The main question which challenged me, after decades of interacting with so many Christian Churches, is: what do we, as the Church of Christ, put at the heart of the Christian faith?

I knew that some clearly put the Bible at the heart of their faith, some put the Church herself, and some focus on the immediate ‘issues’. Now I have learned from the crisis around St. Paul’s Cathedral that even an historical building can also occupy this position.

As Christians, we must unite in bringing Christ back to the heart of the faith; whatever our denomination or churchmanship, isn’t that the ultimate priority, presenting the correct image of Christianity to the outside world?

What is happening in and around St. Paul’s questions the real concern of the Church at this incredibly sensitive time. A. N. Wilson teaches us all a hard lesson when he wrote in the Evening Standard on 29 October 2011: “The Church should be out with the campers, asking hard questions of the City, not kowtowing to their insurers.” For the first time in over fourteen years living in London, I read a lay person in a newspaper writing so passionately and so beautifully about the core of the Christian faith.

The Revd George Pitcher, writing in The Daily Telegraph, provides us with the most holistic description of what has been happening at St. Paul’s Cathedral, with a positive, optimistic account of how the Bishop of London is now dealing with the issue. I do think that we do need to deal with the financial, social and economic issues that challenge us today with the same urgency that the Bishop of London has shown in taking charge of the crisis at St. Paul’s. George Pitcher likens the Bishop’s approach to that of Winston Churchill who stepped in to exert determined and courageous leadership in Britain’s darkest hour. Shouldn’t everyone in the Church now shake off decades of complacency and rise to the challenges that stare us in the face?

The entire Chapter of our beloved Cathedral should have shown solidarity with the campers, with those who could have provided us with a heaven-sent opportunity in which we could show the nation what it means to be Christian, what our Lord and Saviour taught us, and what it means to be His followers? I do believe that this crisis should help the whole Church to revaluate the way we operate and re-examine the way in which we proclaim the Gospel before we really and totally lose the plot!

What emerges from this crisis is vital: to set the standard for how we deal with ethical, moral and even theological issues that challenge the Church today. Recent events can bring the Church back into an active engagement with the people in the street rather than wasting time and effort navel-gazing and endlessly agonising over the usual ‘issues’ which distract so many in the Church, such asthe ordination of women, sexuality, and so on. It’s time to turn this crisis on its head...we must seize this opportunity, so let’s hear the wake-up call and begin to live our faith in a way that shows people how relevant and life-changing Christianity can and should be!

Many people in these troubled countries are determined not to stop until they get what they want; after all, they have paid very dearly while living under dictatorships for decades. People with very limited resources to defend themselves find that they are standing up against mighty armies – armies that have been equipped and trained not for foreign wars but to defend the regime against its own people!

Often today, both the regimes and their numerous oppositions exist at the expense of the innocent people who fall victim to the ever-increasing violence. When I look at the whole region, I am sad to see conspiracies, plots, alliances, betrayals, conferences, secret deals and whispered promises. What is lacking is exactly what the people are demanding: transparent dialogue and an open effort not to grab or to keep power, but to bring peace, harmony and a better life to the broken and confused societies.

Has this Arab Spring inspired people across the globe to rise up and demand an improvement in their lives and situations? Are we witnessing a Western Autumn for the US and some European governments? The people who are currently protesting at St. Paul’s Cathedral are demanding serious ideas to solve the serous economic problems which are facing Europe. Could the Western Autumn bring the spirit of the Arab Spring to the heart of Europe and perhaps even challenge the European regimes? I still do not think that we have scratched the surface of what happened in England last August or what is happening in the West now. We need to jettison the shock and outrage and face the situation bravely.

Jesus Christ did not shy away from facing corruption and the hunger for power. In his short 3 year public ministry, he clashed endlessly with the religious leaders who exercised a tight grip over the people by placing themselves as guardians of everything is holy. The most important thing in both the West and the Middle East is to face the challenges and boldly identify them; only then can we hope to defeat extremism, corruption and power-hunger to find peaceful solutions that would spare bloodshed and bring harmony to our communities.