Making the Bishops' Pastoral Letter More Vital

Let's ignore Iain Duncan Smith for a minute, shall we?


Doesn't that feel better?

Now. More intelligent and sensible people than the "Quiet Man" (and let's face it, he has a lot to be quiet about) have commented on the Bishops' Pastoral Letter. Which is, at 52 pages or so, quite a lot of reading in this 3-minute-attention-span world.

Charlie Peer, for example, said:

Why are Bishops still sending out pastoral letters (which nobody will read except on the internet) and not uploading pastoral videos?
— Charlie P (@CharliePeer) February 19, 2015

While Paul Stead said

"The pastoral letter is too long" What did you want, bullet points? Pie charts? Memes?
— Paul Stead (@paulstead13) February 18, 2015

I've considered this. And I've concluded that the sight of the House of Bishops reading out a 53 page document on YouTube is not going to make things any more exciting. Although tweeting the key points with the hashtag #notalltories might not be such a bad idea.

But the key in this fast-moving, hyper-connected, communication-overloaded age is, I reckon, to combine Paul and Charlie's ideas into one. I'm thinking of the video like this

Bp of Gloucester: "The privileges of living in a democracy mean that we should use our votes thoughtfully, prayerfully....." * Does cartwheel in cathedral *

Bp of St Albans: "... and with the good of others in mind, not just our own interests. " * Eats world's hottest chilli *

Bp of Bath and Wells: "In Britain, we have become so used to believing that self-interest drives every decision,...." * Skateboards across roof of Westminster Abbey *

Bp of Ely: "....that it takes a leap of imagination to argue that there should be stronger institutions for those we disagree with as well as for those 'on our side.'" * Wheelies through Bishop Woodford House on a motorcycle *

Bp of Newcastle ""It is not possible to separate the way a person perceives his or her place in the created order from their beliefs, religious or otherwise, about how the world's affairs ought to be arranged."  Plays Minecraft for 20 hours

Bp of Burnley: "The claim that religion and political life must be kept separate is, in any case, frequently disingenuous....." * picture of cat doing something amusing *

Bp of Durham ".....most politicians and pundits are happy enough for the churches to speak on political issues so long as the church agrees with their particular line." * Sledges down church roof on tea try *  

Bp of Willesden: I've never liked Liberals! * pulls replica Spurs shirt over head *

 I'd watch it, anyway...