Fame at last!

Amazingly the Times has decided to publish a letter I sent them. I felt rather annoyed at their coverage of Justin Welby's appointment as our new Archbishop in Friday's edition, not because of the nice things they said about him but the way they used the opportunity to smear the Church of England as a whole.

So I was pretty surprised when I bought Monday's paper (because I'd had a busy weekend and missed the rugby internationals) and found my little diatribe in there. Here it is:

Sir, laden as it is with words and phrases such as "detoxify," "riven by arguments," "years of bitter division," "hypocritical" and "damaged," the subtext of your front page article about the new Archbishop of Canterbury hardly bothers to conceal an aim to denigrate the Church of England at all costs. The dire picture painted bears little relation to the vibrant life in experienced in many parishes.

Justin Welby should pay no attention to the problem-focussed agenda recommended further on in your pages. The Christian faith has a great deal that is positive to offer our cynical culture and I fervently hope he will make it his top priority to commend it to our nation.      

It must be terribly easy for the Archbishop to be straitjacketed by his role and all the huge expectations and burdens that go with it. Please Lord may Justin be able to keep his focus on You, Your love, Your Gospel, and making You known to the nation.