Tom Leonard is a Glaswegian poet whose work deserves to be better known – and I am talking to myself here as much as you. I thought I knew his writing quite well, until I came across this today: it’s a wonderful, thought-provoking poem and I am delighted that he has given me permission to … Continue Reading
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Royal Wedding Vows
Congratulations to Meghan Markle! As the first bride who isn’t promising to ‘obey’ her royal husband, she’s made headlines around the world, as in this story from The Guardian. It’s no small thing, in the context of a traditional Church of England wedding, but it did make me smile. Since 2005, I’ve conducted more than twelve hundred … Continue Reading
Humanism in Pastoral Care
I was very pleased to see this story in today’s Guardian. It’s taken a lot of campaigning to allow humanists to be part of chaplaincy teams of any kind, so this is something to celebrate. I am more than a little confused however, by the related article from Andrew Brown in Comment is Free Humanism is increasingly the … Continue Reading
Let’s do lunch…
I missed the official Chaplaincy lunch this Christmas, but to make up for it, Bulletin, the University’s Staff Magazine, treated me to lunch with one of my chaplaincy colleagues, Irene Cotugno, who is the Baha’i Belief Contact. The Baha’i faith originated in Persia at the end of the 19th century, and it has three core beliefs: the … Continue Reading
The C Word
I’ve had two letters recently from humanists who are exploring the possibility of working in chaplaincy, which is very encouraging. A few years ago, I wrote an article about the problems humanists have with the very idea of chaplaincy and, as things don’t appear to have changed a great deal outside of my own university, I … Continue Reading
Remembrance Day 2017
I was honoured to be asked to deliver a Remembrance address to the staff of the Scottish Government at St. Andrew’s House in Edinburgh yesterday.
Remembrance Day
From the flowers of the forest
To the fallen men of Flanders field,
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning,
We will remember you.
Is Thought For the Day boring?
John Humphrys seems to think so. In an interview with the Radio Times, he said the slot is “deeply, deeply boring”, and argues for the inclusion of thoughts for the day from secular thinkers. It’s not the first time that this claim has been made, but the BBC doesn’t agree, and it’s unlikely if Thought … Continue Reading
The Future of Humanism
“Humanism is now facing an existential challenge and the idea of “free will” is under threat.” This is an excerpt from an article by the Israeli academic and thinker Yuval Hariri who book “Homo Deus” I’ve been reading recently. The article in the Financial Times is well worth reading for anyone who thinks that Humanism … Continue Reading
What is Humanism?
Despite the popularity of humanist ceremonies in Scotland, most people still don’t know what humanism is, so I was delighted to be asked, as the Honorary Humanist Chaplain to the University of Edinburgh, to give this talk at 6.00 pm on Tuesday 19th September at the David Hume Tower in George Square. It’s been organised … Continue Reading