The Rev Dave Tomlinson: ‘We need to find fresh ways to connect with the spiritually hungry hordes’

A HOLLOWAY vicar who attracted controversy when he conducted the funeral of Great Train robber Ronnie Biggs is on a mission to make the Christian faith relevant to “black sheep” leading modern lives.

For almost three decades, the Rev Dave Tomlinson, vicar of St Luke’s Church, has tried to reach out to people who no longer feel at home in traditional British churches or are experiencing a crisis of faith.

Now, Black Sheep and Prodigals: An Antidote to Black and White Religion, a new work on the same theme, has just been published.

Speaking to the Tribune about the book, the vicar said: “The big problem with traditional church is that it’s a very controlling environment where people come and have to be on their best behaviour. Christian faith is put across in this very black and white, this very literal way.”

“Many people feel that if they don’t have squeaky clean little lives there’s no place for them [in church]. And on big issues such as divorce or homosexuality, we haven’t found a way to reconcile [the modern world].

“The main focus of the book is people who may never walk through the door of the church but have their own spiritual journeys. What I’ve tried to do is to give a rendering of the Christian faith that takes account of the fact that we live in a scientific age.”

Explaining his idea of “black sheep spirituality”, Mr Tomlinson, 68, added: “We need a broader sort of context where people can question and doubt and disagree. Churches could be like colleges of spiritual intelligence but often they stunt spiritual intelligence because it’s about conformity rather than exploring things for yourself.”

The vicar, already known outside the parish for his bestselling How To Be A Bad Christian … and a Better Human Being, was described in tabloid newspapers as “the villain’s priest” and “unrepentant reverend” after conducting the funeral of the notorious Mr Biggs in 2014.

And it led to accusations he was bringing shame on the Church of England.

But he said: “[The funeral] was an amazing gig, if you want to look at it like that. The crematorium was packed out, there were paparazzi and this colourful bunch of people from the underworld in east London. And yet I think what came across was a very human picture of Ronnie Biggs.

“This was a human being and he didn’t hide the fact he’d regretted things he’d done and people he’d hurt.”

A Scouser who insists on people calling him Dave, Mr Tomlinson was a leading figure in the House Church movement before becoming vicar of the Hillmarton Road church in 2000.

“For the last 20 years or more my focus has been on people who are on the edges of faith and church, who are hanging on by their fingernails,” he said. “There were people who were just bored stupid with the format of church or had been hurt by the church. They needed a space for discussion and argument.”

Asked about the future of the Anglican church, Mr Tomlinson added: “Many churches are dying of old age. On the one hand I don’t hold out a massive pile of hope, on the other hand I think that if you take away the institution and look at what it’s really about – questions about the meaning of life, what we mean by God, those big questions, these are bigger than an institution and they’ll reappear in some other way.”

He added: “We need to find fresh ways to connect with the spiritually hungry hordes of people I think still exist in our world.”

• Black Sheep and Prodigals is published by Hodder & Stoughton at £14.99.