Finally I have watched last weeks Extreme Pilgrim episode. Peter's comments at the end of the program were most pertinent to the church of england's way of life. Reflecting on them I feel that we are now unapologetically materialist, the economy is more of a bible than our scripture and we are dictated by its concerns.
How would a community view a priest who sat in a church or other 'open' place and allowed people to go to him or her, wanting nothing more than a blessing?
Do people need more than the blessings that God gives? Not if everone lived a more spiritually based life. Economic concerns are largely selfish and self seeking. They also destroy themselves in the quest for greater wealth.
To be able to be a priest in a community, truly a priest is an awkward place to be.
Society has largely lost the need for the spiritual – much to its detriment. I'm still not entirely sure what the church has done in the past to turn people against it – or whether most people realise they don't need a priest to pray for them.
However – I still feel confident that if we can pull of this project in Greenfield the community will feel supported and feel that because they have the church, the blessing of God will be on their lives. Whether it will inspire the feeling of well being that was felt in the village Peter stayed near or not I do not know, I doubt it, to be honest, however, there is something about an open door which just desires to be walked through…
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