Pubs and churches have lots in common
Ithink it’s very good that pubs are opening again. They had become an endangered species and we need to protect them. So it was great to see a village pub in East Sussex featured in the national press last weekend, with an interview by the landlord and comments from Hamish Elder of Harvey’s, brewers in Lewes since 1790.
One of the aspects of pub life that the landlord valued is equality: “Landed gentry drank from the same barrel as farm hands.”
There’s a touch of romantic nostalgia in this view but it nonetheless identifies the importance of meeting places that are public, rather than domestic. And it’s meeting people that we have missed most during the lock-down.
Clergy, especially in rural parishes understand the importance of the local pub. It has a role similar to the church building, another type of public meeting place, where you are equal before God.
Jesus was severely criticised for eating and drinking in places that I guess we might now think of as the local pub.
It seems that some of the places he chose were pretty disreputable and allegations of associating with fraud and vice were easily made.
But Jesus stood firm for the principle of equality before God that made space for people excluded from the benefits of affluent society.
In his day these people were described as ‘unclean’. We might use different labels today but the discrimination is just as damaging.
And while it’s important to applaud the social benefit of pubs because they can promote equality and space for everyone, there is also a shadow side to them. Alcohol can be as socially destructive as tobacco, drugs or violent abuse.
One of the stern and demanding aspects of my role is dealing with clergy discipline. Clergy are human beings and have weaknesses like anyone else.
In my time in Sussex there have been very few cases where the pub has been the setting for alcohol abuse, unprofessional behaviour and disciplinary action as a result. But where that has happened, I have been aware of how a local community has been damaged by the misuse of the pub’s important, beneficial community role.
The lockdown has taught us that we are social creatures and on-line socialising can never be enough to sustain life. So here’s a lesson learned: that pubs, like churches, should be valued and used well, for everyone’s benefit.