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And answer came there none
Second World War anti-aircraft shells, being designed to blow the Luftwaffe out of the sky (don't mention the war) were noted for their sensitivity and liability to go bang suddenly if not handled carefully. i was, tehrefore, not pleasantly surprised when some clumsy oaf dropped a pair them, one after the other in rapid succession, at my feet. As I recollect it, and it was an awfully long time ago, I said not a word, not even thank-you. Or maybe I did quietly utter an expletive.
The thought flashed through my mind, as the explosive ordnance bounced off the concrete, that this might be the end. I was ever the pessimist. As I entry my sixty-fourth year visions of doom and gllom loom large once again. The church press is full of predictions of the lcergy pension fund going into melt-down unless the laity dig deep and pour millions into it. Standing on a corner selling the Big Issue had never been my idea of a placid retirement.
The solution to the black hole by some bishops, who were never the brightest and best of the sons of the morning, is to reduce the numbers of stipendiary clergy. This is akin to amputating a leg to save cutting the toe nails. The concept of the Vicar of North Yorkshire, or even the Vicar of Yorkshire, is edging nearer to being a reality. Have I spent nearly a quarter of a century being a community priest only to be replaced by what was once laughingly called a "panda parson"?
When those twin projectiles hit the floor I was, uncharacteristically, silent. It could have been good-night for me, but it was not. Unbeknown to me, God had other plans. Not only do I not have any intention of joinging the Monday morning queue at the Post Office just yet, but I also have the faith to follow the example fo the blessed Saint Thomas, who we commemorate this month, who famously said that if Jesus was going up to Jerusalem to die he would go with him. We have a Gospel to procalim and we'll jolly well do it. The pension fund? Sell off a few of those opulent bishop's palaces and sack the senior staff. That should make enough to tide me over in old age, when it comes.
May God bless you all, Fr. Allan
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