Latest news with #JonathanBaker
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- 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
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- 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."
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Shocking moment bishop tells choir 'get out of my house' in his dressing gown
Bizarre footage of Jonathan Baker, the Bishop of Fulham, has gone viral after he walked on stage and told the choir to leave St Andrew's church in front of shocked audience members A shocking video has captured the moment a bishop stopped a choir performance and told people to get out of his house. Churchgoers at St Andrew's church in Holborn, central London, were left gobsmacked when Jonathan Baker, the Bishop of Fulham, stormed onto the stage. The City Academy Voices choir were wrapping up their performance when the bishop appeared with no shoes and a dressing gown on. The lights abruptly went on as the crowd, made up of 360 people, looked on with confusion on Friday. Bishop Jonathan, 58, suddenly started to shout and branded the music a "racket". In a clip, which has since gone viral online, he said: "You are in my house. It's gone past 10pm and this is a terrible racket." He added: "Goodnight. You are in my house – can you leave it now please. Thank you, it's over." A church worker then asked everyone to leave the premises, which they referred to as a "residential home". The choir decided to sing a rendition of Abba's Dancing Queen, which saw the audience erupt into cheers. Leigh Stanford Thompson, the choir's director, branded the incident "bizarre" and said he had mistaken the moment for some kind of "comedy act." He stated: "I've never experienced anything like it. A lot of people thought it was some weird thing that I had organised, like a parting thing, but I knew exactly what was happening." Benedict Collins, who took his 10-year-old daughter to the concert, initially thought the outburst was a joke. He told Sky News: "The church willingly rents out the premises for performances, for can hardly be surprised if they take bookings for concerts and there is music in the hall." Another choir member commented: 'There were boos and everything, it's just really disappointing. At the end of these concerts, we always end on a real high and everyone goes home full of joy, but this dampened things.' A diocese of London spokesperson 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."
Metro
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Bishop in dressing gown tells choir to stop 'terrible racket' and leave church
A grumpy bishop in a dressing gown and bare feet told a choir in London to stop their 'terrible racket' and get out of his church. Jonathan Baker, the Bishop of Fulham, turned up as City Academy Voices were nearing the end of their concert, grabbed a microphone and demanded the performers and 300-strong audience leave. The bishop, who had also switched the lights off, told those gathered at St Andrew's Church in Holborn: 'You are in my house. It's gone past 10pm and this is a terrible racket.' As murmurs of disbelief were heard, he repeated: 'Goodnight. You are in my house – can you leave it now please. Thank you, it's over.' The incident was filmed and shared on social media, and has now had more than 400,000 views. After the bishop moved away from the stage, a church employee took themicrophone and asked the crowd to leave quietly because 'this is a residential home'. She was met with boos and jeers. According to a post under the video on TikTok, the concert was supposed to finish at 10pm and overran slightly due to technical issues. However the space was booked till 11pm. @Katiegeek wrote: 'We've sang here as a choir numerous times before with no problem! 'We had the space booked until 11pm – there was no earlier curfew of any kind. The concert should have finished by 10 (given our running order) but tech issues meant we were a little later. 'BUT we had every contractual right to still be there AND still be singing!! 'He interrupted in the middle of our last number – turning the lights off and getting on the stage in his dressing gown and barefoot! 'There were numerous people trying to talk to him offstage so he will have been made aware that we only had a few minutes left – and that we had every right to still be there.' She said there were 300 people in the audience who had all paid £20 each to be there. In the end, choir, who sing classical, choral, musical theatre and pop, walked out while singing Abba's 'Dancing Queen'. '(It) was supposed to be our encore so we started singing that on the way out – to try and leave the concert on a better note after the utterly BIZARRE behaviour of the interrupting bishop!!!' Benedict Collins, who was in the audience with his ten-year-old daughter, said he initially thought the interruption was a staged joke. 'The church willingly rents out the premises for performances, for money,' he told Sky News. 'They can hardly be surprised if they take bookings for concerts and there is music in the hall.' The choir's director, Leigh Stanford Thompson, described the incident as 'bizarre' and said the choir also thought at first it was a 'comedy act'. 'We all went out to the pub afterwards and took it all in. Everyone was in astonishment really,' he told the Guardian. More Trending 'I do find it funny. I'm not particularly upset. We had a really good concert but I think it's a real shame that we didn't get a chance to finish. 'But now looking back, what a way to go out.' One member of the choir said the bishop's comment about the singing being a 'racket' did not sit well because 'I think we produce a beautiful sound'. A diocese of London spokesman 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 earlier technical difficulties.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Thief hides 76 bottles of stolen wine in wheelie bin and flees in tuk-tuk MORE: TikTok star found dead after 'refusing marriage proposal' MORE: Influencer Emilie Kiser's husband dodges criminal charges after toddler son's drowning death
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Bishop stops church concert and tells choir to get out of ‘my house'
A bishop interrupted a church concert in his dressing gown to order everyone 'out of my house'. Footage shared online shows the City Academy Voices Choir and audience watching on in confusion as the lights suddenly turned off during their performance. Some members initially feared a power cut, but then the Right Rev Jonathan Baker, the Bishop of Fulham, appeared onstage and ordered everyone out. 'You are in my house and that's it,' he could be heard saying in a recording of the stand-off, which was shared on social media. 'It's gone past ten and this is a terrible racket. Goodnight. Thank you. Goodnight. You are in my house. You can leave it now, please. Thank you, it's over, thank you.' The bishop was booed off the stage of St Andrew's Church in Holborn, London, by the 300 or so people in attendance. Concert slightly overran Leigh Stanford Thompson, the choir director, told The Guardian: 'It was so bizarre. I've never experienced anything like it.' 'A lot of people thought it was some weird thing that I had organised, like a parting thing, but I knew exactly what was happening.' The concert had been slightly delayed because of technical difficulties and was on course to end shortly after its allotted 10pm finish time. The bishop's interruption came at roughly 10.07pm, but it didn't stop the choir continuing to perform an a-capella rendition of Abba's Dancing Queen. However, a church employee then took the microphone and said: 'This is a residential home. I must ask you to leave quietly. Thank you for your attendance.' 'Everyone was in astonishment' The concert had been held as a 'celebration' to mark Mr Thompson's final concert directing the choir. 'A lot of people thought it was some weird thing that I had organised, like a parting thing, but I knew exactly what was happening,' he said. The director said the unexpected a-capella ending was 'really lovely and quite moving'. 'We all went out to the pub afterwards and took it all in,' he continued. 'Everyone was in astonishment really. 'I do find it funny. I'm not particularly upset. We had a really good concert, but I think it's a real shame that we didn't get a chance to finish. But now looking back, what a way to go out.' A choir member said of the bishop's exit: 'We were singing away. Then, all of a sudden, the lights went out. At first I thought there may have been a power cut. But then the instruments were still playing. 'We were picking back up to sing when all of a sudden everything went quiet. I could see this guy in what looked like a dressing gown talking to the audience on the mic. 'There were boos and everything, it's just really disappointing.' A diocese of London 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.'
