Lewes Forum thread

Go on, tell 'em what you think

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Bishop of Lewes "sadness and regret"

On 5 Jul 2009 at 10:41am Northern Bigot wrote:

So the Bishop is worried about the wellbeing of the congregation of St Peters St Leonards regarding the arrest of Vicar Alex Brown on suspicision of organising 180 sham weddings for illegal immigrants!
Is this the same Church of England which insists upon the native English who dont live in a said parish, but who would ike to marry in that Church, must attend that particular church for up to 6 months to go on its "electoral roll"
Is this our national church where Vicars who may have only been in the job a few months tell people whose families have lived in an area for generations they cannot have their kids baptised unless they become church regulars. Often they demand the same for entry into the church school. What happens once the child has been christened or gained entry into the school they all stop attending! If a Vicar refuses to baptise a child, people are told to write to the Bishop and he will find another clergyman in the locality who doesnt make any pre conditions! The Church of England should not turn anyone away, it has a privileged position in our society. Making everybody jump through religious hoops like this is daft, the English are not that religious, but still look to the Established Church when it comes to hatch match and dispatch!

On 5 Jul 2009 at 11:34am Rozzer wrote:

I agree with a lot of what Norfthern Nigot says, but there's one bit I can't understand. 'Is this our national church where Vicars who may have only been in the job a few months tell people whose families have lived in an area for generations they cannot have their kids baptised unless they become church regulars.' Why would someone who doesn't go to church - that is, is not a practising Christian - want to have their child baptised?

On 5 Jul 2009 at 11:56am Jonnyboy wrote:

It's a good excuse for a party!

On 5 Jul 2009 at 12:44pm FA wrote:

Ive always wondered that myself Rozzer. However, you could go further and say the same about celebrating christmas and easter.
half the bloody priests and vicars are corrupt anyway, either playing "puppets" with the choirboys or engaging in some other illegal activity.

On 5 Jul 2009 at 2:03pm not from around here wrote:

I agree - I've never understood why people want to 'sign up' to the church just for appearances sake. Christmas as a celebration though was around long before it was hijacked by the church.
At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it as it allows an non-believer like myself to enjoy the 'festive season'!

On 5 Jul 2009 at 2:21pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:

The same applies to Easter. It was the pagan festival of Ystre, celebrating the end of winter and coming of spring.

On 5 Jul 2009 at 3:18pm Rozzer wrote:

As others have said, I'll celebrate winter and spring in the traditional way and if Christians want to call it 'Christmas' and 'Easter' that's up to them. But the church is like a club and if you're not a member and don't put in a regular appearance I just don't see why you should expect your children to be given the mark of the beast or whatever it is they do at the font.

On 5 Jul 2009 at 8:06pm Northern bigot wrote:

Even today 60% of the English population were baptised into the national church, some 26 million. How many have been "often" since then?
I suppose it was what they call all about believing but not belonging, part of an English identity. Within living memory there was an identifiable English Protestant identity, even though then as now few of those holding such views would be Church regulars!