Well, that's a perfectly valid point of view and those who hold it may claim some impressive company, including no less a mind than Julian Huxley's, whose belief was that Man invented God for his own purposes.

However, it is manifest that churchgoers are not disciples of the Huxley philosophy and it appears that some of them in Wrington are in dispute over the ways they are having to speak (or sing) to God. Feelings are particularly strongly felt by some who through a life-long association feel that All Saints' is their Mother church.

Parsons come and parsons go (there have been 7 in the memory of parishioners over 60) but staunch long-serving members of a congregation that go on a very long time are a priceless leaven in the nave. They are not "new in the pew" and some have been faithfully in their pews for forty or fifty years. This should make them in modern TUC parlance "a special case" when it comes to making changes in the order of service. Change there must always be, since Life and Change are synonymous. But without doubt with the best intentions there will be some who will want to question closely the pace and direction of change. .

What with series 2 and series 3, perhaps they want time to pause, reflect and draw breath in what they may consider to be the long scramble to "get with it".

If the clergy are the officers of the church, these stalwart souls are its senior NCOs, without whom no battle was ever won. Their ideas and prejudices should not be shunned. Their loyalty and enthusiasm should not be "burned in the smoke"; and the voice of their messengers must always be heard.