(no subject)

On a happier note, Philologist showed me how to finish off knitting, so I have completed a scarf! I think I'll get some slightly less chunky wool for the next one, though I'm not going to try anything more ambitious just yet, as that way I can get another scarf done as a birthday/ Mother's Day present (I am suffering from present buying cluelessness, though hopefully HMV will get the new St Albans Choir CD by the end of the week, and Dad can have that).

It's absolutely true, cos I read it in the Daily Mail

(Or: more glaringly bad reporting of religious issues than usual).

Daily Fail headline: Church of England row as cathedral opens doors to tarot card readers and crystal healers in 'new age' festival.

The story proceeds:

The event - featuring tarot card readers, crystal healers, dream interpretation, and a fire-breathing vicar - is to be held in Manchester Cathedral in May.

But the move is certain to anger traditionalists, who feel the Church has already strayed too far from tradition.

Hundreds have already defected to the Roman Catholic Church after deep splits over the ordination of gay and women priests.

Anglican leaders in Manchester decided to hold the festival in the historic cathedral in a bid to embrace alternative forms of Christianity.

You will note that the row refered to in the title hasn't actually eventuated (weasel words: 'certain to anger traditionalists'). Good old Daily Mail, ever keen to find an excuse to shoehorn in an extra bit of extra misogyny and homophobia. Actually, I suspect that even the angriest member of FiF is probably not going to do more than role their eyes and mutter something along the lines of "sodding Fresh Expressions", because the event as described by the Diocese of Manchester" is a good deal more innocuous. I mean, in many ways (other than the obvious) my spirituality is pretty traditionalist, and although in many ways it doesn't sound like the sort of thing I'd enjoy (though the icon workshops sound pretty good)... meh. I've heard many more dubious things proposed in the name of Fresh Expressions.

The 'crystal healing' appears to be the thing about the Christian symbolism of gemstones. Which doesn't excite me, but - I've read enough mediaeval literature by perfectly orthodox Catholic Christians to find it boring (Y HALO THAR WOLFRAM!), rather than anything else...

In other words: don't trust the Daily Mail.