Bizarre moment bishop in dressing gown storms his OWN church demanding congregation stop their ‘racket' & let him sleep
The disgruntled bishop interrupted the concert in London to demand they "leave his house".
Jonathan Baker, the bishop of Fulham, stood barefoot in front of a puzzled 300-strong audience.
"You are in my house - can you leave it now please. Thank you, it's over," he said.
"You are in my house. It's gone past 10pm and this is a terrible racket."
A church staff ,member then asked the crowd to leave which triggered boos.
The choir didn't leave without playing one last song, however.
They sang an Acappella version of ABBA' Dancing Queen before stepping down.
Benedict Collins, who was there with his 10-year-old daughter, told Sky News he thought the bishop was joking at first.
"This work deserves respect, not to be disparaged as a 'terrible racket'," he slammed.
A spokesperson for the Diocese of London told The Guardian: "Bishop Jonathan reached out to the organisers on Saturday to apologise for his late-night appearance at the concert, which he now understands had overrun due to technical difficulties."
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Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Dressing gown-clad Bishop who told choir to get out of his house and stop their 'terrible racket' was also the vicar at the church when a 'blasphemous' satanic-style fashion show took place
The dressing gown-clad Bishop who told a choir to stop their 'terrible racket' was the vicar at a historic church when it held a 'blasphemous' fashion show featuring satanic images. Models wearing devil horns and displaying upside-down crosses paraded down the aisle-turned-catwalk of St Andrew Holborn church for a London Fashion Week event in 2017. A former Bishop said at the time that the 'satanic' aspect of the show was 'not acceptable', adding: 'Christ's name is being dishonoured, it is blasphemous.' And theologian Dr Adrian Hilton wrote of the event: 'How is it possible that a sacred space can be used for what can only be described as Lucifer lauding? How does hosting a Satanic Fashion Show glorify God?' The show was highlighting the work of controversial Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu, whose creations have been worn by celebrities including singer Rihanna. In a statement at the time, the church said: 'We took this booking in good faith and were not aware of the content or design before the show took place' Bishop of Fulham Jonathan Baker, who was the vicar of the 1,000-year-old church at the time, didn't comment on the fashion show and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing. But the church was forced to admit it had made a 'mistake' in allowing the show which did 'not reflect the Christian faith of the Church'. Bishop Jonathan, who is still the vicar at St Andrew, once again found himself at the centre of controversy last weekend after he told a choir to stop their 'terrible racket' and get out of his house. The City Academy Voices choir was coming to the end of their performance at St Andrew on Friday night when the barefooted Bishop took to the stage and grabbed a microphone to tell bemused performers and a 300-strong audience to leave. Social media footage of the altercation - which has been viewed more than 500,000 times - shows Bishop Jonathan telling the choir: 'You are in my house. It's gone past 10pm and this is a terrible racket.' 'Goodnight. You are in my house - can you leave it now please. Thank you, it's over.' A church employee then asked the crowd to leave quietly and the musicians to depart the stage because 'this is a residential home', attracting boos and jeers from the audience. Before leaving the choir performed one final song - an a cappella version of ABBA's Dancing Queen - to cheers and applause from the crowd. The choir was performing a special summer concert last Friday and had booked the venue, which is available to hire, having used it previously with no issue. The performing arts academy which runs the choir said the venue had been booked until 11pm - almost a full hour after the concert was interrupted - and that it had 'received a full apology which we have accepted'. Meanwhile a member of the choir said that Bishop Jonathan had been 'hovering' and 'glowering' in the wings for half an hour before asking the choir and crowd to leave as he 'obviously just didn't like us being in 'his house''. The choir member added: 'He was hovering - glowering - in his dressing gown in the doorway from 9:30… he didn't seem terribly rational.' Benedict Collins, who was attending the concert with his 10-year-old daughter and has been to all of the choir's previous performances at the church, said that concertgoers who paid £20 for a ticket had not received an explanation or apology. He told the Mail: 'It's ridiculous, they're happy to take the money, they don't give this place up for free. It's a commercial venue and they rent it out as a commercial agreement. 'It seems like the only person affected is the Bishop and he chooses to rent the thing out doesn't he. It's all rather ridiculous. 'His complaint was that this was a residential site, well it's the site of his residence and he chooses to rent it out as a concert venue.' Mr Collins added: 'But I don't think anyone is bitterly upset, either in the choir or in the audience. We'll talk about it for the next ten years. 'And If this Bishop was having a bad day then I'm sorry for him and I really hope it blows over quickly.' Before he became the Bishop of Fulham, the Right Revd Jonathan Baker was previously made Bishop of Ebbsfleet by former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams despite being a Freemason. This marked a significant U-turn by Dr Williams who had previously said that Freemasonry was 'incompatible' with Christianity and had refused to promote Masons to senior posts. Rising to the rank of Deputy Grand Chaplain, after initially refusing to leave the Masons Bishop Jonathan changed his mind and in 2011 said he would leave so he could concentrate on being a bishop. The Bishop of Fulham declined to comment when approached by the Daily Mail at the St Andrew vicarage and the diocese of London did not respond to a request for comment. At the weekend a diocese spokesman said: 'Bishop Jonathan reached out to the organisers on Saturday to apologise for his late-night appearance at the concert, which he now understands had overrun due to earlier technical difficulties.'
The Guardian
15 hours ago
- The Guardian
Why did the irate bishop of Fulham evict the choir? Because vicars are human: we can go rogue
Jesus famously said, 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone'. So, possibly, I have no right to pass judgment on Jonathan Baker, the bishop of Fulham, for unceremoniously stopping a concert in his church in mid-flow the other night – and it really was unceremonious in that he was barefoot and in his dressing gown. Perhaps the audience would have taken him more seriously if he'd been wearing his cope and mitre rather than heckling him as they did. But I do sympathise with my senior colleague. I too have a very low tolerance for noise when I'm trying to sleep – or just relax. I am constantly asking my now adult children, who still live with us in the vicarage, to keep the noise down. On a good day, I do this in the manner of Ross from Friends, with a passive-aggressive hand gesture. On a not-so-good day, I might be a bit snappier. My longsuffering wife calls me Victor Meldrew and refuses to go to the cinema with me unless I promise not to turn round and tut at talkers – or, worse, 'politely' ask them to stop talking, which is potentially dangerous in this day and age. However, I'm not 'in role' in either of those contexts. I'm just Dad or a random grumpy old man. Whereas part of the deal of being an official representative of God is that you have to be nicer than nice all the time. In the film In the Loop, Tom Hollander's politician character moans that holding a surgery for his constituents is 'like being Simon Cowell, only without the ability to say, 'Eff off, you're mental'.' But in that respect, being a vicar is even harder. People expect you to turn the other cheek, smile and say 'Bless you, my son' even in the face of extreme provocation. And failure to do that doesn't just reflect badly on you, it could undermine someone's very faith. That's quite a lot to live up to, which is why Saint James said people should think twice before becoming church leaders (I'm paraphrasing somewhat) and, of course, we're all only human. I know that I've fallen short of this high standard many times. Nonetheless, I accept that that is the nature of my calling and I try, as much as possible, to be a good ambassador for Christ – particularly at weddings. There's a long history of conflict, for example, between wedding photographers and grumpy vicars and often, when I arrive at the church on a Saturday afternoon, I see the photographer take a deep breath and force their face into a smile before nervously asking: 'So, what are your rules?' When I say: 'I don't have any. Just do whatever the bride wants', they look like I've offered to pay off their mortgage. The other classic grumpy vicar move is not allowing the local yoga class to meet in the church hall – because yoga is, as they see it, tantamount to witchcraft. Well, aside from the fact that most such classes have no spiritual or religious component and are just harmless – and, indeed, healthy – exercise, I think it's an own goal to ban them in any case. If it gets into the press, it's not going to advance the mission of God and will just make the church look ridiculous. And so we return to the bishop of Fulham. When I first saw the story on my Facebook feed, I assumed it was a spoof from the Babylon Bee ('your trusted source for Christian news satire') and it seems that those who were present felt the same. The choir director, Leigh Stanford Thompson, said he thought, for a moment, that it was some form of performance art. The bishop's dressing gown would have heightened that impression. But slowly the awful truth became clear. And most awful, surely, was that the bishop rudely referred to the choir's performance as a 'terrible racket', which brings to mind another excruciating episcopal gaffe. I'm told by people who knew him that the late Mervyn Stockwood, who rose to be bishop of Southwark, was generally charm incarnate, but he let himself and the church down when he joined its ill-considered pushback against The Life of Brian in the famous BBC debate with John Cleese and Michael Palin, dismissing the film as 'undergraduate humour' and suitable for the mentally deficient. For me – and most clergy I know, including the former archbishop Rowan Williams – it's first-rate and theologically astute; but the point here is, we should always play the ball not the man. Baker has, to his credit, now apologised, but while he and I are required to forgive others their sins by virtue of our office, those whom he offended that night might be less willing to do so. As the saying goes, reputation is like virginity: once you lose it, it's impossible to get it back. But fortunately, I believe in miracles. So, I'll be praying for my fellow Rev Meldrew – and remembering that there but for the grace of God go I. Ravi Holy is the vicar of Wye in Kent and a standup comedian
Sky News
17 hours ago
- Sky News
Bishop in dressing gown interrupts church concert - and asks crowd to 'leave my house'
A disgruntled bishop in a dressing gown has interrupted a church concert in London - telling singers to stop their "terrible racket" and "leave his house". The City Academy Voices choir was coming to the end of their performance at St Andrew's in Holborn on Friday night when the lights were suddenly turned off. Footage on TikTok shows Jonathan Baker, the bishop of Fulham, standing barefoot at a microphone - as bemused performers and a 300-strong audience look on. "You are in my house. It's gone past 10pm and this is a terrible racket," he said. "Goodnight. You are in my house - can you leave it now please. Thank you, it's over." A church employee then asked the crowd to leave quietly and for the musicians to step down from the stage, attracting boos from the audience. The choir went on to perform one last song, an A cappella version of ABBA's Dancing Queen, before bringing their show to a close. Benedict Collins, who was attending the concert with his 10-year-old daughter, told Sky News he initially thought the interruption was a staged joke. "The church willingly rents out the premises for performances, for money," he said. "They can hardly be surprised if they take bookings for concerts and there is music in the hall." Mr Collins said the talented choir had "worked like mad" on the performance - and criticised the bishop's remarks. "This work deserves respect, not to be disparaged as a 'terrible racket'," he added. "The people here had put their heart and soul into it. The bishop cut them off in midstream, preventing soloists who had worked their hardest from singing - and preventing the audience, which included people of all ages, from enjoying it to the end." A spokesperson for the Diocese of London had told The Guardian: "Bishop Jonathan reached out to the organisers on Saturday to apologise for his late-night appearance at the concert, which he now understands had overrun due to technical difficulties." But Mr Collins told Sky News that he felt this statement was "mealy mouthed". He added: "I hope the bishop is well and okay. It's possible he just had a bad day. An unambiguous apology would help, one that recognises why his behaviour wasn't acceptable."
