Lacking class?

“Class and the Evangelical Church in England” by Kirsten Birkett is Church Society’s offering on the subject of how to reach the working classes.

I’ve a lot of time for Kirsten Birkett as an academic and author  However, I must admit to being sadly disappointed by this book. 

It has the feeling of being rushed out. I appreciate that it may have been published in house at low cost.  However there is a sloppiness to things.  There are 162 pages in the book. It finishes at page 116, there is a short appendix, a bibliography and a few adverts, then 44 blank pages.  If you are going to take the working class seriously then a starting point would be to take the quality of your book production about them seriously.

Whilst we are still talking about production and appearance, can we please escape these grim dark cover designs when talking about urban mission. Yes there can be desolation on our estates and there can be a bleakness due to poor design. However, the sun shines over our estates and inner cities too. Often in stark contract to quiet suburbs the streets are vibrant with life. There are so many good things, joy, community etc to celebrate as well as that missional challenge of spiritual hunger.

There’s the obligatory several pages of endorsements.  These seem to come mainly from Anglican clergy telling us that they don’t know what they would have done without this book. They could have, of course, accessed resources provided  outside of the CofE. Much of this material is available not from.traditionally published books but rather through websites, podcasts and blogs including this one.

Then, whilst Kirsten observes that there has been much research done into class and church, she seems to rely heavily on two or three authors. The real danger here is that it makes working class voices and those serving in working class contexts less visible.

There are some helpful points in the book, especially the urge to seriously invest resources.  I offer a hearty amen to that.

Kirsty also helpfully picks up on and highlights some of the key debates and discussions going on. These include

1. Whether being middle class is all together bad and to what extent becoming middle class is preventable.
2. How we train people from working class backgrounds.  As an advocate of in context vocational training I am glad that we have reached a stage where there is engagement and push back, better than being politely ignored.   However, it does feel like such approaches are written off quickly as lacking substance.  I’m not sure on what basis.  I also learnt a long time ago in industry that centralised efficiency should not be confused with effectiveness.
3. The place and dangers of mercy ministries which may be needed but may also become projects that patronise.

Unfortunately, the good points have already been made. It’s disappointing that the book doesn’t really take discussion forward.

If you have not yet engaged with the question of church and class then this might be a helpful primer/ starting point, providing you go on to read the books cited and a lot of resources not mentioned. 

Also if it moves people from polite discussion and studies it serious action then that would be a good thing.

However, please Church Society and others, if you are serious about the Gospel to the working classes, estates and inner cities, please demonstrate it.