Cathedral is no place to turn into a gin palace
I AM appalled to learn that Manchester Cathedral is to host a gin festival until Saturday. Tickets are on sale for £12.50.
In the Bible Christ overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple courts because they were making God’s ‘house of prayer’ a ‘den of robbers’ (Mark, 11:17, NIV). Turning Manchester Cathedral into a temporary ‘gin palace’ is even more shocking!
Not only is hosting a gin festival sacrilege, it is leading people astray, encouraging them to disrespect God and develop a taste for hard liquor. Unfortunately, Manchester isn’t the only Cathedral to host this wildly inappropriate event; the gin festival has also been staged at Coventry Cathedral which permitted gin master classes to be held in the nave.
Many cathedrals now use their cavernous spaces for entertainment purposes. Sometimes this is to make money; often it is to make the church seem accessible to those who otherwise would not come into a church. What the clergy fails to see is that many people actually regard it as a sign that the church has lost its faith and that the worship of God isn’t taken seriously.
With our nation divided over so many key issues and a world clamouring for peace and justice Manchester Cathedral should forget the entertainment business and confine itself to the serious business of spreading the Gospel.
Val Flynn, Coventry