A final piece of colloquial richness from America. Asked about the experience of being a bishop, someone quoted the late President Lyndon Johnson – who said that the experience of being President was like being ‘a jackass caught in a hailstorm.’ So now you know.
Meanwhile, the world of Scotland is full of interest – particularly the very measured debate on sexuality in the Church of Scotland General Assembly.
But the thing with which I found myself most in sympathy was the piece by Giles Fraser in the Church Times. Having announced his departure from Putney, he reflects, ‘Soon I shall be on a list of vicars past’. And he muses on that permanent dissatisfaction which clergy have about what they achieve – particularly when they measure at the point of departure – and about where the permanent might be found in the midst of the impermanent.
I sympathise with Giles Fraser – perhaps it’s a kind of striving against our mortality. When I was a theatre manager there were many times when I wondered where the “legacy” was in the “here today gone tomorrow” aspect of putting on shows. Maybe I should have just got over myself! Lately I’ve been more inclined towards thinking of the ripple effect of what experiencing/participating in the arts can achieve. I daresay there are parallels with the church? Would be interested to know your views.