Three days, three mornings, three runs; the morning was eerily overcast Tuesday morning, clear and bright Wednesday and this morning, and good running steadiness and pace all three days. The days have been busy with parish and birthday business; as the Rector nears his retirement date, more of his responsibilities slide over to me, and as I haven’t taken them over before, it takes time for me to parse, plan, and execute them.
Margaret and I had a beautiful [my] birthday together, with a sombre interlude for the funeral of a beloved parishioner. I’ve been making steady, slow progress on my essay, have neglected Wrede, and have to work on my Schism Sermon for Abingdon Baptist Church on Sunday.
On 1st August 1714 an act of parliament, The Schism Act, was voted through which would have made it illegal for anyone to educate young people, without the consent of a Church of England bishop, and without conforming to Church of England ways. The intention was to stop non conformist churches, like the Baptists, running schools. They were becoming a force in educating the poor. On the eve of getting Royal Assent, Queen Anne died and the Schism Act was never enforced.
In 1716 Benjamin Tompkins left money in his will for a sermon to be preached near the start of August. He stipulated that the Baptist Minister be paid 20 shillings for the sermon. That sum is still paid (20s is equivalent to £1). The sermon is intended to celebrate religious freedom.
Plus a homily for the 8:00 service at St Nic’s, some rota planning templates, and other possible errands to keep me off the streets.
Last note: my translation of Jean-François Lyotard’s ‘On the Strength of the Weak’ has drawn some attention as ‘a graduate student studying the hermeneutics of Gundam Beauty’ has linked to it from a Threads thread. My Chinese isn’t great (assuming you think ‘total ignorance’ isn’t great), but I’m glad to see Lyotard in public view. In my big hypothetical hermeneutics monograph, Lyotard will pop up at various points, including in my section about the (important!) hermeneutics of dream interpretation.