When the Church of England talks of trying new things, I prick up my ears. Back in 2004 it announced the need for ‘fresh expressions’ — new ventures alongside the normal parish system. Maybe some vibrant arty experimentation would ensue, I felt. But the main result was lots of nimble little evangelical pop-up churches, mostly lay-led. The idea of innovation seems to energise the evangelicals, although their version of innovation doesn’t always energise me.
On Easter Day this year I dragged my kids to church, but there was no room at the socially distanced inn. The evangelicals round the corner let us in, so I had a glimpse of a style of Anglicanism that I normally avoid. And I quickly remembered why I avoid it: I don’t enjoy being treated like a five-year-old. To express our penitence, we were invited to perform hand gestures, copying some emojis projected on to the huge screen: a fist for anger, a hand covering the mouth for bad words.
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