Should I stay or should I go?
The current crisis in the Church of England is leading many people to ask the difficult question about whether it is best - or even whether it is possible - to remain in the church. Lesley Rowe's article, published in Churchman (now The Global Anglican) reminds us that this is not the first time Anglicans have asked themselves this question, and not the first time they have come to different conclusions. She tells us about Arthur Hildersham and Francis Johnson, contemporaries at Cambridge in the 1570s with very much in common. And yet, as she traces their paths through ministry, trouble with the authorities, and debates on separatism, it is clear that they diverged on this very question.
In Rowe's conclusion, she points out that, "The danger of bitter division amongst true Christians was very real, so that Hildersham felt the need to stress that ‘Howsoever we cannot agree in judgment, yet should we love one another, and be glad to embrace one another’s acquaintance.’"
May the same be said of us today.