It is a Millennium celebration, it is not an event that has very much to do with Christianity. It's to do with time. The birthdate of Christ was "unproven". (Terence Conran, a consultant of the Millennium Dome in London).
Fr Ron Bowles has set out an argument about the actual date of our Lord's birth on another page, in contrast to the article in the last edition of our magazine which suggested that it is not 25th December.
However, the Christian Faith proclaims that God became man in the person of Jesus Christ about two thousand years ago, and in the year 2000 we shall be celebrating on 25th December that wonderful event, not on 31st December 1999! So, in a way Terence Conran is right, the 31st December 1999 and the 1st January 2000, is not an event that has much to do with Christianity.
There has been a tremendous fuss made about the Millennium Dome being built in London's East End and what will be in it ˜ at the moment nobody is sure! One thing seems certain there will not be an overriding Christian or religious theme. We are constantly being told that we in the U.K. now live in a multi-ethnic and multi-faith society and Christianity is only one of many religions, never mind the fact that our nation has had a Christian tradition since St Augustine came in the year 597 and probably for several hundred years before that!
Why worry about the Millennium Dome, we already have a marvellous Cathedral Church of St Paul with a large dome and on top of it the cross of Christ. What more do we want and in the very centre of our Metropolitan City and not down river on an island, that I remember from my youth as a London schoolboy in Greenwich, was called the Isle of Dogs! Why can't the Christian Churches have a marvellous celebration of our own in St Paul's Cathedral on the feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church? We can then leave the Millennium Dome to the unbelievers for their celebration of... what? Time and no eternity!
With my blessing and every good wish for the year of our Lord, one thousand nine hundred and ninety eight.
Your priest and friend
written by Fr Malcolm Ferrier
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