Occupy St. Paul's

The Church of England is looking pretty foolish over the whole  St Paul's protest camp debacle.  I take no pleasure in this discomfort, the Chapter of St. Paul's were placed in a near impossible position from the moment the protesters arrived there.  The more tortured the Church's internal discussion over the occupation becomes the more publicity it draws and the longer the protestors are likely to stay!

At heart of this foolishness, confusion and discomfort, however, lies a fundamental question which I fear the Church of England has just not been asking.  "What are the Cathedrals for?"  I have visited many and in them I have found excellent and professionally presented material on history, heritage and choir music, but rarely have I found similarly presented material to explain the Christian faith or challenge me to reflect on the plight of the world.  I have been in Cathedral books shops where I couldn't find a Bible or a prayer book an sale, I have attended Cathedral worship in which the clergy could not lift their eyes from the stipulated liturgy for long enough to explain to a visitor what was happening and which page to turn to, and I have heard choirs sing every last word of the liturgy on my behalf (even the "Amens") turning me into a spectator and not a participant to the offering of worship.    

Anglican Cathedrals are virtually independent entities in the Church system - they are controlled not by Bishops or Congregations but by canons and chapters.  There are some shining examples of humble, gracious and even radical ministry amongst those canons and chapters, but sadly these examples do not predominate.

IMHO it is time the Church of England took control of its own flagship churches.  Some years ago Archbishop John Sentamu of York spent a couple of weeks of his holiday time living in a tent inside York Minster to reflect on the plight of refugees and spend time listening to that Cathedral's visitors.  It was an act of faithful humility which drew many to the Minster and to the Archbishop.  That is what a Cathedral is for - a place where the magnificence of architecture and liturgy meets listens to the needs of the whole world.  A Cathedral by its very nature is a place open to all comers.

Maybe it's time for the Bishops to set up camp inside St. Pauls and occupy the Cathedral. The protesters outside hold daily open conversations about the purpose and future of their actions, they have created a space for free debate in the heart of the city - I'd like to see the same kind of democracy of the Spirit inside the Cathedral.  Let's have a week of free entry to London's great Churches and once every day let the clergy call all and sundry together not for evensong but for the liturgy of dialogue - an open conversation with London on what the Cathedrals are for.  I don't mean the usual colloquium for clergy and power brokers, I mean a public meeting for all the tourists, gawpers, photographers, roofless people, music lovers, regular worshippers, candle lighters, city centre workers and occasional God-visitors who wander in and out of any open town centre church.  If we want to give St. Paul's back to God we will first have to give it back to the people.