Thread by @RevCBeckett, 1/9 For those who asked me my view: I have read accusations [...]

RevCBeckett

1/9 For those who asked me my view: I have read accusations that #closing churches is & #39; #cowardice& #39;. That #clergy are #keyworkers & should be in our #churches #opening them up for people & our #leaders are & #39;wrong& #39; in their approach. I respectfully disagree @chelmsdio @ChurchTimes

2/9 Considering different ministry #contexts before concluding, the best place for #clergy is in church might serve us better. For some: which church? Many have multiples, some none. Many churches only still operate as #worship centres because of #lay ministry alongside clergy.

3/9 Much of that #lay ministry comes from the over #70s who I hope won& #39;t valiantly decide to put themselves at #risk because they fear being called #cowards. Our leaders protected us & our congregations from misplaced heroism of the kind that fills hospitals & #kills parishioners

4/9 I am grateful. I do not expect all to agree with me, but flinging about totemic terms like & #39;cowardice& #39; right around #VEDay75 when the virus is already being presented in the media & by Govt as a battle is reckless. You cannot grapple with a virus in heroic hand-to-hand combat

5/9 We& #39;re not & #39; #hiding& #39; from a #foe we are equipped to fight. We are keeping out of the way of those who *are* equipped for the flesh & blood #struggle & not becoming carriers. Put bluntly, I don& #39;t want to go gung ho & get folk infected so I can feel #heroic. It& #39;s not about me.

6/9 I want, like Jesus, to be able to say & #39;I have not lost any of those you gave me.& #39; Some have died - but none because of me, I pray. I am willing to bear the horrible grief of losing even physical communion for the sake of a love that values & protects the vulnerable as Christ.

7/9 It is tempting to want the #Church to share in the #praise & heroic imagery heaped upon the #NHS but maybe what we& #39;re called to exercise is not #heroism for the praise of human beings but a quieter #humility that allows itself to be mocked, even misunderstood, for love& #39;s sake

8/9 It is perhaps in this #humility that our #leaders struggle & bow their heads beneath a lash of scorn from within & without. Because our most vulnerable are precious. Because & #39;thou shalt not kill& #39; matters institutionally as well as individually. B/c we are one another& #39;s keeper

9/9 We do not yet fully have a language for love expressed through distance, or faith through precaution, or presence through absence (the mystics help). But I& #39;m reminded of the Methodist Covenant prayer, & #39;let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee...& #39; More in next thread

You can follow @RevCBeckett.

Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: