Disrespectful and often deeply offensive, headlines in <em>The Sun</em> have long been a feature of our national conversation. There was the unforgettable “Gotcha!” after the sinking of the Belgrano with the loss of hundreds of lives (judgment: utterly disgraceful); or “Up Yours Delors!” as the President of the European Union was pressing for a single currency (judgment: well done my Sun; or even “Freddie Starr ate my Hamster” (judgment: actually, he didn’t). With such attention-grabbing openers, Rupert Murdoch won his ratings war with competing tabloids. Brash and unashamedly populist, The Sun targeted a younger less reverential, less establishment audience.Sometimes, I can’t help but chuckle at their irreverence. And so it was last week with their “Taking the Michael” headline. St Michael’s Church in Bournemouth had renamed itself St Mike’s “in a trendy rebrand to entice young people”. Grumpy conservatives online — like me — pointed out that the “el” bit at the end of the word “Michael” is of one of the words for God in the Hebrew Bible. Michael — roughly translated — means something like, “One who is like God.” Given this, taking the “el” bit off the end seems rather unfortunate, especially for a church.But like most headlines in The Sun, there is a streak of cruelty about it. St Mike’s is a huge barn of a Victorian church designed to seat 1,000 people, but now with a congregation of 20. Bournemouth has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the South West. The Vicar there, Sarah Yetman, has a tough gig and all power to her elbow for trying to turn things around. “We aren’t trying to alienate anyone by changing the name” she explains, “But I do feel that if we don’t take steps now to draw people in from those younger generations we will be lamenting what we have missed in the years to come.” “A bid to become more trendy” was the Daily Mail take.So why did this tiny story attract such attention from the national press? Well, I suspect because it does say something rather important about the changing nature of the Church of England. “Taking the Michael” is just the latest in a broad transformation whereby formality of worship is being dropped because it is seen as a barrier to new younger worshippers. The big idea is that we should all get more chummy with the divine. The austere, intimidating God of fire and thunder, the God of the mountain top, the God whom we approach in awe and wonder, is being replaced with the friendly face of Jesus, more mate than majesty. St Michael was the angel of battle who defeated Satan in the ultimate celestial firefight of good vs evil. I don’t think he’s a Mike.For the Daily Mail and The Sun, what is going on here is of a piece with the cheapening of our national life — which may seem a bit rich coming from them, but there you are. Trendy vicars are the new trendy teachers trying to relate to the kids with permanent (draining to watch) smiles, over the top, unrelenting enthusiasm, and awkward references to popular culture. Yes, I get it. I too want my children’s teachers to look more like Hector from the History Boys (without the fondling) than the Nineties era Tony Blair leaning casually against the photocopier in his stonewashed jeans. And the comparison is not just with trendy vicars. Our new Bishops want to be known as Ric or Pete or Rod. Names are all about relatability. And Christianity is about our relatability to God.But here, of course, we stumble very quickly into some deep theological waters of the sort Christians have been arguing about since the first few centuries of its existence. It is a cliché — and indeed an antisemitic trope (See Richard Dawkins) — to compare the violent austere God of the Old Testament to the loving warm and cuddly God of the New Testament as captured in the person of Jesus. Old Testament bad, New Testament good — that’s not Christianity btw.
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Revd Laura Martin, Curate at St John’s and St Luke’s Harrogate (pictured) said the Daily Prayer podcast from the Church of England was “a revelation” amid the “thoroughly exhausting” last 18 months.“Finding the time and energy to retreat into prayer became more difficult” she explained.“I found that my established rhythms of prayer went out of the window with the demands of home learning, home working and the general chaos of everything.“I established a pattern of taking a walk whilst listening to the podcast and found much needed peace, connection with God, space to reflect and a deep sense of God’s presence as I walked.”She added: “It made a significant difference to my spiritual and emotional wellbeing during the winter period of lockdown.”Canon Simon Wilkinson was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2013. In the years that followed his diagnosis he continued turning to Matins and evensong to keep him “on track spiritually” – a pattern he said he followed ever since starting at Cuddesdon Theological College in the 1970s. “It was the bedrock of my spirituality along with the Eucharist for all those 40 or so years” he said.On discovering the Church of England’s online Daily Prayer podcast, Simon expressed his relief at “not needing to carry so many bits of paper or books at the same time”, as he explained:“I have found the whole experience to be transformative for me and for many others whom I have recommended doing the same thing. “When I am particularly unwell, I am now able simply to switch on the iPad and lie back and listen to the services.”Dr Rob Mannion, retired medical lecturer and writer, described finding “much joy and peace” in listening to the Daily Prayer podcast while unable to attend his church due to a health condition, “From the comfort of my special armchair, I’m able to share in the worship with all the wonderful music and voices” he explained.“We may seem to be apart” he added, “but in fact, we’re brought much closer together through the online medium.” The Daily Prayer podcast is also integrated into the free Daily Prayer app. Since its launch in March 2021, it has registered more than 1,000,000 downloads. Have you listened yet? Find out more about the Church of England's Daily Prayer app and podcast.
