From the Rector May 2006

Dear Everybody, hello again.

Two events, unconnected, but linked by two common themes.  The Queen’s 80^th birthday, and “Jerry Springer The Opera” arriving in Norwich.  The themes are: respect, and public exposure.

Over the years, the Queen has earned respect.  She’s still working at 80, sometimes standing still for an hour and a half in the open while a group of people do something that is important for them in front of her.  I think one of the reasons she is appreciated is because of the amount of respect that she gives other people.  Her life is one of public exposure; being there for others, making public appearances.  And though there may be formal barriers, these are not about shaming people, but about order, safety, and the sense of specialness that people feel when in contact with her.

Not so with Jerry Springer.  In his TV show, members of the public are invited to expose their problems, in order to be ridiculed.  The nastier, the better television it is.  For some people, disrespect is compulsive viewing.  And “The Opera” has a second act that happens inside Jerry Springer’s mind, and shows just how disrespectful he is.  By turning it into a bit of a scandal (trying to outrage Christians) the marketing men hope to have a bigger financial success.  More fool us if we see it as anything other than a cynical ploy.

I wonder whether we earn respect by the amount of respect that we give.  In every part of our life.  Probably, Christians don’t need blasphemy laws in order to be respected.  Instead, they need people to feel that Christians respect them.  The government talks about respect, but do we feel that the government respects us?  Our respect for them may be nothing to do with sleaze, backhanders and scandals or otherwise; it may be about how we feel they see us.  Who do we respect?  And why should they respect us?

God bless you.                         David Head