Faith

  This week saw the Festival of Imbolc, which is a Pagan and Wiccan Festival. Imbolc is one of the four major Pagan and Wiccan Sabbats or Festivals – it celebrates the transition from Winter to Spring and occurs on or around the 2nd February which is half way between the Winter Solstice and the Spring equinox. Its origins go ...

Photo: Holocaust Educational Trust Earlier this week there were two events observed in the Jewish Calendar: Tu B’Shevat on 25th January and Holocaust Memorial Day on the 27th, the Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Berkenau. Tu B’Shevat is the day on which young trees are planted to mark the New Year for Trees. It is also a time when we ...

  In “Just Good Friends” lesbian feminist theologian Elizabeth Stuart compares responses to sexuality and gender to a football match where LGBT people are the spectators. She suggests when liberal players get the ball they stand in the middle unable to decide which goal to aim for: they want to maintain church unity while offering a degree of support to ...

  A Scottish Episcopal priest has expressed his solidarity with his the Episcopal Church of the USA, after sanctions were imposed on it by the Anglican primates earlier this week. The Very Reverend Kelvin Holdsworth, Rector and Provost of St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, has been quick to support his American colleagues – whose sanctions relate to what was described as ...

Supporters of fundamentalism and literalism argue that the authors of the Bible were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit, that every word is the direct word of God and that, as such, every word must be true. Adherents of literalism argue that the Bible provides an exact factual history of the world from its creation onwards. According to this logic, ...

In our weekly “Belief matters” column we have taken a look at various faith issues, often within the context of how they affect LGBTI communities – or from the perspective of LGBTI people of faith. Today, being Christmas Day, we are publishing a message from the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Dr Angus Morrison. While his ...

  A Lewis man, who has interests in both astronomy and theology, believes that his research has been able to pinpoint the Star of Bethlehem. Donny Mackay, who is president of the Stornoway Astronomical Society and a lecturer and researcher with the UK Biblical Research Society, shared his findings in a radio interview with KaleidoScot’s Stuart Russell. Mackay said he ...

  The first Christmas after I was ordained nearly 20 years ago, I happened to come down sick before Christmas. My senior colleague had to take all the services instead of us sharing them and all I could do was drag myself to midnight mass and sit at the back of the church amongst the congregation. The lights were low, ...

    The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will debate whether congregations should be allowed to consider calling a person in a same-sex marriage as a minister or deacon when it meets in next year. The discussion will take place in May 2016, after a majority of the Kirk’s 45 Presbyteries voted in favour by approving an Overture ...

Celebration of the Winter Solstice The Winter Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere) was originally around the 15th December but is now celebrated between 20th and 23rd December depending on the year in the Gregorian Calendar. Traditionally the 21st December is the shortest day of the year and the darkest and the beginning of the new solar year. Yule is also ...