Articles - From the Vicar

May 2000

In a recent article in The Guardian the biblical scholar and theologian Christopher Rowland wrote about the need for Christians always to prioritize the needs of people over the upkeep of buildings: "(we) must never lose sight of the Bible emphasis on promoting life in community, with buildings ancillary to that purpose." This comment put me in mind of a story that is told by a former Bishop of Winchester, John V. Taylor, about the Anglican cathedral in Calcutta - a building that he describes as being of "monumental irrelevance to its environment." The building finally came into its own, Taylor recalls, during the war in Bangladesh. Refugees poured over into Indian West Bengal and the cathedral became a key part of the emergency feeding programme: " (the) barn-like cathedral became a barn in fact, the main clearing house for material aid. The spacious driveway, designed for vice-regal carriages, was churned by heavy trucks and the marble steps were chipped by the edges of crates and canisters. The congregation, which grew beyond all previous records, moved forward along narrow alleys between towering walls of rice sacks, flour bags and blankets, to receive communion with a deeper sense of the Mystery than ever. It was a disfigured death of many cherished values, but what a coming to life was there!"

At certain times of the year, after Harvest Festival or after the Toy Service, we catch a small glimpse of such a coming to life at St. Edmund's. We can rejoice in the holy clutter of dried and tinned food or Christmas presents that will be used by agencies across the city for the benefit of many in need. Yet promoting life in community should not be confined to certain special times of year, which is why should also rejoice in the boxes that are permanently placed at the back of church for all year round collections - shoes, underwear, children's clothing - that help the work of St. George's Crypt or St. Anne's Shelter. This is holy clutter that sanctifies our building far more than church furnishings or stained glass windows.