Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 9 July 2023. ‘Instead of compliance there is relationship. Instead of appearance and presentation, there is reality. Instead of spin, there is truth in the inward parts.’
Trinity 4: The Commonwealth of God in Jesus Christ
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 2 July 2023. ‘The question posed by our hymn Love Unknown asks: ‘Who am I that for my sake My Lord should take frail flesh and die?’ is answered by Jesus Himself: ‘You are mine. Nobody takes you out of My hand.’’
Trinity 3: Not peace, but a sword
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 25 June 2023. ‘Jesus Himself is also divisive. Will we accept Him as the Son of God – and our Redeemer? Will we receive Him as He comes to us or is there an agenda in our lives to which we expect Him to conform? Is he Lord, but subject to our conditions?’
Trinity 2: Pray together with one heart and one hope
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 18 June 2023. ‘Jesus has already placed His trust in you – He believes in you so why are you doubting Him?’
Church Times reports on General Synod
Reports from the Church Times newspaper on last week’s General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church, including recorded interview with the Primus.
Commentary: Render unto Caesar …
I usually start these thoughts with an aspect of modern life and its priorities and perspectives, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. Often there are some questions to look into – contradictions, confusions or whatever. Then comes the perspective of the gospels and I usually finish there. So this is going to be different because at one…
Trinity 1: Life in a different order and purpose
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 11 June 2023. ‘It is one thing to profess a faith and then to get comfortable in it. To allow it to become routine and predictable. But the challenges here were about believing and trusting.’
Scottish Primus asks for patience as Dyer crisis drags on
The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church opened on Thursday on a sombre note, as the Primus, the Most Revd Mark Strange, read out a pastoral statement about the continued suspension of the Bishop of Aberdeen & Orkney, the Rt Revd Anne Dyer.
General Synod reports
Official reports on this week’s General Synod can be seen on the Scottish Episcopal Church website.
Trinity: He is for all who will believe in His Name
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 4 June 2023. ‘He is there in all His three persons so that we may know Him more deeply in the dimensions of our own lives and in the dimensions of our time here on earth.’
Pentecost: The purpose and agenda of God
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 28 May 2023. ‘The comfort that Jesus was giving the church was not a manual on marketing strategy or a code for appropriate and inclusive behaviour. Basic courtesy to all they met should have been enough to manage all contacts and relationships. No, Jesus was giving the disciples His personal and intimate presence – and nothing less.’
Commentary: All parts are connected
I can’t help finding feeling profoundly confused, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. On one hand, all sense of personal responsibility, never mind regulation, seems to be wholly rejected and each of us is to be the arbiter of our own lifestyles, priorities, morality and of course, spiritual life. The theme here is that I should be…
General Synod 2023 highlights include Net Zero Action Plan and first ever address by Moderator
The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church will meet at St Paul’s & St George’s Episcopal Church in Edinburgh, from Thursday 8 June to Saturday 10 June 2023. The agenda and papers have now been sent to members and published here on the Scottish Episcopal Church website, detailing the business scheduled. Among the headline items are…
Ascension: You are My witnesses
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 21 May 2023. ‘Of one thing we may be sure: He who has called us and commissioned us will also equip and supply us in the fulness of His Holy Spirit. All we need do is say with Isaiah: Here am I. Send me. And He will do the rest.’
Easter 5: The commands of Jesus were quite simple
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 14 May 2023. ‘Love God above all things, believe in Jesus and love one another. Love their neighbours as they love themselves, and yet love not the world. Let Jesus define the realities around them and He indeed would be their security in the Spirit.’
Easter 4: Living stones
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 7 May 2023. ‘Jesus is forming His people and building them into a glorious temple. All are being prepared as living stones in that temple, all have a place and a purpose within the designs of God. Nobody is excluded.’
Easter 3: A new kind of freedom
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 30 April 2023. ‘It is a freedom from fear, especially of eternity and of death. It is a release from condemnation, and that includes the most intimate personal embarrassments as well as the received wisdoms of the culture of the day.’
Easter 2: Jesus is alive – we meet him daily
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 23 April 2023. ‘Yes, it was for real. Yes, He was alive. Yes, death was defeated.’
Commentary: First, look away from ourselves …
I keep finding that there is something slightly discordant in the life of faith, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. We attend church and worship God. We greet one another and we contribute to the church collection. We take part in the life of the church and in assisting its activities. Much of this take place in…
Easter 1: As the Father has sent Me, so I send you
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 16 April 2023. ‘Just as God the Father invested everything in Jesus to redeem the world, so also Jesus has invested everything in His disciples in every age and culture.’
Easter blooms
Thank you to everyone who decorated All Saints with wonderful displays of flowers for Easter.
Easter Sunday: Resetting lives in the light of Jesus’ resurrection
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 8 April 2023. ‘When the world is at its most destructive in arranging its affairs, the Kingdom of God is at its most creative in giving, rejoicing and centring itself of Jesus Christ – crucified and risen for evermore.’
Lent 5, Passion Sunday: Life in its fullness
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 26 March 2023. ‘For Jesus is also challenging us in these days of ours: ‘Dare we believe and trust?”
Lent 4: Mothering Sunday
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 19 March 2023.
Commentary: The best worship is that of the Lord – not that of the political rally or cult
At one time matters of faith and science were presented as being wholly opposed to one another, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. Faith was a conversation with God whose existence was unprovable, and so unreasonable. Science was a conversation with the observable world and universe and so was wholly reasonable, free of any taint of superstition….
Lent 3: Living waters
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 12 March 2023. ‘But Jesus’ living water is there for all of us, and we do not have to earn it. We only have to ask.’
New Rector appointed for All Saints, Bearsden
The Rt Rev Kevin Pearson, Bishop of the United Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway, is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rev David Guest as Rector of All Saints, Bearsden. His institution will be at the church on Thursday 15 June 2023 at 6pm. David says, “I am excited to be heading to Scotland to…
Lent 2: The extravagance and exuberance of God’s love
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 5 March 2023. ‘Instead of each person in the world facing a just judgment for their sins, they would only have to look at and to trust in Jesus. God was never going to desire a regime of condemnation when He could fashion in Jesus a regime of forgiveness and renewal.’
Lent 1: All these temptations are present in Christian experience today
Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 26 February 2023. ‘What Adam had freely forfeited, Jesus freely restored by going to the cross. What had fallen into weakness was raised in unbelievable power. What had fallen apart in the name of self-fulfilment and self-realization was restored to glory by a single act of total self-giving and self-abasement.’
Commentary: Our values have to be able to stand for themselves
There is something very strange in today’s fashion for denying the concept of truth, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. The idea is that since all truth is subjective, there can be no objective truth, by definition. Any view expressed has to be personal and limited by personal experience and perspective, especially that of race and social…
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