Tony Windross reviews Sermons from Suffolk by Stephen Mitchell. Little Ark Publications (Peterborough 2016). Pbk. 114 pages. £14.99.
My association with Sea of Faith began in 1988 (just 4 years after Don Cupitt’s eponymous book and television series), at the very first Conference – which was when I first came across Stephen Mitchell. Ever since, he (together with the other network founder-members, Ronald Pearse and David Paterson) has been part of a triumvirate (or trinity?) that meant faith became (and remains) a real possibility for me.
During his 37 years in ministry, Stephen has never shied away from controversy, and was one of those mercilessly pilloried over his part in Joan Bakewell’s 1992 Heart of the Matter programme on the Resurrection. The response of the Church was in effect to ask ‘how dare these people understand such things differently? How dare they struggle for a new way of thinking that might stand some slight chance of resonating with where thoughtful, late 20th century people actually are?’
He remained unbowed, and continued to speak and write in the clear and illuminating style that is a hallmark of this book of sermons. The 24 examples here, span some 14 years, and show the depth of his theology – as well as his familiarity with contemporary culture. Sermons, by definition, are for hearing – and often don’t translate well to the page. But these do, with all manner of topical references enlivening the serious theological underpinning.
Stephen is clearly a gifted preacher, and it’s an enormous pity that his voice will no longer echo down the naves of the five ancient Suffolk churches which he has served for the last 14 years. This excellent collection means, however, that it will at least be available to a rather wider (and maybe more appreciative?) audience. And that’s important – as there are precious few people speaking from a Sea of Faith perspective (however understood) in a way that is as accessible. Or indeed, as audible. Because the reality is that such a perspective is never actually heard at all in pretty well any church you care to name. Instead of intelligent reflections on faith, the congregations are fed banal pap – with the most thriving churches tending to be where uncritical banality has been elevated to the status of an art form.
The Church of England is under all sorts of pressures – from those who think sexuality is the only thing worth making a fuss about; from declining congregations – and therefore declining finances; from creeping (maybe galloping) irrelevance; and from those (like Stephen) who persist in thinking that Christianity might still have something to offer a postmodern age.
His determination not to abandon the Church to the clammy hands of the ‘true-believers’ (with their arm-waving certainties) has demanded a lot, and the pressure has sometimes shown. Don Cupitt felt no longer able to continue being a regular communicant, but Stephen has managed to hang on in there, tolerated even to the extent of being appointed a rural dean!
Over the years the Church has made considerable efforts to keep his particular brand of thoughtful religion at bay, and he bears some of the scars as a result. But he remained undaunted – and survived until retirement. But his leaving parish ministry means that the non-realist C of E vicar has moved from being an endangered species – to an effectively extinct one. There didn’t used to be many – now they are can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand – and it’s getting a bit lonely! New recruits are invariably from the evangelical wing – who regard non-realism as the devil’s work. They see their job as primarily to peddle certainty, and to offer clear and definite answers to the questions that have perplexed humanity forever.
The result is that (in general terms) their message is seized upon with gratitude by the fearful – and given a wide berth by the thoughtful. This book shows that things don’t have to be like that – even though they usually are. Ten years have elapsed since Stephen’s previous adventure in print (the splendid God in the Bath which itself appeared ten years after his powerful Agenda for Faith.) It is to be hoped that the opportunities for reflection, provided by retirement, mean we will not have to wait quite so long for his next instalment.
Tony Windross is Rector of the Week St Mary Circle of Churches in Cornwall, and Rural Dean of Stratton.