As has been reported elsewhere,Chelmsford Cathedral is putting glowsticks rather than candles in its Christingle oranges this year. (See Dave Walker’s cartoon.) Local and nearby MPs have lined up to criticise, e.g., these words from Eric Pickles (Conservative, Brentwood and Ongar):

Eventually they will work out a way to take all the fun out of
Christmas. I think Christmas is becoming homogenised, dull and full of
earnestness. I would be interested to hear from the cathedral when was
the last time an orange and a candle set fire to a child’s hair.

The local MP in whose constituency the cathedral falls, Simon Burns (Conservative, Chelmsford West), told the Chelmsford Weekly News:

I think it is political correctness gone wild – my children frequently attended the Christingle service when they were younger. And while I was there never
once did I fear for the safety of my
children or the other children there
so I think the decision is rather sad.

That same paper is inviting correspondence on whether this is ‘political correctness gone mad’ and you can click at the bottom of the above link to give your opinion.

For me this is nothing of the sort. Churches and other public bodies are being forced by insurers and charity law to conduct more and more risk assessments that lead to decisions like this. And why is that? Because we have an ‘if it moves, sue it’ culture. The cause, then, is not political correctness but a culture that has rejected the message of forgiveness that Jesus taught and embodied.

Technorati Tags: Chelmsford+Cathedral, Christingle, Dave+Walker, political+correctness, forgiveness

As has been reported elsewhere,Chelmsford Cathedral is putting glowsticks rather than candles in its Christingle oranges this year. (See Dave Walker’s cartoon.) Local and nearby MPs have lined up to criticise, e.g., these words from Eric Pickles (Conservative, Brentwood and Ongar):

Eventually they will work out a way to take all the fun out of
Christmas. I think Christmas is becoming homogenised, dull and full of
earnestness. I would be interested to hear from the cathedral when was
the last time an orange and a candle set fire to a child’s hair.

The local MP in whose constituency the cathedral falls, Simon Burns (Conservative, Chelmsford West), told the Chelmsford Weekly News:

I think it is political correctness gone wild – my children frequently attended the Christingle service when they were younger. And while I was there never
once did I fear for the safety of my
children or the other children there
so I think the decision is rather sad.

That same paper is inviting correspondence on whether this is ‘political correctness gone mad’ and you can click at the bottom of the above link to give your opinion.

For me this is nothing of the sort. Churches and other public bodies are being forced by insurers and charity law to conduct more and more risk assessments that lead to decisions like this. And why is that? Because we have an ‘if it moves, sue it’ culture. The cause, then, is not political correctness but a culture that has rejected the message of forgiveness that Jesus taught and embodied.

Technorati Tags: Chelmsford+Cathedral, Christingle, Dave+Walker, political+correctness, forgiveness