Simply when the Church of England wants some excellent news… Royal Mail has launched a set of particular stamps celebrating the UK's hottest clergyman.
Sure, extremely popular Vicar of Dibley returns to letterboxes throughout the nation with eight new designs that includes episodes of the basic comedy collection proven on TV stations within the UK, US and all over the world.
And I’d say that that is nice information for any vicars or church ministers working at grassroots stage within the communities served by the CofE.
The stamps – launched in the identical week that Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby laid down his pyre following his resignation – exhibit the enduring recognition of the fictional nation vicar, brilliantly performed by Daybreak French.
The TV collection gave tens of millions of individuals – who could by no means go to a church or meet a priest – an opportunity to fulfill a form, approachable man with a clerical collar. Few clerics are as hysterically humorous as Geraldine Granger, however hopefully most of us are heat, pleasant and welcoming.
The Vicar of Dibley the sitcom ran for 3 collection on the BBC from November 1994 to January 2007 and received quite a few awards. Episodes can nonetheless be discovered on digital channels all over the world and excerpts are extensively accessible on-line.
David Gold, Royal Mail's director of exterior affairs and coverage, mentioned: “Nice writing and the heat and character of her characters Vicar of Dibley some of the fashionable tv comedies of all time.”
The sitcom began simply eight months after the primary British ladies have been ordained clergymen within the Church of England. Some say the collection' success helped introduce them to the lifetime of the church. Most of the first feminine vicars spoke of being in comparison with Geraldine Granger of their early days.
Others criticized the collection for its inaccurate portrayal of rural life and the complicated position of the church in rural communities. Personally, I didn't care an excessive amount of about it.
At a time when belief within the church hierarchy is low, I’ll perceive the excellent news in regards to the concern of stamps.
The CofE faces main challenges because it fails to reply adequately to safety scandals and doesn’t care about victims of abuse. A brand new Archbishop of Canterbury is seen as a part of the answer – though discovering the correct particular person shall be an enormous problem.
In my very own a part of the CofE, there’ll quickly be a necessity for a successor to Dr Alan Smith, who has introduced his retirement after 16 years as Bishop of St Albans, overseeing a diocese that features Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and elements of North London.
It might not be simple to discover a alternative for Bishop Alan – it’s changing into more and more troublesome to pick individuals for the best roles within the Church. Such are the challenges and divisions inside the Church that few persons are acceptable to everybody.
In the meantime, the actual vicars of Dibley within the cities, suburbs and villages try to serve their native communities and convey the love of Christ to our damaged world. Onerous-pressed clergy proceed to faithfully serve their congregations and communities whereas scandals swirl across the hierarchy.
I can't assist however marvel if the creators of Geraldine Granger may need a new problem: to search out out what would occur if she was named the brand new Archbishop…
The Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and former director of communications with the CofE.
