English bishop pushes back at rewritten ‘woke’ Christmas carol sung at ‘inclusive’ church

An English bishop is pushing back after a church choir sang a “woke” version of a popular Christmas carol injecting LGBT and “inclusive” language into the song. 

“God rest you queer and questioning, your anxious hearts be still,” a line of the amended U.S. version of “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” sung by the All Saints with Holy Trinity choir in Loughborough, England, said, according to The Express, with another saying, “God rest you also, women, who by men have been erased. Through history ignored and scorned, defiled and displaced.”

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, took issue with the amended version of the song and the injection of progressive wording.

“I think what Christmas does, and many other moments, it tells us the importance of ritual,” Nichols told Times Radio. “Ritual helps us to step outside of our own little bubble and connect with something we have received, inherited and that we hope to pass on.

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Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, speaks at a vigil outside Westminster Abbey.
(Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

“Those values are the continuation of musical repertoire, of the ability to sing together, of looking at the rituals that have been fashioned over centuries. Those are probably for me more important than particular sensitivities which come and go.”

The amended U.S. version, written by Jeffrey Wilsor and used by the progressive Hollywood United Methodist Church, retains only the first two lines of the original song, which dates back to 17th-century England. 

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All Saints with Holy Trinity Church in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England.
(Google Earth)

“We are striving to be an inclusive, eco-conscious and intercultural worshipping community (IWC) engaged with issues of social, racial and climate justice,” the church’s website states. 

“We don’t think we have all the answers but for those who wish to journey with us in Christian belief and action you will find a welcome here.”

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Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols attends the Consistory for the creation of new cardinals led by Pope Francis at the St. Peter’s Basilica.
(Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

All Saints with Holy Trinity Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

“Absolutely disgusted an act of worship to our Lord & Saviour is being used to push political ideology contrary to @ChurchofEngland teaching,” Sam Margrave, a member of the Church’s General Synod, posted on Twitter along with several other users who took issue with the song’s rewording.

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Not everyone was opposed to the song, including trainee priest Rachael Brind-Surch, who said, “love my church” when posting a photo of the service bulletin online, according to Daily Mail. 

“My faith informs my politics and I will never be sad or mad or apologize for attending a church which challenges me to think about them more and the policies being legislated for in our name,” Brind-Surch added later after the controversy erupted.