Church of England reportedly urges clergy to alter Christmas carols to avoid offensive lyrics. But church has different view.



The Daily Mail reported over the weekend that the Church of England has urged clergy to change the lyrics of certain Christmas carols and Advent hymns so they can be sung "without causing unnecessary offense." But the Church of England on Monday told Blaze News in a statement that "no one has been asked to change words in carols or liturgies."

The Daily Mail said a vicar shared with the outlet an email to Birmingham diocese clergy that reads, "Try to use language that won’t add further confusion or tension or take away anything from the good news of the Nativity."

'If the Church cedes the line on this, what else?'

The vicar added to the Daily Mail that the Church of England has "really lost the plot" and that even Russian dictator Vladimir Putin "doesn’t order Orthodox churches to censor carols at Christmas."

The outlet said "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" has been targeted for depicting other faiths as being "outside of God’s grace" — and the hymn's "captive Israel" reference also rubs church higher-ups the wrong way.

The Daily Mail also said "Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending" — a favorite of Queen Victoria — has been called out as well, with clergy receiving a link to research noting that the second verse contains "problematic words" that state Jesus is the "true Messiah."

What does the Church of England have to say?

The Church of England on Monday told Blaze News that the Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt. Rev Dr. Michael Volland, issued the following Sunday statement in regard to the Daily Mail's report:

No one has been asked to change words in carols or liturgies. Members of our team working closely with diverse communities in Birmingham invited churches to think about providing some context for people new to church who might be unsure why "Israel" is being discussed and whether this has any relation to the current conflict. The lyrics in some of our hymns, even those that have been sung for many years, are not always understood as having their roots in the Bible rather than current situations. The email from our team was an encouragement to help churches think about how they can tell the Christmas story authentically, without confusion, and in a way that makes all visitors feel welcome.

Canon Chris Sugden — a former member of the General Synod and executive secretary of the Anglican Mainstream group — told the Daily Mail that hymns shouldn't be altered just because the Church of England "conforms to every progressive cause."

"If one was attending a Jewish or Hindu festival, would you expect them to alter the lyrics or alter the liturgy because there are some who might find them difficult?" Sugden added to the outlet. "Who are the people they think are going to object to this?"

He also told the Daily Mail that "people who attend Christmas carols ... will expect to have them sung properly. If the Church cedes the line on this, what else?"

The outlet noted that diocesan officials on its "presence and engagement team" claim the hymns have a "strong emphasis of supersessionism" — a doctrine holding that the Christian Church has replaced the Jewish people as God's true covenant people.

The Daily Mail added that the email reads, "Some of the language used in our liturgy, hymns, and readings could easily cause confusion."

Sam Margrave — a lay member of the General Synod — told the outlet that his "advice to clergy is sing loud and proud. We have a great heritage of hymns in this Christian nation, and any clergy who don’t like what the Church has to offer needs to think whether they are in the right role."

A Daily Mail op-ed published Monday noted in connection with the Church of England's reported Christmas carol email that "leftist, worldly preoccupations are displacing the divine. If God is disappearing from so many people's lives, it is at least partly because He is disappearing from our national Church."

Readers may recall a 2022 Blaze News report noting that All Saints with Holy Trinity church in Loughborough, England, changed the lyrics of the 17th-century carol "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" to read "God rest you, queer and questioning" and "God rest you also, women, who by men have been erased."

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Kirk Cameron leads large protest of stay-at-home order. Nary a Molotov cocktail in sight, these revolutionaries sang Christmas carols instead.



Actor Kirk Cameron led a large Tuesday night protest of far-left California Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order — and it took place in a mall parking lot with not one Molotov cocktail, baseball bat, or metal baton in sight.

In fact, the group marked the truly peaceful protest by singing Christmas carols.

 Image source: KCBS-TV video screenshot

What are the details?

More than 150 people met in the parking lot of the Oaks Mall in Thousand Oaks around 5:30 p.m., KCBS-TV reported. The station made sure to emphasize that "many were not wearing masks or adhering to social distancing guidelines."

 Image source: KCBS-TV video screenshot

 Image source: KCBS-TV video screenshot

In a social media video posted prior to the event, Cameron said, "I personally think that a virus will go right through and will not stop at a piece of paper on your face with rubber bands around your ears."

 Image source: KCBS-TV video screenshot

KCBS added that it wasn't the first such protest from the "Growing Pains" actor, who held a similar caroling event Dec. 13 that also drew hundreds of people.

One local health official told the station Tuesday's demonstration could cost lives.

"Some super-spreading events end up in people dying," Dr. Suman Radnakrishna of Dignity Health California Medical Center in Los Angeles told KCBS, adding that she prefers folks wait a little while longer before gathering normally again. She added that "this is just for the season. The vaccines are coming, if we can just wait it out. Easter will hopefully be a different story."

The Oaks Mall told the station in an online statement that it wasn't supporting the event: "We do not condone this irresponsible — yet constitutionally protected — peaceful protest event planned. We share your concern and have notified the sheriff's office. As well, we have reached out to the event planner to ask that they do not use The Oaks as their venue."

More from KCBS:

The demonstration comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday the regional stay-at-home order imposed for the entire 11-county Southern California region will almost assuredly be extended beyond the Dec. 28 expiration date. The order initially took effect on Dec. 7.

"We are likely, I think it's pretty self-evident, going to need to extend those regional dates," Newsom said, according to the station. "Based upon all the data and based upon all these trend lines, it is very likely based on those current trends that we'll need to extend that stay at home order, [which] you recall was a three-week order when we announced it."

KCBS said gatherings similar to Tuesday's have been taking place across the country since Dec. 6, adding that traction was gained in California when Cameron encouraged peacefully protesting with song.

The station noted at the end of its segment that there were a few arguments and heckling from people driving by at Tuesday's event.

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