Wulfram's Surrender

I have again come across from Lanc's shire to Linc's shire by train, visiting honest folk of that county and hoping to see some of the ancient parish churches for which the place is famous. Upon departing Grantham station, I bore my baggage across the town to St Wulfram’s, the rather imposing parish church. Although much maintenance was taking place, I was welcomed by a gentleman and enjoyed the medieval features and flourishes. Yet I was troubled by the Pride flag fluttering on a flagpole in the grounds. And not just any old pride flag, but the ‘Pride Progress Flag’ which manages to combine the blue and pink colours of transgenderism. This flag represents an ideology which is very much at odds with orthodox Christianity, from which I suppose St Wulfram’s has now departed. Even if one could not agree with me on that, it is factually the case that the flag represents an alternative position to that currently taken by the Church of England of which this parish church is part. I sent a brief but polite email to the Parish Administrator, which concluded:

I do not expect you to alter your practices on the say-so of one visitor from another part of the country, but I would like to advise you that not everyone feels 'included' by that symbol flapping in the wind.

Anyone who believes in the Bible (or the Qur’an, for that matter) is excluded by that flag. For all the talk of inclusivity and tolerance, there is precious little for those of us who hold traditional moral positions and the Judeao-Christian world view. When a rainbow, pink and blue flag flutters outside a church or is used as an altar cloth, it is really just a token of surrender. Secular ideology has besieged the Church now for 70 years; conceding that they have run out of supplies, weapons and morale, the tired defenders have hoisted their opponents’ flag as part of their terms of capitulation.

It is a really white flag that flutters outside St Wulfram’s.