weeks remaining during which submissions can be made to the Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee ‘Call for Views’ on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. The purpose of the call for evidence is to gather views on the Bill which will inform the Committee’s scrutiny. The…
Trinity 8: A vision of a new humanity
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 21 July 2024. ‘So yes, we are all sheep without a shepherd until we receive Jesus Christ.’
Upcoming Bishop search process and Diocesan description
A message from the Rt Rev Andrew Swift, Acting Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway: “The election of a new Bishop is a vital part of the life and ministry of a Scottish Episcopal diocese. As you say farewell to Bishop Kevin, please keep in prayer him and Elspeth and all those who will be part…
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