| HE WAS preaching from Jeremiah 18.1-12 about idolatry and consumerism in the context of a gift day for the church, says the Revd Alan Strange, Rector of Holy Trinity, Norwich, the main Evangelical church in the city. Suddenly he said: “Let’s counteract materialism and individualism by giving something together.”
He told them of the charity Besom, which works for the homeless, and how much it needed decent men’s shoes and socks. “So give me your shoes now, please. I’m asking you today, because you are probably wearing your Sunday best.” And he took off his own shoes and held them up.
Many men followed suit, standing in their socks, and eventually going home in them. In all, he collected 54 pairs (above), and a good quantity of socks. It so happened that the Archbishop of Canterbury was visiting Norwich that weekend, and heard about what he called a “wonderful and moving gesture”. And members of the congregation, which numbers about 200, found it moving to receive communion next to someone who had given his shoes.
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