… will the same happen in the parish church?

An interesting passage from the “Sage of Concord” about the whiphand of conformity, and how we have to “act nice”, even if we don’t “feel nice”:

Meantime nature is not slow to equip us in the prison-uniform of the party to which we adhere. We come to wear one cut of face and figure, and acquire by degrees the gentlest asinine expression. There is a mortifying experience in particular which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean “the foolish face of praise,” the forced smile which we put on in company where we do not feel at ease in answer to conversation which does not interest us. The muscles, not spontaneously moved, but moved by a low usurping wilfulness, grow tight about the outline of the face with the most disagreeable sensation.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self-Reliance,” in Essays: First Series, ed. Alfred R. Ferguson, vol. 2, 5 vols., The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1979), 32.

I accept responsibility for that which I was responsible for, and recognise that my actions must be consistent with this.¹

Hmm…

To which… I’ll see you one self-righteousness and raise you Matthew 23:16-22

1. The full text of Sir Fred Goodwin’s letter to Treasury minister Lord Myners about his pension arrangements. [↩]

Joe Queenan on the French:

They’re rude, they’re haughty, they talk too much about movies, they think they’re better than everyone else. That is, in fact, the way I try to live my life.

Yep. Seems like a life-philosophy to me!

Look what I spotted on the roads today…

Who’d've thunk it?

(Quick thought which I might want to return to)

When Gordon Brown inherited the role of Prime Minister he made it known that he wanted to rule by GOAT, a Government Of All The Talents:

Standing in Downing Street, Mr Brown confirmed he had accepted the Queen’s invitation to form a government. The new prime minister promised to lead a government of all the talents and spoke of the need for change within politics…. In a brief acceptance speech, Mr Brown repeated his unofficial leadership mantra to listen and learn to the British public. Mr Brown said: “And as prime minister I will continue to listen and learn from the British people. I have heard the need for change…. As the new prime minister prepared to finalise his first Cabinet, Mr Brown repeated the promise he would lead a government that “reaches out beyond narrow party interest”. [Politics.co.uk]

It swiftly broke down. The Prime Minister’s

…collection of businessmen, defence chiefs and sundry other non-politico types became known as the goats (an acronym of government of all the talents). Lord Jones felt less a goat than a guinea pig. It was a good idea to bring in outsiders and he found the Civil Service to be “honest, stuffed full of decent people who work hard”. Then he added: “Frankly the job could be done with half as many, it could be more productive, more efficient, it could deliver a lot more value for money for the taxpayer.” [Daily Telegraph]

Even so, is the problem the idea, its working out, or those involved in its working out? In other words, is GOAT in itself a good thing? If so, could it be applied to parish ministry? What would Ministry Of All The Talents (MOATT) look like?