Miracles may follow
Sir: One wonders if Arthur Scargill helped Gavin Stamp lose his way in the fog of `Anglican MacGregors' (27 October). His epistle from Holbeck bears a whiff of that all-too-familiar oratorical vapour. But be- fore Mr Stamp confronts the Archbishop at Acas, let's remind ourselves, as the Gov- ernment is wont to do, that a good old- fashioned sermon illuminates the real world.
The point, Mr Stamp, is that it is time for you and your friends to join us, the 'drunks and duds', the regular churchgoers. We are few, but quite undefeated in spite of serious practical difficulties. Here in the opulent south-east, for example, where we worship under a leaking roof, as much as a 30 per cent increase in parish contributions to the diocese is needed this year to train, clothe and feed our priests. Every parish in the country, whether beautiful or not, could remain open if all who profess to love them actually provided support.
So come along, Mr Stamp, join us on the picket-line for Matins on Sunday and bring your cheque-book too. Miracles may fol- low, even, maybe, understanding between Mr Scargill and Mr MacGregor.
Andrew Barr
1 Morebreddis, Goudhurst, Kent