Every time I have been outside of St Paul's in the last week protesters and journalists have asked me the same question: "Are you part of the cathedral?". As always, it seems with the Church of England, the answer is "yes and no". I am the parish priest of St John on Bethnal Green – not far from St Paul's, but in a very different social context: a home to immigrant communities for over 300 years, a place that continues to feature near the top of any indicator of deprivation and that is very aware of the effects of the government's austerity measures of the most vulnerable members of our community.
But St Paul's is also my cathedral: a shared home for all the disparate Anglican churches north of the river across most of London, a representation of our shared ministry that covers the richest and the poorest in our city. My fellow clergy in the diocese are very conscious of that diversity and that we need to show respect for one another in our engagements with the wealthy, the privileged, the poor and the marginalised. We strive to be a support and a challenge to each other. It is as much a temptation to demonise bankers when you minister in a parish that has the highest child poverty in the country, as I do, as it is to rubbish Occupy London participants if your primary engagements are with the rich and powerful.
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