Cross: wear it with pride

On October 26, 2009 / By maggi dawn / Reply

The Bishop of Lichfield urges people to wear a cross, to demonstrate that they are Christians.  (At least, that's the story according to the BBC. I'm pretty suspicious of what the papers say, knowing how royally they can misquote someone's words, or just pick a sentence out of context to give a whole new meaning to what someone says. )

I own a small gold cross that some friends gave me on my 18th birthday, which I wearfrom time to time, although not that often. But I'm not convinced that anyone thinks that wearing a cross is a religious declaration. My guess is that most people just think it's jewellery. Views, anyone?

EDIT: The Bishop's views are on Lichfield Diocesan website, and Jonathan Bartley's comments on Ekklesia

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6 Responses to “Cross: wear it with pride”

Comments

  1. Katherine
    On October 8, 2009 at 1:47 pm

    I love this book – it’s wonderful – and it’s what inspired me to start writing and sending my own Christmas card poem greetings, which I’ve been doing for the last four or five years… Currently working on this year’s advent poem; I think it’s going to be about St Andrew…

  2. Jo
    On October 8, 2009 at 5:12 pm

    Have you come across “Light Unlocked”? It’s an anthology of Christmas card poems which I really like.
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Light-Unlocked-Christmas-Card-Poems/dp/1904634184/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255018171&sr=8-1

  3. Jonathan Bartley
    On October 26, 2009 at 8:40 am

    I just blogged about it too. Includes link to the bishops press release and pastoral letter. I think there is a worrying side to this: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/10450

  4. Ian C
    On October 26, 2009 at 10:06 am

    I wear my cross all the time I’ve got a jacket on, which is most of my working business day or evening. So I agree with Bishop Jonathan, though I would not restrict it to just one month a year, but argue that Christians should wear something all the time.
    I caught the habit many years ago from a fellow church member, who always wore one. He was a world expert on air forces and military planes, and had been invited to the Kremlin (as part of a NATO delegation) in the days of the Cold War. He recounted how several Soviet top-brass commented positively on his cross and expressed clear religious/Orthodox sympathies if not outright faith.

  5. Andrew
    On October 26, 2009 at 10:40 am

    As a Prison Chaplain, I get constantly asked for a Rosary (or Rosmary Beads by many) by prisoners. I tend not to give them as they have become nothing more as a lucky charm in their eyes. I really struggle with them and the fact that wearing one brings with it some form of expectation. Jewellery rather than defining a person is my experience inside and outside prison.

  6. Nathalie
    On October 26, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    “I carry a cross in my pocket as a simple reminder to me, of the fact that I am a Christian no matter where I may be…” etc (Google for the complete poem)- old but I like it none the less and it speaks of why I wear my cross every day…

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