Reblogged from Tallis Steelyard, aka Jim Webster:

There are many issues which inconvenience a temple warden. To be fair, the biggest difficulties can be caused by members of the congregation. A shrine without worshippers (but with some other, more reliable, source of funding) would be a remarkably easy shrine to run. It would remain pristine and ever ready for inspection by even the most exacting Theological Envoy.

It is only when the worshippers, (with their unwiped footwear, their delightful children, and their habit of leaving empty bottles and the last, unwanted, piece of pie crust behind) invade the shrine that problems arise. But to be equitable, the scruffy, disreputable and unkempt are not really the biggest problem. Any temple warden will admit quietly that a shrine that has not got a quiet nook to provide sanctuary for the depressed, the bereft, or those whose wits are not strong enough to cope with the vicissitudes of ordinary life, is not a shrine worthy of the name.
The problem is rather with the comfortably prosperous with too little to do, who have a vague memory of the shrine (or one somewhat like it) from the days of their youth, and demand that it remain fixed in time, unchanging as the world changes round it.

Continue reading at Tallis Steelyard