The Henson Journals

[39]

Saturday, April 2nd, 1927.

I started to read Anderson Scott's new book. "Christianity according to St Paul" and was well pleased with it. After lunch, Lionel and I motored to Monk–Heseldon, where I consecrated a small piece of ground to be an addition to the existing burial ground. It was a cheerless performance. We had tea at the Vicarage. The Rev. J. A. Little has now been 2 years in charge of the united parish and seems to be contented and useful in his work. His wife assured me that they were very happy there. Lazenby, who attended the consecration as Registrar, is a strong Protestant of the old prosecuting type. I think he was rather disconcerted at my defence of the Revised Book.

All the parties in the Church have built hopes on me, and all have in turn been disillusioned. First, the "Anglo–Catholics"; then the Modernists: now the Evangelicals, have had to discover that I do not belong to them. It is not that I am a false man, or, in any marked degree, a coward, but that I have no capacity for partisanship. I dislike the 'rag–tag–&– bob–tail' of party too much, and cannot endorse the restrictions of party–discipline. I am just an ecclesiastical Ishmael!

---