This arrived by email yesterday from my friend Robert [see previous mentions starting here]. Worth quoting in full.
I had a bad night last night, after discovering yesterday afternoon intruders on the Church roof, and stolen lead, and wrecked roof in parts, but I had watched ‘catch-up’ of ‘Rev’ on Tv earlier, and the rest is the article below:
Blame Government(s), blame 'Iraq' and 'Palestine', blame Immigration, blame the loss of the Local Post Office the Ibo Centre the L8 Law Centre and St Margaret’s Local School (and a Church School at that), blame the Bishop and the ‘Diocese’, blame Cuts in Public Spending then, blame the Promise of Cuts in Public Spending now, blame the loss of Quality Nous and Leaders to “the clamour to sustain our lifestyle by selling ourselves to the few who control the empire” (Ken Taylor, Polar Instruments, Inc., Oregon). Whatever, .. the Community will blame whatever ‘authority’ still remains.
Maybe it is the job of the Parish Church to receive and to hold such Blame, in that Godly Christ-like way. Remember the story of ‘The Last Supper’? {I've just heard from the police, that the Synagogue, next door but one, had one side of all its lead taken yesterday.}
So now, not unexpectedly, we are having our lead stolen and our roof wrecked.
Watched the ‘catch-up’ of the last episode of ‘Rev’ last night. I have been receiving comment in e-mails and telephone-calls for some little time now, that ‘Rev’ reminded them of myself and St Margaret Toxteth.
I watched the last episode of ‘Rev’ last night, the night of discovery of damage and intruders, and it gave me Heart. The ‘Rev’ was having a hard time, withirrelevance, ineffectiveness, and self-harm, which resulted in a football at the head and a poke in the eye. It was ‘reassuring’ to notice no reassuring Bishop written into the script but an acerbic Archdeacon on about performance numbers and money.
The failed Man is then called to be a Priest again, .. to the Dying.
After, he turns down the offer of ‘consolation’ from the Police, and Gazes out instead onto the City.
‘Rev’ gave me all the support I needed last night. And it gave me Heart in those dead hours of this early morning, to stay again with this deeply ambiguous, hurt, ‘dying?’, Parish, … with ‘our City telling them to go’.
Robert Gallagher
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