The Church of England is no longer the Tory Party at prayer.
Or, at least, the clergy ain't. For, as evidenced on the Twitters, there are many left-leaning vicars, but few are those that choose the right-hand path.
And yet not so their congregations. Not only are they more likely to be Tory than Labour - but the more regular their attendance, the more conservative they are.
Which makes me wonder. After a week castigating all Tories on Social Media on Social Media, do left-leaning vicars preach left-leaning sermons? And if they do, do their right-leaning congregations get all umpty with them?
Or do they just go along with it, knowing that if they reveal their true colours the vicar will accuse them of being a brood of vipers? Nod when being told David Cameron is stripping the country's assets, and then go home to check their pension funds?
And when the vicar encourages them to ensure they gift-aid their freewill offerings, do the parishioners nod their heads quietly and go "She's just like us really. Understands the benefits of tax minimization"? I wonder.
Still, we are encouraged by a very shrewd financial advisor to transfer our assets to heaven. Very wise. You can't get much more offshore than that.
I get murmurs of approval at one of my churches, and murmurs of disapproval at the other, when I say anything that appears to be critical of current government policy. That totally reflects the demography of the two communities.
ReplyDeleteAfter one sermon, I was castigated by a 'hunting shooting and fishing' parishioner for preaching communism. I pointed out that what I was preaching was actually Christianity. Hmm.
A matter of opinion, that one, I suspect.
Delete"When I gave food to the poor, they called a saint. When I asked why the poor had no food, they called me a communist."
ReplyDelete"When I gave food to the poor, they called a saint. When I asked why the poor had no food, they called me a communist."
ReplyDeleteNow that brought a smile to my countenance. That comment was tax deductible, by the way.
ReplyDelete