Anglophilia: Bake Off, Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, River Cottage, and the Local Church

Anglophilia: Bake Off, Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, River Cottage, and the Local Church August 3, 2016

Description English: The Crown Inn, Now a Free House. For many years a Hardy Hanson (Kimberley's) tied house. The exterior is unchanged except for the signs and a lick of paint 593503. Update Dec 09; I can happily report that the new owners have thankfully left the interior unspoiled too. The beer is good also. Date 6 October 2009 Source From geograph.org.uk Author David Lally (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Description: The Crown Inn, Now a Free House. For many years a Hardy Hanson (Kimberley’s) tied house. The exterior is unchanged except for the signs and a lick of paint 593503. Update Dec 09; I can happily report that the new owners have thankfully left the interior unspoiled too. The beer is good also.
Date 6 October 2009
Source From geograph.org.uk
Author David Lally (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Now, why, besides pure nostalgia, am I spending all this time writing about British television? The reason is this, the way of life depicted in these shows, particularly as we re-inject the church into them, is an integrative life. Whether one is a shopkeeper, an employee, a farmer, a beekeeper, a brewer, an academic, one is part of the village. All peoples come together to eat, and compete, and live together. I know this is a fantasy. None of these shows contain the totality and reality and most of them have little to no place for the Church (which may be the Church’s fault). But goodness me this seems like something worth striving toward as much as we can wherever we can and however we can. No, this model of the village with the local church and the pub at the center isn’t one that can be recreated in towns and neighborhoods that already exist, or at least not with difficulty. But we can be more neighborly, organize neighborhood gatherings––feasts and competitions. What is more, our local churches can help facilitate this. Especially in areas where space is condensed can the local church use some of its space to host these gatherings. What if more churches took the Croydon approach, blessing the beer of local bars, getting to know the already existing gathering areas and creating new opportunities for the people of a particular area to gather together?

Now, don’t misunderstand me. None of this really has anything to do with relevancy. I want the local church to engage with the local culture not to appear relevant but to fulfill its role. The Church exists to bring God’s Kingdom to the world, to transform the world, to prepare for its transfiguration when Christ returns. Nothing falls outside the Church’s purview and this includes the growing of vegetables, the baking of cakes, the brewing of beer. So, I will keep watching River Cottage and Bake Off and Shaun the Sheep (even though sometimes doing so causes me to ache for England) to inspire me, to help me understand what the Good Life looks like and how the Church has in the past and should now enable us to live the Good Life. Maybe one day you can join me and we’ll see whose bread is better, and then we’ll sit down and enjoy us nice beer and while away the evening as our children play together meeting the other children from the neighborhood. Maybe these aspects of culture won’t be fully redeemed until Christ returns, but I’ll do what I can to bring that about while there’s still breath in my lungs and a church to help me.

Sincerely,
David


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