Chentral Corlton

Chorlton Central Church in Manchester seems to have every fashionable catchphrase stuck to its walls, and even more on its website. ‘Black Lives Matter’; ‘Love is Love’; ‘Pray for Ukraine’. States its website:

Chorlton Central Church is a vibrant, open and inclusive church in the centre of Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. We are committed to an inclusive welcome to all people to share the journey of faith, whatever their age, race, culture, gender, sexuality, economic status or physical or mental ability.

Despite all the mantras, clichés and slogans, a simple Bible reference I was unable to locate. However, it would seem that the church sometimes uses the Bible on Sundays:

Bible Study Sundays are services where we delve deeper into a Bible story. This may include some teaching by the worship leader, discussion in small groups, and exploration of what we’ve learnt together. As a Reformed Church we believe knowledge, understanding, AND application of the Bible are vital parts of our faith and discipleship, and the exploration and the questions are always more important than ‘the’ answer!

The last clause gives the game away. I suspect that Chorlton Central Church is a very accurate reflection of cosmopolitan, liberal Manchester. The wider, historical church has always grappled with the issue of engagement with the world. We can either reject it utterly, as practised by the Exclusive Brethren and Amish, we can engage with it and hope to change it, or we can…just reflect it.