Last Saturday, Phillip Pullman addressed library campaigners at a convention in London and declared war on the “stupidity” of nationwide library closures. Pullman’s presence brought the Church of England to mind, merely as a counter-point to his often very public atheism. How has the established church responded to the end of community libraries and the education services they provide?
As part of a wider national picture, Anglican priests have, at the suggestion of their parishioners, offered help to campaigners in Bolton, where 5 libraries are to close, and in Brent, where 6 libraries are to close. Letters have been written on the vicarage’s headed paper; petitions have been signed; and churches have hosted publicity events. Bygone village life seems momentarily to have been resurrected among the dark satanic mills.
This soft support of letters and gentle encouragement is the church’s work these days; vicars, rightly or wrongly, no longer lead their flocks in anything but prayer.
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