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So it seems there's another conversation happening about opening churches to the public for private prayer. And I'm quite reluctant to get into this again. But here we are. 1/
Opening churches is very complex. And it's very complex often not in a structured organisation full of paid staff. In a goodly number of our churches, our workforce is our volunteers. And often our volunteers are our mobile over 70s. After all 70 is the new 50. 2/
So you find yourself thinking, so it's down to the vicar then. It may be that is possible. But then I wonder who is going to staff the comings & goings of the parishioners. Who will 'manage' the joyfully non compliant as they see their friend for the first time in 3 months? 3/
Some may say 'that's up to them'. Is it? I honestly feel this burden quite heavily. Because I darn well know that the ones who come will be the ones that should stay home. And my heart is breaking because it's on me. It's me who, once the government makes it legal, decides. 4/
Which brings me too something else. In March, the church got burnt. The fight about closed churches seems to mean that no central imposition will come again. So it's all become not just local (which is my thing) but individual parishes, often going. 5/
And so the idea is it's okay not to open and the inequalities between churches becomes writ large. Churches with teams, younger congregants, are free to open. Churches wondering whether to open or not because their volunteers can't volunteer have no real choice. 6/
And which churches will thrive in this? Figure it out. And as an important tangent. Smaller churches are often where women are vicars. So gender equality takes a hit. 7/
All this sits in the murky quagmire of guilt that I might choose (a choice I don't have of course) wrongly. And people will die. And that will be my input on this. I wanted to be open as this is what I'm hearing from others and it's difficult to say it. So, you're not alone. 8/8
