Update on St. Paul's, London

After asking the "Occupy London" protestors to leave the grounds of St. Paul's Cathedral yesterday, the Dean and Chapter are now in discussions regarding the protestors who are refusing the request.

According to the BBC, Sunday services have been canceled at the Cathedral for this weekend.

Regarding the request to disperse:

"The protesters have however, decided to continue with the action following a meeting which is thought to have taken place on Friday.

One of the group, who gave her name as Lucy, said: "This protest is massive, it affects everybody, everyone's watching at home right now.

"It's not just about a few people who have got some tents in St Paul's, it's not a stunt, it's not a spectacle."

Stuart Fraser, policy and resources committee chairman on the CLC, said he was still hopeful "common sense will prevail" and that those camping around the cathedral "will recognise that they are damaging the integrity of their protest by their actions - and they decide to disband in a peaceful manner"."

More here.

St. Paul's has posted the following statement by Canon Giles Fraser on its website:

"I remain firmly supportive of the right of people peacefully to protest. But given the strong advice that we have received that the camp is making the cathedral and its occupants unsafe then this right has to be balanced against other rights and responsibilities too. The Christian gospel is profoundly committed to the needs of the poor and the dispossessed. Financial justice is a gospel imperative. Those who are claiming the decision to close the cathedral has been made for commercial reasons are talking complete nonsense."
Posted by Nicholas Knisely on October 22, 2011 10:13 AM | |
Comments (3)

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

Moral of the story: don't feed the animals.

Posted by Dave Paisley [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 22, 2011 1:49 PM

First a welcome, then, 'That's enough. Move along.'

How are the protestors making the cathedral unsafe?

June Butler

Posted by GrandmèreMimi [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 22, 2011 2:28 PM

But given the strong advice that we have received that the camp is making the cathedral and its occupants unsafe

Evidence, please?

This looks really, really bad for the church. The Occupy protests have provided the perfect evangelism opportunity--or at least an unparalleled chance to show that Christians can actually live what they say they believe. And what have we done? Told people who are actually standing up for the Gospel (whether they characterize it that way themselves or not) that they are unwelcome and dangerous. Nice.

Choosing buildings over people--and over the Gospel itself--does nothing to recommend our faith to the world. It is small wonder that church attendance in the UK is around 6% and falling...this won't help.

Posted by Paige Baker [TypeKey Profile Page] | October 23, 2011 2:48 PM

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