This weekend marks an important moment for Hugh Valentine.
Hugh is a worker priest in London, and on Sunday 26th January he is
leaving St James’s Piccadilly, the church where he has been a member of the clergy
for the last 27 years.
I have met Hugh once, last year, and enjoyed out meeting. I’ve
also enjoyed and have benefited from his writing, especially his clear explanations
of why he chose to be a worker priest and what it means to him. Here for
example is his post explaining his decision to leave St James’s, which includes
a thoughtful description of the case for being a worker priest.
I enjoyed reading Hugh’s last sermon at St James’s, delivered
last Sunday. It’s amusing in places, when he describes life over the decades at
the church. It’s a “sometimes-bonkers place” he writes. I’d love to visit.
Hugh says he is not resigning his orders but wants to become
a “feral priest of sorts – feral meaning a return to a wilder state after a
period of domestication”.
Good luck with that Hugh, and go well!