(Inadvertent) Words of Wisdom

The private chapel of the Bishop of Guildford at his house, Willow Grange, has a nice selection of benches for folk to sit on, a couple of icons, and a solid oak table as an altar. It even has a holy-water stoup, a shallow ceramic basin held up by curlicued metalwork. It doesn't have a cross anywhere, curiously enough.

I made use of the holy-water stoup yesterday when the diocesan chapter of the Society of Catholic Priests met at the Bishop's house, for mass, lunch, and a discussion of the Society's aims and Rule of Life. Mass was unobjectionable, lunch was pleasant, and the talk mildly encouraging. We spoke quite a lot about the commitment in the Manual of the SCP to 'catholic evangelism', to using the tools of the Catholic tradition to communicate the Gospel. There were a number of interesting ideas, though the discussion made me reflect on my lack of focus and clarity in my own ministry. 

We got to the bit in the SCP Manual which commits the Society and its members to 'seeking the peace and unity of Christ's Church', a Church which - even the little bit of it called the Church of England - comprises trad-Catholics and modernisers as well as Evangelicals of various brands, who are increasingly dominant in the Diocese of Guildford. 'As liberal Catholics everyone hates us', said one of my colleagues. 'Everyone thinks everyone hates them' joked the Bishop, a throwaway remark which I thought was perhaps the most profound insight of the day. It's true: each grouping feels itself misunderstood and embattled, even the big Evangelical churches who have such a triumphalist tone to what they do. They have it precisely because they suspect it isn't true. In recognising each other's insecurity, perhaps, and forgiving its shrill and unwelcome consequences, lies the possibility of kindness and hope.