Is the uneasy balancing act between the spiritual and the secular during the festive season almost at its tipping point? Unless church attendances dramati- cally pick up then the C of E could be just a generation away from extinction. How that ordains our path in the hereafter will be an act of, er God; His parting shot, presumably. How it affects a seasonal spending spree on which the retail trade -and in its wake, the packaging industry - is disproportionately dependent is a far less temporal concern. Having spirited Christmas away from the pagans a couple of millennia ago, some admittedly unseasonal schadenfreude might be forgiven at the logical outcome of Sunday worship forfeited to the High Street. So, Mammon 1 Christianity 0 then. However, the combination of boarded up churches and access to a shopping channel that stays open 24/7 are sure signs that the Christmas we knew and loved has passed its best-by date.
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