From Mr Malcolm Hensher
Sir, - Where is the Church of England going? I refer to your
report "Blokes' bring-a-bottle beer bonanza" about current Father's
Day initiatives at St Mark's, Tattenham Corner, Epsom (News, 13 June). We
seem to lurch from one gimmick to another.
Father's Day is hardly part of the liturgical calendar, and
never has been. Mothering Sunday, on the other hand, is a
long-standing Christian thanksgiving for motherhood, with all its
theological implications, from Christ's mother to the broad and
biblical concept of Mother Church. Father's Day has evolved as an
irrelevant commercial pagan sequel to this Christian tradition.
As for bringing bottles of beer to church to swap them with
someone else's and take home so that the dads don't feel
disaffected . . . dear me!
MALCOLM HENSHER
37 Grange Park, Steeple Aston
Oxon OX25 4SR