Whisky Priests Galore
by Martin Sewell, Archbishop Cranmer:
I have a sense that many clerics today find themselves no less confused and variously out of sorts than their widely dispersed flocks. Some report being frazzled with too much work; others are hurriedly honing their skills as online pastors; some have to self-isolate, and yet others are trying to evade being overwhelmed by taking refuge by reflecting on Celtic saints or the Desert Fathers, who did not seem to need too much engagement with everyday people to fulfil their vocation to honour God. It takes all sorts to make a church.
The responses to the coronavirus outbreaks will be many and varied, and that may not be a bad thing. The virus itself will take different paths through different communities and elicit necessarily varied responses, so it is only to be expected that there will not be a uniform response by all faith communities or individual ministers within each.
Inevitably, many will take refuge in the tradition to which they have become attached: more Anglo-Catholicism, more ‘Radical Inclusion’, and greater biblical fidelity will all be asserted explicitly or implicitly, and I make that observation without any pejorative intention. We all seek comfort in the familiar, where we can. These will be sincere responses, and who knows, they might each work in different contexts. Jesus said that the good shepherd knows his flock and will care for them in times of trouble. That observation works whether you capitalise the title or not. Ours is a church of many colours.
It is the relationship of the Good Shepherd to His clergy that interests me here. I began reflecting on this after a priest friend expressed natural apprehension about exercising his ministry in a context where a number of people had already been diagnosed with the virus. Not everyone is comfortable with Father Damian or a St Maximilian Kolbe as a sacrificial role model.
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