The evidence that the Church of England is returning to the centre of public life is ambiguous. True, religious music is popular. In some places that shows a yearning for faith. But if cathedrals are increasingly popular, it is in part because they are anonymous, admits a priest: there is no danger of being asked to visit a sick parishioner afterwards. Business is also booming for commercial carol concerts in non-church settings, where a mince pie and nostalgia are as much the lure as harking the singing of herald angels. Across the country, Raymond Gubbay, an impresario behind several shows at the Royal Albert Hall, is putting on 200 such Christmas concerts.
Nor is the St Paul’s Cathedral camp as flattering as it seems. The protesters wanted to surround the London Stock Exchange. Thwarted, they ended up at St Paul’s largely by accident. Headlines about bishops chiding the government are also double-edged. Too often, what is striking is not the daring of Anglican prelates but their lack of self-confidence. Time and again, bishops sound like shop stewards for the welfare state, taking to the airwaves to demand the preservation of specific benefits without mentioning the church, the role of faith or Christianity.
Welfare utopianism is an Anglican tradition….
Interesting to read about ourselves as others see us. The point being made is we are not perceived as doing our job as the church in preaching salvation in the Christ whose birth we are remembering shortly but instead spend our time worrying about other peoples’ business as socialists in clerical collars. Bagehot does not think we are much fit for purpose.
An opportunity for our bishops meeting this week to demonstrate some spinal fortitude about bringing the Good News to the country? Perhaps they can find some time for that in between welcoming Rowan Williams’ new Inclusive Church male diocesans and wondering how to pack the place with Inclusive Church female diocesans and perhaps Jeffrey John through the committee they have formed with a former St Albans suffragan on it.
If they won’t do the job, it appears others have indicated they are ready to step up to the job – and we all know what that is about! So I hope they have a good think about it all and how best to get the church on track, so we don’t have to read articles like this one, preferably before refreshing themselves in the bar.