THE CHURCH(ES) OF ENGLAND

One of the few things that Prince Charles has uttered that I agree with is that the monarch should no longer be "Defender of THE faith", but instead should be "Defender of FAITHS".

The Church of England was supposed to be an umbrella of religious freedom, under which several varieties of Christian faith were protected from the tyranny of Rome. These variations ranged from the High Church at one end and the low church protestants at the other, with a rainbow of colours between.

Unfortunately, the C of E is now an empty presence of a dictatorship, with bishops bullying priests who stray from the main line. They want to dominate Christianity everywhere - in schools, hospitals, prisons, colleges, universities etc - by being there but doing nothing. When another body tries to provide the church that they fail to provide, they stamp their feet and persecute.

Isn't it time that the C of E not only went back to its roots, but also modernised? The C of E in its present form should be dismantled and reformed to create a multi-faith church - with Christianity at its heart, but other faiths central to it. This should be the states "Defender of faiths", with clergy of ALL love-professing religions of the UK represented in its leadership - Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Pagans and Rastafarian. This newly reformed Church of England would have four principle values - to protect freedom of religion, to promote peace and love, to respect difference, love and worship of the Divine.

Only when this happens does the Church of England have ANY chance of surviving this century. Until such a time, my ministry goes on and so does that of SICM under the fine leadership of Bishop Jonathan Blake.