St Chad's, Stafford

St Chad’s Church in Stafford claims to be the town’s oldest building. Despite its historical claims and central location, it remained firmly locked the days on which I called except for a mid-week service. While clearly unable to comment on the internals, which I suspect would have been worth my time, much that I saw from without was modern imitation. The impressive doorway, for example (above), is clearly rather recent, even though it is in the Norman style.

One might expect this, of course. Restoring a church ought to have regard for its original style. Yet I also espied a little sign on the noticeboard proclaiming its allegiance to the Inclusive Church organisation, which is a pressure group that lobbies for churches to renege on their commitment to traditional, Christian marriage. So like its masonry, which looks ancient and sagacious, St Chad’s is really just a modern replica, a forgery of Christianity, blown about in the cultural winds of the early twenty-first century. I suspect that, if St Chad himself was given back an earthly existence, this is not somewhere he would attend.

 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Ps 100:5

A D