By now, I’m sure many of you will have seen news about the Occupy London Stock Exchange protests that started this weekend. I’m not going to get into the rights and wrongs of capitalism here, but I just thought I’d share a couple of things with you that really grabbed my attention. First off, I saw this image, taken outside St. Paul’s Cathedral. I think there’s something strangely powerful about this.
Then there was the decision by St. Paul’s Cathedral to allow the protestors to set up camp, and to ask the police to leave them there.
Rev Dr Giles Fraser, said: “The police were trying to protect the building for us which was very good of them. I asked them if they’d leave because I didn’t feel it needed that sort of protection.”
(You can read the full story here.) This prompted outrage from some people – how dare they be allowed to sit protesting outside such a historic building. Here’s my favourite tweet about this subject, which sums up my thoughts perfectly.
Dear outraged right-wing. Cathedrals are not there to be tourist attractions. They are there to further the work of a 1st century protester.
Personally, I think there’s something beautifully poetic about the protesters being allowed to camp outside St. Paul’s Cathedral – it’s a stark reminder that the church shouldn’t be just about history, but a living breathing body of people dealing with the issues of the day that are affecting society. This is where Jesus should be found – outside the church building for the world to see, not locked up in a tourist attraction.
