This clip from Sunday's Songs of Praise which hosted the Young Chorister of the Year 2020 competition illustrates the changing face of priesthood in the church of England.
The Rev Kate Bottley of Gogglebox star fame wore a novel creation resembling an evening dress with clerical collar to signify her calling.
To be fair it was a welcome change from the hot pants outfit worn when caught cavorting behind Jason Mohammad in the Good Morning Sunday alarm call.
The Rev Sally Hitchiner used to grab the headlines. Dubbed 'the Vicar who wears Prada' she caused an 'unholy row among the faithful' when she posed in tight silver leather trousers worth over £1000.
Her response was "I dress in a way that reflects my personality."
'More Dior than Dibley' cracked MailOnline.
Sally Hitchiner founded Diverse Church with the aim of 'planting grass roots communities of LGBT+ Christians, enabling the wider Church to discover the gift of LGBT+ Christians in their mist'.
So successful has the LGBT+ movement become that secular values have become mainstream with the Church of England set on course to undermine the institution of Christian marriage by allowing same sex unions.
Following her appearances on Gogglebox the Rev Kate Bottley remarked that she had been compared with the Vicar of Dibley
She follows up the comparison with some affirming tweets from other women priests celebrating their success.
Mailonline remarked: "Rejoice! It's the real-life Vicars of Dibley: Knickers drying on the radiator, guinea pigs in the congregation and candles setting robes alight... as the Reverend Geraldine returns on Zoom, JENNY JOHNSTON meets some actual female clergy".
Dawn French's return as The Vicar Of Dibley has not been universally welcomed. The BBC was 'slammed' for not staying impartial following a scene in which French takes the knee in support of Black Lives Matter.
The comedy series originator Richard Curtis said it had a serious side. It was "grounded in reality".
He claimed he attended the wedding of two friends which was presided over by a female administrator and thought ‘this is so right’. In 1992, just as Richard was devising the series, the Church of England was allowing the ordination of women for the first time. He was also living in a Dibley-like village at the time and knew that it would be the perfect setting.
No theology. No scripture. No tradition. Just perfect!
It seems churlish to be critical of a pretty face and, doubtless, an approachable manner, but what about an aura of holiness and an absence of trendiness 'now and in the hour of death'? It is fair to ask which are they aiming at?
ReplyDeleteRob
This one is a bit scary
Deletehttps://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2020/4-december/news/uk/general-synod-digest-clerical-credentials-to-be-on-one-list?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1607385946
All I want for Christmas is a clerical barbie doll.
ReplyDeleteDominic
I have not left the Church; the Church has left me.
ReplyDeleteRob
@ Rob:
DeleteThat's also what I felt.
And indeed not just that it had left me, but also that it had departed from the teaching that it had handed down to me scarcely a generation earlier.
I quite agree too.
DeleteThe Church in Wales today is unrecognisable to me and I'm glad to be out of it.