More reading – this time an article in the Church Times by Rev Giles Fraser on attitudes to clutter. He maintains that clutter in churches is symptomatic of a wider inefficiency in management structures. Instance the following quote, which made me laugh.
One of the besetting curses of church life is clutter. The three kings brought gold, frankincense and myrhh: the lovely Mrs Miggins brings empty jam-jars, dog-eared tracts on spirituality, and a half-broken chair that “might be useful to somebody, someday”. Things like this pile up in the dusty corners of the building, nobody quite knowing who has the authority to throw them out. This uncertainty transforms the side aisle into a store for junk. Regular churchgoers get used to it. Newcomers notice immediately.
It also made me a bit sad.