The Inner-city of God

by John Pridmore

Out of a situation which many would give up on, John Pridmore writes a captivating, moving, funny and self-deprecating account of life as an inner-city priest in one of the most deprived parts of London. His jottings, he says, are a collection of the absurd, the poignant and the comic. They are emphatically not a record of 'good practice', he insists, but anyone countenancing working in a city parish will find more wisdom in this book than in all the theological volumes on the subject put together.

For the last ten years John Pridmore has lived what he calls a roller-coaster life as vicar of an inner city parish that incorporates Britain's 'murder mile'. Police raids, gun and knife crimes are everyday events.In this unpromising soil, stands a vast, ugly and largely crumbling building which is the parish church. From here, John says his work is to suggest 'that Christianity might be true'.

It's an uphill struggle, not helped by constant insistence on growth strategies and targets from an increasingly managerial church hierarchy. He is sure the bishop thinks he's doing a terrible job. Yet warmth and love shine from every page. No-one can fail to be moved by this extraordinary memoir.

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2008

Reviews

[Nick Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not religious but I was taught RE by the author and he made his lessons lively and thought provoking. Here we get a bit of his life story but the main focus is on his time in Hackney. He brings his parish to life by sharing both details and characters and his own views on religion, and the approach of the COE. Very interesting to see how the COE are trying to turn their representatives into ‘managers’ and to reduce free thinking and approach to the hands on type of being God’s representative. John Pridmore seems to fully understand the role of religion in a community as a force for good and positive thinking and not a gothic monstrosity of an organisation that is scared of change. I maybe paraphrasing a little but it becomes obvious how good a job by understanding the grey areas in a job that is not black or white. Lots of credit is given to other people in a memoir that is not in the least bit egotistical but is open and warm like the man himself.

[Sally McRogerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was disappointing, to say the least. I wanted to hear much more about the eccentrics of Hackney, who are perpetually hinted at but never appear in any depth, and much, much less about the inane strategies and procedures of the modern Church of England, no matter how justified they undoubtedly are!