AUTHENTICITY NOT PRIVILEGE FOR LENT

"One of the things about being in a position of privilege over many, many years is not just that you take it for granted, but that it seems perfectly and inviolably 'natural'. Indeed having your position at the top table questioned seems like an affront to your dignity - as it no doubt did for Jesus' disciples when they were rebuked for putting themselves first.

"So it was that Anglican Bishop of Liverpool James Jones spoke effusively of the 'unique position' and responsibility of the Church of England on BBC Radio 4 this morning.... Would it be too much to ask the Church of England to give up Establishment for Lent, to rediscover its vocation and evangel alongside people; existing with them, not in a protected zone; speaking with them not for them? At the moment it would. But it is right that some of us go on asking, no matter how unpopular or puzzling its is - even to bishops like James Jones, who has shown courage and dignity in other respects."

See the full article here.