Yesterday at a rowdy General Synod, the Church of Englands governing body, the divisive topic of church flowers finally came out into the open. Features of the debate were:
- The Archbishop of Canterbury promised 'radical new arrangements' for church flowers. Nobody knows what this means, but everyone is already upset or excited by it, or possibly both.
- The Church will begin a 10 year process of reflection, called 'Learning about Leaves and Flowers' (LLF for short). This will include a 500 page book and a labyrinthine website with videos about different arrangements. The resource will be imposed on the church at an inconvenient time, and is intended to divert as much time and energy away from prayer and mission as possible.
- The resulting Prayers for Leaves and Flowers will be produced by the Bishops. Hopes for arrangements for standalone flowers in services are expected to be met with a compromise, that flowers may be blessed but only when contained within something else.
- . Some clergy have made their own arrangements and are seeking to have them recognised.
- Traditionalists who can't accept the new arrangements are campaigning for Alternative Horticultural Oversight, and have set up The Carnation Fund, so that parishes can be sure their contributions aren't being spent on the wrong sort of foliage.
